Raleigh Thai and Sushi Restaurant

I enjoy my days that start out with a cup of tea in front of the computer. I went to go check on my tail wagging mutt dog, and he’s happily staring at the warm fire in the fireplace. I get a kick out of that glimpse and thinking that a fireplace can make a great dog sitter on a cold day. If you’ve got an attention craving dog like I do, you might wanna give turning on the fireplace a try.

So, I have to confess about last night.  I didn’t really want to go out to dinner.  I could’ve just stayed in, cooked up Ramen noodles and watched a movie.  But, in the spirit of ‘date night’ and celebrating my husband just making it home from a business trip in minus degree Minnesota weather, I thought it would be good for us to get out.

I made some reservations at Raleigh’s Shaba Shabu…I love saying those two words over and over again.  It just sounds so suave. And go figure it actually means something too.  Shaba means hibiscus in Thai.  Shabu means swish in Japanese.  So the name is a great way to marry the two cuisines that the restaurant serves…Thai and Japanese.

It’s been awhile since we’ve been there.  It’s located in The Melting Pot Restaurant shopping center that is getting a whole new facelift off Wake Forest Road.  The signs on the stores haven’t even gone up yet.

When we got there around 7 pm, the place was filling up quickly.  But they seat you quickly and make you feel special with a “Reserved” sign on your table.  I guess that’s for people who bother to call ahead and make reservations.

Shaba Shabu inside got a new look.  The room on the right side where we were dining has tempered glass tables with an Asian dark red rectangle border against black ceilings and other black details.  The floors are no longer carpeted which our waiter pointed out as ‘hard on his feet’.  The flooring has now a hard surface, with a bamboo grass look.

I think they did a great job decorating.  The bar in the middle of the entire restaurant, has a real clean contemporary feel.  You kinda feel like you’ve been transported beyond Raleigh into some cosmopolitan city.

The waiter gave us the drink menus. I wasn’t quite sure what kinda drink I was in the mood for. I like beer and wine, but not together though.  With Asian food – beer for sure.   I like Kirin Light.  It’s basically like Bud Light with an Asian name.  Sapporo is a little stronger.  It’s worth a try but not something I like to drink often. They have a martini menu too. I prefer martinis with American cuisines.  Remember HBO’s ‘Sex in the City’…Cosmo martinis were reborn from that show.  But I’ve been experimenting a little on my own with martini concoctions for special occasions. Just fyi…in case you try this at home… it’s really hard to screw up making a martini. Especially if you use vodka which is virtually tasteless and one of a thousand fruit juice choices in the grocery store. I like Stoli Vanilla.

Anyway, nothing really jumped out at me on the drink menu so I went to my default Kirin Light.

I made the mistake of not studying up on the food menu beforehand.  I find it annoying when there are a gazillion choices with very similar ingredients.  It’s distracting to have to read each line item with company.  Even though I was just with my husband who I’ve dined with thousands of times, I still wanted to focus on our conversation and not a conversation going on in my head with the menu.  …I mean with Thai food it’s basically some kind of noodle with peanut sauce or lemongrass.  Amazingly, they can come up with 50 or more different exotic dish names.

And that’s if you’ve committed to eating Thai for the night there.  There’s also the Japanese menu..I. E. Sushi.  Another 50 items to look at. By the way, if you’re not familiar with sushi lingo, sashimi is basically sushi without the white rice.  I like the rice.  But I’m constantly reminded by Eric that I shouldn’t be eating that processed white stuff.  That’s true, but carbs are my fav’rite!

Anyway, I’d forgotten how many choices they have on the menu but it’s a lot.  It was hard to read the 4 point font.

I’m glad Eric made the appetizer choices ‘cause I probably would’ve eaten anything. I wasn’t really in the mood to make choices. The Japanese appetizers are great like the Ebi Shumai which is a shrimp dumpling.  I prefer them steamed over fried.  There… Eric, I eat healthy steamed foods so I can eat my white rice.  …Oh, and Gyoza is a pork appetizer cooked in a wonton wrapper with a sweet brown honey dipping sauce.   We decided to go all Japanese this night. But the Thai appetizers are delish too as I’ve had ‘em before. They’re more in the spirit of spring rolls and chicken satay skewers .

Appetizers are easy. The entrée is the hard decision to make.  You don’t want to make a mistake ‘cause then you’re stuck with a bad meal with a bad sauce for a looong time. Our waiter seemed to think we knew the menu or something ‘cause he came by ready to take our order as soon as our drinks were out.  He never introduced himself to us. It was like “I am waiter”. Nothing like… do you have any questions?…  Would you like any suggestions?  Maybe ‘cause I have an Asian look they think I should have this stuff memorized, and ready to go.  Ha! No seriously, I think nameless waiter was busy getting ready for a big party in the private room.

We took a few minutes but we decided.  Remember we were doing Japanese tonight. All over the Shaba Shabu Japanese menu you’ll see there are two type of rolls. One was the bagel roll which has fish and cream cheese wrapped in rice and seaweed. The other is a California roll with avocado, cucumber, and crab meat wrapped in rice. California rolls are in every sushi bar and I think are even popular with non-sushi eaters. Well…we decided to get the combo assortment of sushi and sashimi for two.  It’s a Chef’s assortment.  Normally I prefer picking each item separately or a-la-carte, like you do at most sushi bars with a short pencil and checklist in hand. But this seemed easier at this restaurant with 50 plus entrée choices.

After our combo plate got delivered, we got this… I’m not sure what it was…but some kinda veggie mixed salad.  The waiter told us it was spicy hot.  I’m glad I was warned as I don’t do well with hot spicy foods.  But the few pieces I tasted weren’t spicy at all. I think the waiter must’ve been describing another dish.  Really I thought this side dish was a kitchen mistake as it wasn’t listed on the menu and didn’t come out with everything else. Anyway, it was a nice freebie. I’ll eat anything…non spicy.

The sushi and sashimi was just okay.  It was kinda dry and tasteless even after dipping in soy sauce.  I guess that’s what the wasabi is for if you like spicy foods. But I like the food to stand out by itself. So, I wasn’t particularly salivating at the mouth for more after a few pieces.  The imitation crab sushi was the one that was most disappointing.  I guess it was just too store bought looking for me.  I sometimes buy imitation crab sold at the store for snacking, and it comes out of the packages with the exact same cylindrical shape as the sushi in front of me. You’d think the person who prepared it could cut it up a little more artistically.  I just didn’t feel like some Top Sushi Chef prepared it.

By the way, they have a fondue menu and a whole ‘nother seating area for this type of food entertainment.  Apparently dipping Japanese foods in sauces is very popular.  Like I alluded to earlier, the place has a really neat atmosphere about it.  I’d go back.  Are you surprised? I wouldn’t go again expecting the best tasting food. I’d go for the ambiance, and maybe if I was with a group.

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Category: Raleigh Restaurants