Shaburi (Japanese, Murray Hill)

NY Sidewalk Review
Menu Pages Review

Location:
129 E 39th St
north side of the street, between Lexington and Park Aves.

Cuisine:
Japanese Fusion

Fave Dishes:
Sukiyaki (Entree, $38.00)
Sesame Ice Cream (Dessert, $6.00)

Ambiance:
Turns out this is a chain restaurant that originated in Taiwan. The owners fuse three Japanese styles (they sometimes grill the sushi), including sushi, shabu shabu, and crap I don't remember the third version. Basically, a chichi shabu shabu place in a fairly desolate part of town. Across from the W Hotel, it fits well with the decor of the neighborhood, which is just south of Grand Central Station. Practically a re-furbished brownstone done up all Asian style, and each table has at least one stovetop for cooking your sukiyaki or your shabu shabu. The first time I went was because my roommate Silver wanted to try out this new restaurant she had read about in DailyCandy, so we all went. It was fun, but the best part was the sukiyaki (made with butter, modified sake broth, and onions) and the sesame ice cream. SOOO good, we asked for where we could find it again. They said the ingredients were shipped from Taiwan. The ice cream is soft serve, with tinges of that black sesame paste dessert that you don't know about unless you're Asian, or maybe a sinophile.

Detractors:
Horribly overpriced restaurant. But par for the course, since it's in the same neighborhood as all other expensive restaurants. I don't like eating in the midtown area, it's full of tourists, and Broadway play attendees, so the restaurants overcharge you in that area. There are many other great shabu shabu places in town, and for cheaper. At that rate, I'd rather do the Chinese hotpot or the Korean barbecue versions over the shabu shabu. But, if you're with your cousins from out of town, and they insist on taking you out to dinner around the area where they're staying, it's an ok standby. Especially if you can't make a reservation in all the other restaurants in the area.