In the thread about the new Central Festival mall I wrote the following:

 

There is one that definitely caught our attention. It's the Sabushi Restaurant. It's quite unique. You pay a flat fee of 239 baht. They do add a 10% service charge and a 7% VAT, which brings the price to about 280 baht by the time you're done, but the way it works is you sit at a counter. There is a conveyor belt that constantly goes by with dozens of different Japanese dishes. You simply take whatever you want and as much as you want. You get 1 hour and 15 minutes to eat. If you stay longer, the price goes up, but since there is no waiting for food, I can't imagine why anyone would need to stay there even that long.

 

Today we had a nice surprise. We went to the Lotus on Sukhumvit. As we walked in, lo and behold there was another Sabushi Restaurant that just opened. It's exactly the same as the one in Central Festival. Some of you may find this one a little more convenient.

 

They are open until 11:00pm. Today only they are having an opening promotion. The price will be 140 baht per person up to 11:00pm tonight. That price is only for today folks, so this might be a good day to give it a try.

GB, thanks for letting us know. That is a great deal, but next time please go a day earlier so we know about the promotions ahead of time.

 

 

please go a day earlier so we know about the promotions ahead of time.

Actually I almost didn't go at all. I went to Lotus with a friend, but he almost always prefers to shop at Big-C.

 

We did try it this evening. Because of the promotion, the place was packed. There were four of us. We had to wait over an hour to get in. Usually we won't wait that long, but we wanted to try it and we figured by the time we go somewhere else and get served we might as well wait.

 

If you like "suki" and sashimi, then this restaurant is worth a try. The food itself is similar to the MK Suki chain, but much less expensive considering you eat whatever you want and however much you want. They also have tempura, chicken, various pot stickers, etc. Whatever you want to drink is included in the price. You serve yourself. They also had a variety of fresh fruits, fruit salad, and even three different ice cream flavors . . . all unlimited.

 

If you want to try it, we now know there is one at the Central Festival (6th floor) and now at the Sukhumvit Lotus. Who knows, maybe there are already more, or more will soon come. It certainly looks like a highly successful operation and certainly worth the price, even at the full price.

 

Also, in my original post I was wrong about it all being counter seating. They have table seating too. The only drawback to the tables is that whoever is sitting on the outside either has to reach over the person on the inside to get their food from the conveyor belt or whoever on the inside has to grab whatever the person on the outside wants. That was no problem for us at all.

 

One other thing . . . you better be capable of eating with chop sticks. There are no forks.

 

That hour and a quarter they give you to eat is plenty. We were all stuffed in about 45 minutes.

Wow! Sure sounds like a romantic place to take the bf for Valentine's Day. Do glasses of wine come around on the conveyor belt? But to be serious, do Thais eat sushi? I know they eat raw shrimp so maybe yes??

do Thais eat sushi?

There's no way to generalize that answer. That's like asking if all Americans like MacDonald's. Some do and some don't. There's plenty there besides sushi. One of the people with us this evening was a Thai boy. He was chowing down on plenty, but in all honesty I paid no attention at all to what he was eating. I was too busy feeding my own face.

I love sushi and sashimi, but is it safe to eat in Thailand. I mean where does the fish come from, and is it clear of contaminants. Do all the food preparers and handlers know the correct hygiene for preparing and handling raw fish? I am not an old lady fearful of what I eat, but raw fish can be deadly if it is contaminated or handled without proper hygiene.

I love sushi and sashimi, but is it safe to eat in Thailand.

It seems safe enough to me. It's served in restaurants all over Thailand and I never hear about anyone getting sick from it. As a matter of fact, most of the time when I do hear about someone getting food poisoning, it happens at farang-owned restaurants.

I love sushi and sashimi, but is it safe to eat in Thailand. I mean where does the fish come from, and is it clear of contaminants. Do all the food preparers and handlers know the correct hygiene for preparing and handling raw fish? I am not an old lady fearful of what I eat, but raw fish can be deadly if it is contaminated or handled without proper hygiene.

 

From what I see, the food has already been prepared. It may be shipped from a central kitchen. The people that are around the food at the restaurant is putting the food on a plate and then on the conveyor belt. When you look at the conveyor, you will see different colored stickers. This tells the "cooks" where to put what.

 

The "cooks" also wear gloves and cough masks so the food is not contaminated from touch or cough.

 

I really do enjoy this place.

For those of you not in Pattaya, they have the same deal on the 4th floor of The Mall, Thapra at Bht229. Seems a huge amount of Thais love it as this is a non-tourist area ....always full and lines outside. I am sure they exist at other malls in Bangkok.

always full and lines outside. I am sure they exist at other malls in Bangkok.

If last night was any indication, the place is a gold mine.

The "cooks" also wear gloves and cough masks so the food is not contaminated from touch or cough.

The much esteemed late Julia Child once said, "I don't like cooks wearing plastic gloves. They put them on and touch everything and think it is OK". Watch a cook who is wearing plastic gloves sometime and you will see she was right.

is it safe to eat in Thailand?

 

I have been to many different types of Japanese restaurant in Bangkok and never had any problems with sushi/sashimi etc. Japanese restaurants in general are very particular about cleanliness and hygene.

 

I've also noticed that many Thais seem to really enjoy Japanese food and at this price it will, as GB suggests, be hugely popular. After all, you cannot get much at the Fuji or Zen restaurant chains for that price. I'll try a late lunch first to make sure I can get in.

The much esteemed late Julia Child once said, "I don't like cooks wearing plastic gloves. They put them on and touch everything and think it is OK". Watch a cook who is wearing plastic gloves sometime and you will see she was right.

 

So what way do you prefer to have your food touched?

So what way do you prefer to have your food touched?

With properly often washed hands. Washing hands is the best method of preventing spread of diseases, other than STD's, of course.