shumala's Profile

4th visit. First 3 times were great. Things have really changed this time around. Restaurant was empty. Only two tables of two for a Sat night including ours. Head chef did not serve us and he walked out in front of us 45 min into the dinner. Pretty shameful.Food was so-so and didn't taste especially fresh. The chef serving us didn't have the swag and showmanship and didn't create a true omekasen experience. If this was my first visit I'd never go back again... Wouldn't recommend at all.…Read More

I missed the Groupon promotion but was very excited when I found out that this restaurant is still offering $388 (+$20 on weekends) all you can eat buffet.  With all the smiley faces I saw on this website, I was counting down the days until it was my turn!The tables are quite spacious and there's plenty of privacy from booth to booth.  There's not much leg room under the table nor are the ventilation up to par for the job.  Started with the sashimi platter followed by sushi.  The sashimi was okay but the shrimp and oysters were not fresh by the looks of their colour.  We skipped the shrimps entirely in fear of what it may do to our stomachs.It was quite interesting to find raddish and carrots stuffed into the bottom of the oysters, along with loads of BBQ tasting sauce at the top.  I can only assume their duty was to mask the fact that these oysters aren't fresh...We didn't touch the sushi platter at all except for the tiny uni's.  I had a bite of the salmon and it tasted like smoked salmon.The initial 'meat' platter.  There were plenty of sand inside the mushrooms.  Also note that the buffet does not apply to veggies.  So for those looking to get a balanced meal, you're outta luck.  The chicken and pork were quite good.  I'll get to the seafood and waygu below.  They only have 1 sauce for dipping.  I would've expected a few kinds (or wasabi / sea salt for the waygu).  The sauce they have, combined with the beef, made all the meat tasted like the marinated meat you get at those $138 all you can eat Korean BBQ restaurants.  This is the refill form.  We weren't informed before our seating that the pork ribeye was not available.  Nor did we get a discount / alternative.  I guess 'what you see is what you get'.  The slip is also misleading (and other tables nearby also had the same misunderstanding) as the soft drinks and beer are not part of the $388 package.  All-you-can-drink requires an additional $48/person.  On the other hand, a can of soft drink will set you back $28.  There's a jug of tap water with lemon on each table that is free of charge.As you can see from the below 3 pictures and the meat platter above, the quality of the A4 waygu is very inconsistent.  The only consistency that I can observe is that non of the beef that arrived at our table were true Japanese A4 quality waygu.  Not worth the price of admission if all I'm going to get are normal beef that you can get from the local supermarkets.  The scallops didn't look very appealing either.  They look like they were defrosted very quickly after being in the freezer for quite some time.  The same goes for the crab legs.One point to note, the refill form won't tell you this and neither will the waiters (at least until you complain to them), but if you put a 'tick' next to the dish you'd like a refill on, they'll give you one portion.  It was sad to see the two tables next to us ask the waiters why they waited 15 minutes for the refill to come and there's only ONE crab leg on the plate when there were 3/4 people at the table with nothing to eat and eagerly waiting for their seconds.As part of the set meal, they also have a curry udon / rice (get it?  The more carbs they give you, the less meat you'll order!)  We had one bite of each and gave up.  The table next to us complained about how salty the curry was.  The waitress explained: "Its suppose to taste like this.  I don't think you guys are accustomed to the taste of this curry".  As for the service, Watami have better serivce than this joint.  The waiters are not very attentive, no smiles, no facial expressions except an eternal frown.  They literally dump the dishes on your plates and wisk away like they were on a mission to see who can deliver the most plates in a minute.  The refill form states (in font 6) that the last order is 15 minutes before the 2 hour mark.  The manager came to our table at the 1 hour 30 minute mark and told us that it was last order.  At the 1 hour 45 minute mark, the bill came.  At the 1 hour 55 minute mark, they came chasing for payment.  There's a narrow hallway to the bathroom which also leads to the kitchen.  I had to squeeze myself to the wall 3 times to allow 3 waiters to walk by (and yes they were on a mission with no intention to allow me thru).   Not what I expected for a restaurant at this price point.  Overall, I would definitely not go back to this place, and will not recommend anyone to go here.  Perhaps their a-la-carte may be better.  For $450/head, there are a lot more alternatives to choose from.…Read More