[2011 Throwback] Thousand Cranes Shabu Shabu

[updated]

The Project 12x2-1 Page

An empty belly is the best cook.

- Estonian Proverb

Another spur of the moment pick for our Project 12x2-1. Mas malayo dapat ang plano naming bisitahin na kainan kaso umuulan. Buti na lang madaming makakainan sa tabi-tabi. So after some last-minute research on the web, our mid-June grub hunt stops at Thousand Cranes Shabu Shabu in Greenbelt 3.

Update: Wala na silang branch ngayon sa Greenbelt 3. Meron sa BF Homes sa Paranaque.

Ang Paunang Hirit:

We decided to try out a shabu-shabu style dining at Thousand Cranes para kakaibang experience.

Shabu-shabu is the hot pot version of Japan where a simmering stock/broth is prepared on the diners' table while an assortment of ingredients are progressively poured into it for cooking.

but we can only see five cranes

Nasa second level ng Greenbelt 3 yung resto, alongside Bubba Gump, Haiku, Recipes, and Banana Leaf. Not really hard to look for, baybayin lamang ang buong second floor.

Typical shabu-shabu restos only have one big cooking pit on the middle of their tables for group sharing (they also have this). However, Thousand Cranes' tables are more geared towards having personal shabu-shabu, meaning bawat tao ay may nakalaang kanya-kanyang lutuan. Panalo ito para sa amin kasi personalized ang pwedeng gawin:

1. Isama ang tropa at mag cooking competition... best shabu-shabu ala Iron Chef! Magdala ng judge para mas masaya.
2. Mag imbento ng iba't-ibang unique concoctions. Maraming ingredients ang pwedeng pagpilian kaya no two shabu-shabu are the same. Mag-feeling chef. Basta ba paninidigang kainin ang finished product!

one per customer

Ang Chicha:

Meron silang mga ala-carte... tonkatsu, sushi, at iba pang tipikal na Japanese offerings pero why bother? Pumunta na lang sana sa ibang Japanese resto na mas reasonable ang price. We think it's just sensible to eat shabu-shabu on a shabu-shabu resto.

ala carte menu

Ang siste ay may iba't ibang main ingredients sila na ino-offer. Yung main ingredients ("mini shabu-shabu sets" ang tawag) ay yung pinaka bulk ng magiging sahog. They got porkloin, angus beef, crab meat, and shrimp to name a few.

Bawat set ay may generic ingredients na kasama by default. Eto yung mga yun:

• isang putol ng mais
• isang putol ng gabi
• iba't ibang leafy veggie
• ilang button mushrooms
• isang black mushroom
• dalawang squid balls
• isang lobster ball
• isang crab stick
• isang fish cake
• dalawang tofu slices
• isang tumpok ng canton noodles
• isang tumpok ng bihon noodles
• dalwang slices ng carrots
• isang slice ng kikiam
• isang itlog

default ingredients

Eto yung set na iniskor namin:

• All Seafood Set
• Assorted Meat Set

Tingin ko etong dalawang ito ang pinaka reasonable orderin kasi parang sampler, mas madami nang matitikman kumbaga.

seafood set

Yung "All Seafood" ay binubuo ng tatlong hipon, dalwang slice ng isda (tuna yata), ilang piraso ng oyster, dalwang piraso ng pusit, at ilang piraso ng sea cucumber yata (not sure, basta muka syang weird).

Yung "Assorted Meat" naman ay binubuo ng thin slices ng porkloin, beef, at lamb.

meat set

Mahirap magbigay ng general assessment sa lasa ng shabu-shabu nila dahil lahat will depend on how the customers are going to cook it. Kumbaga, walang masisisi kung hindi ang sarili kapag hindi masarap ang kinalabasan ng niluto. One thing for sure, patok yung lasa ng broth nila. Kelangan lang dagdagang maige nung special sauce (kasama sa bawat order).

Every set also comes with chopped onions, sili, at yung parang shrimp paste na hindi malansa. All to add variations sa lasa ng niluluto.

Syempre ang basic tip sa pag shabu-shabu ay unang nilulublob yung mga matagal lutuing ingredients at later on na lang idagdag yung mga madaling maluto para walang overcooked.

learn from the expert

Iba pang Satsat:
Maganda na SANA yung ambiance...

do not disturb, man at work

Napaka private ng bawat lamesa dahil may wooden divisions at hindi masikip yung space. It's an effort as well to maintain cooking pits for each tables (at least four on each), although we have to move to another table dahil hindi gumagana yung lutuan sa una naming inupuan... PLUS may hindi na din gumagana sa nilipatan namin so we need to stay on the side of the table where the pits are working. Not much hassle really. I'm just wondering how will they manage a full house if some of their cooking pits are faulty.

cranes

Andaming paintings ng iba't ibang cranes. Naalala namin si Master Crane sa Kungfu Panda... "CACAAAW!!!"

...KASO ...may ipis! Yup, nabasa mo ng tama. May ipis. And we're not talking about some random roach that just happened to pop out on a random night. That's what we first thought when people from the table across us first cried "IPIS!!!". Pero several minutes later, may ipis (a different one) ulit na gumagapang sa dingding malapit sa amin. So hindi na ito serendipity. It din't attack or get anywhere near us but a roach is a roach and a roach on an expensive resto is a bummer!

spot the cockroach

Mainit yung lugar. Pero mabilis kaming tinutukan ng electric fan ng isang waiter at hindi na kelangan pang mag-reklamo, magparinig, magpakita ng visual clues na tagaktak na ang pawis namin, o mag walk-out para gawin niya yun. Madaling kuhain ang atensyon nila (not that they're serving a lot) at magiliw silang kausap. Helpful sila kung tatanga-tanga mag-operate ng lutuan o kaya kung perfectly clueless how shabu-shabu works.

Still, it should have been better if they have a for-dummies instruction guides readily available per table. I saw from the net that some of their other branches have this.

In general, natuwa kami mag luto-lutuan ni K at okay na SANA yung experience and all. Talo lang talaga yung ipis. Take note that they did not do anything to compensate for the invasive roach that crawled over the table of the group near us. Tinanggal lang nila sabay parang walang nanyari.

Boo.

gawa ko, gawa niya

Kaching!: 

The mini shabu-shabu sets ranged from P400 to P1000+ depende sa sahog na napili. Cheapest would be the porkloin meat and the most expensive would be the lobster set and the angus beef set.

Safe to say, you'll have a good dining at P500 average.

Mahal ito. Kung gusto ng mas murang shabu-shabu experience, maghanap ng madaming kasama then try out the other, more typical shabu-shabu restaurants where you can order it for group sharing. Yun nga lang wala yung experience na magluluto kayo ng kanya kanya.

Update: P600 to P1200 na ang going rate ng shabu-shabu sets nila ngayon (2015).

ngiting nag-aabang ng ipis

Ang Hatol:

Pwede na sanang ipagpilitan namin sa sarili na justified yung presyo ng ambiance at experience na makapag personal shabu-shabu.

Pero talo talaga yung ipis. Talo talaga.

Rating:
3 out of 7




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