380 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Phone 03 9642 4934
Happy star shaped fish balls
It’s all smiley faces at this quirky new dining concept. Take one sushi train conveyer belt and mix it up with a bank of bubbling hot pots. Shake it all about and stuff it into the hallway of a multi-story car park. Garnish with a facelift and plate with some slick branding. Voila…welcome to Shabu Shabu Buffet.
I first broke news of this place last month before it had even opened, and since then I’ve had some rather glowing reports and reviews in the comments. I’ve actually been twice, smitten by the fact that it makes eating fun! But its just taken me a while to get around to writing the posts 
Basically the premise is (at dinner anyway) all-you-can-eat for $25. You choose your soup base (chicken, miso or soy), sauce (sesame, soy or suki), and then let the conveyer belt bring you the rest. Just get your pot up to a rolling boil, and then start swishing and dunking and sipping and slurping and eating. In fact, shabu shabu literally translates as swish swish – the sound the ingredients make as you swirl them through the stock.
Items on the conveyer include noodles (two types – egg and rice), tofu, kangkong, Chinese cabbage, sliced shitake, liver, sliced chicken, frozen prawns, frozen sliced beef, frozen sliced pork, frozen fishballs (a multitude of types), frozen squid, frozen crab balls, frozen scallops…er, you get the drift. I guess pulling things out the freezer is a) cheaper and b) good in a food safety kind of way. But I must admit I did yearn for some fresher ingredients. There are only so many fishballs one can take (and let me tell you, I can take a lot!).
That being said, I think they are doing something rather unique, offering an interesting out-of-the-box dining experience that is a whole lot more fun than your average sit down dinner. So I can forgive them their penchant for frozen goods.
Now to some practicalities. If you sit at the conveyer belt (front on) you get your own small pot of stock in which to play. Alteratively, you can sit at tables of four (as per the photo above), though you will have to agree on and share the same shabu shabu pot/stock.
Secondly, this place is getting rather popular with the local student population, so I’d suggest making a booking!
I go past shabu shabu every day on my way to work; do you have to go upstairs to eat or do u sit downstairs in the carpark?
xox Sarah
Hey Sarah – if you stand at the doorway on the street, it’s down the corridor and to the right, opposite the paystation and office (so at street level). Once you get inside the restaurant you don’t feel like you’re in the carpark at all!
[...] by delishaz xm found a review of shabu shabu (380 lonsdale street, melbourne, 03 9642 4934) on tummyrumbles a couple of weeks back and when she told me about the $25 buffet i replied “i am SOOO [...]
I went there last Thursday and it was so…o good. Except they change hot tea price from $1.50 for hot tea (refillable) to $1.50 for each cup of hot tea. I ‘m a bit annoy though.
They now charge for hot tea by the cup?!?! Gawd…I hate that!
Yes. At least, the staff told me before refilling my cup. lol
[...] into my hot pot cravings during winter, this was one of the better options with nice reviews from here and here. Despite my reservations about having shabu shabu back in the past, my friends and I [...]
guys guys…new shabu restaurant opened in Melbourne central….China bar Shabu…went there the other day *rolls eyes* would love to see you do a review on there !!
ps love your work
Thanks for the heads up Mei Tan!
Being lucky enough to have access to authentic(!) shabu shabu IMO this restaurant is not even close. It is a shame as I am a huge fan of concept restaurants.
is it still go on?
Do not go to China Bar Shabu Shabu in Melbourne Central. It is absolutely terrible. Bad customer service and the worst meal I’ve ever eaten.