Sweet Home Cafe

Dinner with friends last night at a Taiwanese shabushabu restaurant in town. It was part of our monthly "Ethnic Night," which is basically where we try different ethnic foods once-a-month. It's a great way to check out different restaurants with different flavors, and make time for each other. Although, I have to admit it's been quite awhile since we've gotten together. It began as a group of six, but two have moved to the mainland, and one was not feeling well, so we were down to three last night.

It was freezing last night, so soup was the perfect way to warm up. We had a split pot with spicy soup on the left and curry soup on the right. My friend thought it would be nice if they could split it four ways, then you could have a soup sampler sort of deal. =) Basically, the soup is your base and you have to pick out what kind of meat and veggies you want to add inside. We had a mix of pork, lamb, and beef tongue: all thinly sliced, so it's hard to distinguish one from the other, especially because of the tasty soups, so this is a great way to introduce yourself to meat that you may not otherwise see yourself eating.

For the vegetables and other extras, you walk to the refrigerators and pick them out yourself. It is very much like Genki sushi in that different color plates have their own set prices. Ended up with Chinese cabbage, lobster balls, and some kind of Chinese doughnuts: all to be soaked/cooked in the soup. 

Dessert was compliments of the house, which was a coffee-jello shave ice. I thought that it was a nice contrast to the soups. It was not too sweet. And, knowing that it costs you nothing extra makes it even more enjoyable. 

So, I didn't take too many pictures, but you get the idea. It was about $47 for everything, with tax. The receipt was a bit hard to understand, because everything was labeled ShabuShabu, lol. I should've taken a picture.

I think the only downside is parking. They have a parking lot, but there aren't very many spaces, and they share it with other restaurants around them. So, just be prepared to look for street parking. I was lucky enough to find a space during my third trip around the lot. My friend had to park down the street and around the block. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars