Happy Birthday to ME!

Well, Saturday was my 39th Birthday. Crikey! I can't believe I am 39. I certainly don't feel 39 (ok some days after a big night I feel even older). For my birthday I got to pick out a beautiful pair of earring from the funky funky jewellery store in Fortitude Valley called Stone and Metal. They are very deco with pearls. I love them. If you like your jewellery with a very unique vide this place is very cool.

Afterwards we headed into the city to Mary St to a Japanese(?) restaurant called Shabuhouse. I had read a review of it on the website called The Thousands. It is a great website that does reviews on really really unique & eclectic shops, restaurants, clubs etc. It got good reviews & Mick & I LOVE Japanese food so we couldn't wait! It (as the name suggests) specialises in Shabu Shabu which is a soup.
Shabu-shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ, , also spelled syabu-syabu^?) is a Japanese variant of hot pot. The name Shabu Shabu is derived from the "swish swish" sound of cooking the meat in the pot. The dish is related to sukiyaki in style, in that both use thinly sliced meat and vegetables and are usually served with dipping sauces, but it is considered to be more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki. It is considered a winter dish but is eaten year-round.
The interior of the restaurant is very cool. Lots of pinewood & really cool room dividers with lots & lots of plants. The table has holes in it to put your broth pot & little switches on the side to control the temp.

I got the Beef & Mick got the bento box for starters & the Seafood for the main. We also had two cold herbal teas which were very pretty & refreshing.

So, with J-Pop playing on the big screen telly above our heads we cooked up our shabu shabu.
Unfortunately, it was really Korean cooking Japanese & I found my meal to be really really bland. My broth was supposed to be fish (dashi) stock but it just tasted like water! The food was fresh & the meat was lovely but no flavour. We left feeling a bit let down. The staff, venue & pricing was all good but it was let down by the blandness of the food. It was still nice to go out for lunch though!

To drown our sorrows we hit the awesome yummy bubble tea place "re P.I.T" . Mick had his usual honey bubble tea with black balls & I had a coconut smoothie with lychee jellies. So yummy! It was a lovely day out for my birthday. Not bad for an old broad!