When in Bangkok

Published Jun 17, 2011•Updated Aug 29, 2019

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I suspect that yesterday’s spicy chicken fried rice experiment was a success, as I am finally recovered and was able to re-join the living (more specifically, able to leave the apartment). As you can see from above, I also did not hesitate for a moment to jump right back into “real” food after a week of soup and smoothies.

Today I made it yoga, ran errands, sat in traffic for an hour with a terribly chatty cab driver who didn’t care one bit that my vocabulary limited me from any sort of response to his monologue about the upcoming election, and ended the day with the most interactive dinner in town – at Shabushi.

I have to admit that Frank and I have been eying the Shabushi spots around town since we arrived. Although there are many impostors, Shabushi by Oishi appears to be king, and we’ve always been thrown by the masses of people waiting to get in. Tonight we were generously indoctrinated in the Shabushi technique by a few of Frank’s colleagues who met us for dinner.

Over-stimulating at first, dinner at Shabushi was thoroughly enjoyable…and filling. Tackling the endless options of sushi rolls, tempura snacks, assorted juices, and fish, meats, and vegetables in flavored broth (Tom Yum flavored broth, as was my selection) would not be so daunting except for…the time limit. In addition to fun and delicious food, I suspect that timing (and the resulting turnover) is a key to Shabushi’s success. You get an hour and fifteen minutes from the time you enter to eat your fill.

By far my favorite element of the meal was the individual pots of bubbling broth that we each had in front of us and the accompanying mix of dipping sauces. A conveyer belt brought by a parade of delicious things to dunk in the broth, my favorites being thinly sliced pork, baby corn, and tofu with minced squid. I tried a bit of everything but next time, with time limit in mind, I will go in with a well-thought-out plan to get all of my favorites in my hour and fifteen.