Souper Shabu

Not very impressed by this joint.
We came here because there was a very long line at another local Shabu place that we wanted to go to. It is basically a «family run» business and the little boy (son of the lady who runs the place) was the one to greet us when we walked in. A little odd, but I guess that’s better than nothing.
I asked her about a few items on the list and she wasn’t very nice about it. Additionally, the lady was a little rude & manipulative because when we asked about their free iced tea check in, she said that they don’t honor it if she gave us refills. (She had given us refills but never spoke any word about not being able to honor the free drink check in… and no where did it state on the check in). Kind of weird. We probably won’t be back.

I come here when I don’t want to wait in a ridiculous 1 hour + for some hot pot. This is a cute family own shop. Their cute kids will sometimes greet you as you walk in through the door. The place itself is not so big. There are only a few tables and some bar space where you can eat. Never had a problem getting seated.
The soup broths here are very light in flavor in comparison to the likes of Jazz Cat, which means less salty as well. This may or may not be favorable to some. I’ve tried the Sacha, sukiyaki, spicy tomato, and miso. Out of the 4, I probably like the sukiyaki best.
There are different cuts of the meat you can choose from. I usually prefer fattier cuts so the beef belly was good for me. They said that the ribeye was the leanest, so I got that for my parents.
SAUCES! There is a sauce station where you can help yourself. There, you will find ponzu, sesame sauce, soy sauce, garlic, green onions, chili oil, sacha, etc.
This wouldn’t be the first place I would choose, nor 2^nd, to satisfy my hot pot cravings but there are just those days where you don’t want to wait in a ridiculous line just to eat. That’s where this place comes in!
Also, be sure to check in on Unilocal!for a free yummy lemon iced tea!

There are literally a million shabu shabu places within a 10 mile radius. The competition is fierce. I have personally had my tummy satisfied in at least 8 different restaurants. Most of them live up to the standards. One or two really set themselves apart, most of the rest are very similar.
So, let’s talk about Souper. The interior décor is cozy and clean. Sauces are self served at the corner station with a variety of garnish, go ahead and pick your poison. They have lunch special for a couple of big ones cheaper than the dinner menu, and a few slices of beefs smaller on serving size. Veggie platter is pleasing to the eye and full of good fibers and greens. Soup is a bit on the saltier side, I didn’t need to use much dipper sauce. Free ice tea with Unilocal check in, Yayyy for Unilocal!Service is good, meat is quality, ventilation is strong so you won’t get too warm and foggy. If you happens to be nearby, and craving for a balanced meal, this could be your destination.

Shabu restaurants are my least favorite because most of them tend to overcharge for tasteless soup and kid-​size meat portion. BUT NOT THIS PLACE! I was crying on the inside when my lady friends suddenly craved hot pot on a cold night and we ended up here randomly. I ordered the curry soup base and my 3 other friends got spicy miso. The meat portion ended up being above average and the soups were very flavorful. Each shabu order was around $ 17 before tax/​tips. Still expensive but one of the better shabu places I’ve been to. I wouldn’t come back because I could get better food for at a cheaper price. Shout out to my server for hooking me up with free extra order of rice when my friend ordered it on accident lol

Love the service and food. I get the white fish and u actually get a lot. I also get the miso soup. Yummy. I like how it’s a mom and pop shop and it doesn’t seem so hectic there

I’m a big fan of hot pot and always go to Boiling Point. But I tried this place the other day and this is by far one of my favorites for shabu. I ordered the spicy miso and spicy tonkatsu soup with souper beef and it comes with vegetables. The spicy miso soup was delicious. And to top it off, happy hour beers are only $ 2.50! The waitor was very attentive and friendly. I am definitely going back here!

