I am so happy to finally experience it for the first time in Nabe Japanese Izakaya + Hotpot in their branch at Fisher Parkway. Confession bear time: I haven’t really been to a hotpot restaurant. I mean, does the mini ones in the typical buffet restaurants count?
Anyway, Nabe Japanese Izakaya + Hotpot have branches in Banawe, QC, SM Olongapo, and soon to open at Skyranch Tagaytay. ‘Nabe’ literally means ‘pot’ in Japanese and the very idea of this place is to gather your friends and family around for a hearty food gathering. True to its setting and branding, it’s definitely ideal for large groups of people. They’ve got tables for pairs, for small groups, and large groups.
I came with a friend during lunchtime on a weekday and the unlimited hotpot is at P488 per person. During weekends and holidays, it’s priced at P588. The place is pretty huge and there are private rooms upstairs.
I am happy that the serving team of Nabe Izakaya + Hotpot is accommodating and hospitable because as a first-timer, I didn’t know how to order. We were assisted by a guy named Amir. Nabe’s super easy for beginners like me. They have this huge menu where there are steps for ordering.
First, you’ll choose your base soup. You can choose 2! I love it spicy and I chose Tantan. For the other soup base, I let Amir suggest for us. We got Tonkotsu which is said to be a best-seller.
Step 2 is choosing your meats. They have US Beef Short Plate, Pork Shoulder Boston Butt, Chicken Leg Quarter, Dumplings Chicken and Pork. I initially picked the US Beef Short Plate and later on we also had the Dumplings Chicken and Pork.
Next, you need to choose your appetizers, sides, and vegetables. There is a vegetable platter, kimchi, assorted balls, japanese rice, vermicelli, and raw egg to choose from. We had all except rice and raw egg.
Note that steps 1-3 are all unlimited! You can ask non-stop and there is no time limit. Isn’t it sulit???
There is Step 4 where you can upgrade unlimited servings of fried chicken wings, california maki, Angus beef, menchi katsu, and mixed tempura for only P288! Yes, P288 only and you get generous servings of the upgrades. Of course, we said yes to this and tried every upgrade.
All our orders quickly made their way to out table. Every refill of the hotpot ingredients and upgrades came fast, too! The staff were all attentive to our needs with smiles. To cap off our meal, we were served with delicious coffee jelly for dessert. I heard this is free for a time if you’ve got a Fredley card. (Check their IG to know more)
Now, the taste. The soup bases were heavenly, most especially the Tantan. I’d go back and order that again. The beef, balls, and vegetables were such greats pairs with Tantan soup base. If you don’t like it spicy, the Tonkotsu soup base was as just as hearty. The upgrades were also something else! I love the fried chicken. It’s savory but has a sweet glaze which I think is honey and it wasn’t very oily. The Angus beef was also so good!
Overall, there wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this hotpot experience. I think we had about 2-3 rounds of refills until we felt satisfied already. For its price, that’s already a good value for our money. I’d definitely come back for another hotpot date!
Here’s another must-try restaurant near Nabe Japanese Izakaya + Hotpot: Cafe Guilt: Garden Cafe With Good Food
Check out Nabe Japanese Izakaya + Hotpot social media pages from time to time for promos and updates!
Nabe Japanese Izakaya + Hotpot
Fisher Parkway, Quezon City
https://www.facebook.com/nabeizakayahotpot/