- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Ayame Shabu Shabu Hot Pot
Category: Restaurants Japanese Japanese [Edit]
Orchard Hills Village Center3923 Portola Pkwy
Irvine, CA 92620
(714) 544-2800
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30 am - 2 pm
Mon-Thu, Sun 5 pm - 9:30 pm
Fri-Sat 5 pm - 10 pm
Sat-Sun 12 pm - 3 pm
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
75 reviews for Ayame Shabu Shabu Hot Pot
Review Highlights
-
"i love the spicy miso and tonkatsu broth." In 13 reviews -
"...us we were able to try quite a bit of the different broths." In 4 reviews -
"I absolutely love their dipping sauces, the sesame one is..." In 4 reviews
Loading...
75 reviews in English
-
Review from Linda N.
4/5/2012
This place is surprisingly small and cute...the wait must be aggravating because of how small it is!?
But there was no wait for me! Came here at around 8:30 so it wasn't too bad. It definitely reminded me of Jazz Cat in San Gabriel. I love love LOVE Jazz Cats hot pot, so this place is going to be a top regular favorite for sure in the near future.
it's a little far deep in Irvine though.
The veggies were plentiful! For one of the sides you get this weird chicken paste called Tsumire where you can scoop into your soup base with a cute little spoon. So cute! I opted for the soy milk base, YUM. It tasted creamy and delicious with the meats and veggies..
My friends got the Spicy Miso and Tonkotsu. Wasn't a fan of the Spicy Miso but then again my review is biased because I'm not a fan of spiciness.
This place is originally a sushi place so the stoves were portable.
The Saki bottles and cups were very cute also but I feel like I was getting jipped a little..
I'll be coming back soon! -
Review from Tommy H.
Irvine, CA
5/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
Small Place, Large Menus
3.5 stars
no seriously, this place has some pretty large sized menus. could probably double as a room divider.
i order the Asian Spicy Nabe:
- broth: has a spicy kick, but nothing overbearing, makes a nice soup with the glass noodles and ramen.
- ingredients: tasted fresh, i liked the ground pork? chicken? served in the bamboo tube.
the Nabe combinations seemed to contain more variety then the shabu shabu menu. the shabu choices contained more variety of veggies, where the Nabe had shrimp, sausage, ramen, and glass noodles.
i thought this place was a solid shabu place, lots of broth choices. but for around the same price (~$25) Red Pot in Garden Grove is AYCE. -
Review from Kristin A.
Irvine, CA
5/1/2012 2 Check-ins Here
The short of it:
- great japanese shabu shabu/hot pot restaurant
- excellent variety of flavored broths
- can make your own shabu shabu or select from pre-made selections
- reasonably priced and you get a good amount of food
- Favs: Tonkotsu Chanko Nabe
The long of it:
I was pleasantly surprised by this place. The food is delicious and they have quite the selection of meats, veggies, and items to add to your hot pot. I went with the Tonkotsu Chanko Nabe, (nabe apparently means hot pot) and the flavor of the broth was really good! I highly recommend it. The nabe came with so many items, chicken, cabbage, bok choy, bean sprouts, shitake mushroom, enoki mushroom, tofu sausage, ground chicken, salmon, shrimp, ramen, and rice (those are most of the things I could think of off the top of my head). They give you plenty of food so there's really no need to order extra items. If you are not into the hot pot thing, they also have sashimi, rolls, salad, and sukiyaki. Overall, it's a great place for lunch or dinner. I can't wait to come back here, I defrinitely want to try the tomato nabe and the matcha panna cotta for dessert (unfortunately I was too full for dessert)! -
Review from Alex P.
4/26/2012 1 Check-in Here
I'm no shabu shabu newb or anything but Ayame was my first experience with broth instead of just plain water and I must say this was awesome. Honestly, why don't more shabu places offer broth choices? It lends so much more flavor to the veggies and the meat, it just makes sense! Come on shabu shabu restaurants, let's make this happen.
Anyway, Ayame is settled in the middle of some cookie cutter Irvine shopping center. Without Yelp I would never have assumed that a shabu shabu place would be here but with a little research, my friend and I decided to give this place a try. So we settled into this cute little restaurant for some dinner after a long day of work.
Service was quick and helpful. The waitress helped us settle on ordering two regular orders of the angus beef, which because of the separate orders, we also got to choose two different broths. We opted for the tonkotsu and the miso chanko (spicy miso) which were recommended as the most popular of the different broth choices. For my tastes, I think I preferred the miso chanko which had just a bit of heat and added a good amount of flavor to the accompanying veggies. Regardless, of the broth, I still made good use of the ponzu and goma which were both very good. My only gripe is that the meat portions were a bit small and I was confused about the lack of noodles. I was under the impression that the order came with either udon or ramen noodles but maybe I'm wrong and you have to order that a la carte.
After dinner we also had to try the Matcha (green tea) panna cotta. Being a fan of all things green tea, we were not disappointed. The panna cotta was creamy, light, and delicious. If only the portion was a little bigger, that'd be amazing but regardless, I'd definitely recommend it. -
Review from Ray T.
Irvine, CA
4/20/2012
This place is in portola. If you don't know where that is, I don't blame you. Portola is to central Irvine what Orange County is to LA. You probably know some people that live there but there's no reason whatsoever you'd ever want to visit. To put things in perspective, it took 20 mins to get there from the 5 fwy by side street. I can get to ROWLAND in 20 mins from where I live in Irvine.