One of my favorite spots to eat shabu! It is a small restaurant that is part of a building structure so it easy to miss. Parking is in the structure, and there are 3 floors to park from. The servers are friendly, which is good and they are helpful. The thing I like about this place is that they have soup base, rather then the typical water. I would recommend getting the spicy miso, along with the snow beef. The cheapest meat is souper beef, but it tends to have alot of fat so I would not recommend getting it. They have a sauce bar where you can get ponzu, peanut, soy sauce, garlic, etc. I love to add garlic and spicy sauce to my peanut sauce to make it flavorful. I also add spicy sauce/​garlic to the broth. Overall my experience was good with this restaurant and I would definitely come back again.
Pros:
The sauce bar is a pro for me because I tend to experiment with food, so I take alot of sauces and such back to the table to put in my broth or along with my dipping sauces.
Small, yet usually not busy. So seating is fast.
Cons:
Hard to find this place because it was in the building.
Kind of pricey for the portions they give but then again maybe it’s because I eat alot.
Tips:
Ask for refills on the broth when it is getting low:).
Experiment with the different sauces and such! Add dat flavuhh
They do have alcohol, typically beer.

Came here today for lunch and there was only one other table. No lunch special as it is a holiday today. Got the tonkutsu broth. Broth was delicious. Made the bomb dipping sauce with garlic, onions, sa cha and seasame oil. Service was great. it was kind of pricey and portions were small.

Came here tonight (Wednesday) with two girlfriends after our attempt to go to Jazz Cat failed due to the ridiculous line we saw there. The parking lot was a little hard to find if you aren’t familiar with where it’s located. The entrance is literally right next to the restaurant but hard to spot since it’s in the middle of the block and hard to spot while driving on a relatively busy big street.
There was only one server for the whole restaurant and it seemed like she was the owner as well. The lady was nice and patient of our numerous requests for items (we were hungry and kept ordering more). The only downside is that she forgot to bring us some of the things a few times so we had to flag her down to remind her.
–In terms of the broth, I got the Taiwanese Spicy since I asked for «mala spicy.» The broth was not too spicy and it was more salty than flavorful. I thought the saltiness was overpowering at times and had to get water added to my broth. I also thought the sodium was too overpowering of the flavors of my food and I rather have gotten a more simpler broth. Ah wells. I also got the regular rib eye which I thought was okay. My friends got the Snowy Beef and though it was more marbled, I think that it all eventually just tastes the same after cooking it in the broth.
–The veggie selection was also decent. I still prefer Tokyo Shabu Shabu though since they take the extra step to cut down your Napa cabbage and veggies into more bite size pieces. I thought it got a little messy trying to stick a giant soggy Napa leaf into my mouth.
–Also, they only give you a choice of udon, glass noodles, or rice whereas at the other shabu places they usually give you both without charging extra.
All in all, the restaurant served it’s purpose and it satiated our shabu-​shabu cravings for the night. However, was I impressed? Let’s just say that if given a do-​over, I’d sit tight and rather wait for a table at Jazz Cat or Tokyo Shabu Shabu. They just know how to «swish-​swish» it just right…

Average, nothing I really feel stands out. Portion is ok. Owned by Chinese, not Japanese.

This place is first come first serve. I have 4 people and they tell me the tables are reserved for 5 people. Really? I have been wanting to try this place, but unfortunately I do not want to try it anymore.
Treat your 1^st time customer right or you’ll lose business like today!

