Ikoi, Frolick, District 9, Mei Heong Yuen (Ion)

Today we finally fulfilled our craving for a jap buffet (although I already indulged last week first!) at Ikoi (01-01, Miramir Hotel).

Since I just had a previous buffet last week, obviously my stamina would have deproved and I'd also no doubt make comparisons between the two. The winner: Irodori at Riverview Hotel - more of the stuff I like such as eel and soft shell crab is not available at Ikoi. Actually, the old Ginga restaurant at Riverview Hotel triumps everything, but I guess the existence of people like me put it to extinction -_-

We had lunch here at Ikoi and per pax it was $38, all in. I believe its the same price for both lunch and dinner. At Riverview Hotel, with the 3 for price of 2 lunch buffets (must present voucher), I believe its 27 bucks per pax all in. (or You can make use of the UOB 25% discount offer for lunch)

At Ikoi, they tend to give you alot of 'complimentary' stuff like the above appetiser of salmon (the only one which is not bad). At Riverview Hotel, the 2 complimentary dishes - green tea tofu (good) and jumbo prawns (excellent!!) I don't mind more, but I think Ikoi is a little nasty making you full with soupy stuff. And fibre (oh but I didnt mind the vegetable sticks cos the miso dip was so delicious)

Both serve excellent very fresh sashimi - my favourite's still salmon, yellowtail and swordfish. Since the hotels are just opposite from each other.......can conclude...same fish supplier???
California rolls... they've got a rather limited sushi menu.,

Agadeshi tofu

Ebi tempura which Marc ate +++++ (he can order 50 at one go) he says when he comes here with his brother they challenge each other to accumulate more tails on their plates...cute lar...

Mackeral and salmon - must say the fried salmon was really smooth and delicious.

So did this particular cut of salmon...Excellent.

This was so huge we couldnt figure out whether it was aubergine or was it wild yam...but it was really good and mushy with minced meat atop..

You can figure that this paper steamboat is complimentary..the salmon inside is most bony...

Japanese Porridge which Marc ordered....he forgot its the one at Raku which was excellent..

One more breath, Julie....

Missed out alot of photos cos many hungry boys = food disappears in a flash

Went to my house to chill before Dedrick returns with Marc's poker chips and obviously it was streetfighter/wii/massive $$$ at the dining table before Kelly and I adjourned to Holland V for yoghurt ice cream at Frolick.

Damn depressed when I couldnt find my Zouk card to get the 1-for-1!!!! Oh well I guess it makes up for the time the girl mistook the offer for Free icecream on presentation of card and gave it to me complimentary =P

When we got to Cineleisure it was way past 6 pm = no more student offer= ;(

but wait!!! I quickly ask for card offers and guess what..... Pay by nets and its $6 per pax Mon to thurs!

I say again, PAY BY NETTS TO WATCH AT CATHY FROM MON TO THURS ITS SIX BUCKS !!!!

Now no need to rush to watch before 6pm anymore.....and no need so sad to graduate with no more student pass...

Anyway, we went to watch District 9. I know its a sci-fi thriller full of gore but I actually fell asleep - its not boring at all but the previous night i had friggin insomnia and only slept 2 hours (before HPPS called!!!!!! tmd wake me up I cant sleep anymore) and the cine seats are just too comfortable.

Its one of the better sci fi I watched but it doesnt beat one that I watched years ago - about flesh eating creatures being quarantined into an island - and the children of an affected mother wanted to enter the island to rescue her. Affected creatures were screened by an iris test and the children turned out to be valuable genetic material because they were carriers of the affected gene, and could potentially be tapped to make vaccines. I cant friggin remember the title so tell me if you know ! (think my synopsis too lousy also)

Anyway, District 9 has a political analogy - it was inspired by historical events that took place in District Six, an inner-city residential area in Cape Town in South Africa under apartheid. In 1966, District 6 was declared a "whites only" area by the apartheid government and for the next several decades, 60,000 people were forcibly removed and relocated to Cape Flats, 25 kilometres away.

