Ichikawa Shabu Fondue & Yakitori in Chino Hills is an exciting and “hip” Japanese restaurant offering a variety of first class Sushi, Yakitori, which are skewered charbroiled appetizers and Shabu pots, which are the Japanese version of a hot pot. Cooking your own thinly sliced prime beef, chicken, pork or seafood and assorted Asian vegetables in one of 5 distinct tasting broths is both fun and oh so delicious. Whether you sit around the large circular Shabu Shabu Bar, at a table or on the patio, you will love Ichikawa.

For starters, I recommend the delicious Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna $6.95, 4 rectangular deep fried crispy rice cakes topped with spicy tuna that was both delicious and a textural delight. The same could be said of the Rock Shrimp $11.95, a dozen or so of jumbo shrimp that were deep fried and served with a spicy mayo Sirachi miso sauce. The shrimp were plumb and succulent and very good.

Some of the many Sushi rolls I had and enjoyed were the Nemo Roll $12.99, 8 thick slices of fresh yellowtail, jalapeno & avocado wrapped with salmon topped with a crispy garlic butter sauce on top. The combination of the ingredients’ really worked well together and was excellent, the Dark Knight Roll $12.95, tempura asparagus, crab meat, avocado & spicy mayo wrapped with thinly sliced Certified Angus Beef and served with a sweet & sour sauce. If you are not a fan of fish, this is a great alternative and a really delicious Sushi roll.

Other delightful Sushi rolls I suggest you try include the Seared Salmon Roll $11.99, avocado, crab meat topped with seared pepper salmon, green onion and served with a citrus inspired garlic ponzu and wasabi cream sauce, and the specialty Poki Tuna Sashimi $11.99, small cubes of fresh tuna, cucumber, avocado and masago served with the tangy house dressing. The tuna literally melted in your mouth and the entire salad was outstanding.

Now for the main attraction, the Shabu Shabu. On each table there is a electric hot pot sunk into the table where the Shabu Pot are placed upon. The first thing you have to decide on is whether you want slices of Certified Angus Beef Ribeye, slices of Australian Lamb, slices of Kurobuta Pork, slices of Chicken Breast or Assorted Seafood. Those were the simple decisions, now comes the real challenge, which soup base you want to cook the meats in.

Let’s see there is Traditional Japanese Kombu broth , the house special “Premium” soup base slowly cooked with veggies and pork bones for over 12 hours, the sweet soy based Sukiyaki soup base, Miso, Japanese Curry, Pork Bone, Spicy Miso, Spicy Pork Bone, Seoul Spicy Kimchi, and a Taiwanese Barbecue broth. Guess what, there are more soup broths to consider! How about the Chinese Herb, Spicy Szechwan broth, Singapore Herb, Spicy Thai, Thai Coconut broth, Tom Yum broth, Creamy Milk, Spicy Tomato, Creamy Corn Miso and lastly, a Creamy Corn soup base?. I literally tasted all of these broths and all were quite different and the one you choose really depends on your specific taste. My favorites were the Sukiyaki, Spicy Thai, Thai Coconut and the unique spicy Kimchi broth. I love soups and these were really tasty. You can also as have a split pot which allows you to try two different soups at one time.

In addition to the meats and soups, a cup of rice is served along with Napa Cabbage, Enoki Mushrooms, Shimigi Mushrooms, Shiitake Mushrooms, Japanese Fish Cake, cubes of Tofu, Green Onions, Carrots, Udon Noodles and Glass Noodles.

Now the fun begins. First you place the veggies and meat into the broth and allow it to cook which only takes a few minutes. You then use your chop sticks to pick out the desired item from the pot and place into your mouth or dip it into one of many sauces and condiments served in their Dipping Bar. You can choose the Taiwanese BBQ sauce, Sesame Sauce, Ponzu Sauce, and such items as chili flakes, sesame oil, fermented tofu, white vinegar, sesame seeds, red vinegar, jalapeno, chili oil, dry shallots, green onions and daikon radish that you can add to you soup for additional flavor options.

Dining at Ichikawa is a fun, exciting and a delicious experience and one that I know all of you should definitely try. I have eaten here numerous times and came away extremely happy and thinking of what to order on my next trip back. Oh yes, the Specialty Sake Drinks are outstanding as is their Tempura Ice Cream for dessert.