Midtown Lunch

I’m sorry shabu shabu. I don’t how I went so long without singing your praises. I have no excuse. You are amazing and delicious and you deserve to be cheered with as much fervor as Korean BBQ or Tsukemen or any of the other great lunches that involve piles of cooked meat or dipping stuff into other stuff. Admittedly, it took me a long time to come to this realization but I’m ready to make it up to you. How does me eating at a shabu shabu place every single day for the next two weeks sound to you? Because I’m willing to sacrifice myself just to prove to you how sorry I am. And how much I love you.

Just one request. Can I make it up to you exclusively at Khan Shabu Shabu? Because I can’t imagine there’s a better lunchtime shabu shabu deal in all of Los Angeles.

If you’ve never been to shabu shabu, it’s essentially the Japanese version of hot pot.  They give you a cauldron of boiling liquid, thin slices of raw meat, a plate of raw veggies, tofu and sometimes noodles, and the rest is up to you. And on Kahn’s lunch menu, you get your choice of meat, plus all the fixings, for just $9.95.

Located on Western near 1st street Khan is Korean shabu shabu, so instead of a boiling pot of very light dashi (as is typical at Japanese shabu shabu) you get your choice of two broths: regular, a sweet vinegary broth that is more similar to sukiyaki than typical Japanese shabu shabu broth, and a spicy broth that will be familiar to anybody who has ever had a spicy Korean soup before.

Can’t decide which one you want?  They’ll give you both, in a split pot.

Plus a typical assortment of banchan, and two dipping sauces that may or may not remind you of childhood trips to Benihana (one light, one dark.)

At Khan the fixings include cabbage, scallion, tofu, enoki mushrooms, and udon.  Don’t be shy.  Just shove those into the broth in one big push.

As for meat you get to choose between their “Khan Prime” (this is one $9.95 serving.)

And their “Genghiskhan Prime” (this is two servings.) A quick little swish swish in the broth, just enough to lightly cook the meat, a dip in the sauce, and it’s ready to eat. The downside is that it’s not all you can eat. The upside? The meat is higher quality than all of the cheaper all you can eat places in K-Town. Alone this would be a decent deal, and enough to get me away from the AYCE Korean BBQ once in awhile. But that’s not all that Khan Shabu Shabu offers during lunch.

Make your own California rolls, and make your own Vietnamese style fresh rolls!? Our initial reaction was a bit of WTF, but once they brought them out to the table we were all pretty excited.

For the summer rolls, you get a giant platter of carrots, cucumbers, mint, cilantro, imitation crab, bean sprouts, and a scoop of sweet and spicy beef.

If you’ve ever been to a Vietnamese restaurant you likely know what to do… dip the round, dry “wrapper” into the bowl of hot water to moisten it up, fill with meat and veggies, roll it up, dip in the provided sauces and eat.

Delicious!

And the make your own California rolls didn’t skimp on the fun either. They give you a “boat” filled with avocado, pickled radish, imitation crab, carrots, cucumber, crab salad, two shrimp, squares of nori, and a big bowl of surprisingly decent sushi rice.

The seaweed wasn’t big enough to truly roll your own maki, but use it like a Korean ssam and you’re in business.

Neither is something I’d order on my own as a full lunch, but for the best Khan lunchtime experience I’d recommend grabbing 3 other friends and going to town.  Get two orders of meat, california rolls, and spring rolls and nobody is going home hungry for $10 plus tax and tip.

If you know of a better, more fun shabu shabu deal in L.A. I’d like to know about it.  I’ve got a lot of repenting to do.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Shabu shabu, with all the fixins for just $10?  Where do I sign up?
• When it comes to meat, I prefer quality over quantity
• LOVE the two broths they serve at Korean shabu shabu.  Japanese broth is too boring.
• Udon noodles and enoki mushrooms?  So good.
• The build your own California rolls and Vietnamese fresh rolls are a ton of fun, and the perfect shabu shabu add on if you have a group of 3 or 4

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Do you know how much brisket and pork belly I can get for $10 in Koreatown during lunch?  I’ll stick with AYCE Korean BBQ thank you very much
• Shabu shabu should be left to the Japanese.
• So should California rolls.  Actually, California rolls should just be left to the Americans.

Khan Shabu Shabu, 210 North Western Avenue. 323-465-6688