Anyway luckily my friend Kelly is a good storyteller so despite me taking a 10 min power nap (during the climax somemore, sigh) I managed to keep up with the series of events... Took a long stroll to Ion with her explaining everything from the Papa/mama (haha) to the baby.

Anyway, most of the stalls were closing already when we reached Ion. We got very excited when we spotted Mei Heong Yuen at Ion (B4). What a surprise ! Kelly's a little disappointed it has become commercialised, but I was pretty amused that Marc's cravings for dessert earlier during the buffet was fulfilled by us (albeit without him!). And somemore when I texted him on my way home he was actually on the way there to celebrate someone's birthday! Speak about coincidence.

I tried their durian ice before and i really liked it. I liked their sweet durian puree over their fine shaved ice. But this Yam ice ($5).....

On first glance, doesnt the lilac remind you of a Khong Guan Yam Pau? (which I used to be obsessed with during a particular sports camp - so much so that they suggest hanging a Yam Pau in front of me so I can chase it all around and be more proactive during the camp =P)

Oh it tastes alot like a diluted yam pau/paste....no puree leh!!

Anyway we came just before 10pm, very near their closing time. The owner was very friendly so we overlooked her overlooking our order. Our banter went something like this :

Q: Why the yam ice so purple ahh?? In your poster so pale leh.

A: Oh, different mah, the lighting. And we use real yam. (Isn't it the same case for both??)

Q: What happened to the raisins and cranberries in the poster?? can you add into our one?

A: Oh we no longer stock those cos customer feedback, say too hard and clashes with the yam taste.

Q: Anything else we can add to make it less bland?? really very bland leh....

A: Oh, its an acquired taste (But we like yam what !!!) , supposed to be very light. The ones in Taiwan taste very good cos the raw ingredients there very fresh, different from the ones we have here (and still dare to sell???)

Q: Yaahh Ma'am, we suggest adding in yam chunks, taro paste, or maybe even red bean??

A: Supposed to be a LIGHT acquired taste, cannot have contrasting flavours. Maybe can try our red bean green tea ice instead???

Then to appease us - not say we very agitated what... -_- she went to the kitchen then offered us this brown sugar conical jelly - gives this slightly spicy after taste (although she was taken aback when we reported our findings. She said that she was coming up with a new longan combination then I didn't quite catch - not particularly excited but Kelly was haha. So she's adding this new jelly to the new ice flavour.

The brown sugar jelly did add such a contrast to the yam ice, chewy bursting pearls and firm jelly tubes =)

We saw the last few pieces of Min jiang Kueh at Pinle (B4, Ion) and couldnt resist buying - Kels the peanut and cheese, I got the cheese one. I love the thin dough batter, just the right proportion and I love the melted cheese too! I like this cold one even better than the freshly made Mr Bean cheese pancake (thanks ah Kelly for spreading the addiction =P)

And today is the day we spotted 4 white Lambos !! Kelly has such as astute sense of hearing Lambos she could identify one auditarily I was rather amazed...They were zooming all over time one after another!! Eat dust man.

Irodori Japanese Restaurant

I'm a little sad when I realised the old Ginga restaurant has been replaced by Irodori Japanese Restaurant (382 Havelock Road #03-01 Riverview Hotel ). The former Ginga had really good teppanyaki (salmon and swordfish), and excellent deep fried shishamo, and its the only jap buffet place I know which serves Unagi and soft shell crab sans the sushi rice. I still remembered watching soccer in the lounge after the buffet with icecream cake served ! This was during the dinner buffet last Jan with Z.

The current Irodori restaurant looks more refurbished and doesn't have the above perks of Ginga, but nonetheless, its time to move on and I should not reminisce so much about lost places nor relationships.

I met Soumi, Ian and Carol here, and we made use of the voucher that Michelle gave us - for every 2 people 1 dines free - but since there were 4 of us we paid $30 nett each. UOB cardmembers enjoy a 25 % discount here but i think its only valid for lunch.

Everyone had the starters of edame, broad beans, and the green tea tofu - the latter was a delight with all the fried crispy batter on it.

