Shabu Shabu Buffet
380 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Phone 03 9642 4934
For those of you who were interested, Palau Cafe (that little Indonesian/Malaysian eatery located in the bright orange hallway of a public car park) is no longer. Perhaps it was the whiff of car exhaust fumes which drove all the customers away? Or the lulling sounds of accelerating and speed-bumping cars, and coins being dropped into PayStations? Or maybe it was just the bad Malay/Indo bain-marie food on offer? Anyway, we needn’t worry about such things now. Shabu Shabu Buffet is coming soon to Lonsdale Street.
At least they’ve gone a little way to making it feel a bit more like a restaurant. They have erected a glass wall to muffle the sound and obscure the view of the car park. I only hope they have improved the ventilation!
But my mind ponders the concept of Shabu Shabu Buffet. Is it an all you can eat hot pot type place? Or will it be more dainty and Japanese like? Hmm…keep you posted.
Written by mellie on
October 1st, 2008 | Tags: Shabu Shabu Buffet | Category: dining experiences
| 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
| Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:14 pm
i just noticed this today on my way back to the office… and I had some of the same musings as you did. Might be interesting to try!
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:17 pm
hey,
do u know about the Singapore Day this sat at the sidney meyer music bowl? https://app.singaporeday.gov.sg/index.html
there will be lots of yummy singapore food there so you shld go check it out =)
October 4th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Hey anna – I’ll keep my eyes posted for the opening
Hi Felicia – thanks for letting me know about Singapore Day. I had heard about it, but I had a Laser Skirmish birthday party to go to, so couldn’t make it
Did you go? How was it?
October 5th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Address is 380 Londsdale St; a little walk from Elizabeth St (pass old jb hi-fi b4 the car park)
The first quality shabu shabu restaurant in Melbourne
Grand opening this week
October 5th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Hi Suz – thanks for the update! Look forward to checking it out!
October 6th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
The place looks awesome, they have these sakura flowers on the window outside the shop now, also with a sushi belt and a nice bar with a blue label there
I assume they’ll put stuff on the belt and ppl cook infront of themselves maybe….
hm..not maybe most definately
Damien
October 7th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
can’t wait to see it damo. u better have something special for the boys..we’re gonna eat you outta business =P
October 9th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Hey Damien – thanks for the heads up. Unfortunately I’m out of town at the moment so can’t check it out. But will do so when I get back.
So you’re the owner?
October 11th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Nah i’m not the owner, i just park at the carpark. I’ve been watching the place being renovated for the past few months. I’m pretty sure the owners are two asian guys.
October 12th, 2008 at 6:28 am
No worries Damien. I walked past the other day and they had changed the outdoor chalkboard to $25 per person. Pretty steep, but I guess if its all you can eat, and it’s good quality, it should be good!
Might see you in there at some stage!
October 13th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I wandered into this place last Saturday night with a couple of friends after a night on the town.
Though they were closing up and tucking into a staff meal (it was around 10pm), they were more than happy to drop everything and invite us in.
We sat down in front of placemats with step-by-step instructions on how to eat there. We were given a choice of three soups (chicken, soy or miso), that came out in a metal pot and was slotted into the table over small convection stove. A plate of thinly sliced beef and a bowl of suki sauce then arrived. There was two other choices for sauce, but the memory is a little fuzzy on those details.
We spent almost an hour picking shitake mushrooms, pork, chinese brocoli, fish balls and some other random greens off the train and dropping them in the soup. Everything was great, but they probably need a bit more instructions for the non-cook. Something of a guide for cooking times for each item. I’d had the fish balls boiling away for a few minutes, but they still had a cold spot in the middle. Not a problem for me, but I can see someone taking issue with it. They needed to keep a better eye on the pots too. My friend’s boiled dry at one point, which can’t be good for it. But once they figured out it could happen they began topping them up with more soup.
Noise levels weren’t a problem either. It was quiet enough that we could have a conversation with the staff across the room while music piped in from speakers and without the noise from the car park getting in the way. Although we could quite clearly hear the drunken girl who stumbled past and exclaimed “Oh, sushi!”
Top marks to the staff were great and ridiculously helpful. They fetched out more plates of enoki/shitake mushrooms and beef after asking if there was anything more they could provide. At one point they even brought out complimentary fried rice. Thrilling the hell out of my fried rice-addicted friend. When it was time to leave they even joked around that we hadn’t eaten enough. Despite us having cleared half the plates off the train, on top of those they’d brought out. We easily put way 10 plates each. I’d wager the number was closer to 15-16.
You mention that $25 seems pretty steep. But it’s incredibly good value for the amount of food we ate. Highly recommended.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Very stylish, relaxing, and enjoyable restaurant. Highly recommended.
October 13th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Hey thre Trav – thanks for your great mini-review
Sounds like a really interesting experience – and one I’m keen on trying now that I’m back in Melbourne (I just need to find the time!). Seems Damien was spot on with his assumptioms too. So, are the operators themselves Japanese? Or is the Shabu Shabu more like hot pot? $25 is a great price for all of that. Is there an option of paying per plate? Or is it a one off price?
I had to laugh at your comment re: the drunken girl.
Hi Petour – thanks for your recommendation as well!
October 13th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Dear sHabu wow…i never had HOT POT as hot sweaty and the taste is amazing as i have had tonight with my best mates! thanks u to all shabu shabu teams i had an amazing experiences time there great place awesome foods and orcourse the stuffs there are just an amazing people. haha LOVE it and love u Shabuuu
October 14th, 2008 at 10:43 am
mellie – I think the simplest way to describe it is a hybrid of sushi train and hot pot. You’re given the basics (sauce/soup) and you build your hot pot from there.
They told us upfront it was a fixed price meal. I don’t remember there being any option for single plates.
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Ate there on Friday – bloody magnificent – found our new friday lunch local
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:17 pm
went there for dinner tonight, the food was lovely.
it is very good value for the price, especially when compared to some other japanese restaurants in melbourne *cough* sushi train *cough*.
there was a good selection of fish balls, and there were some green vegetables and a couple of different types of noodles. there was also beef, pork, chicken (different cuts), and seafood too – prawns, mussels, squid, scallops and fish. also, they fill your hot pot up when it starts running low on stock.
the drinks menu was sufficient – beer, wine, spirits and mocktails.
our waiter was friendly and answered any questions we had about the sauces and what was on the train.
for those who want the website it is: http://www.shabushabu.com.au (up now, but still in the making).
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:16 am
[...] visiting a little eatery called Shabu Shabu on Lonsdale St a few weeks ago I wrote a smallish review and posted it on the blog that had referred me there, [...]
November 24th, 2008 at 10:59 am
just thought i should tell you that lots of reviews are coming up with code 404’s – unfortunate for those of use who love your blogging!!
November 24th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Thanks for the tip anon. Looks like I still have to iron out a few wrinkles since my blogger to wordpress changeover.