In writing this I had to speak to a Japanese friend to make sure I have everything correct: GoKoHai is a Japanese Shabu Shabu restaurant, and for anyone who doesn't know, Shabu Shabu is the Japanese version of what everyone here calls Hot pot. The literal translation for Shabu is "in and out" --a term also associated, incidentally, with Japanese porn. One doesn't have to stretch the imagination too far to discern what's about to happen when kinky Japanese men ask their partners for a "Shabu Shabu," but I digress... GoKoHai is quaint little restaurant and perhaps one of the best Japanese Hot pot places I've have been to without having to pay an arm or a leg. It's situated right next to what was once the Argentinean Steakhouse and is now a China Mobile store on Huaihai Lu at Wuxing Lu. There's nothing glitzy or glamorous about GoKoHai, nor can it be classified in the other end of the spectrum: cheap, nasty all-you-can-eat-and-drink Japanese sushi restaurants. Instead, GoKoHai meanders somewhere between the middle and low roads of Japanese options in Shanghai. The sign board outside and decorations inside are similar to many other Japanese restaurants that can be found on Changle Lu or Zhenning Lu, so there's nothing about the restaurant that draws you in if you don't know how to read Japanese or if you don't know much about Japanese food. Thankfully, however, the blandness stops at the presentation. The best thing about GoKoHai is that it adheres to my idea of a good restaurant: it has a simple, uncluttered menu, suggesting to me that the few items available are done right. The word-of-mouth popularity of the simple eatery is proven by the ubiquitous line of people waiting to be seated. Just like Guyi, there always seems to be someone lingering around waiting to eat at GoKoHai, however the difference here is that you can book a table. The restaurant is split into two seating sections. The front seats couples and singles, adjoining strangers just like in Tokyo. The back has rooms which can sit up to six people. If you want to go in groups, I strongly suggest you book beforehand, otherwise go with just two people maximum if you want to go on a whim. As my subtitle suggests, the deal here is minimal. On offer is about eight variations of meats, mostly types of beef cuts, all thinly sliced for quick cooking. The restaurant also offers about 16 vegetable and tofu options and just a few seafood selections. Now that's minimal for a Hot pot restaurant. Unlike the Chinese Hot pots where everyone dips into a communal pot, here each person gets to have their own mini-pots; you don't need to worry about double dipping -- a great feature if you happen to be dining with persons of suspect hygiene. The quality of the soup base, meats and other ingredients is quite good considering the price (about 30rmb per plate). Don't go expecting to find Kobe beef on the menu though. The squid (38rmb), which was quite expensive compared to the prawns (12rmb for the same amount), was about the only thing that was not particularly good among the several plates my dining partners and I ordered. The bill at the end came to about 100rmb per person. If you can only read English, follow SmartShanghai's venue listing to get a look at the front of the restaurant.