Ian and I had the Chawanmushi which was ordinary but a huge lump of chicken and crabmeat right within..
The best part was of course, the mixed sashimi platter and I must say Irodori serves the freshest and best selection of the jap buffets I've had, and in M's words, the only place which serves swordfish sashimi. Carol's favourite was the salmon, and I liked the swordfish and hamachi, as well as *surprise* the squid. All very fresh.

Oh yeah, they'll ask you if you want your sashimi in thick or thin slices and we asked for a thin cut, though it was still satisfyingly thick.
The next best part of the buffet was the complimentary jumbo prawns - it was friggin AWESOME!! It had mayonaise sauce and egg roe atop it and it was so rich it tasted like it had cheese in it too (must be my imagination). Too bad it was only one serving. We could prob eat enough to cause its extinction.

Below that is the salmon steak and salmon teppanyaki. Alright normal.. couldnt really tell the difference between both, one was supposed to have teriyaki sauce and the other one didnt..

I loved the unagi sushi here, a fantastic balance between the teriyaki sauce and the fish, and again well proportioned with the rice (though I miss Ginga's unlimited untainted unagi...)
The irodori rolls were really rich, there was mayo, fish roe embedding the rice roll which contained ?baby lobster and mayonaise?
The beef roll with inoki mushrooms were a hot favourite but I somehow wasnt a fan cos I eat alot of beef cooked in a similar style at home....I prefer eating chunks of beef outside (read: STEAK)
The eggplant was wonderful, I think it was Carol's favourite since she had one all to herself later on in the buffet. It has a crisp outer layer and extremely salty, its done in a style I've never tried before.
Spider handroll (Soft shell crab) tasted like the ones I used to have at Sakae Sushi..
Mackeral was freshly fried and the sauce was also good.

All this teppanyaki is making me miss those crazy 1-hour-eat-all- you - can Kuishinbo express lunch buffets Carol and I use to go for everytime she's back from London. We took so much raw fish to go do teppanyaki the waiter who served it to us was also amazed (i guess, no amount of gluttony fazes people who work in such places anymore).
Had a selection of mixed tempura - 2 prawns (which Soumi and Ian had), eggplant (Carol) and 2 tempura fish which I had - never really ate fish in a tempura form. It was just like the fish in fish and chips, albeit in a miniature form.

Kakiege (tempura vegetables) was also light and refreshing, a hit with the girls. Again reminds me of the Kakiege I used to like at Sakae Sushi.

The tamago I had was a little insipid, like it was straight out of the freezer and had this strong taste of spring onions (which I dislike). Do not chose those leng3 men2 items like I did quotes Carol.

This was Japanese Onsen or Yong Tau Fu. The broth was really good, and the radish was the best part of this cos it soaked up most of the broth. The other tofu items were not so fresh !

Chicken Teriyaki, Fried mixed vegetables for everyone, but my own inari sushi and unagi sushi.

Do not go near the inari sushi nor the tamago unless you like frozen items...

Repeat order of sashimi - salmon, yellowtail and swordfish, of which I inhaled most of - my friends were egging me on to take one last breath to finish up the rest but...

I wanted to try other stuff (or so my friends chanted) so I went for the agadeshi tofu - love how the fried items are all done on order

My other mistake was to order a friggin JUMBO roll at the end of the meal (that kinda ended my meal, thats why) and the chef even gave me another COMPLIMENTARY JUMBO roll....double ends my appetitie....and the triple roll is nothing special, just 3 of the most insipid ingredients you can find in sushis! AHHH! What an anticlimax. Whilst Carol went on a journey to the West, Ian Soumi and I went to Ion - think the craze has died finally, the queue for the takopachi is not insane anymore and Uniqlo is not packed. We browsed around (sigh, still a dearth of size 10 shoes boo i miss aus) and went around from Ion to Taka to Wisma, to all the Sephoras there was, and to household shop at Tangs, and browsed for cheap sample cosmetics at Lucky Plaza.

Oh and the peanut pancake at Jollibean (B1, Paragon) has a new pandan flavoured dough! Found it when browsing for Difflam lozenges at Paragon.

