Shabuza Japanese Hot Pot

We were a bit saddened when we came here and found out that Hot Mama had sold Shabu Shabu and retired back in Japan. However, the new owner (whom I believed worked with Hot Mama) has kept the same welcoming atmosphere. The food is also just as it was with Hot Mama. Honestly, if they had said that she was just at home that night, we never would’ve known that it was under new management. That’s a great sign.
Meats are flavorful and the sides are delicious and definitely taste homemade versus some random store bought stuff put into unmarked containers. Service is quick and everyone is very attentive. They even still make ramen out of the left over water once you’re done with your meal.
Only downside? The new owner didn’t walk around sharing beers with the customers as Hot Mama was so well known to do. Oh well. Maybe that’ll come in time.

I’ve been to Kyoto Japan and let me say… this is just as good if not better. We drive from laguna beach just to enjoy.
Kumi is a doll, sweet and her sauce is amazing! Make sure you make a reservation.

First time coming here and who I presume is the owner was very nice and wakes up through how to do everything. Good was great. We’ll be back.

So GOOD! My family and I love to eat here. So fun to cook your food. My boys love it. The ponzu sauce is the BEST! We love the salad to start, and the large beef Shabu! You will love anything you get.

Deliciousness in a bowl. And lovely, friendly staff also. Tip: very popular on Friday night so make reservations in advance. Ask Pika or Tammy for assistance if you need it.

We wanted to give this place a try since they have 4.5 stars on Unilocal and we were also in the neighborhood.
First of all, we made a reservation for dinner and when we arrived noticed there were a lot of people waiting. Even after letting them know that we had a reservation they didn’t seem to care, they served all those people who were waiting first before seating us which didn’t make any sense. What’s the point of making a reservation then?
Second, I quickly noticed they (workers/​owners) are not Japanese and this is not a very good sign since I’m very picky when it comes to Japanese food, especially shabu shabu. I hardly eat out shabu because I know how to make an awesome authentic shabu at home.
Third, when they brought the hot pot, I noticed it was just a plain water (no dashi of any kind) with TINY piece of seaweed. Also the Goma and Ponzu dipping sauce were not good. Goma was very watery and not much flavor. Ponzu was very sour kinda tasted like a cheap bottle.
We both got the regular size rib eye which came with cabbage, weird looking noodles (cheap Udon looking) spinach, TINY TINY enoki and 2 TINY tofu.
They took forever to bring out the meat after serving us veggies and rice instead of at the same time. Meat quality wasn’t great either. I mean seriously can’t think of one thing I liked about this place.
Simple meal like this you can really tell the quality and unfortunately it wasn’t there.
One lady was trying to be nice and talking to all the customers, even cooking the food and putting them in people’s bowls and pouring sauce on their rice, which I personally found super annoying. When I eat shabu I like to cook it at my pace, and I don’t like people messing with my food. (I’m the type that prefers yakiniku over korean BBQ.)
It seemed like I was the only Japanese customer and now I get why this place has such great reviews. If you don’t know any better and are not familiar with real shabu, go ahead and try it but if you know your Japanese food then avoid this place.

This is such a cozy place ! Fantastic service and food is outstanding! I drove 20 miles to go there!

Last night we hosted a birthday party with a group of ten people. They took amazing care of us. The food was of such high quality and absolutely delicious as usual. They always go above and beyond! I ordered my «usual» which is the regular sized ribeye which comes with wonderful fresh cabbage, mushrooms, spinach, noodles, tofu and rice. It’s plenty of food for me and they used the broth for ramen noodles which she kindly let me take to go and will be the perfect lunch today. Thank you again Tammy! Hot Mama passed this healthy, wonderful place into great hands. See you next week ;)

Shabuza is the best Japanese Hot Pot I have had so far… Pika and her mom, Tammy took over this restaurant from Crazy Mama, who retired several months ago. The food menu is the same and I think they added a few different desserts to it. Everything we have tried there is excellent! The beef is very good quality meat and sliced thinly for a perfect swish swish in the hot pot of water. I suggest trying the ramen with poached egg. It finishes the meal off nicely after the meat has been cooked in hot pot. For desert, try the Thai tea sundae. It’s yummy and not too sweet. My husband and I go there about 2 – 3 times a month for a healthy meal with very personable owners and workers alike.

When hot mama was the owner, this place was deserving of a solid 4 star rating, if not 5 stars! The new owner seems very nice, but the quality of the shabu does not compare. The ponzu was nowhere near as delicious as hot mama’s.
This was just «okay» shabu, with good service (thus 3 stars instead of 2). This location worked in the past because it was worth it to drive all the way to a strip mall for Hot mama’s. I’d love to see this place get better, but until then I’ll go to Sakura shabu shabu in Lake Forest for shabu that’s south of Irvine.

I’ve been to many shabu shabu restaurant and this one is the worst one. The peanut was bland and they do not have hot drops. The presentation is generic and also the service. There’s not a lot of shabu shabu in Mission Viejo. Will not be coming back. I don’t think this place deserves 4 stars.

