Comfort Food at O’seyo Shabu Shabu
If I asked you to describe your favorite restaurant for comfort food, what would come to mind?
For me, that place is O’seyo Shabu Shabu.
O’seyo Shabu Shabu opened in 2015 and I’m pretty sure I’ve been going for almost as long as it’s been open. I used to work in Monrovia, and East Pasadena was on my way home. Maybe it’s my Cantonese roots, but I’ve always been a soup girlie, no matter what form.
There are a variety of broths offered at O’seyo—Konbu, Miso, Spicy Miso, Tomato, Spicy Tomato, and Sukiyaki, but my favorite, and the one I’ve been getting for nearly a decade, is the Spicy Miso broth. Some places have broth that’s too salty, but that’s not the case at O’seyo. The broth is perfectly seasoned and feels like a warm hug as it goes down into my belly.
They offer Certified All-Natural premium cuts of meat, and my go-to Is the Vintage Prime Rib Eye. The marbling is gorgeous, and it’s so tender after I cook it in my Spicy Miso broth. Pro tip: Don’t cook your beef for too long—it’s typically ready in about 30 seconds.
Along with your own pot of soup and your own plate of meat (because sometimes I just don’t want to share my food, okay?), you get your own bowl of fresh veggies and udon. I love the Kombucha squash and mushrooms in the veggie bowl.
If you’re a spice lover like me, don’t forget to ask for the hot drops! It’s a ghost pepper chili oil that enhances your soup and sauce experience. I usually put 2 drops in my sesame sauce and about 3-4 drops in my soup to make my Spicy Miso (which is honestly not too spicy for me) even spicier.
Here’s my biggest tip and how I make TWO meals out of one at O’seyo (which is already worth it at about $25 per person, but more so with this tip). First, I eat about half of the meat with my rice. I cook it in the broth, take it out, dip it in my sesame sauce (which side note, is the BEST hot pot sesame sauce I’ve ever had), and then eat it with my rice. I’ll typically eat some of my veggies with the rice as well.
Then, I dump the rest of my veggies and my udon into my soup, cook it for a bit, add the rest of my meat, and then take everything out and put it in the large, now-empty veggie bowl. I add several ladles of my Spicy Miso soup, a couple of ladles of my sesame sauce, and I’ve got a bowl of delicious udon with veggies and meat!
I know I’ve already been rambling about my favorite comfort food spot for a while, but hear me out. The real reason I keep returning is the amazing customer service. Many of the servers have been there for almost as long as I’ve been going, and they’re so attuned to customer needs. There have been so many times I’ve just glanced up to look for someone and they came over immediately to ask what I needed. The last time I was there, one of the servers, Irene, asked me as soon as I sat down “Do you want the hot drops and the pickled radish?” (my favorite free appetizer) and I love that she remembered.
While O’seyo isn’t currently open for a full lunch service (it’s been hard for them to open fully for lunch since Covid), they do offer affordable takeout lunch bowls—Spicy Pork, BBQ Beef, and BBQ Chicken. Each bowl is $10.95 and is so filling and delicious!
I really do hope you check out this local, family-owned restaurant. I know first-hand from talking to the owner that restaurant ownership is incredibly challenging, and I’ll continue to support them as much as I can (eating hot pot every day’s not too much…right?).
And who knows, maybe one day I’ll see you there 😉