Despite the distance I felt I needed to try this place...for the 2nd time. Yes, after multiple trips to Shish, House of Shabu Shabu and now Ayame, I feel I'm now qualified to do SHABU DEATHMATCH!
House of Shabu Shabu vs. Ayame vs. SWISH
Category 1: The Meat
Ayame has the standard cuts of meat to choose from: angus, ribeye, prime rib eye and the like. The meals are sorted into a la carte options as well as "nabe" and "sukiyaki" options. Unique to Ayame is the option to pick your broth, a la jazz Cat. Because I am a complete savage and lacking any sort of desire to know the difference between all the choices, I just I asked for Ribeye and Curry broth, double-time. Actually I didn't say double-time, I said please. Good manners are sexy. The meat was a good portion, smaller than SWISH but more marbled.
Both are head and shoulders above House of Shabu Shabu. As good as Harry has been to us in the past, the place hasn't been the same since some lady with unintended acceleration plowed into the front. The cuts of meat are thicker and narrower than either of the other places. Any thicker and you would have to call it "House of Boil the Stewed Chuck."
Verdict: SWISH by a hair over Ayame.
Category 2: The Broth
Ayame has a list of 10 or so broths to choose from. The curry was pretty tasty. I put ramen in it and it tasted exactly like the curry udon at Gohan and you know I liked that. SWISH lets you choose between just water and sukiyaki (with a 2 dollar up charge) and HoSS lets you choose between water and GTFO.
Verdict: Ayame, by a lot. SWISH second.
Catagory 3: Everything Else
All the places pretty much serve the same veggies, noodles and appetizers so there's no point in going into great detail here. Ayame and HoSS have a stripmall Japanese aesthetic going on while SWISH at least attempts to look modern.
Verdict: SWISH, just the because the general ambiance is better.
So the final verdict? I would say a tie between SWISH and Ayame. You can't really go wrong with either. -
Review from Michelle R.
Fullerton, CA
3/28/2012 1 Check-in Here
I really liked the menu, and the variety of broth. They give you plenty of vegetables, and a reasonable amount of meat. I ordered the lunch portion of the pork, and was surprised it was about 4 or 5 ounces of meat.
I gave it -1 stars because the service is slow. There were only 2 servers, and my supposedly 1 hour lunch turned out to be 2 hours.
I'd go back if I had the luxury of an extra long lunch. -
Review from Lisa E.
Orange, CA
3/28/2012
Now everyone knows I love Jazz Cat Restaurant as well as the Shabu Shabu Bar (SSB) but they are 2 completely different things. One is Hot Pot and the other is Shabu.
Jazz Cat (Hot Pot) has FLAVORED BROTH served with the appropriate dipping sauce.
SSB (Shabu) has no flavored broth... its just PLAIN WATER. Their dipping sauce is Goma Sauce and Ponzu Sauce.
If you read my past reviews, these 2 places are on my top 3 places to eat (The 3rd place is Boiling Crab). Jazz Cat #1, Boiling Crab #2, and Shabu Shabu Bar #3.
What I like about these places:
Jazz Cat's Spicy Miso Soup with sesame sauce.
Shabu Shabu Bar's Goma and Ponzu Sauce.
Well, with Ayame, you can COMBINE the two! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It took pins and needles for me to betray my Jazz Cat but this was closer to home and they had spicy miso soup.
Their food is not as heavy which is good especially if I had too much Jazz Cat or the SSB. Dont get me wrong, I LOVE HEAVY but RARELY, I need something light.
At Ayame, I get their Spicy Miso Soup and it comes with the Goma sauce and Ponzu sauce! The only thing that is missing is the habanero drops... which I guess I can live without here :)
I wasn't disappointed at all with this place. Instead I was really happy to find a place that had both things I love from Hot Pot and Shabu (of course on a lighter side (not heavy).
So when I'm feeling lazy, this is the place I go to to satisfy my Jazz Cat/ Shabu Shabu Bar cravings. Killing 2 birds with one stone!
Enjoy! -
Review from Gab T.
Irvine, CA
3/21/2012
I've had better quality meat (I ordered Shabu Shabu) and the broths we tried were very oily, I didn't feel good after.
Overall it wasn't bad or anything but I've had better. I do want to try their rolls but their special rolls were like $12-$14 and that's about as much an entire shabu meal costs. -
Review from Anton E.
Dana Point, CA
3/14/2012
I've been here twice recently, and both times did not disappoint. The food was terrific, and the service was good.
On both occasions, I did the Shabu Shabu with Prime Rib Eye, and the Konbu broth. Vegetables came out fresh, and bountiful: they really pile on the napa cabbage for you. I also like that they give you variety of things like Japanese pumpkin, Shitake mushrooms, and Tsumire (a fish meatball that they put raw on a bamboo stick). Oh, and the Prime Rib Eye was good too.
I've always gone on a weekday night, so I never had a problem getting a seat or anything. Service was prompt and friendly too. -
Review from kris s.
Huntington Beach, CA
3/30/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place is really cute. It's a sushi as well as a hot pot place, but I suggest sticking to the hot pot only.
Their soup bases all look pretty good and if you go for lunch their prices are decent.
I tried the spicy miso and wasn't disappointed. Lunch special comes with a tray of meat, soup and veggies and rice or noodles.
