Sushi & Shabu Time

FOOD

The food program works best when the sushi and shabu sides are treated as equal parts of the same meal. One brings rice, raw fish, tempura crunch and composed sauces; the other brings broth, thin-sliced meat and ingredients cooked seconds before eating. That contrast keeps the menu from settling into one flavor or temperature for very long.

Shabu starts with five broth directions. Tonkotsu is the fuller-bodied choice, kombu keeps the pot lighter, and sukiyaki brings a sweeter soy profile. Spicy Seafood pushes toward chile and shellfish, while Chinese Spicy Mala is the more assertive route for peppery heat. Lamb shoulder, Angus brisket, Angus beef belly and pork belly form the main meat lineup, with premium short rib and rib eye tied to the upper tier. Shrimp, clams, squid and mussels can move through the pot as well, with crawfish, crab and scallops appearing as limited premium selections.

The sushi side has enough nigiri to support a meal that never touches a specialty roll. Tuna, yellowtail, salmon, mackerel, eel, shrimp, octopus and surf clam cover the familiar range, while yuzu yellowtail and yuzu salmon add a citrus edge without burying the fish under sauce. Salmon roe and masago bring briny pops of texture. For a premium detour, the menu also lists add-on portions such as yuzu salmon belly, yellowtail jalapeño, bluefin, uni and oysters rather than folding every high-cost item into unrestricted AYCE.

The specialty rolls are where the menu becomes louder. Lemon Salmon wraps spicy crab and cucumber under salmon and lemon with yuzu, giving a bright top note to a creamy-spicy center. Coco Shrimp combines shrimp tempura and cream cheese with crab, shrimp, coconut crunch and yum-yum sauce. The Spider keeps soft-shell crab in the foreground, while MGM layers shrimp tempura and soft-shell crab beneath tuna, salmon and white fish. Call 911 goes in another direction entirely, pairing an egg-roll center with spicy tuna, seared beef and onion crunch.

Small plates make it easy to interrupt either main format with something hot and compact. Miso pork belly skewers bring a richer savory bite; Volcano shrimp skewers combine fried shrimp with sweet chile and spicy mayo; the rice-cake-and-sausage skewer supplies chew and sweet heat. Baked green mussels, shrimp tempura, gyoza, takoyaki, corn cheese and chicken karaage widen the cooked-food side enough that the table can keep changing even before another sushi or shabu order arrives.

The shabu portion becomes more individual once sauces and vegetables enter the picture. The self-serve setup lets each guest adjust salt, heat, acidity and aromatics independently of the shared menu, then cook ingredients to the texture wanted at the table. It is especially useful with thin beef and lamb, which need only a brief pass through the broth, and with seafood, where shrimp, squid or clams can make the pot progressively more oceanic as the meal continues.

Dessert is intentionally smaller than the savory menu. The AYCE material limits dessert to one selection per person, with mochi ice cream in flavors including matcha, mango, coffee, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate, plus assorted ice-cream options on other menu sections. After a table crowded with sushi plates, sauce dishes and a hot pot, the compact finish feels proportionate: one cold sweet bite rather than another unlimited round.