House of Shabu Shabu II in Anaheim

Starting the new year off right with some good AYCE hot pot and some good ol' sushi rolls. It was a cold winter start to the new year, so this place hit the spot. They also have halal options for my friends out there! Came in on an off hour that was after lunch but not yet dinner. Be sure to put your name down on the waitlist in front of the store. Even during this time there was still a wait. It wasn't too long to be seated. This restaurant is located within the 99 Ranch plaza and close to a Daiso across the way. The place reminds me of Jazz Cat a bit but without the induction cooker too far away. Tables were a bit small for 2 seaters, but made it work. They also have booth seating as well for larger groups. Staff was great! I can see that they are a bit under staffed during this time, but once the dinner rush hit, more workers came in. They were pretty attentive in bringing all the items that were ordered. The meat were really thin and went very well with the dipping sauces (ponzu and the other sesame creamy one). In addition to hot pot, yes...

I mean it's a hotpot place.   Pretty hard to mess up hot water.  Most of the time.  Our server was new; and it showed, so we'll cut him slack.   We were told at the door that masks were required to enter, so we we put 'em on. Then we walked five feet to our table where we proceeded to take our masks off. Common sense doesn't come with hot water.   Honestly, in a pandemic, I don't mind mask requirements. I mind rude hostesses.   Hot water was good; meats were ok; sushi was gas station q...

I would recommend this restaurant for only the shabu, but I would avoid getting the sushi included option. I knew it being $35 a meal was a bit sketch, but nonetheless I enjoyed the meal, but just throwing my two cents so you know what you're getting yourself into. Food Quality - I would give this a 2 star simply because all the food here was mediocre. The salmon and the eel (I'm assuming) was not freshly cut from a sushi man and was simply taken out of a freezer and placed on top of rice that was prepared the same way. Then goes the veggie tempura, I think the veggie tempura was made from scratch, however tempura is usually much thinner, it was so thick to the point that the veggies were almost not cooked at all. Finally, with the shabu broth and meat, this was honestly the best part of the meal, but was still very mediocre. The broth didn't taste like it was genuinely made as well, it literally tasted like water and powder and even looked like it. The meat was also overly chewy and lower qu...