Hello Kitty Shabu Shabu

Last week, I went on a business trip to Taipei for our organization's annual ophthalmology congress. On the day we arrived, we went straight to the event venue but finally had time for a late lunch at Hello Kitty Shabu-Shabu.

As would be expected, most of the decorations inside and out featured Hello Kitty. Near the cashier, there was also a cabinet full of Hello Kitty souvenirs for sale such as postcards, chopsticks, water bottles, etc.

Previously when I have eaten shabu-shabu or Chinese-style hot pot, a group of people have shared one or two soup pots and ordered a variety of ingredients to cook together. In Hong Kong, you can often choose the all-you-can-eat option as well. However, this time my colleagues and I all ordered individual sets.

Somewhat surprisingly, there was a vegetarian lunch set which included a box of veggies plus a side of udon noodles. It also came with a basket of assorted mushrooms and other items like small bundles of noodles and crispy beancurd. 

We each had our own individual pot of hot soup, which arrived covered by a special Hello Kitty lid. For my vegetarian version, the pot was split in half for two kinds of soup: a tomato base and a seaweed broth. I also ordered cheesy potato croquettes, which were very tasty!

Along with the items for the hot pot, we also got a steamed egg cup with a cute flower on top. Dessert was included as well, though it was only coffee flavored gelatin and did not look like anything related to Hello Kitty.