To me, the two are inextricably tied. Throughout my childhood, a hot pot (or shabu) dinner represented the times when the family came together. Often it would be just our nuclear family. Other times, it would include aunts, uncles, cousins, and even grandparents.
Whoever was over, hot pot always meant sitting together, chatting, and cooking whatever we chose in the hot, bubbling broth in the center of the table.
I always looked forward to it.
When I married into Bryan's family, I found out they enjoyed a similar tradition. To this day, whenever we go back to California, we always spend at least one meal having hot pot together as a family.
So it seemed fitting that when Bryan's parents visited Boston this past spring, we continued the tradition and had yet another hot pot together.
Sure, we also took them to eat all around Boston, everything from an Italian multi-course pasta table dinner and fantastic pizza to dinner at one of our favorite hangouts. However, we did reserve one day for shabu, this time at one of the most well-known shabu places in Boston....