It's a small restaurant in a really nice area. Check it out! :) -
Review from Anita L.
2/8/2012
My son was wanting shabu shabu/hotpot so after a little bit of researching and asking a few friends, we decided upon Ayame. The choice of broth is interesting. Generally it's one broth style and that's it. We ordered one spicy miso, one Asian spicy and one soy milk (suggested by my friend).
We also got one order each of Kobe beef, Prime Rib Eye and Seafood. If you order a combo, then you also get rice and a plate of assorted vegetables with it.
The pots are brought out to the table and it really does cramp up the table. We had no room left after all the proteins and vegetables were brought out. With rice, your two bowls of sauces etc I got frustrated by the amount of clutter on the table with no room to maneuver.
Sesame sauce and ponzu sauce are provided along with condiments of grated daikon, scallions and garlic which you can mix yourself to your liking for dipping your proteins in.
Seafood plate includes green lip mussels, scallops, shrimps, squid and salmon. Kobe beef is nicely marbled and about $35 for the combo and about $20 to order an an extra. I suggest the Prime Rib Eye -- it was a quality cut and pretty tasty.
In the vegetable plate were baby bok choy, napa cabbage, carrot, shiitake mushroom, imitation crab, and a hollowed out bamboo with a ground chicken paste you can make meatballs with.
The soy milk broth was unique and I liked how it made the meat taste -- but if you are going to dip it into the ponzu or sesame anyway it really doesn't matter what broth you get because you're going to mask the taste of the meat anyway. If you like it au naturel, then the soy milk flavor comes through and enhances the meat.
I thought service was okay. A few times we had to call out to them for the gas canister to be replaced. Other than that, water was refilled, extra broth was also promptly provided.
The only thing which irked me was the fact that there is an automatic 18% gratuity added to the check -- and there were 3 of us. not 8 people. -
Review from Candice K.
Irvine, CA
2/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
Tokyo, Japan. Momo Paradise. High-quality all-you-can-eat shabu shabu and sukiyaki. The memories alone are enough to make me salivate.
And all those memories came flooding back to me with the first gaze at Ayame's lovingly-crafted pot of simmering sweet broth and vegetables. Beautiful marbled cuts of meat, a bevy of fresh side dish choices, 3 types of noodles, and even a jidori egg for dipping. Oh my.
Upon entering this modern establishment, I couldn't help but notice how empty it was. It might've been because it was barely 6 PM, but Zov's next door was bustling with movement. Quite unfortunate, considering this place serves up way better food.
And that fact was confirmed with my first peek into the teacup (free hot tea, by the way). Deep jade green, obviously made with good matcha powder. Fragrant and delicious.
So going against the grain, we decided on sukiyaki instead of shabu shabu, only because there are a billion and one shabu shabu places around; seldom can you find good sukiyaki in Orange County.
2 orders minimum, both beef at around $20 each. Pricy but worth it. We also added on an extra plate of prime ribeye and some Kurobuta sausage.
Each table comes equipped with a small burner. Don't let the dinky size and the fact that it's not integrated into the table fool you; this thing is powerful. Japanese engineering = awesome miniature gas stoves that heat your pot in a jiffy.
I asked for a noodle substitution, which they normally don't do (no big deal), but the server went the extra mile and asked the kitchen staff to do it for me. We ended up with udon, ramen, and rice noodle in our pot! Yummy. Next time, though, I'm just going to make life easy for them and go with either all udon or all ramen.
Most of the stuff we had tasted great, though I personally recommend going with white over brown rice; the brown rice wasn't cooked as well here.
The only other thing I didn't like was the jidori egg, which wasn't at the quality I was expecting. The egg yolk was too yellow, meaning the hen that laid it had too much corn in its diet. I was looking forward to a nice, rich orange egg yolk, which would've made a much tastier dipping sauce.
Other than that, the service was superb, the food was excellent, and overall it was worth the $70 (including tip). We'll definitely be back to try the shabu shabu, which is cheaper. I'm sure my partner will finish all the broth next time, too. So good. -
Review from adam b.
2/25/2012
4.5 Stars Delicious!
Have been to many shabu and hotpot restaurants and this place is very good. Get the spicy miso broth and the beef and you will be happy. The food quality if very high and if you like food with lots of flavor this place will deliver. Cant wait to go back! -
Review from Erica J.
3/5/2012 1 Check-in Here
**TIP: the restaurant is small and hard to find. Make reservations for a large group, but it wasn't too crowded when we went. It's in the nondescript shopping center (look for the McDonald's) across from the gated community on Portola Parkway. Look for the Peet's Coffee and you'll see Ayame right next to it.
Most of the reviews said that this place was an authentic Japanese shabu shabu restaurant and that it was good, so my family and I went there for a birthday dinner. I don't know what's authentic Japanese or not, since I usually go to a Korean place on the edge of Ktown for shabu shabu. It was definitely different from what I was used to, but still very good.
With 6 people, each with his/her own tastes, and the variety of options on the menu, it was chaotic just trying to order, especially when we were all really hungry. Our server was amazing though! She was all smiles and very patient with all of us, even when half the table changed their minds on the order. She answered all my parents and siblings and my questions regarding the menu items and the style of food too. Our tea cups were always full throughout the meal, and we never lacked for anything or had to look around for our server. She was great!
