Shabu Shabu Restaurant in Sydney

September 29, 2011 5:16 PM

I went to a Japanese Restaurant in Brisbane a while back where each table was decked out with an induction cooker, and the patrons chose their stock, and cooked their own soup. The Chinese people I was eating with told me the style was called "Shabu Shabu". Does anyone know of a similar restaurant in or near Sydney CBD?
posted by singingfish to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Most Korean restaurants have it on the menu. Can't help with Sydney specifics but look for a Korean restaurant or hot pot (which the Chinese restaurants seem to call it).
posted by backwards guitar at 6:03 PM on September 29, 2011

I don't live anywhere near Sydney, but I've had shabu shabu (yum!) - when you're doing your search, don't limit it to Japanese restaurants. It seems to be fairly cross cultural:

Shabu Shabu in Columbus
posted by HopperFan at 6:04 PM on September 29, 2011

I've heard it refered to as Hot Pot when I was in China. So delicious!
posted by HMSSM at 6:57 PM on September 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

I can't vouch for any of them but a quick google reveals Naniwa-Tei Japanese Noodle Shop, Kabuki and Azuma [in the dinner menu, not the lunch]. I might even go to Azuma myself, it looks pretty good.
posted by unliteral at 7:15 PM on September 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

You might also search for fondue restaurants. A lot of people think fondue is just cheese or chocolate, but it's also cooking meat and vegetables in stock, juice, or oil. Hot pot is indeed pretty much the same thing. Also, Asian restaurants with "bbq" in the title often entail cooking the meat yourself on a grill on the table -- not the same as the places wher chefs cook it in front of you and do tricks.
posted by Nattie at 7:26 PM on September 29, 2011

Search for Thai suki too.
posted by unliteral at 7:33 PM on September 29, 2011

Shabu Shabu differs a bit from Korean hotpot - Korean hot pot is typically a fish+kimchi broth and cooked over a burner in a wide, flattish, dish. Shabu Shabu is typically a sweet, soy-based broth and - if you're getting traditional style - will come out in one of these bad boys. I've read that the original name comes from the noise of the broth in the tin-like urn. Korean hotpot isn't inferior - I love hotpot - but it's pretty different from most shabu-shabu I've had.

Anyway, there's lots and lots of places you can get in Sydney. Azuma does indeed do it - I've had it there, it wasn't bad. JuJu in Darlinghurst does shabu-shabu - I must confess I find that place pretty tacky.

On Clarence St (also pricey) Kabuki Shoruku also has shabu shabu. Fujiya on George St has it. this place does it according to my google search "shabu shabu sydney".
posted by smoke at 8:11 PM on September 29, 2011

I'm from Singapore and we also call it "steamboat". I'm confident you'd be able to find a variant in Sydney - the asian fare there is way better than many places in Australia!
posted by shazzam! at 7:19 AM on September 30, 2011

Steamboat, whilst delicious and similar, is also different from ShabuShabu, if that's what OP is looking for.
posted by smoke at 5:02 PM on September 30, 2011