East Village
13 Saint Marks Place
New York, NY
(212) 777-0606

Went to Pho32 the other day! That place is so much fun! If youve never had Shabu Shabu, you have to try it at least once! Even if you dont like cooking! Shabu Shabu tricks you into thinking cooking is fun!

Shabu Shabu is this whole experience! The tables have these little circles in them that are kinda like little hot plates. The waiter brings you this little pot filled with broth, and puts it on the hot plate. Then when it starts boiling, they bring you a plate full of veggies, and thinly sliced meats of your choice (chicken, pork, beef, or seafood)…then you put it all into the pot and let it boil! As the steam and aromas come up you have a good time laughing and joking with your friends!

I recommend you ask for some raw onions and garlic to season it up even more. The Shabu Shabu also comes with a variety of sauces for dipping your meats and veggies in. The sauces are good but once I season mine up with the onions and garlic, I dont even need the sauces any more. Their rice is great! I think they put sesame oil in it, which gives it extra flavor. I like to put rice, and my cooked meat and veggies into a bok choy leaf, roll it up and eat it like that! its great! If you dont like rice you can order it with noodles. But I am a rice fiend! I think I could live for years on a desert island with just rice! I’d be fat as hell but I’d be alive.

Pho32 is a great place to have a Shabu Shabu experience, but when you get there make sure you ask them if the table works! They love to sit people at tables, you get your mouth all set for some Shabu Shabu, then when you order it, they tell you the table doesnt work! How the hell are you running a Shabu Shabu joint with some broke ass tables? Thats like having a barbecue with no grill! Pho32 please get it together! I thought that the tables were broken at the 32nd street location because they were old, but the St. Marks location is new, so whats your excuse?

I went with a group and we were scattered all across a long table because some of the little stoves worked and some didnt. We almost looked like we were eating by ourselves…luckily a few more friends came to fill in the gaps and were smart enough not to order Shabu! Aside from the raggedy tables we had a great time. I love putting all the ingredients in, watching it all boil up..I love smelling the aromas! I love the control I have over my food! I can cook it for as little or as long as I want!

I liked this place so much that I went back the next day and took my mom. She had a great time. She loved the coffee they brought to the table. It was brewing in its own cup! Even the coffee cooks at the table! haha. I ordered the same thing the next day that I ordred the day before and I noticed that I didnt have any eggs. That leads me to believe that the eggs I was eating belonged to someone else’s order. SORRY FOR EATING YOUR EGGS! Especially considering there were 3 eggs and I ate two of em lol. BTW If you crack an egg in your pot, dont panick! It will start to boil so much that it looks like its about to boil over, so dont crack the egg in there if you have more than half a pot full of broth. To be safe maybe you should just boil the egg whole. Everyone might hate you for stinking up the place with a boiled egg, but at least your pot wont boil over.

These Shabu joints have a nice little hustle going on dont they? Theyre charging you 15 to 18 dollars for a bunch of raw food and making you cook it yourself! And they got the nerve to take FOREVER to bring the meat! We kept asking “wheres the meat? wheres the meet?” I felt like I was in a Wendy’s commercial! WHERES THE BEEF?! I mean seriously, why did it take so long? Its not like they had to cook it! Were they out hunting?

But seriously, they think their slick dont they? Im gonna open up a Shabu Shabu in the hood! Instead of broth Im gonna put some oil in those bad boys, and bring around slices of raw meat and flour so people can fry it up! Everyone will sit at those tables with pots of sizzling meat getting popped in the face with grease talkin about OOOOH THIS IS FUN! People are crazy as hell! I just might be onto something!

By the way, if you have your hair pressed, Shabu Shabu might not be the meal for you! With all that steam, you will go in there with a press & curl and come out with an afro!

Aside from the Shabu Shabu, I really enjoyed the appetizers, ESPECIALLY the fried shrimp balls! Those were so good, I had to order another. Dont look at me that way! I shared it with the group! We had a great time, eating and drinking! Sidebar: Pho32 does not have a liquor license so if you wanna get your drink on, you have to BYOS (Bring Your Own Sake!). And when you invite your friends to meet you at Pho32, make sure you say “Pho32″ and spell out the ” p-h-o” because someone thought I was saying “432″ like I suddenly got a country accent and started pronouncing “four” FO’.*smh* lol