Hmmmm, I feel kinda bad giving Hanashima a bad review.... I'm Japanese, so I'm really happy that people love this place and the concept of Shabushabu. But I didn't find anything special about this place. The ponzu sauce didn't have enough flavour, and I think they had another sauce...which wasn't good either. The most disappointing part is that the meat is dry, which was somewhat expected because it's impossible in Montreal to get thinly sliced meat with fair amount of fat in it, and that's the #1 requirement for Shabushabu... I think they serve Chinese fondue style meat which is extremely lean. This is a rare restaurant which is owned by Chinese people, but in which all the waitresses are Japanese. I think it's their effort to make the ambiance more authentic, and I really appreciate that. If they improve the sauce and meat... I will definitely go back.

The food is good, but not THAT good. Service is pretty much non-existent. Chicken tikka masala was really tasty, but other dishes we ordered; Lamb curry, Kottu Roti, Aloo Gobi, Chola Masala were mediocre. My date really enjoyed the "Beef Roll" appatizer. I loved their roti. If I want Northern Indian food, I would definitely go somewhere else. I might go back to Jolee to try more South Indian/Sri Lankan food though. This is a good place for spicy food lovers, because if you ask them to, they can make the food pretty damn spicy.

The service is a bit slow but people there are friendly and nice. Great food for ridiculously affordable price.