The food was good too. We ordered 3 different broths so that we could get a variety of tastes. We opted not to go with the split bowls (you can get a divided bowl with two different broths), although in retrospect, that would've been a better idea. The three broths: konbu (kelp), white tonkatsu, and Japanese curry style. Then we ordered the different types of meat, in regular or large quantities -- we ordered the large Certified Angus beef, the large Prime Ribeye beef, and the regular Kobe beef. This is where the cost can add up. We actually didn't order any additional vegetables or items beyond the assorted veggies and chicken sausage (tsumire) that came with the shabu shabu, and that was more than enough food, since you get your choice of white or brown rice too.
We also ordered 4 rolls to share, 2 Kiss of Salmon rolls and 2 Oh My God rolls. The latter was really good and interesting because of the rice paper wrapper (instead of seaweed/nori).
Oh, and out of the choices, the white tonkatsu was the best broth in my opinion. It was light enough to let you taste the veggies, but still had enough savoriness to drink the broth on its own. The konbu was too bland for me, and the curry broth was good but too strong. As for the meats, swished around in the broth to cook, they all tasted pretty equally good. I think I liked the Ribeye the most and didn't see the point in getting the Kobe again. But, I'm more into veggies than meat (although the chicken sausages were delicious!).
Next time, it would be fun to diversify a bit and make my own shabu shabu with the various add-ons that they have, like the assorted seafood or mussels or even just getting rice cake and assorted mushrooms to add to the boiling broth. Of course, that would add up in price, but I think that shabu shabu is about the joint cooking experience. It's not a cheap meal.
They also have various pre-set combinations if you just want to order a "nabe" (hot pot) menu item. Those came with noodles or rice porridge to mix into the brown and finish the meal.
Oh, and out of the choices, I
The bill came out to about $25/person, with gratuity already added in. Not bad, considering we all left full after a nice leisurely dinner and we didn't smell of meat or broth or anything else.
Thanks to our server, I think we had an especially good experience at the restaurant. The food was good, but the ambience and the service made it all the better. -
Review from Amy S.
Los Angeles, CA
SHABU SHABU AND SUSHI?!?! Seriously, what more could a girl ask for??
My brother took me here...my 11 year old brother knows his food because this palce was AMAZING. Oh and just in case you have a hard time finding it, it's in the plaza with Zov's.
Recommendations:
Soy Milk Broth: Not for those who do not like cheese, but it does sort of have a cheese-ish flavor, but no joke the best shabu shabu broth I have every had. I mean I DRANK THE SOUP! I NEVER drink the broth after i make shabu shabu...that's seriously saying something. The flavor is so unique and delicious. Definitely try it
Tsumire/Spicy Tsumire: Chicken meatball that comes with your shabu shabu and comes in a bamboo. The presentation is so cute and it's perfect for kids. (my 11 year old brother loves making these things) You basically scoop these things out and plop them into your soup. It helps that it's super delicious and soft and tender. The spicy one is pretty spicy and comes with jalapenos, hot sauce and the meatball itself has little chili pieces inside.
Kiss of Salmon Roll: Super fresh and really good. Salmon on top with red onions and all kinds of delicious. Who knew a shabu shabu restaurant could make such good sushi??
Other things I've tried:
Japanese curry broth: The flavor is really good and goes great with the meat but I just love the soy milk broth too much to let go.
Moral of my review, GO TO THIS PLACE! It's so good and you can make reservations!Listed in: Japanese Cravings
-
Review from tamara w.
Irvine, CA
2/17/2012
Tonkotsu broth. Angus beef. White rice. I've been here 4 or 5 times and have gotten the same thing each time. I know I should branch out but it's just so good that I can't divert from it.
It hasn't been too crowded when I've gone and have only had to wait for a table once. The dipping sauces are pretty good and they give you daikon, garlic, and scallions to put in them. The vegetables that come with the meal are so good- super fresh and filling. I could almost just eat them and not get meat.
This restaurant is becoming a favorite. Since it's so close to my house, getting home before food coma hits is a piece of cake. I'm craving the tonkotsu broth now. I wonder if I can get it to go... -
Review from Diana C.
2/14/2012 1 Check-in Here
High quality shabu shabu. Took my brother and dad here for a light(er) dinner and we all really enjoyed everything. The veggies were fresh and plentiful, the meat was thinly cut to perfection (and perfectly red so you know it's fresh as can be), and the noodles were quite good as well. The dipping sauces were both really good, and I like how you can add condiments to the broth for a little more flavor.
It was pretty inexpensive and the location is very convenient to my brother's house. The service was friendly and nice without being over bearing. Totally enjoyed it! -
Review from Jessica H.
Irvine, CA
So I couldn't control myself...and I went again.
This time I tried the spicy miso nabe.
Service
I think the lady remembers me! Same old VERY friendly and nice. I seriously want to say that the boss there hired the right waitresses. They are just SO friendly. Its like 6 stars for service :D
Food
I have to say shabu shabu is still better given that I have now tried both shabu shabu and nabe. The shabu shabu has more meat and just a better price in general. The veggies for the nabe are about the same as the shabu shabu except for some enoki mushroom, piece of shrimp, chicken and other things. Everything came in very little portions. You get ramen with nabe as for shabu shabu you don't. Overall, I liked it, but the shabu shabu is still better.
Please refer to my picture for the details of whats in the nabe.
Good stuff to try out guys! ;)Listed in: If these places ever close…, Shabu Shabu! Gotta Love it!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
1/15/2012
Service
You really got to love this place for their service. It is as if the waitresses read my mind.… Read more »
-
-
Review from Sara C.
