Kat's 9 Lives

Like all other shabu places, there are the sauces that you can flavor to your liking. They had the typical Shoyu that tastes a little like Ponzu and the sesame paste. At Shabu House they offer the Red Daikon that Hot Mama at Shabu told us was the correct additive. Of course they had the chopped green onions and delicious ground garlic. They also bring you White Rice and a plate of Vegetables & Udon Noodles to fill you up. Save room for all the meat and fill up on the veggies & udon at the end. You got to strategize your meal! ^_-
What's really great about this place was that you get to choose the soup base for the shabu instead of just water. You can either choose a Spicy Miso or a Ginger Chicken broth. Ms. Lin and I both chose the Spicy Miso. The soup base was delicious! It really reminded me of the Korean soup base, jigae. Since I am not a big fan of spicy foods, I asked them to make it milder. Unfortunately, the soup tasted great when it's not as spicy but the meats don't stay in the broth too long to be cooked it would have been better to keep it spicier. It really adds more flavor if you have a spicier broth, but remember that it will get saltier and spicier later on.
For meats they offer the American Kobe Beef and Lamb, for the all you can eat. You can never go wrong with all you can eat beef and lamb in my opinion. Each piece was thinly sliced and done when you order it. I tried to take a picture of them slicing the meat, but don't worry... I have tons of the meat, the most important part! Ms. Lin and I had the beef to start out with. Soon we ordered some pure lamb plates and mixed plates. I think after how much we ate, they would be wise to take the all you can eat option of the menu. O=P Each plate had a lot of meat on them and what I really liked about their meat was that they were sliced fresh. They were not all melted and sticking to one another like the ones at Mum's. It's a give and take because you have to wait to order more meat and have them slice it, while at Mum's it's just an endless supply without having to ask for more. Ms. Lin and I were discussing the benefits of each place. She likes the meat at Mum's more because they were thicker slices. I am neutral because I just love meat, to me the quality was about the same. The process at Mum's makes you feel less guilty for chowing down on all the meat because they just bring plate after plate of meat to you.
Be sure to soak the Udon in the broth for a really long time so the flavor can soak in. It will basically melt in your mouth! So delicious! To finish off the night, you get a choice of ice cream. We both chose the Green Tea Ice Cream. All in all the service and the food was great. I loved the flavors and the meat choices. Overall I like this place more than Mum's, but both places were great. Since I have had my fill of shabu for a while, I will not be eating shabu for a while but I will be back again! Hopefully they will still have the deal and not have our pictures up on the wall for who to ban! O=P The all you can eat shabu menu is $26.95, which is not bad if you can really eat like us Scary Asian Girls! Shabu House
5158 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 933-8600