This is more of a fusion shabu than the traditional Japanese style shabu. There are various soup bases to choose from and has a self-​serve sauce bar. Each meal set comes with a choice of meat, veggie plate, choice of broth, sauces, and a choice of either rice, udon, or glass noodle. You can get brown rice for $ 1 extra. Additional rice, udon, or glass noodle is $ 1 and $ 2 for additional brown rice.
There are 12 types of meat ranging from chicken, pork, lamb, various beef, and seafood. Beef choices are Souper Beef (beef belly), Rib Eyes, Snow Beef (Angus short ribs), Chuck (Angus chuck eye roll), and Prime (Angus rib eyes). Price goes from least expensive to most expensive in that order. Medium (8 oz.) ranges from $ 14-​$ 18, and large (10 oz.) ranges from $ 17-​$ 22.
My wife and I went with medium Rib Eyes and Snow Beef with Spicy Tonkotsu broth and North Eastern Thai Spicy broth. Rib Eyes were fine but was slightly tough because it didn’t have much fat. There wasn’t any marbling of fat. Snow Beef tasted better and had much better marbling. Since the price here is pretty good I will probably just go with Prime next time. Both broths were quite good and didn’t taste too watered down like other places. North Eastern Thai Spicy broth was quite spicy and didn’t taste like Tom Yum soup, which is what I thought it would taste like. It has much stronger lemongrass flavor and had quite a sting to it.
Veggie plate was smaller than other places but everything looked fresh. One unusual item included in the veggie plate was egg. My wife threw the whole thing in the broth as if she was making a hard boiled egg but I think you are suppose to crack it open first. I stirred mine around to incorporate it evenly into the broth. It made the broth thicker and tastier to drink as a soup at the end.
Only thing I didn’t care for was the self-​serve sauce station. I’m generally not a fan of self-​serve stations because they don’t look too sanitary. This one was a bit messy because some people had spilled sauces over the label so I couldn’t read one of the sauces. It’s also pretty small and only one person can be at it at a time. It’s on the corner by the entrance so not an ideal place to form a line if there are multiple people waiting to get their sauces. It has the usual goma (sesame) sauce and ponzu sauce, along with toppings like minced radish and green onions. It also has soy sauce, BBQ sauce (the Chinese type), garlic sauce, and Sriracha chili sauce (I think). The goma sauce tasted pretty standard. The ponzu sauce was quite acidic (vinegary).
Overall I think this is a pretty good place for shabu. Price is very reasonable and has many choices of meat and flavored broths.
There’s an entrance to a parking structure right next to this place but it’s written in Chinese. I wouldn’t have known if my wife didn’t point it out to me.

This place is on the smaller side but that’s not a problem! There was no wait on a Saturday night for 2. Entrance to parking lot is right next to the store front.
Let’s start with the likes:
–Spicy tomato broth was bomb dot com.
–They have a nice sauce bar with a bunch of choices like garlic, green onions, grated radish, soy sauce, peanut sauce, etc.
–Free ice lemon tea with Unilocal check in! (A little on the sweet side though)
–Smiley waitress :)
Dislikes:
–The knob to control the temperature is on the other side of the bar if you’re sitting on the counter. A little troublesome to ask them to adjust all the time.
–They’re a little skimpy on the soup. They do come by to add soup for you but why don’t you just give us more so that I don’t have to flip my piece of corn to cook!
–They ran out of rice and was cooking up a new batch but I almost ate half my meal before I got some carbs. Felt so bare just eating meet and veggies.
–I wish they gave more veggies. Lots of cabbage but only 1 piece of broccoli and 2 pieces of tofu. I didn’t even get a piece of pumpkin like everyone else did!
3 star set up. 4 star service. 5 star spicy tomato broth!

My new favorite shabu shabu restaurant (and it’s closer to home… only about a 40 minute drive). We came here on a groupon and arrived early on a weekend. We were seated immediately (the restaurant was almost empty with it being before 6:00). I liked that we could each order our own broth as my husband prefers spicy and I do not. We did start with popcorn chicken as an appetizer. It was decent, but I’d skip it next time and just dig right into the shabu shabu. The meat and vegetables were fresh and good quality. Both broths were delicious. I also liked that they have a sauce bar. The service was attentive and prompt. I’ll definitely be back!

I ordered their spicy tonkotsu soup as the broth but ended up receiving spicy miso soup instead. I wasn’t too pleased with this.
I ordered a medium chuck roll meal which came with an abundance of vegetables. The sauce bar was in a lonely corner with an absence of labels and garlic which was clearly not maintained. Overall, I wasn’t very impressed with this place as the vegetables received were really basic, and the side of kim chi I received was not so good.