Laguna Hills, CA
4/1/2012
Went here on a Friday night before the rush hour. We ordered the Tom Yum broth with angus beef as the meat. Also we order some sushi rolls to add variety.
I have to say the food quality was just decent and the service was pretty slow.
Food(3.5 stars)
- The beef was not melt in your mouth worthy like the Shabu Shabu House Restaurant in Little Tokyo.
-They skimp on the portions here. A large order of beef is technically other locations small size of beef. Also the broth size is smaller than other shabu shabu locations.
- The sushi rolls were good. I enjoyed them.
Service(2.5 stars)
- Water was not filled very frequently
- Rice was served first without anything else to eat it with. The rest of the food came out 10 minutes later.
- The broth was very low halfway through the meal and no waiter offer to refill it until we finish the meal and were trying to get the check. -
Review from Yvonne C.
1/5/2012 4 Check-ins Here
I would have never known this Shabu place existed if it were not for my fellow Yelpers! Thanks dudes!
Ayame Shabu Shabu is located in Orchard Hills Village Center, which is on the North end of Culver in Irvine. It's a nice, clean and fairly small restaurant tucked in between Zov's and Peet's Coffee. A bit hidden, but you'll find it.
I have tried 2 broths - The Spicy Miso and the Tonkatsu. The tonkatsu broth is my favorite. It's really flavorful and light. I do have to agree with other Yelpers that the meat is sliced pretty thin (I get the Prime Rib Eye), but I personally don't mind. The veggies are fresh and it's usually the first thing to go. I love my veggies! My favorite part of the meal is scooping ground chicken from a hollowed out bamboo stick (tsumire) with the accompanying wooden spoon. Make-your-own-meatballs! Neat! I order a side of Udon (additional $2) to finish up the rest of the delicious remaining broth which I ask for at the end of the meal. Then, I leave (comfortably) full and happy.
I will definitely be back again. It doesn't hurt that it's only a 2 minute drive from Mom and Dad's. It just gives me another reason to visit! :) -
Review from Tiffany H.
Irvine, CA
Updated - 1/12/2012 1 Check-in Here
Came here again with my roommate this past week and Ayame was as delectable as ever. & as always, impeccable service!
* They give more beef than pork (my roomie ordered regular beef & i ordered pork and she definitely had more)
* TONKATSU BROTH/ SPICY MISO.
* TSUMIRE (chicken meatball) FTW.
* Make a reservation to avoid any hassle (the place is rather small)
* They really don't use much A/C here - so warning to the sweaters [ people who sweat easily]: wear dri-fit hahaListed in: HOTPOT/SHABUSHABU…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
1/9/2012
I was on my hot pot/shabu run and I decided to check this place out thanks to yelp!
Ayame is still… Read more »
-
-
Review from Nancy E.
Yorba Linda, CA
12/30/2011
So i just recently discover this cute little place in the middle of a random plaza near my work, and decided to try it out. So far, i've been there 3 times and I've tried their spicy miso hot pot (my fav..very flavorful.. taste good with ramen too), curry hot pot (very light version of curry flavor) and tom yum hot pot (also very light flavor). I feel like this place was a combination of Jazz Cat (Flavor Hot Pots) and Shabu Shabu (Plain Broth with garlic and chives). Their appetizers are small but delicious, i've tried their tofu and their vegetable tempura.
But something about this place that i totally like, it doesn't feel so heavy like most hot pot places... and i feel like i can eat and eat and feel like i'm not so bloated and that it's actually healthy for u. There's even a cute little diagram hung on the wall of ur table to tell you how long you're suppose to cook your vegetables and meats.. .and it also shows you what type of noodles/sides/meat pairs best with your selected broth.
Cant' wait to come back and try other hot pots flavors and soba and other dishes that they have, any recommendations?
Best part is, it's so convenient, if i'm craving hot pot, i don't have to drive all the way to LA to get some, it's completely local. :-) -
Review from Ryo T.
Irvine, CA
12/22/2011
What an interesting place. All of the sudden, the ex-gentleZipangu restaurant became a shabu shabu place? Wait where's the stoves? Ohhhhh they bring those portable ones..interesting.
This place can be best described as interesting. Not interesting as in Au Lac interesting (which is like mystical interesting). Not interesting as in Itriya Cafe interesting (which is like oh, what an interesting concept kind of interesting). It's more like a hmmmmm interesting.
The food is expected, nothing to be blown away about. Doesn't mean that it's nasty though, the food's pretty good! Just expected. But the main reason why I give this place 4 STARS is because unlike other Japanese-style shabu shabu places, you can pick a variety of broths here from rich tonkotsu to tom yum to curry (?).
Interessstingggggggg. Prices are slightly more expensive compared to other shabu shabu places (i.e. OC shabu shabu), but the service and the execution of the dishes makes it up. Vegetables are beautifully assorted in a basket with a traditional bamboo thing thing with minced chicken in it. Very fun to scoop the chicken out to make chicken balls in the broth! Portions are a tad bit smaller too than usual, but it fills the tummy!
I'd definitely come here again, but it's like one of those places that doesn't stand out too much despite its interestingness. Interesting. Maybe I'll return here next year.
Very shabu shabu noob friendly too! The menu has these cute pictures saying which item goes along with which broth and how to cook and how the whole hotpot thing goes.
