In Thailand there is a chain of conveyor belt sushi and shabu shabu restaurants called Shabushi, operated by the company Oishi Group. Shabu-shabu is a Japanese dish similar to fondue, where vegetables and wafer-thin slices of meat are cooked in a pot of boiling broth at the table. One week ago, on July 4 at the Central World trade facility in Bangkok, Oishi Group held the opening ceremonies for their second annual Shabu Lympics, a shabu-shabu eating contest taking place at select branches of Shabushi nation-wide.

Last year more than 1,000 people participated in this mighty consumption of meat. The champion was a young man who ate a startling 159 plates of animal protein. He came back as a special guest at this year’s opening ceremonies to give a speed eating demonstration and get people fired up with stories of his personal shabu-shoveling experiences.

For this battle of bellies, contestants will have just one hour and 15 minutes to consume as many plates of meat as possible in hopes of attaining the grand prize of 100,000 baht (US$3,215). Anyone can participate, regardless of age, sex, or nationality.

Qualifying contests will take place in each region of Thailand in order to decide who goes on to the championship finals in Bangkok on September 8. The preliminary schedule is as follows:

Northeast region: July 28
Northern region: August 4
Southern region: August 18
Eastern region: August 25
Middle region: September 1

Each qualifier will run three separate rounds at noon, three, and six ‘o clock. If you are staying in Thailand and would like to ask questions or register to enter, call the Shabu Lympic hotline at 085-409-1891. And if you happen to enter, be sure to send us a video!

Source: Bangkok Business News