This might be the best hot pot I've ever had, and it was damn cheap. Take the whole family for a great dinner for an affordable price.

I went to Lau Chan and ate a bowl of Shabu-Shabu by myself. I'm not even sorry. The secret to great Shabu-shabu is soup, and my God Lau Chan has some of the best soup I have had the pleasure of experiencing EVER. I kinda wish I had this with someone else because there was no way I could have finished this stock by myself. I also wish I was a bit more adventurous with my selection, but then my order would become too expensive to enjoy. Still, I was happy with what I had. If you're coming over, make sure to bring friends. Lau Chan is best shared with other people.

There are people who hate shabu-shabu, who think shabu-shabu is just OK, and people who love shabu-shabu. I'm part of the latter. But what many people don't tell you is that the secret to shabu-shabu lies in the sauce and in the soup broth. Here is where Lau Chan stands out in both categories. The ingredients you put inside the soup are practically the same in any shabu-shabu restaurant you dine in. But when these ingredients are cooked in a flavorful broth (no MSG please!), there there's a clear winner. At Lau Chan, you have two options for your both, plain or sate. We usually get half and half to get the best of both worlds. I don't mean to brag but I make some of the best shabu-shabu dipping sauces ever. It's all about finding the perfect mix between the soy sauce, sate and garlic.

If shabu is the street name for the kind of crystal metamphetamine that is prevalent in the streets of Metro Manila, the PDEA-friendly but equally addictive shabu shabu is the Japanese version of the hot pot meals that the Chinese have popularized in Asia. Here in Lau Chan, as with anywhere else that serves shabu shabu, you need to order a soup base that is kept going by a portable stove, and then you order small individual servings of vegetables, meat and mystery meats (I call them so because you don't really know what's in them) like fishballs, various meatballs and meat rolls. It is interactive eating at its best, and it doesn't require any skill whatsoever. You just dunk everything in the soup and fish it out when you think it's ready. There is no danger of burning anything. If you still can't get past the idiot-proofed technique of quick-cooking your food in the boiling soup, you can always ask for help from the waiters.The interiors are modest. It is typical Chinese in its simplicity, as if to reinforce the fact that if your food is good, you don't need fancy bells and whistles to attract customers. True enough, most of the diners here are repeat customers who bring their entire families. The dining area is loud and full of boisterous laughter from families who may have eaten here for years and years.