Hoshigaoka at Eat Paradise@Isetan is the answer to KL’s shabu-shabu drought. Devised by Japanese food consultant Kutami-san, the minimal menu at Hoshigaoka includes shabu-shabu hotpot sets, each consisting of meat slices (Australian wagyu, premium local pork or both), aemono (a banchan-like appetiser of dressed seasonal ingredients in small bowls), vegetables and three dipping sauces (sobatsuyu for pork, gomadare and ponzu soy for beef) to complement the flavours of the meat.
Upon order, a bronze pot of dashi (made from katsuobushi, shiitake and a single piece of konbu) on a burner arrives at the table, and one can start swishing paper-thin slices of meat (dip them for no more than five seconds) in the bubbling broth in no time at all. Rice bowls (ginger pork, sha-wagyu sukiyaki rice bowl and more) are also available.