And Breadtalk (B1, Wisma) has this new pumpkin/yam walnut bread ! Chunks of pumpkin and mash yam within the core of the bread, I really like this one!

Oh man...im going for yet another Jap buffet tmr at Ikoi...gonna be rolling back to school man...

Sushi Kikuzawa

the year should end with a bang and how else to celebrate in style : with a buffet, of course! this must be my first buffet entry and it has really been a long time since I had a buffet. Every time Carol is back its almost ritual that we celebrate her return with Jap buffets - the last time she was back we went to Kuishinbo 3 times in a week man during their one hour 19.90++ special..those were crazy times..

but of cos I've moved on from those manic days when i kept returning to the same old places and overdosed on the food there so this time round we decided to come here for their sushi buffet. This is my first time and Carol's 2nd.

Its a really small restaurant - consists of bar counter seats only, and can only accomodate under 15 people. It was a Monday evening and the restaurant was full. On our left was a bunch of scholars (and their mentor right smack in the middle, we presumed) and our right were 2 couples. Really intimate.
They have lunch buffets - $29.90 on weekdays and $39.90 on weekends - they do express lunch sets as well.

For dinner buffets its$ 39.90 weekdays and $49.90 weekends.

Recently I've learn to appreciate sitting at counter seats because watching the Jap chefs at work adds to the gastronomic experience. I feel like Sushi Kikuzawa's sushi buffet is like an omikaze experience - because for the most part of the meal, we let the chef decide what he wishes to serve us.. and when my friend stopped , I then started ordering the ones that I really wanted to try, off the menu. And because the chef is right in front of you, you can just ask him directly to prepare it and he would whip it up almost immediately. Definitely more interesting than other alacarte Jap buffets (Hanabi, Kuishinbo, yawn) where the food is mostly prepared in the kitchen.

Obviously the sake is not in the buffet...the free flow green tea is charged under the miscellenous (i guess, along with the towels) at $1.50 per pax.

The pictures came in useful when I was trying to figure out the first few sushis when the chef was serving as he pleased..

Edame Beans

I've learnt to like this in rj when hwee ying bought a bunch of this over to school..they were always lurking around during the conveyor belt sushi days and I never knew that these pods actually tasted good lightly salted.. its like a firmer cousin of those pea pods.

Sashimi

There is only one serving of sashimi - quite fresh I suppose. Tuna was particularly red- and there was swordfish, prawn and salmon.. I tend to overeat these during those frew flow Jap buffets.


I actually quite like this sushi buffet because despite the rice - which was soft and fluffy! - I managed to try many many types of fishes - most of which I haven't tried before. For these fishes I tend to try the fish on its own first before diluting the taste with the rice. In sashimi buffets I'd just be loading up the volume of the protein without really thinking much of the tastes..quite a brainless affair..

but for those carbohydratically challenged...you'd be better off at Ikoi...

This was a complimentary appetiser - chicken and vegetables in a light broth - and this suspicious gelatinous greyous looking amorphous substance on the left - I ate it anyway.


Okay the next few I was kind of clueless as to what I was eating - but this was the first time I was eating seared fish and I love it! It is amazing what the blowtorch does to the fish man - melts the fats and the aroma just drives me nuts!

And this was one of them - the blowtorch really brings out the flavour (and oil!) from the fish.
Swordfish and another fish...any idea?

This was fish roe and uni...The fish roe was bursting with salty sea goodness, but the uni seemed too fishy tonight.

Another seared fish..

Prawn, another fish and eel - the unagi here is particularly good because they sear the eel and it is FANTASTIC! I had like 3 rounds of unagi..too bad they ran out of the river eel though, I will wanna try that.

Another fish (that was really tasty) and tuna dusted with sesame seeds - the tuna was particularly thick!

The ginger atop this fish really complements the salty fishy taste of this, quite interesting.

Its some minced fish inside this handroll, Im not too sure which part of the tuna this belongs to..

Finally something that I recognise...SALMON..haha...nothing too exciting...

I wish there was some subtitles...

moving on...

I guess i get quite excited when I can name some of what im eating...TAMAGO!