1. Nice place to be with family & friends. Kumi the owner is very friendly & amazing to all
the customers.
2. Make reservation
3. Great meal started with gyoza
4. Excellent meat plates. The meat is perfect slices of thinness. There are three different
sizes. Remember, Shabu Shabu means swish swish in english. One swish for rare,
two for medium rare, three for medium, and four for well done
5. Veggies usual cabbage, mushroom, tofu, udon noodle mix
6 Amazing Ponzu the secret to shabu shabu. Kumi has garlic, onion, radish, and her specialty «hot mama» sauce she adds depending on your preferences.
7. Extras: ramen and green tea ice cream. The ramen is made from scratch and Kumi
makes it right in front of you. The green tea ice cream is a must…
Loved it…

Hot mama was amazing! This really is the best SHABU spot around and pretty much the only SHABU spot around. New owners are great. Always be sure to call ahead to ensure you can get a reservation it is smaller spots fill up quickly but it is definitely worth the wait if there is only a 9:15 PM reservation available.
Also, there hours are a bit all over the place. so DEFINITELY call ahead to ensure they are open :)

Loved this place!!! Amazing service and all the information we got from all the waitress and the lady in charge was amazing.
Maria was awesome and the main lady made us a ramen soup because it was our first time and she was great.
I will invite y’all to try this place and live the experience. If you’re going at night make sure you make a reservation. We lucked out but she advised us to do so because it’s gets very packed since the place is kind of small. So don’t forget to do that and live the experience.
I do recommend this place. Enjoy it and see the pics to get a just of it.
Love

Probably my favorite shabu place and it’s awesome that it’s so close to home. I’ve been here a few times, but haven’t been here for a while since last night. This place is super local, a real neighborhood place. My Brother loves shabu and he’s been asking for it so we made reservations for three here last night. Our reservation was for 5:45pm, My Aunt and I got there on time and my Brother met us a little later around six. When we got there we were the first ones there, but it didn’t take long for this place to fill up. We just ordered drinks and waited for my brother to show up. I got their special lemonade which was really cool. It starts out blue, but when you stir it turns pink. I noticed that Hot Mama isn’t here anymore. Also they changed their name to Shabuza. I later found out that Hot Mama retired and gave her business away to a girl that worked here. So the owner changed, but it’s pretty much the same. When my Brother texted us that he was on his way we ordered.
Sticking to my diet I got their large ribeye beef shabu, no rice or noodles. Our veggies came first and since I didn’t have rice I asked for an extra sauce bowl for that addictive Hot Mama sauce. My Brother came before we got our beef. He had some misunderstandings with his order. He originally ordered the regular order of beef, but then I told him I thought he wanted the large. So before he got his beef he asked to have it changed which they did. I ate almost all my veggies when my beef came. Sliced to order, never frozen, Angus ribeye beef. So good. I got the large which is nine ounces. I like my beef still a bit red so I always take it out of the pot before it gets totally cooked. The beef is always melt in your mouth, never gristly or hard. It has just the right amount of fat too. I ate every last piece of my meal. Super satisfying and I stayed on my low carb diet. Every little thing here is delicious from the fresh Napa cabbage to their sliced to order beef and the service is just as good as the food. Super friendly staff that treat you with hospitality. I think I’ll start coming here more often.

No place compares! Real Japanese, homemade sauces and quality meats. We’ve grown up here at Shabu since my 17 year old was a baby! We are so sad that Hot Mama Kumisan is retiring but she deserves it and Shabu Shabu is left in good hands! So glad we made it in to say goodbye.

I have been coming here for at least 10+ years. It is my all time favorite place. We have celebrated so many things here and love Kumi! We enjoy the local atmosphere is great and always fun! The food is amazing and all her sauces are made special by Kumi! I recommend it a 100%! Very important to make a reservation!

Came in to satisfy my craving for Shabu. Always yummy. Sad to hear that she will be retiring in 6 weeks. Will definitely eat here a few more times until then.

You should definitely make a reservation here for dinner as this place will get packed. I saw so many parties get politely turned away by «hot mama.»
First off hot mama is why this place is off the chain. Her personality, the way she treats her guest, is amazing and I can see why she has frequent customers and it’s because of her everyone’s having a great time. I guarantee she’ll make you smile at least once.
I ordered the rib eye and I do appreciate that it was fresh and cut perfectly. It was the best ribeye of ever had. However, what bummed me out was the goma sauce. It was bland and watery which is a shame cause that is one of my favorite dipping sauces.
Vegetables you received were your traditional cabbage, enoki mushrooms, spinach, and couple pieces of tofu. And of course ordered some sake.
This would be a 3 star place but hot mama is so sweet and takes care of her guests that she deserves that extra star.

This is the most authentic/​traditional and therefore delicious Japanese Shabu restaurant you will ever come across! Each shabu shabu is independently owned, and the owner Kumi, is there every day to wish her customers well and educate everyone on the proper way to eat shabu. See below to see why this place is so great!
1. Ponzu: this is the secret to shabu shabu. It takes two days to make it properly here and it’s absolutely addicting. Kumi has garlic, onion, radish, and her specialty «hot mama» sauce she adds depending on your preferences.
2. Meat: The meat served here is the perfect amount of thinness and it’s never over frozen. There are three different sizes. I personally am a fan of the mega eater. But for most people, that would feed two. Remember, Shabu Shabu means swish swish in english. One swish for rare, two for medium rare, three for medium, and four for well done. They filter out the fat at the top here. Most places don’t put that much care into their service :).
3. Veggis: Not much to say. They have the usual cabbage, mushroom, tofu, udon noodle mix. Complements the ponzu well!
4. Extras: ramen and green tea ice cream. Trust me and try it. The ramen is made from scratch and Kumi makes it right in front of you. The green tea ice cream is a must if you want to try a more asian-​y dessert.
5. Starter: i like the gyoza :)
6: Décor: This place is the real deal. Kumi has sugar and salt right outside her doorstep. She has a lot of Japanese décor. I love that she has a board of all her old clients that have come and gone and sent pictures from far away.
7. Seating: This is a true shabu bar. The restaurant has a u-​shaped ring of burners that the boiling water is served on.