Sunday, 28 December 2008

• Rolling Pot Shabu Shabu

  7077 Kennedy Rd. Unit 111
  Markham, ON L3R 0N8
  905-946-0888

  I'm not one to really enjoy shabu shabu (another name for for the Japanese hot pot).  Most of my food end up tasting all the same as you usually only have at most 2 different water-based broths and 1 sauce (usually like soy sauce).  It usually warms up the body with the hot meats and boiling water so it's a popular thing to do for the winter season.  A couple friends suggested it and I didn't really have anything else in mind (I didn't want steak and I just had Japanese all you can eat the day before) so I went along with the idea:

  

  There was a lot of snow fall so we opted for a close by to most of us called Rolling Pot which faces Pacific Mall at Kennedy and Steeles.

  The steam from all the hot pots fogged by my glasses and fogged up all the restaurant windows:

  

  Simple wooden chairs and hard top tables fill the restaurant.  It's an open restaurant with no walls.  Seating is tight.

  

  If you're in a small party, you might end up sharing a table with others as the heat plates prevent the tables from moving.

  It's all you can eat so you choose from the menu:

  

  Just write down the number you want in the paper list they provide.  Some items have an added cost like broth.  They list the broth as soup.  We opted for a free one soup (Winter Melon).  You can take a look at enlarged version of my photo.  That's not the whole menu.

  If you need variety, you can asked for two soups:

  

  The sauce station:

  

  I didn't take a photo of the drink station but it was a number of 2L bottle Coke and Sprite.  They also had the tradition Plum juice from a fountain.

  We ordered meat balls (far left), dumplings and wonton (to the right), lamb (bottom):

  

  Glass noodles (left), Squid, cuddlefish, cow blood, tofu (top left), and shrimp (bottom right):

  

  Spinch and water cress with beef and udon:

  

  Food cooking:

  

  My food turned out very plain:

  

  The dessert station:

  

  There wasn't a huge selection so a lot of people just skip it over.

  Close up:

  

  I actually got these at the beginning of my meal because I was hungry and they didn't bring out the food yet.

  Washroom was surprisingly clean for a hot pot restaurant:

  

  The washroom didn't stink, the tabletop around the sink wasn't puddles of water, and the ground wasn't covered in water/pee.  I was impressed.

  Our bill came out to be $82 for 4 people with tax and 10% tips included.  That's a pretty reasonable price for shabu shabu.  Since all the chicken, pork, beef, and lamb were cut so thin, it's hard to tell if it's really good or just adequate meat quality.  The shrimps were good and the vegetables were very crunchy.  As usually I had some pretty bland food and quickly got bored of the food.  Service was good to taking down additional orders, adding hot broth, and removing empty plates from our table.  If you like hot pot/shabu shabu then I recommend Rolling Pot a try.  If you're not fond of hotpot I recommend skipping this place.

  Eric's Tummy Points: 3.5 out of 5

  

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