I've never been a fan of shabu-shabu (Japanese-styled hot pot), mainly because it sounds like too much work and I'm hopelessly lazy. But I also like free food, so I attended last Tuesday's Shabu Shabu 101 session at Healthy Shabu Shabu, Shangri-la Plaza Mall.

The concept of shabu-shabu doesn't seem that complicated. Sit down in front of a small stove....

Order some foodstuff....

And dump them all in the boiling water....

Yay! Oh wait. Apparently, that's the wrong way to do it.

The owner of the restaurant patiently explained how to do it right, but unfortunately, the sound system they used for the event was too echo-y. All we could hear was something like, "blah blah blah-ah-ah... blah blah shabu-shabu-bu-bu...."

So instead of straining my ears to listen to the instructions, I went with a different strategy: I acted all confused and slightly retarded until the nice waitress came over and did it for me. Yay! (If playing the helpless retard card isn't your style, you can download the step-by-step instructions.)

Overall, my shabu-shabu experience was surprisingly pleasant. I particularly enjoyed the thinly sliced beef and lamb--they tasted amazing after getting dunked in boiling water for a few seconds. Also, I didn't knock over the hot pot or get any third-degree burns, and that's a win in my book.

Healthy Shabu Shabu generously gave us some gift certificates for future visits. Unfortunately, the ones I got are good only for the Alabang Town Center branch, which is far far away from where I live. So if you're an Alabanger and you have GCs for other branches, please contact me for a swap.

Healthy Shabu Shabu is a fun, safe, healthy and interactive way of dining that utilizes state-of-the-art dining facilities and equipment. Healthy Shabu Shabu has branches at Powerplant Mall, The Podium, SM Mall of Asia, Robinsons Galleria, SM North The Block, Alabang Town Center, Robinsons Midtown and Shangri La Plaza Mall. For inquiries please call 627-3721 or 672-3290.