Mo-Mo Paradise
Address: Hong Fang Zi, 2/F, 35 Shanxi Nan Lu, near Changle Lu 红房子, 陕西南路35号2楼, 近长乐路
Tel: 5236 6038
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 11:30am-3pm, 5-10pm [Sat-Sun] 11:30am-10pm
Website: www.mo-mo-sh.com
Price: [lunch] 118~128 RMB/person, drinks extra [dinner] 138~150 RMB/person, drinks extra
Visited: Nov 2011
Last year, Sugared & Spiced kicked off the hot pot season with Qimin Organic Hot Pot (still a lovely spot to visit), and this year, it all started with Mo-Mo Paradise. Originally from Tokyo, this hot pot chain now has around 100 branches in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, and its Shanghai branch just opened earlier this year. For 118~128 RMB (lunch) and 138~150 RMB (dinner), they offer all-you-can-eat selections of quality meats and organic vegetables. Clean interior, excellent service, no fuss.
The appetizer plate.
Mo-Mo Paradise offers four broth choices: sukiyaki, shabu shabu, spicy miso, and curry. The most popular choice is the sukiyaki broth, a sweet and savory combination of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin (a rice wine with a 40~50% sugar content).
We also tried the shabu shabu, a very light kombu and vegetable-based broth.
There are 3 types of meat to choose from: beef brisket, pork chuck, and prime beef chuck. All are of very good quality, though the crowd favorite is probably still the prime beef.
Sukiyaki pot comes with refills for sukiyaki sauce, while the shabu shabu pot comes with sesame sauce for dipping.
Organic eggs.
For the sukiyaki broth, cook the meat briefly until it changes color, then dip it in raw egg (beaten). If you have never eaten raw eggs before, give this a try, you might be surprised by how much you’ll love it.
The shabu shabu pot comes with sesame sauce as the broth itself is very light.
Unlimited supply of organic vegetables, rice, and noodles.
Calpis sour (19 RMB).
In this 5C weather, there’s not much better than congregating with a group of friends over a boiling hot pot. Do call in advance to make a reservation as this restaurant is very popular.
What is the technical difference between Shabu Shabu and Hot Pot? is it that Shabu Shabu starts with a clean broth, and Hot Pot has a heavily flavored broth?
shabu shabu is a type of hot pot, just like sukiyaki is a type of hot pot. yes you are right that shabu shabu is the clean broth, whereas other hot pots might be more heavily seasoned..e.g. the spicy hot pots.
The difference then, if I may, between shabu shabu and sukiyaki is largely in the makeup and taste of the broth? Is there a more concrete or fundamental distinction between them? Our understanding of the two types are often melded together, especially for those not in the know — like baseball and softball, mascara and eyeliner (to dudes), Air China and China Airlines.
But indeed, with the onset of Shanghai’s winter, it’s good to know another worthy option for hot pot has landed in this mega-city. There are myriad hot pot joints here, but few that are tasty clean and won’t make your tummy turn the next day. Some, after all, would see hot pot as Asia’s soul food, the people’s comfort food.
from what i know (and i don’t know much about hot pots), it’s just the taste that’s different – sukiyaki is soy sauce, mirin, and sugar-based, whereas shabu shabu is a lighter kombu vegetable-based broth. please correct if i’m wrong!
I went to Hai Di Lao on Friday. I understand that it’s quite popular with the local Chinese for the high quality of service, there’s at least one in US in Flushing, NY. We had to wait for 1.5 hours for the table, and sat in the waiting area. They have complimentary games and snacks. The food and sauces was super oily, and like the experience Charlie mentions above of next day tummy turns. The service was actually good, and refreshing for a local venue. I prefer the cleanness and lightness of the japanese varieties, and will look for more like that.
I’m not a huge fan of Hai Di Lao either. Like you, I prefer the cleaner type of hotpot. You can try Qimin Organic Hotpot as well if you are into cleaner flavors and better ingredients.