When we came in around 7pm, it was completely empty and the waitress was playing with her phone. She looked so embarassed – poor thing – when she saw us, but she had us seated and got to work. I don’t blame her, but it also means that the joint was completely dead on a happening night… that’s a bad sign.
Ordering the snow beef vs. the regular rib eye. you do taste a bit of a difference – snow beef was definitely softer and more pillowy than the usual moo-​cow order. Broth was okay as well – though I prefer Jazz Cat’s broth bases than here.
The restaurant livened up with two more parties after we sat down, so we didn’t feel completely awkward. Nevertheless, I’m not sure I would come again – there’s just too much competition in the area for hot pot and shabu.

If you love jazz cat this place would be a good alternative. It’s small, but on the two occasions I went there wasn’t a wait. However, I went during the week nights. Can’t say how the traffic is for weekend dinners. Let’s get on to the details.
— they have a self serve sauce bar which is so convenient!
— they have golden fish balls. I’m not sure if they are as good as jazz cat, but they got em if you like em.
— their fried squid appetizer is super delicious.
— they offer different cuts of red meat.
— white fish is a good choice for seafood lovers.
— wait staff is great. The people who work there are genuinely nice people.
Try this place out! I highly doubt it’ll disappoint :)

I rarely visit the 626, but when I do everything tastes good!
Parking was a breeze. They have a parking garage but I was able to find 2 hour parking right in front.
Service was on point :) I liked how we could make our own dipping sauces! I went heavy on the garlic since I knew I wouldn’t be making out with anyone. Hehe it was delicious.
I got the snow beef with the souper spicy broth and glass noodles. The souper spicy isn’t super spicy. Just a good kick. It was so good! The vegetables and meat were fresh and I loved the little egg that I cracked into the broth. I’m drooling while typing this review.
I’d come here again :) I want to try all the meats and a different soup.

Came here with the girls tonight for GNO. Check in for a free sweet iced lemon tea!
Sauce station was self-​serve and had plenty of choices from satay to sesame to ponzu.
Got the spicy tonkatsu flavor — not spicy enough but flavor was there. A little salty for my taste but it was still good. I ordered the angus snow beef which was nicely marbled and had very little fat. Good quality meat. Side dishes had plenty of cabbage, corn, couple pieces of tofu, bok choy, fish cake, mushroom and imitation crab. Comes with an egg and choice of rice or udon.
Happy hour beers and sake are available also. Only downside is that there seems to be just one person waitressing, taking orders, manning the entire restaurant. I only got 1 soup refill and basically ended up with barely any soup left toward the end which turned extremely salty. Never refilled our drinks till we had to ask. She was very nice but you can tell she was just spread a little too thin. Otherwise she was fantastic.
I don’t know if I would pick this over Jazz cat but the meat quality is definitely better IMO.

Hmm didn’t realize that there was a Shabu in this area. A bit hidden because people tend to drive by this building without really noticing.
Ambience: A bit tiny, and people usually enter through the back since that’s where the parking is. A bit weird, but ok. They have seats on the counter as well as tables.
Service: I came around 1:30PM, and place was pretty much empty. So obviously they had time to serve us fast. No complaints here.
Food: I ordered the spicy tonkotsu, with the angus beef, medium size. Portions were not that filling, but it comes with some veggies and a side choice of either glass noodles, udon, or rice. Towards the front, there’s a DIY sauce station. Not too many choices, but a good enough selection to get the type of flavors you want. As for the quality of the beef, it was alright. Not the best, compared to other places I’ve had, and the soup base was just ok. Also got their sweet potato fries, and they only gave us ketchup as the dip. Doesn’t really go well together.
Overall: Not a bad place to eat at. Pricing is around $ 16 for the angus medium size during lunch, which ends at 2:30pm. They’re closed for a bit after that. If you’re looking for the best quality shabu shabu, this probably wouldn’t be the place, but still worth trying.