The omelette here is slightly wetter and has a good balance between sweet and saltiness. I liked this and had 2 rounds of it.

SQUID! I don't like this so my excitement died down...and my friend stopped here ( I guess the squid is quite uninspiring) but of course I rambled on till closing time... i guess this was the time when i decided I should decide my menu lest he serves another pesky squid...

Pufferfish

Fugu is something I haven't tried before, and for something so exotic sounding (and poisonous too) it was really quite bland and rubbery, and in your mouth it'll break up into strips. Interesting with that salty red thing atop the fish.

Chawan Mushi

This has chokeful of ingredients like gingko nuts, chicken, mushrooms, fishcake and crabmeat. But of course I still prefer the tangier one at Tatsuya, which has a smoother consistency as well. This has many air pockets.

Akagai

The arkshell is something I've been meaning to try for a long time too. Its quite a salty clam fish and quite firm.

Negituro

This was the best sushi for the night for me. The buttery garlicky minced fatty tuna belly was really really good. I had 2 rounds of this. It was supposed to be in a maki form in the menu but the chef kindly did it in a sushi form for me. Happiness! Even Carol who was stuffed managed to squeeze this in after she stopped long ago. And she agreed it was very good.

Herring Roe, Silverfish

The Herring was really salty and crunchy, whilst the silverfish had this fishy taste. Something that I'll try only once. Herring was a fish I tried before in the scandinavian restaurant ABOF (where I had my 21st birthday party and is extinct now) and I tried it salted in an open face sandwich

Half Beak

Makes me think of something out of Harry Potter (the monstrous gigantic pet bird that Hagrid had) and this was firm but quite bland tasting.

Unagi

My second round of it... I wish it was thicker and longer and bigger...I love every bit of the seared goodness!

Salmon in Ponzu Sauce

I had an appetiser in the middle of the menu (because I wanted to stimulate my appetite more so I can keep going). Actually the real reason is that cos I wanted to try it earlier on but I forgot...good conversation distracts me =)

2nd serving of Tamago and 2nd serving of Negituros.. obvious which was my favourite!

Hotate and Unagi

The scallop was what I wanted to try since I haven't tried a seared version before. Really saltier and tastier with the magical touch of the blowtorch. My third serving of eel.

Oh well, this was the last order and I was still ready to roll on actually (but I won't be able to roll out of the restaurant after that). We started at around 715pm and the last order is at 9pm (or until the rice runs out) .. I should have quickly zoomed here when the buffet starts at 6pm (or started first then Carol can join me midway it'd have been just nice)..

I sure needed all the calories I can get to fight my patho exam...I just hope that all that mercury (and that poisonous pufferfish!!) didn't kill off my brain cells!! Michelle, I hope you like it tomorrow! I wish you can come over to get the Kukizawa loyalty card cos for every 6 buffet stamps, the next buffet will be at 10 bucks only!

We didn't have enough cheesecake from the other Allanbakes white chocolate strawberry cheesecake so my mom popped by Secret Recipe near Jelita (without consulting me!!!!! I'd rather have something from Cedele or that walnut cheesecake from Swissbake) to get this Choc Cheez. Its half chocolate mousse and half cheesecake, with a generous coating of dark chocolate cream and plenty of whipped cream round its border.

Secret Recipe reminds me alot of my rj days - we popped by here for meals and cakes once in awhile - and once during their 50% off during national day or some anniversary my family came here and tried almost every cake - and in Malaysia where everything is in ringgit we've another self induced cake buffet as well. Choc Cheez is one of my favourite though I still prefer a similar version from Miss Clarity Cafe - the Twin Divine - where the chocolate is Valrhona and is thicker, whilst the cheese is creamier.

Here, the cheese is rougher, and is like a denser version of the Fiesta cheesecak (that we used to buy from Yaohan supermarket - not sure if they still have it now) - and the chocolate cream - is well, just cream and not dense dense chocolate!

Thats why I can't wait for my second cake from Allanbakes...coming on new years eve..yay!! sugar rush is welcome during hard times slogging in my room...

Happy new year everyone!