Kuishin-Bo: Second "New" Branch

The basement of Jurong Point was revamped into a whole stretch of food street called Shokutsu 10 Osaka, filled with a new cluster of Japanese restaurants, including a second branch of Kuishin-Bo.

Pardon me when I use the word 'new', because when we went to try, it was really new then. Haha but I've been constantly updating my personal blog yet too lazy to update this one, that all my super backdated waiting-to-be-reviewed food reviews had snowballed into a huge (old) collection!

It's high time I start.. a few entries (hopefully) for the moment.

The peaceful looking zen setting can never be peaceful once the noisy crowd sets in.

Edamames and Sushis,   

What are Japanese buffets without Sushis? But these were of average taste and quality, and I always believe in not stuffing yourselves with too much Sushis because they're filling!

Sashimis,   

Our three favourite kinds of Sashimis - salmon, tuna, and swordfish.

Chawanmushi and Cha Soba,   

The steamed egg in the Chawanmushis were soft and smooth; while the Cha Soba was like any other.

Snow Crabs,   

Advertised as the star attraction of the buffet, these Snow Crabs were indeed the cream of the crop!


Sweet succulent juices spurt right into your mouth with every suck made on the fresh snowy meat! Wow these Snow Crabs totally won me over since the first time I tried it, and it had always been the ONLY reason why I'd still return to Kuishin-Bo this time when the rest of the buffet had long degraded.

Anyway, like I mentioned in my first post about Kuishin-Bo, I still think topping up S$10++ for the dinner buffet is worthwhile because of Snow Crabs.

Hot plate dishes were something that the Jurong branch offered over the Teppanyaki dishes at the Suntec branch.

Beef Burger on Hot Plate,   

I've read other food reviewers saying how hard and overcooked the beef patty was, and I think the restaurant tried to improve it by breaking up the beef patty into smaller pieces. It was still quite hard and overcooked, but at least easier for consumption now.

Salmon on Hot Plate,   

The Salmon meat was rather flaky, and the raw beansprouts were a weird combination.

Omu Rice,   

Rice here was hard, omelette was slightly overcooked (due to personal preferences), but the sauce was pretty nice. Not bad but again, be mindful of its filling nature.

During dinner buffets, the restaurant would play a tune that goes "Dong dong dong 123.." (I'm sure you've made fun of it before) to give out special dishes for the first 30 customers.

'Kiasuism' was overwhelming as the whole string of people literally surged forward in line within seconds, even faster than a fire evacuation.

Mini Lobster with Sweet Chilli,   

Okay we were one of the first 30 Kiasu buffet crowd, and we got this Mini Lobster. Actually it wasn't really fantastic, but rather the sense of satisfaction in getting the special item.

Desserts,   

Bite-sized desserts are always good so you could try a much wider variety.


Tiramisu, mousses, jellys, eclairs..

Green Tea and Vanilla Soft Serve,   

A sweet messy way to end the buffet!

VERDICT
Unless someone's throwing a treat for us, we would never return to Kuishin-Bo again. Not that it's really really bad, but because we had already grown sick of all the variety there. Time for a new buffet venue!

Kuishin-Bo, The Authentic Japanese Buffet Restaurant - Jurong Point
#B1-47/51, Jurong Point Shopping Centre
1 Jurong West Central 2, S(648886)
(+65) 6792 9286
Mon - Sun: 11.30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
http://www.res.com.sg

Buffet Lunch:	S$26.90++ (Weekdays)
	S$28.90++ (Weekends)
Buffet Dinner:	S$35.90++ (Mon - Thur)
	S$39.90++ (Fri - Sun)

Food:
Ambience:
Value:
Service:

Kuishin-Bo: Worse After Renovation

I remember I used to be very excited going over to Kuishin-Bo for a buffet meal, but sadly, I no longer feel the same now. After a renovation in April 2007, standards dropped - both variety and quantity.

This afternoon, I went for Kuishin-Bo again, for the third time after its renovation. (I didn't take any pictures in the previous two rounds.)

Sushis,   

Colours and presentation were attractive. They made decent sushis, except for the rice being too hard, and they didn't stick together very well. Anyway, just grab a bit of these to start off, and then move on. Don't stock up your buffet stomachs with carbos!

Sashimis,   

We all love free flows of Sashimis, because they are fine, fresh, and always aperitive. Japanese people believe that Sashimis should be eaten first, before other strong flavours affect the palate.

Seafood,   

The seafood section was quite pathetic. Kuishin-Bo used to serve fresh oysters before the renovations, but now they'd replaced them with mussels instead. Prawns were pretty fresh, while the conches were just sick (at least to me and a few others). Yellow brainy juice (or whatever that is) oozed when I dugged out the conch flesh, and it was utterly appalling to my mouth - tasteless tough rubber.


I didn't take anything from the deep fried section because nothing tempted me there.

Teppanyaki,   

Beef, chicken, dory and salmon - the four standard meats good enough to have in Teppanyakis.

Beef Kaminabe,   

The best dish of this restaurant I supposed was the Kaminabe (Japanese paper steamboat). Given the cold weather lately, it was much of a joy to slurp through a pot of boiling hot soup. Rich overflowing sapidity streaming into your throat, and down to warm your stomach. Terrific.

(From top left, and clockwise down:) Soba, Cha Soba, Udon,   

The cold noodles were merely passable - they just made it through the mark; and soba sauces were towards the "too salty" side.




Expansive selections from the dessert sections.

Desserts,   

Desserts came cute, tiny, and in delectable assortments. The chocolate fondue was irresistably fudgy (it goes best with the bananas); eclairs exploded inside mouths with icy cold ice cream; fruit tarts were good; mini donuts were covered with overly sugary coatings; and mini cakes were acceptable. Though the quality was fairly good, the best bet was that they were all bite-sized :) Sweet sweet treats.

VERDICT
The first time there is always a good experience, but subsequent visits would deem Kuishin-Bo as "not so nice" anymore. If you really want, add an approximate S$10 more and go for the dinner instead - you get free frow of expensive snow crabs, and special items like baked lobsters, candy floss and such. But still, the price could probably get me better buffets elsewhere.

Kuishin-Bo, The Authentic Japanese Buffet Restaurant
#03-002, Suntec City Mall
3 Temasek Boulevard, S(038983)
(+65) 6238 7088
Mon - Sun: 11.30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
http://www.res.com.sg

Buffet Lunch:	S$24.80++ (Weekdays)
	S$27.80++ (Weekends)
Buffet Dinner:	S$33.80++ (Mon - Thur)
	S$39.80++ (Fri - Sun)

Food:
Ambience:
Value:
Service: