Shabu Shabu Station
2803 S. Diamond Bar Blvd.
Diamond Bar
909-839-2560
Talk about a world of difference. After trying mole at La Casita Mexicana the day before, and getting great service, I tried shabu shabu and had a terrible dining experience.
Since it was raining and cold, I figured having shabu shabu would be a great idea. I got the Shabu Shabu set, $8.88, with six slices of Angus beef, tofu and vegetables, including napa cabbage, seaweed, carrots, enoki mushrooms, green onions, udon noodles, rice noodles, steamed rice and two sauces, ponzu and sesame. I got the hot and spicy soup base.
The idea is to put all the veggies and meats into the soup and enjoy. The tofu and veggies were fresh and plentiful. The angus beef was sliced thin, a bit fatty, but pretty tender. The soup was just too spicy for me. I should have gotten the regular soup.
I thought this was pretty good overall and a good price.
What wasn't good was the service. I was taking picture of the food as usual, and after a couple pictures, they said I couldn't take pictures. I told them, if I'm paying for the food, I'm taking pictures. They didn't say anything to me after. I checked Yelp and there are pictures of the food from Shabu Shabu. Hmmmmmmm. If restaurants have a no picture policy, it should be posted for all to see. Unless I see that sign, I'll take pictures for as long as I want. The servers didn't come around that often and weren't the most friendly.
When the check came, I forgot I had use most of my cash at another store before going to Shabu Shabu Station. So I showed the server my ATM card and told them I would go there, get cash and come back. He actually said no that wouldn't work and wanted ID. Actually, at first he said something like we accept credit cards. But how stupid!!! I would think all restaurant would prefer cash instead of having to pay bank fees on credit cards. I told them, you can watch me get the cash, if you want. So I walked to the the ATM, which was about 3-4 stores down, got the cash and paid them. I can understand asking for ID, if the ATM is a long way away but this ATM is about 3-5 stores down from the restaurant. No need for them to ask for ID. I mean, they can watch me walk to the ATM. I only left a 25 cent tip. They didn't even deserve that.
A terrible dining experience!!! I will never go to this place again. The food was good and fairly priced. But the service was among the worst I've ever had.
Shabu Shabu is a Japanese style dining. The owners are Chinese. But the food is Japanese style.
