New hot pot restaurant opening on Bell Boulevard
BY JENNA BAGCAL
East meets West at a new hot pot
restaurant coming to Bayside next
month.
Standing at 39-32 Bell Blvd. is
Shabulixius, the brainchild of Long
Island chef and co-owner Shirley
King. After working for 20 years at
renowned restaurants and hotels in
the greater New York City area, King
wanted to open her own place to step
out of her comfort zone.
Hot pot or “shabu-shabu” in Japanese,
consists of thinly sliced meat,
vegetables and other ingredients
boiled in a flavorful broth, traditionally
shared amongst a group of people.
“Basically, Shabulixius is gonna be
for neighbors, for friends and family
to get together eating hot pot in either
a big pot in the middle or individual,”
said King.
Historically, the chef said that Asian
cultures eat hot pot during special occasions
and holidays but has since become
more common. The idea for her
own hot pot restaurant originated 20
years ago when “mini shabu” started
becoming popular in Flushing.
“My sister and I, we really like to
eat this. It’s very interesting and
it’s fun because you have your own
pot,” King said. “One day my sister
told me that, ‘You know what, Shirley?
One day if I ever wanted to open
a shabu restaurant, I’m gonna call it
Shabulicious.'”
Nearly two decades later when
King decided to open a hot pot joint,
her sister offered up the name. Instead
of using the ending “-cious,” she decided
to go with “-xius” for a unique twist.
King’s 11-year-old niece designed the
shop’s logo, which incorporated chopsticks
and animated steam.
When it came to menu planning,
King said that she wanted to combine
her Western cooking style with her
Eastern roots. She said that her father,
who is a Chinese chef, has been working
with her to come up with innovative
recipes like French onion broth
hot pot, bouillabaisse broth and a special
sukiyaki with duck jus.
The chef shared that she wanted to
focus on the quality of ingredients that
go into each hot pot dish in an increasingly
health-conscious world.
“You know what you put in your
mouth and the broth that we make is
really from cooking down the bone
and not adding any other stuff. A lot of
people are skeptical about MSG monosodium
glutamate; we don’t use that.
So it really takes time to cook it down
and make the broth flavorful,” King
said.
Some ingredients that go into the
broth are lemongrass, bay leaf and
Shabulixius is set to open in October. Photo by Jenna Bagcal/QNS
málà, a combination of 15 to 20 spices
simmered in oil. A majority of the
meat, seafood, vegetables and other ingredients
will be sourced locally from
supermarkets and farmers markets.
Once the restaurant is open, King
said that there will be a guide to teach
newcomers how to eat hot pot. Guests
can choose two, three or four soup
bases for a big pot or one of seven
house-made broths for an individual
serving.
“Shabulixius is very happy that it
gets to be part of Bell Boulevard,” King
said. “We hope that we could bring a
lot of joy to this neighborhood.”
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal by email
at jbagcal@qns.com or by phone
at (718) 260-2583.
Cutler's Lighting
BEAUTIFUL LAMP SHADES AVAILABLE
Great Selections of LED Fixtures!
LED Your Home and Office! Exciting New Styles!
Thousands of fixtures for every home & decor!
REPAIRS · RE-POLISHING
REWIRING · RE-FINISHING
Expert
Lighting
Consultants
on Site!
WINNER
BEST LIGHTING STORE
WHY BUY ON THE INTERNET?
Our prices are just as good as online, if not BETTER! exclusions apply
SHOP AT CUTLER'S, YOUR LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD STORE
Cutler's Lighting
· www.cutlerslighting.com
any purchase over $500
(With coupon. Not combinable. New orders only. Limit 1 per customer,
Excludes repairs, refinishing , rewiring, re-polishing. Expires 8/31/19) $50 OFF
IT’S TIME
for clergy sexual
abuse to stop.
Attorney Advertising
52 Duane Street, 7th Floor
Contact us confidentially.
New York, NY 10007 1-800-ITS-TIME
Prior results do not guarantee
a similar outcome.
ItsTimeNewYork.com
TIMESLEDGER,TIMESLEDGER.COM BT SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2019 5
/ItsTimeNewYork.com
/www.cutlerslighting.com
/www.cutlerslighting.com
link
/TIMESLEDGER,TIMESLEDGER.COM
link