Service was attentive and nice. Nothing much to quip about. Heck, even the bathrooms are nice and clean, but I can't say much about it. This is a truly interesting place. 3.75 stars! -
Review from Tuyen T.
Westminster, CA
3/5/2012
I normally don't write reviews after the first visit but after the biggest lunch today including shabu, sushi, appetizers and salads I feel like I've tried more than enough for one visit. What sets this place apart from other shabu places is the fact that they carry multiple broths, almost ten that I saw on the menu including curry (a favorite), tomato (healthy), spicy miso, and even a tom yum (thai) broth. If you want to spice up your regular shabu routine then you should definitely check this place out. Besides that everything else was the same setup the only difference I notice was that their sesame/peanut/goma sauce is really different. I usually hand mine back to the staff but decided to try it out and I'm glad I did because it was reeeeally good. Too bad I barely used my dipping sauces since there was so much flavor in the broth already. I tried the tomato and curry broth and both were good nothing great to be honest. Same goes for the sushi and appetizers, basic quality. They also give you tons of veggies especially cabbage so order wisely! If I'm going to continue my weekly shabu orders I'm going to have to stick with regular old seaweed broth.
Also, they don't give you udon or soup base which in my opinion is the best part! Even after a hefty lunch of shabu, sushi and salad, it still wasn't complete without my soup bowl :(. -
Review from Angela T.
Shabu shabu/hot pot has been around FOREVER, but it seems to be enjoying a resurgence of late as I notice so many new restaurants that have been popping up in Orange County. This one is a little out of the way, but I'm glad we discovered it. I really enjoy eating shabu shabu that has flavored soups. It adds nice depth to the meat and veggies.
We ordered two soup bases, the japanese curry and the spicy miso, which worked well because for some bites I wanted a spicy kick and for other bites, I wanted the sauces to stand out more. Ponzu sauce is a staple whenever I eat hot pot, but I usually set aside the peanut sauce because it is usually too "peanut buttery-flavored" or too goopy. Not this one. It was absolutely delicious.
With each vegetable dish, you also get a little wood palette of tsumire, chicken sausage. It tastes like Italian sausage and was fun to scrape off the wood palette and cook in the broth. There is also an extensive menu of sushi, udon and ramen soups and other Japanese staples if you're not feeling for shabu shabu. That means if you're craving shabu but your friend/husband/wife/sister/brother isn't, you can still go here and everybody's happy. -
Review from Yuichi S.
San Pedro, CA
2/23/2012
I'm Japanese and this is a real shabu-shabu place!
-
Review from Leyna N.
Laguna Hills, CA
10/28/2011 11 Check-ins Here
Why didn't I discover this place sooner? Where have you been all my life Ayame? I guess I have been so busy that my active search for the best Hot Pot place was put on hold for quite sometime. Then it all paid off when I randomely found Ayame on Yelp last Friday when I was thinking about going to House of Shabu Shabu in Irvine, which is ok but the traditional broth that tastes like nothing really doesnt cut it for me anymore. By the time it has flavor...i have used half a bottle of soy sauce and lots of salt which I cant imagine is any good for me.
When I saw the reviews for Ayame and see that they offer "Flavored" broth, I was immediately sold. The only other place that offers this would be Red Pot in Garden Grove but they don't have this many options in broth flavor and I am not a huge fan of their personalized sauces. I like choices, but not when there are too many. The other really good Hot Pot/Shabu Shabu place is in West Covina, Ten Shabu....but its too far for me. So I decided I have to give Ayame a try...and I pray that its good.
We got here around 7:30pm and the place was filled so we put down our name for 2, they said the wait would be about 15-20 minutes. There were big groups in front of us but because the restaurant is small, for a large group...the wait would be much longer. After about 15 minutes of waiting we finally got seated before the large groups because a table for two became available.
It took our server awhile to finally come to our table to take our orders...we waited and waited and waited....but once our orders were taken, the rest was fairly quick. We ordered Yellow Tail Jalapeno Roll
which was absolutely amazing....my boyfriend said its the best he had and I must agree. For the hot pot, we ordered two different type of broth (the pot was divided so you had the option to pick two broth) we picked the Asian Miso Chanko Broth and the Asian Spicy Broth with the Certified angus beef which comes with a plate of assorted veggies and brown or white rice. In addition to that, we added a couple of other sides that we like, they have a huge selection of sides.
The Miso Chanko broth was amazing and the Asian spicy broth was just as amazing...I love spicy food so it really hit the spot for me. I do agree with some of the reviews that they also have the best peanut and ponzu sauce! I dont know what's in it....but its super delicious and i had to ask for more. We ended up ordering more beef because it was so great. Our bill came out to about $70.00 not including tips.
This is now my new favorite place for Hot Pot, I really can't wait to come back. I have been craving for it ever since the first time I had it. This is going to be a problem...I just might be a regular here. -
Review from Fuji K.
Seal Beach, CA
11/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
If it wasn't for yelp I am sure I would have never found this place, as it is tucked all the way in the hills in Irvine off Portola. This place is in a very nice shopping center, with ample parking. It seems this a very busy weekend spot as I am sure a majority of their customers are from the numerous surrounding Irvine Properties.
The place is not too large, and you can tell the place used to be a normal sushi restaurant, but has since been converted into a hot pot shabu shabu place.
