Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, June 9, 2018

8

FOOD & DRINK

Mountain Views-News Saturday, June 9, 2018 


TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com


SWISH SWISH

My first experience with shabu-shabu was about 15 years ago in Studio 
City at a Restaurant -- you know, the people behind the Japanese seafood/
sushi buffets. Years later I visited Tokyo Shabu Shabu in Monterey Park 
and really enjoyed it, so I was really happy to see the concept make its way 
to Pasadena. Remember the Boiling Pot on South Lake? I didn’t think so.

 So what exactly is “shabu-shabu”? It means “swish –swish” in Japanese, 
like the sound made from the food in the cooking pot. The idea is that you 
cook your own meal -- don’t worry if that turns some of you off, I promise it 
is a very painless procedure. Do you like steak, lamb, or chicken? Of course 
you do!! The meat entrees are all raw and very thinly sliced, and you cook it 
in boiling hot water right at your table. I shouldn’t say water -- it is a choice 
of “Fusion Broths”. A few of the ones that we tried were Spicy Kimchi and 
Kombu, translation… water and kelp. For those less adventurous, go ahead 
and order the miso; it is light and won’t confuse the tastes of your meats 
and vegetables. Before we got going on our entrees owner Darren insisted 
that we try his Jellyfish and Chicken Wings, yes chicken wings at an Asian 
restaurant at an Asian restaurant? My friend Sean Lorenzini who has a 
“champagne appetite and champagne budget” exclaimed that they were the 
best chicken wings he has ever had. Certainly good!!

 Like any family style restaurant, I suggest bringing a party of at least four to be able to try many dishes. As I 
mentioned earlier all meats come thinly sliced and you grab it with chopsticks and place in boiling water for just a few 
seconds to cook. Vegetables are also available, although I admit I cheated a little and skipped the veggies. The menu 
describes the meats as steak house style meat, and who am I to argue? Kobe Rib Eye, fine steak house quality meat 
and very tender was my favorite of the choices. You know how we love baby backs that fall off the bone? Well, the rib 
eye was melt-in-your-mouth tender, yes it was that good! Certified Angus Beef Rib Eye -- a little less expensive than 
the above-mentioned Kobe rib eye, but as close to heaven as you can get. For you chicken lovers please by all means 
try the Jidori All-Natural Chicken, popular in Japan and I can taste why. Owner Darren tells me that his favorite 
dish is the Lamb Loin, all-natural lamb which is also very tender. A real winner, Darren! Can’t make up your mind? 
Tokyo Shabu Shabu does offer a Mixed Seafood plate with salmon, shrimp, scallops and mussels.

 There is something for everyone here at Tokyo Shabu Shabu -- come hungry and bring a few friends. Prices will 
be around $30 per person. Beer (Sapporo)and sake are available. If you can save room for dessert, have the green tea 
ice cream.

 The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and there is a very clean look to the interior, almost retro clean. 

 Join me this Sunday at 5 PM on KLAA AM 830 

 Email me at thechefknows@yahoo.com

 345 S. Lake Ave. Pasadena

AVOCADO PESTO PASTA/SUNSET MAG. 

Ingredients 

1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for pasta water 

1 garlic clove 

3 medium avocados (2 soft-ripe and 1 firm-ripe), divided 

1 cup plus 1 tbsp. loosely packed basil leaves 

1 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves 

. cup sliced chives (2 bunches) 

1 cup freshly and finely shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for serving 

4 tsp lemon juice 

. tsp freshly ground pepper 

1 lb tagliatelle pasta 

How to Make It 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, whirl garlic in a food processor to mince. Scoop 
soft-ripe avocados from peels into food processor. Add 1 cup basil, the parsley, chives, 1 cup parmesan, 
the lemon juice, remaining 1 tsp. salt, and the pepper; whirl until smooth. Cook pasta according to 
package directions until just tender. Meanwhile, dice the firm-ripe avocado. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta 
water, then drain pasta and return to pot. Add avocado sauce and as much pasta water as you like (to 
loosen texture); toss gently to combine.Transfer pasta to a serving bowl and gently stir in diced avocado. 
Grate a little more parmesan on top. Thinly slice remaining 1 tbsp. basil and scatter over pasta. Serve 
immediately. Servings 6


NEW HORIZONS WAKES FOR HISTORIC KUIPER BELT FLYBY

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is back “awake” 
and being prepared for the farthest planetary 
encounter in history—a New Year’s Day 2019 flyby 
of the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule.

 Cruising through the Kuiper Belt more than 3.7 
billion miles from Earth, New Horizons had been 
in resource-saving hibernation mode since Dec. 
21. Radio signals confirming that New Horizons 
had executed on-board computer commands to 
exit hibernation reached mission operations at 
the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in 
Laurel, Maryland, via NASA’s Deep Space Network 
at 2:12 a.m. EDT on June 5.

 Mission Operations Manager Alice Bowman 
of APL reported that the spacecraft was in good 
health and operating normally, with all systems 
coming back online as expected.

 Over the next three days, the mission team will 
collect navigation tracking data (using signals 
from the Deep Space Network) and send the first 
of many commands to New Horizons’ onboard 
computers to begin preparations for the Ultima 
flyby; lasting about two months, those flyby 
preparations include memory updates, Kuiper Belt 
science data retrieval, and a series of subsystem and 
science-instrument checkouts. In August, the team 
will command New Horizons to begin making 
distant observations of Ultima, images that will 
help the team refine the spacecraft’s course to fly 
by the object.

 “Our team is already deep into planning and 
simulations of our upcoming flyby of Ultima Thule 
and excited that New Horizons is now back in an 
active state to ready the bird for flyby operations, 
which will begin in late August,” said mission 
Principal Investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest 
Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

 New Horizons made a historic flight past Pluto 
and its moons on July 14, 2015, returning data 
that has transformed our view of these intriguing 
worlds near the inner edge of the Kuiper Belt. 
Since then, New Horizons has been speeding 
deeper into this distant region, observing other 
Kuiper Belt objects and measuring the properties 
of the heliosphere while heading toward the flyby 
of Ultima Thule—about a billion miles beyond 
Pluto—on Jan. 1, 2019.

 New Horizons is now approximately 162 million 
miles less than twice the distance between Earth 
and the Sun—from Ultima, speeding 760,200 
miles closer each day. Follow New Horizons on its 
voyage at http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Mission/Where-
is-New-Horizons/index.php.

 On June 5, 2018, New Horizons was nearly 3.8 
billion miles from Earth. From there—more than 
40 times the distance between the Earth and the 
Sun—a radio signal sent from the spacecraft at 
light speed reached Earth 5 hours and 40 minutes 
later.

 The 165-day hibernation that ended June 4 
was the second of two such “rest” periods for 
the spacecraft before the Ultima Thule flyby. The 
spacecraft will now remain active until late 2020, 
after it has transmitted all data from the Ultima 
encounter back to Earth and completed other 
Kuiper Belt science observations.

 You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@
MtnViewsNews.com.

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