Shabuyo apologizes for portions
- Japan's Shabuyo chain publicly apologized after customers said meat slices were thinner than expected. (x.com) - The apology came with a follow-up post showing adjusted portions, which then went viral. (x.com) - The episode highlights how portion controversies can rapidly become international social-media stories. (x.com)
Shabuyo, the Japanese all-you-can-eat hot-pot chain, apologized on April 20 after social-media posts showed pork slices so thin that customers said the plates showed through. (newseveryday.jp) Operator Skylark Holdings told media it investigated the complaints and confirmed that some stores had served meat that did not meet the chain’s own slicing standard. The company said, “We deeply apologize” for providing quality that did not meet customer expectations. (newseveryday.jp) Skylark said Shabuyo buys meat in blocks and slices it in each restaurant, with an internal target thickness meant to preserve texture and the flavor of the broth. The company said the cases circulating online fell outside that standard and that it would enforce the rule across all stores and check product quality more closely. (newseveryday.jp) The dispute landed just weeks after Shabuyo changed part of its pork lineup. On March 31, the chain posted a notice saying it would suspend pork belly and introduce pork loin instead. (skylark.co.jp) That timing mattered because Shabuyo sells an all-you-can-eat experience built around repeated plates of thin-sliced meat dropped into broth for seconds at a time. When the slice looks too sparse on the plate, customers can read it as a quality problem even if the menu format has not changed. (skylark.co.jp) The chain is a major national brand in Japan, marketed by Skylark as a shabu-shabu buffet with vegetables, multiple broths, sushi on some courses, and desserts. A complaint that might once have stayed local instead spread through X posts and reposts, with “stealth pork” becoming the shorthand. (skylark.co.jp; newseveryday.jp) Shabuyo’s response was not to deny the images but to say some stores missed the standard and that the company would tighten checks. In a business where diners judge value plate by plate, the apology turned a few translucent slices into a national brand problem overnight. (newseveryday.jp)