The menu was easy to understand and they have a large variety of combinations to choose from. This is a Japanese managed establishment owned by the same company as Zipangu, and the service was great and attentive. The servers made sure that you were not lost during your dining experience, explaining how everything works.
The price is also another plus! I mean $13 for a full combination dinner?? Are you serious? That is extremely cheap compared to all the other trendy mediocre shabu shabu places, and the quality of meat and items you get are amazing! I was actually full after leaving Ayame, which is hard to say with many other shabu shabu places that charge high prices and skimp on the meat and overload you with vegetables instead.
If anyone actually complains about the food quality and price on here, I would probably not take any of their yelp reviews seriously, and they are probably just the type of person who likes to be a hater or go against the grain.
Bye for now! -
Review from Eric K.
10/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
Not your Grandmother's Shabu Shabu, this is Shabu Shabu re-invented.
Thought the concept of this place was brilliant, it is intra-Asian fusion dinning. Creative indeed.
The place offers a variety of broth base, not just the traditional kombu-base broth - this I thought was really cool. We got combos with tom yum, spicy miso, and japanese curry based broth. The nabe (pot) was divided into two sections, so each nabe could be used by two people with two different types of broth. The dividing nabe concept was probably adopted from Taiwanese hotpot.
Cost-performance was not bad, but not great either. Meat portions were on the "not quite enough" side. The veggies portion was alright as well. They give you a lot of napa cabbage, but only a few cubes of tofu and only one small button of shiitake mushroom. I am reluctant to give 5-stars because of this.
Brown rice was on offer - a plus. I also ordered ramen as extra item for two dollars, the portion was meh and so was the quality...I think they should either give more ramen for 2 dollars or procure higher quality ramen.
I think the curry based broth was the best amongst the three we got, well, I finished it.
You should go and check it out, their intra-Asian fustion concept is neat and innovative.Listed in: J-Foods
-
Review from Stephanie Y.
Pasadena, CA
12/4/2011 3 Check-ins Here
First off, I'd have to say that I am from the SGV area which is why I have high expectations for shabu shabu restaurants. This place was okay but one of the few shabu shabu places in the Irvine area so I guess I can't complain too much.
I enjoyed the spicy miso soup base and all the vegetables it came with. I was surprised udon was an extra cost, but got it anyways. I didn't like how it was served to me already warm, instead of me cooking it on my own in my hot pot. I also didn't like that they use table burners since mine ran out of gas midway and I had to call one of them over. The place gets pretty busy so service was a bit slow, even though we went around 1:30pm. Their meat slices were very thin in my opinion and not as plentiful as I expected.
Personally, I think it's a bit overpriced for what you pay for. I'll be on a lookout for another go-to shabu shabu place in the Irvine area. -
Review from Kristin C.
Irvine, CA
1/17/2012 1 Check-in Here
i left this place thinking to myself - not bad haha. i have to preface that i actually didn't order a plate of shabu shabu to myself but rather just tried some of Justin B's original broth angus beef order. to me its a standard shabu shabu place - the meat was tender and the dipping sauces were good. some other cool factors that i've never seen before though was having ground chicken served with the veggie plate to cook and there were lots of different options for broth. For example, Steve A. got a spicy miso instead of the original. also thought it was really cool that instead of only offering noodles at the end of the meal to make a soup base...you can order a cup of rice to make porridge/fried rice (believe me itll make more sense if you read the directions that are at your table haha).
in addition to the shabu shabu, ayame still offers a bunch of hot or cold appetizers and specialty rolls - i opted to order this kind of food instead of the shabu. really enjoyed the sesame chicken i ordered that comes along with sort of a mayo sauce. agedashi tofu is always a favorite of mine and then a crunchy roll to complete my meal - i was good haha.
overall i dont mind the menu change that Ayame has put into place. i liked the place before the shabu shabu and i like it still. -
Review from Tammy L.
1/12/2012 1 Check-in Here
"A dollar short and a day late" as my irascible 8th grade math teacher would say.
This describes exactly what Ayame is. All I can summize is that people come here as a sad alternative to making the 20-25 minute drive into civilization to have proper shabu shabu.
Hubby and I came here on a mellow Saturday night when I was feeling a little under the weather and lazy. It was about 15 minutes from us, using surface streets so it didn't feel as length as having to hop on the freeway and going to CM for our favorite place.
From what I can tell, this place was a failed sushi restaurant and the owner didn't want to spare any expensive remodeling. Hence the limited seating and crappy shabu shabu set up.
Here's how it panned out:
The Bad:
Slow service. It took forever for everything to come out. Our salad, our fried tofu, our veggies, our meat. We were there for almost 2 hours...and it was just me and hubby! These guys won't last - with limited seated and slow service, the low table turnover will kill them.
Prices. Expensive. My jaw literally hit the table when I saw the few slices of "prime" ribeye that was laid out in their lacquer box/tray. Really? I ordered a large and while I didn't count, I'm pretty sure it wasn't more than 8 or 9 pieces of meat. Hubby and I had planned to share the meat and that made it really tough. Speaking of tough...
Meat. Prime...really? This meat didn't taste like prime. I know prime...I eat prime regularly. This wasn't prime. It wasn't tough but it wasn't tender either.
Sauce. Lame. Taste-wise. I appreciate they use REAL sesame sauce but it was overly vinegary and sweet (unless it'd gone bad) which is redundant to the ponzu which is already sour.
