Table of contents:
Summary
Shabu Shabu in Essen offers a delightful dining experience focused on traditional Chinese Hotpot cuisine, allowing customers to cook their own meats, seafood, and vegetables in one or more boiling broths right at their table. The restaurant provides a rich all-you-can-eat buffet for €18, which includes beverages and a selection of homemade side dishes. Guests are encouraged to explore various ingredients, including lamb, beef, fresh vegetables like Pakchoi and Tofu, as well as an array of flavorful sauces to mix. While the central location and friendly service enhance the dining experience, it can get crowded, especially after 6 PM, and replenishing certain ingredients may occasionally take longer. The website highlights the positive aspects of this popular establishment alongside a few minor drawbacks, making it a valuable resource for those looking to explore Shabu Shabu in Essen.Here you can eat traditional Chinese dishes as well as hot pot (engl. Hotpott). Hot pot is a type of Chinese fondue, where you cook meat, fish and vegetables directly at your own table in one or more boiling broths. Depending on the restaurant, more or less cooking broths are offered. The most common are meat broth and a spicy broth. You have to make your own sauces. Either ask an employee for the best recipes or try my sauce mixture, which I describe below.
For 18 euros you have an all-inclusive buffet (hot pot, side dishes), which also includes soft drinks. In addition to the many cookable ingredients, this restaurant also offers homemade side dishes. In my experience, the restaurant gets very full from 6 p.m. onwards. So feel free to come before 5:30 p.m.
In this picture you can see 2 different broths; meat broth (white) and a spicy broth. Besides beef and lamb you can also see various types of vegetables such as Pakchoi, tofu skin, various types of mushrooms and seafood.
At the beginning, hot pot raises many questions. You have to choose from a lot of ingredients, most of which are rather unknown. I recommend you:
- Meat broth
- Spicy broth
- Lamb
- Beef
- Pakchoi or Chinese cabbage
- Tongaho (Chinese green vegetable)
- Tofu
- Tofu skin
- Shiitake mushrooms (very very delicious and healthy mushrooms)
- Enoki mushrooms (small mushrooms that are bundled together)
- Morel (black sponge-like mushrooms)
- Mussel meat
- Octopus
- Beef tripe (I don't like it)
- Many more...
The sauce selection is also difficult, as you have to mix it yourself.
I recommend the following sauce combination, which you can see in the picture below:
Left peanut sauce:
- 2 spoons of peanut sauce
- 1 spoon of garlic
- 2 spoons of spring onions
- Some coriander
Right Hoisin sauce:
- 2 spoons of hoisin sauce
- 1 spoon of garlic
- 2 spoons of spring onions
My conclusion in short pros and cons:
Pro:
- Very good hot pot restaurant in Essen
- All you can eat buffet + drinks (except alcoholic ones)
- Other side dishes freely available
- Price of 18.90€ per person justified
- very central location in Essen
- nice service
- Very delicious sauces to mix together
Cons:
- Especially with the meat, you have to reorder more often, as it is delivered on small plates
- Refilling the side dishes takes a while
- From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. it can be difficult to get a table
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