Review: Shabu Hana @ River Valley

This Shabu Shabu place has opened in River Valley (along Mohamed Sultan Road) for some time now and I'd been curious about it every time I walked past over lunch. They are not open for lunch so last friday evening (after being turned away by a packed En) DS & I decided to give this place a try.

 Kurobuta shabu-shabu pork 

The service staff here all wore pretty kimonos, and were trained to be super polite albeit not all of them were Japanese. They were generally well-versed with the menu and did a good job up-selling some items though at one point I thought it was a little over the top.

The menu featured 3 main sections: Shabu-shabu, Suki-Shabu and Yaki-Shabu. For each section, various grades & cuts of wagyu beef and kurobuta pork (or black pig, pictured above - apparently imported from Kagoshima, known to be one of the best sources around). We ordered the original shabu-shabu sets, one with wagyu beef and the other with kurobuta shoulder and loin mix. Both types of meat were decent though I had hoped for richer tasting beef. I personally preferred the fatty pork loin and it went perfectly with the ponzu & sesame dipping sauces. The soup was also very flavourful at the end!

As sides we'd ordered the Grilled Mentaiko and the Grilled Stingray fins, and the latter was probably the highlight of the meal for me - tasted like freshly barbecued cuttlefish!

Overall a great place for chilling out & while it's somewhat pricey ($48 for wagyu, $40 for Kurobuta pork sets), the ambience was fabulous and they also have a weekend set which is cheaper @ $38 so I would return again to try that out! 

  

 Vegetables with Kuzukiri noodles

Grilled Stingray fins (Eihire no aburi)

 

Grilled Mentaiko~

7 out of 10
Shabu Hana

14 Mohamed Sultan Road

#01-01, Singapore 238963

Tel: +65 6235 8216