We love shabu shabu so much! Who doesn’t? Well, just a few days ago, thanks to one of our Instagram idols (@yourfoodtographer), we discovered a restaurant that specializes in ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT shabu shabu! We really had to bug him about it because we have been looking for a new place to try. A new place wherein we can enjoy good shabu shabu without busting our budget so much. In this edition of EATSplorations, we will be sharing with you about our first-ever EATSperience at Shabu Shabu Ichiban in Circuit Makati! Shabu Shabu Ichiban specializes in unlimited shabu shabu and many other Japanese favorites like sushi, sashimi, tempura, and many many more. Are you ready to find out more about Shabu Shabu Ichiban? Here goes our EATSperience, enjoy!
Shabu Shabu Ichiban – Circuit Makati!
Since we were really excited to dine at Shabu Shabu Ichiban, we arrived at around 10:30 am in Circuit Makati. Talk about being overly excited, right?! As expected, we were the first ones to grab a table when they opened. TIP: The place can get really full at around 12 noon so make sure to arrive early so that you and your friends or family don’t need to wait outside. Remember, Circuit Makati has no air-conditioned corridors.
Located at the ground floor of Circuit Makati, Shabu Shabu Ichiban is like any other Shabu Shabu places that presents casual-dining. It has tables with built-in induction cookers, and what is nice about this place is that you do not need to keep standing to get food. As it is an a la carte all-you-can-eat dining style. Order, cook, eat, repeat!
Time to order some Shabu Shabu!
When we were already settled in our spot, our server told us about the 3 steps when dining at Shabu Shabu Ichiban. Number 1 – Choose your drink! Diners can choose from 8 kinds of softdrinks and juices. You can try each of them but make sure to drink in moderation because you’d want to have more space for all the meat, right? Number 2 – Choose your soup! They have 24 kinds of soup bases in their list. However, when we were there, there were only around 4-5 kinds available. We got their bestseller which are the Tonkotsu and the Shoyu. Number 3 – Choose your set! Diners have 3 choices, Set A – starts at 488 php, Set B – starts at 688 php, and Set C – starts at 1,788 php. Each set inclusions vary on quality and quantity so choose wisely.
Since we were right in the middle of splurging and just simply indulging, we chose Set B at 688 php because it was a Monday lunch. We were really happy with what’s included in the set and it perfectly fits our budget that’s why we got it. Also, our eyes were just really on the BEEF, TEMPURA, and SUSHI & SASHIMI platter. Just those 3 and we’re good!
It’s finally to time EAT!
When the food arrived, we just looked at each other and started doubting ourselves if we could finish everything and avoid being penalized because of our leftovers. However, our hunger and belief in ourselves were probably much much stronger than the amount of food presented to us. We’re just happy that it’s finally time to eat!
UNLIMITED sushi and sashimi! YES, YES, and YES! Of course, we loved everything on this plate. What made it even better was we got another plate just full of salmon sashimi! If you are a sushi and sashimi monster, you will surely love dining at Shabu Shabu Ichiban!
In case you haven’t seen the menu yet, UNLIMITED ebi tempura is also included in the Php 688 set! We always go for this no matter if it’s unlimited or not. It’s just too good to pass on. Thankfully, Shabu Shabu Ichiban’s tempura was also really good! Perfectly cooked tempura. One of the menu items that we had seconds off.
Now for some fried goodness! Both were crispy and fried perfectly but we loved the fried chicken wings more. Simply because it was more tasty even if there was no dipping sauce. Not to mention, Baby Eats loved it too!
We went straight to the balls and mushrooms right away! To our surprise, Baby Eats enjoyed eating the Shimeji mushroom and she had around 10 of it together with the tonkotsu broth and rice. We were really happy with the quality and variety of the balls in this set. We also had chicken thigh fillets and our baby enjoyed having it together with her bowl of mushrooms and rice. Our favorites were the cheese and lobster balls.
This was one of our favorites! Really easy to cook and super flavorful, too. It also goes well with both broths. Perfect with rice! TIP: Make sure to put this in ahead of everything so that it can give more flavor to the rest of the soup.
When it comes to shabu shabu, it’s all about THE BEEF! Normally, we could probably eat endless amounts of it but everything we had before going after the meat was really delicious that we probably didn’t have much room for it. Shabu Shabu Ichiban serves up really thick slices of beef for their shabu shabu and some might like it, some might not. For us, it was a bit too thick to our own liking. We would have wanted it to be thinner so that it would be more tender and easier to eat. Flavor-wise though, it was really packed with so much beefiness which was really good! TIP: Maybe ask your server if you guys could have thinner slices of beef. Kindly tell us if it works.
Our list of good shabu shabu places finally has a new addition. We enjoyed dining at Shabu Shabu Ichiban and we loved that it is not just plain Shabu Shabu, but it also has a set that includes unlimited Tempura, Sushi and Sashimi Platter and Fried Chicken Wings. Definitely a place where we can have all these in one sitting! So if you are around the area or if you just simply want to EATSperience this, head on to Shabu Shabu Ichiban and be prepared to have full tummies. That’s it for this edition of EATSplorations, ’till next time!
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Shabu Shabu Ichiban
Ground Floor, Circuit Makati, Olympia, Makati City
+634 772 8085
Operating Hours:
11:00am to 2:30pm and 5:30pm to 10:00pm (Mon-Sun)
Price Range: Php 488 to Php 1,988 per person
Disclaimer: We paid for our meal and wrote this article based on our own opinions and biases.
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