Work for your food
People might disagree with me on this, but I like it when I have to work for my food. I don't mean like do dishes in the back room or anything, but when eating is a more interactive experience. I love fondue. I love eating crab legs...although I usually get a little carried away cracking them by hand and usually end up needing a band-aid or two.
This is why I like shabu shabu. You cook your own meat and veggies in a boiling pot of water. Since the meat is so thinly sliced, it only takes a couple of seconds to cook, and it is delicious.
Last weekend, Ed, Chris, Al and I went to Shabu Shabu East. I have to say though, that the times I have shabu-ed in the past, I have had my very own boiling pot of water, and I like that better. There was no confusion about which items belonged to which person.

I think my final verdict is that while this was fun, it wasn't as good as our California Shabu-Shabu place. It was fun, because frankly everything we do with Ed and Chris is fun, but I don't think I'll be going back any time soon.