Metro Manila millennials in 2025 are often faced with dilemmas: which side hustle to take up? Stick to a career or pursue further studies? Vacation or an important appliance purchase?

One of the less life-changing ones — but perhaps no less important, since food is life — is whether to go for hotpot or BBQ (usually Korean) with friends or family.

Now, with Japanese all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu and yakiniku brand Shaburi & Kintan Buffet, you do not have to choose. The premium concept opened its newest branch at Ayala Malls Manila Bay last month, its fourth in the country, and introduced a milestone offering: the combo set, letting diners enjoy both shabu-shabu and Japanese BBQ in one sitting.

“This opening marks another meaningful step in our continued commitment to bring world-class dining experiences to the Filipino market,” said Atty. SP Sumulong, director of SK Dining Concepts Inc. & chief legal counsel of Mugen Group, at the launch. “Shaburi & Kintan is a one-of-a-kind concept that originated in Japan, offering high-quality, all-you-can-eat dining in an environment that is both interactive and enjoyable.”

Like K-BBQ, I sometimes find hotpot joints hard to tell apart — dip your meat in broth, add a garlicky, nutty sauce and you’re set. Prices often cluster in the same P600 to P800 range. With Shaburi, though, the difference shows. The quality feels premium, with seafood options like salmon and squid balancing heavier beef and pork. There is also flexibility for any budget.

Diners choose from five soups — collagen chicken, sukiyaki, beef pepper, hot miso and the signature konbu. If you want two, one must be konbu, a “basic” broth that is lightly seasoned and designed not to steal attention from the meat.

Hotpot-only sets start around P800 to P900, with pork and chicken options plus rice bowls and noodles (including beef). Add P200 and you unlock hotpot beef, like the fatty Tasty Beef and the savory Angus Beef, along with seafood. For P1,499 at dinner, you are looking at unlimited salmon belly, meatballs, thin cuts, scallops and beef top blade. And if you are willing to splurge, the P2,899 tier unlocks special wagyu and cod fillet — cuts that enrich the broth with extra depth and umami.

The yakiniku side scales similarly: a P1,1,999 pork-and-chicken set climbs all the way to a P3,199 feast with Wagyu Steak, Diamond Karubi, Atsu Tongue and other premium cuts. If you are the type to plan ahead, I recommend checking their full menu online before making a reservation so you know which level best matches your appetite.

Fortunately for easily-overwhelmed menu-readers, combo diners have two simplified options: The Regular Combo set at P1,999 for dinner and the Premium Combo with the wagyu, cod and the whole salmon shebang for P3,399.

At the Manila Bay restaurant, what ties both cooking methods together is the extensive buffet included with every set. From fried rice, karaage and Japanese curry, to a sauce station where you can build your own dip, you can accentuate your proteins however you want, though any buffet pro would tell you to focus on your premium meat and avoid too much carbs (carbohydrates). 

A wide selection of fresh vegetables helps balance the meat, while desserts range from soft-serve or ice cream (depending on branch) to cakes and bread pudding.

While the Manila Bay branch is the first to offer the combo set, the chain’s expansion has been steady since its 2019 flagship at Glorietta, followed by Cebu in 2023 and Mitsukoshi BGC in 2024, though the latter two are Shaburi-only concepts. 

And now, when the familiar dilemma comes up — hotpot or BBQ? — now, you’ve got an easy answer.