Shabu-Shabu for Cheap!

LONG TIME NO BLOG! I have no decent excuse except that it seems I tended to eat more rather than blog (and it shows!), which I guess is not that fitting an excuse at all and yet it’s probably understandable! I’m feeling suitably guilty so I feel like I should make up for it. And so, starting tonight until Tuesday next week, March 12, I will be blogging everyday.

So what got me excited enough to actually blog after eating? You know how it is when you’re broke but still want to eat something good despite the budget constraints? That’s how I’m feeling nowadays since I’ve got huge bills to pay. Other people may decide to tighten the belt and stick to the bare essentials, but for me it’s different. I see it as a challenge to satisfy my want for delicious food and so it was the quest for cheap but yummy eats.

Earlier today, I was craving soup, but I didn’t want to succumb to the the easy and unhealthy trap of a bowl of instant noodles, so I found myself wandering around Two Shopping Center‘s food court for a healthier alternative. It’s there that I happened upon this unnamed stall which says they sell Shabu Shabu for P60.

Let me repeat. 6O FILIPINO PESOS. FOR A BIG BOWL OF SHABU SHABU.

Yuuuummmm!

Okay, so there’s hardly any meat and there are no noodles and it’s not as exciting as the usual way of Shabu Shabu where you cook everything in a huge boiling pot of soup, but if you’re just looking for a big bowl of hot soup (spiciness is also entirely up to you) with some greens, mushrooms, tofu and fried pork then I think you’re fine. More than fine even  as the soup is very flavorful and steaming hot which I think is essential in Shabu Shabu. I bet this is incredibly comforting during a cold day. I ate it while it was somewhere around 28 degrees Celsius and I was sweating after, but it was okay. More than okay.

I have also been craving for some dumplings since yesterday because of this video I was watching about Mandu and so I looked around University Pad in Vito Cruz on the way home. I found that they had Pao Pao Xiao Chi which sells Taiwanese “street food” and milk teas. I was just musing over their menu and the other food stalls there when I got called to examine something new.

The stall didn’t have a sign yet but lo and behold, they were selling Shabu Shabu. I chatted with the owner a little and I found out that the name of the stall was Chopsticks and what she was trying to do with the Shabu Shabu concept was to simplify it. It was similar to the the other place that sold P60 Shabu Shabu. It was hot soup and toppings in one bowl for one person. The food stalls in U-Pad catered to students, after all, and students normally wouldn’t have time to sit down and cook Shabu Shabu. Plus, doing that wouldn’t be very cost effective when you’re trying to maintain a student-friendly price. The Shabu Shabu bowls ran from P65 – P110 depending on what’s in them.

I told my Mom about both places and she’s enthusiastic about trying both. The first one is cheap and healthy, but we have to commute a bit to get there. Meanwhile, Chopsticks is just a walk away, but a tad bit more expensive. She asked me to ask Chopsticks when they’re open so we can try their food out sometime. I feel a bit awkward about just coming down and asking again without buying anything so it looks like I’m going to be stretching a bit of my budget to try out their Shabu Shabu tomorrow.

Let’s see how it goes. 😀 I can’t wait.