Jingjok
ชาบูบุฟเฟ่ต์: one price, one clock
chaa-buu bùp-fêe
A Thai shabu buffet is a fixed price for a fixed time. Suki Teenoi charges about 280 baht net with drinks, runs until five in the morning and hands out queue tickets or takes bookings on LINE and the QueQ app; Shabushi is about 430 with a conveyor belt; MK is à la carte. The table gets a divided pot (ask for two broths, half and half), a paper order sheet or a QR code, a flag to call staff and a sauce bar. The clock starts when you sit, usually 90 minutes to two hours, and overtime is charged per ten minutes. Order in waves. Leftovers cost money: a flat 100 baht a head at Teenoi, by the 100 g at many pots, so refuse a plate as it arrives, not after. Water is free, no service charge, tips optional.
Try this today
Before you sit, read the sign for the time limit and the leftover fee: ทานเหลือ and เกินเวลา.
Your first 90 days of Thai
Culture cards in Jingjok are tied to the words that carry them, each ending in one thing to try today.
- WEEKS 1–2 · SURVIVEGreet anyone, pay, and order food and 7-Eleven exactly how you like it.
- WEEKS 3–6 · SETTLE INGet around by taxi, Grab and skytrain, find anything, and handle your landlord.
- WEEKS 7–12 · RUN YOUR LIFEPharmacy, bank, SIM and apps, how you feel, and a weekend away, all in Thai.
The first week is free.