2nd Floor, SM City Baguio
Baguio City, Benguet
(074) 446-6853 to 54
Last March, my mother and I travelled to La Union to light a candle on daddy's grave on his 8th death anniversary, and because two days out of town wasn't enough, we decided to take a side trip to Baguio City, where we met sister. She wasn't able to come with us to La Union because of work, but she was able to take a weekend off, much to our delight.
Upon checking in at our chosen hotel, we went to SM Baguio to eat lunch - just a quick eat out at KFC - then we spent the afternoon roaming around Session Road, which was closed at the time to make way for different shops from all over the country.
The weather that time was very good - sunny in the afternoon, but the air still gave a much needed chill. However, my body cannot really cope up with chilly weather, so for dinner, the only request I had was to eat something soupy. Sister only had one thing in mind -- Mini Shabu-Shabu.
My early memories of eating shabu-shabu was way back when my father was still alive, us eating at a Chinese restaurant. I wasn't so impressed with that particular shabu-shabu, so it never became a "favorite." Years after, we were able to eat at a buffet allowing guests to cook their own shabu-shabu, which was okay, but maybe because my lack of shabu-shabu cooking skills had me eating a not-so-good pot of comfort goodness.
This set included beef strips and prawns. The other set we ordered was the simplest set - one with only the veggies, noodles, and balls. All sets have this basic plate, the others will just depend on the add-ons they prefer. Though we ordered two different sets, we decided to cut the beef and prawns in two, which gave us two pots of the same set.
I can now say that shabu-shabu is indeed a pot of comfort, but I realized one thing - I pretty much preferred the basic set, I wasn't so crazy about the beef and prawns, even if prawns is one of my favorite food. The next time we eat shabu-shabu, I will just go for the balls.
Although each set is good for one person, it is actually good for sharing. The basic set (if I remember correctly) was 390 pesos, while the set with beef and prawns is about 600 pesos. We didn't feel the need to buy drinks anymore (they offer drinking water, by the way), so the 900 pesos total bill was actually good for us, since we do spend something like that whenever we eat out.
If the Baguio weather is getting colder for you, do know that there is Mini Shabu-Shabu at SM City Baguio to warm and comfort you.
*** Jenn ***
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my