The Good (but not important):
Veggies: Presentation was pretty, but not really necessary. Needs more variety.
Broth: Great variety though I think it's more of a gimmick than anything else. The spicy miso had a nice kick but not nearly enough for it to be "spicy" in my book.
So yeah. Never coming back. Next time I want shabu shabu, I'll have to remind myself to suck it up and just make the drive. -
Review from amanda r.
Newport Beach, CA
4/22/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place is awesome! The food is amazing. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because its a little too small. If they upgraded the site, it could be the best in so cal
-
Review from Courtney H.
Tustin, CA
3/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
Love love love this place! You get to choose your own broth (tonkotsu is my fav!) and they give you added extras like the sausage and rice cakes. You can even get ramen afterwards, most shabu
Places only offer udon.
They usually give you a 10% off coupon if you come frequently.
Plus the goma and ponzu sauces are awesome! -
Review from Hanna P.
I've been looking for a good shabu shabu place down in the OC area. Everyone keeps raving about California Shabu but I'm the type of girl that likes VARIETY!!!! I'm not a big fan of the plain shabu broth majority of the shabu places serve. So to my surprise, I came to Ayame Shabu Shabu and they had a couple of choices of different broths to choose from! SCORE!
I tried their Tom Yum broth and the soup was spot on to the tom yum's that I get at my favorite thai places! I ended up slurping majority of my broth at the end of my meal bc it was sooo good! One thing that I really enjoyed here at Ayame was their ponzu and sesame/peanut sauce! Surprisingly, their dipping sauce is a little different compared to the other places I've been. I think they add something in there. Definitely taste different but REALLY GOOD!
I do admit though that Ayame's price is a little bit higher but the variety of vegetables and seafood is soooo worth it! I ended up getting the seafood dish than meat and honestly, it was such a good decision that I did. It came with scallops, salmon, mussels, shrimps AND MORE!
The individual burners are a little intimidating. My fire kept going out bc I'm so dumb with working the burners and i was quite scared that it was going to explode or something. Other than that, pretty good shabu place! I ended up liking the place and definitely will come back when I'm craving for some good shabu! -
Review from Matthew S.
Tustin, CA
9/21/2011
The decor of the restaurant is nice, relaxing ambiance.
Tables are slightly small, and the table burners run out of gas mid meal so expect to get a serviced in the middle of your dinner.
Service is silent and quick, little complaints but leaves something to be desired. The Garlic and Goma are very sub-par. the ponzu is actually great, and the rest of the vegetables were very fresh and of a generous amount.
this place could be allot better -
Review from Geri K.
Irvine, CA
8/6/2011
This is one of my favorite shabu shabu restaurants. The neat part is that you get 2 different soup broths to cook your food in. My favorites are the spicy tom yum, spicy miso (can you tell I like spicy!), tonkatsu (milky-but tasty) and the curry broths. There's one burner for each hotpot per person so you don't have to share.
I usually get the regular Angus sliced beef. The meat is thinly sliced like other shabu-shabu places and the quality is excellent! It comes with a lot of veggies: napa cabbage, carrots, shitake mushroom, tofu, broccoli, bok choi, a small flat disk-shaped rice thing, a slice of Japanese sweet pumpkin,a bamboo stick of pork paste and also brown rice. You scoop out the meat paste into the soup to make your own meatballs.
When you finish your meal at Ayame, you feel like you had a healthy, light but very satisfying meal. -
Review from Stephen P.
Tustin, CA
2/21/2012
I am not a fan of most shabu shabu places because the water/broth is tasteless. Ayame solves that problem with a good selection of different broths.
I had the tonkotsu broth with Berkshire pork. Delicious if not a tad salty. Wife had the soy milk with the ribeye. Also delicious. I understand why my BIL and his wife eat there at least once a week. If I could afford to, I'd eat there often as well. Unfortunately it's just a tad on the expensive side (but oh so worth it).
Decor and atmosphere are good. Would love to go back -
Review from Alice C.
9/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
I should have known not to get tom yum broth at a shabu shabu place. Good thing the fiance knew to get the spicy asian broth so we could have a delicious meal. Fresh veggies and meat. Get the rice cake to add to your broth - yum.
Would definitely come back here again! -
Review from Michele C.
Irvine, CA
Cal Shabu's got nothin on this place! I can't believe I didn't discover this shabu shabu place til now! Well, I guess it is a bit on the far end of Irvine... good thing we live down the street :D! If you hate waiting in lines (like I do) I suggest that you come on a week day. Two reasons: after the first time you go, they'll give you a 10% off coupon for next time, but its only valid Monday-Thursday. And second, the wait is usually 15 min+ on Fridays and weekends for dinner.
Arthur and I usually order the large spicy miso broth, mushrooms, and udon. At first it doesn't seem like a lot of food, but trust, it'll fill you up! I absolutely love their dipping sauces, the sesame one is the best I've ever tried anywhere. On the plus side, they even have a full sushi bar where you can order sushi and rolls. You can't get any better than that. The good thing about a Japanese place with Hot Pot is that you just KNOW that it'll be clean- or wayyyyy cleaner than any Chinese place anyways. I'm Taiwanese, and I know hot pot... it can get real dirty back there in the kitchen, and you can end up with some bad toilet time if you're unlucky. But this place is clean, yummy, and offers more than just shabu.
This is officially my favorite shabu shabu place! (...for now)
