Where to eat: Hotpot places in Manila for the ultimate shabu-shabu experience
When the rainy season hits, people can’t help but dream of a magical, comforting meal of hot pot.
You enter a restaurant and see people gathered around tables, bringing a pot to a simmer with various cuts of meat and seafood. Each flavorful bowl highlights different soup bases that complement chosen the chosen meats, along with greens, shabu-shabu balls, and more.
Hot pot is best enjoyed with friends and family, who you can share good conversations with and make new memories with while waiting for your food to slowly stew to perfection.
There's a sense of satisfaction you get after every hot pot session. Got the cravings yet? Here are some of the best places where you can experience the ultimate shabu-shabu in the metro.
Jiang Nan Hotpot
238 Banawe, Quezon City and 223 Nicanor Garcia St., Bel-Air Makati
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
When it comes to shabu-shabu, Jiang Nan Hotpot is always top-of-mind. The Banawe restaurant has been serving authentic Chinese cuisine since 2017 through its eat-and-drink-all-you-can offering priced at P599 to P999. They have a wide selection of meat, vegetables, seafood, balls, mushroom, noodles, soup, and sauce.
To kick-off your meal, start with their sauce menu. The sesame sauce has been a go-to as “it’s just the right amount of sweet and spicy, with a subtle hint of pungent and garlicky.”
Nabe Japanese Izakaya + Hotpot
Banawe, SM City Olongapo Central, Sky Ranch, and Vertis North
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“Nabe”—meaning, pot—is a symbol of family gatherings and that’s exactly the heart of this hotpot place. The restaurant in Banawe offers more affordable options than other restaurants in the area, with its deals good for 1-2 pax (P599-P699) that come with filling meaty options like pork collar, beef short plate, and more.
Nabe also has an unlimited hotpot offering (P488 on weekdays and P588 on weekends/holidays) that’s sure to make your tummy happy. Just choose your soup base, meats, appetizers, sides, and vegetables, and you're good to go.
The best part? You may even upgrade your meal for P288 to get unlimited servings of fried chicken wings, California maki, Angus beef, menchi katsu, and mixed tempura.
Shabunoki
BF Homes, Parañaque and Hobbies of Asia, Pasay
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Shabunoki has unlimited shabu-shabu with side dishes and rice, fresh vegetables, beef, gindara tofu, fish cake, lobster, and cheese for just P649 for lunch and P749 for dinner. If you prefer your hotpot session with unlimited balls, you’d be happy to know that they’re also offering that for P749 when you're dining at lunch time and P849 for dinner.
The little ones in the family can join your food trips, too. Meals are free for those aged 5 and below, and are offered at a discounted cost of P350-P400 for children between six and 12.
There are also add-ons available such as corn, egg yolk, steamed egg, and squash.
1970 Grill and Shabu-Shabu
90-A Scout Fernandez, Tomas Morato, Quezon City
Open daily from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. from Mondays to Thursdays and 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. from Fridays to Sundays
When it comes to hotpot, the 1970 Grill and Shabu-Shabu has been all the rage among celebrities like Andrea Brillantes, Ana Jalandoni, and Jelai Andres.
Their beef shabu-shabu, priced at P490, is satisfying in itself. It comes with beef, vegetables, dumpling, noodles, and fish balls, but you may opt for add-ons from their menu, including tofu, pork, and salmon fish cake.
Shaburi & Kintan Ph
4/F Japantown - Top of the Glo, Glorietta 2
Open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays to Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays to Sundays
At Shaburi, there’s a “grand menu” for shabu-shabu. You can choose between a single pot and a twin pot for your soup, with different flavors like the original konbu, chicken collagen paitan, hot miso, beef pepper, and sukiyaki. The regular shabu-shabu with the usual beef, pork, and chicken costs P799 per head, while the special shabu costs P999 with eight items: Angus beef, homemade beef meat ball, tasty beef, pork dumpling, pork belly, low-fat pork, homemade chicken ball, and tender chicken.
There’s also the seafood shabu priced at P1,699 per head with 13 items as well as the wagyu shabu priced at P2,199 per head with 16 items, including the gyu tongue with premium truffle oil.
Nan Hot Pot
Second floor, Ayala Malls Circuit, Circuit Makati
Open daily from 10 a.m. until 12 a.m. the following day
South folks craving for warm and flavorful dishes can head to one of the newest hotpot hubs in the city: Nan Hot Pot. Launched last March 20 in Ayala Malls Circuit, Nan Hot Pot offers guests a meal like no other, starting from its drinkable broth that you can drink on its own. The restaurant uses chicken soup made with fresh ingredients and cooked for six hours to give you rich flavor with every sip.
In addition, Nan Hot Pot's signature broth is one you can partner not only with its range of Korean BBQ and Cantonese dishes, but as well as American comfort food, which the restaurant is adding to its menu soon.
In addition to its unique offerings, Nan Hot Spot is ideal for gatherings with your barkada as the restaurant has roomy aerspace-themed interiors and tableware that would liven up your experience.
Editor's note: This article was updated with the current rates of each restaurant.