{Media Invite} Reopening of brand new SAKURA International Buffet
We were invited to the grand reopening of Sakura International Buffet @ Yio Chu Kang outlet.
The revamped restaurant now has 8 counters and aims to bring the world's delicacies to their diners at the most affordable pricing :)
We were greeted by the CEO's opening speech followed by the Lions' Dance performance.
Somehow, I thought that the lions looked like Ebi Prawns.. *Oops*
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| Doesn't this look like an Ebi Prawn? |
Restaurant Name: Sakura International BuffetWebsite: http://www.sukigroup.sg/sakura.aspLocation:Yio Chu Kang Stadium210 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 9, #01-208Singapore 56977Tel: 6754 8197
Affordability
The buffet prices are considered affordable with lunch starting from SGD17.90++ and dinner starting from SGD33.90++ for adults.
Operating Hours:LUNCHMon - Fri, 11:30 - 15:00Weekends, Eve of Public Holidays and Public Holidays, 11:00 - 15:00DINNERDaily, 17:30 - 22:00
The restaurant is housed in a circular building and it is located just a stone throw away from Yio Chu Kang MRT Station.
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| Restaurant crowded with rowdy diners |
Local (Singaporean) Delights
The main highlight here was the Signature Boston Lobster and Argentine Red Prawn Hokkien Mee and Signature Hiroshima Oyster Omelette.
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| Signature Boston Lobster and Argentine Red Prawn Hokkien Mee and Signature Hiroshima Oyster Omelette. |
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| Condiments for the Oyster Omelette |
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| Signature Boston Lobster and Argentine Red Prawn Hokkien Mee |
It was a shame that I did not try the Hokkien Mee because I wasn't attracted to hawker fare but regretted afterwards as other instagramers actually were full of praises of this dish. Meh :/
However Sweetie Muffin grabbed the Signature Hiroshima Oyster Omelette and we thought it tasted pretty OK. Shark's Fin Soup tasted mediocre though.
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| Other Local Delights |
We skipped most of the local delights because as locals, we believed that the delicacies taste best at hawker centres :)
But if you are interested, these are the dishes served:
1. Signature Boston Lobster and Argentine Red Prawn Hokkien Mee
2. Signature Hiroshima Oyster Omelette
3. Kambing Soup
4. Shark's Fin Soup
5. Hainanese Chicken Rice
6. Shrimp Paste Chicken
7. Otah Otah
8. Chicken Satay
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| Hainanese Chicken Rice |
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| Hainanese Chicken |
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| Chicken Satay |
DIY Noodle Station
I skipped this as well because I needed to avoid carbs.
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| DIY Noodle Station |
Thailand
Saawad De Ka! We are here at the Thai booth ~
The dishes served here includes:
1. Pineapple Fried Rice
2. Green Curry Chicken
3. Fish Cake
4. Caramelised Tapioca
5. Papaya Salad
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| Pineapple Fried Rice |
Hong Kong
The Hong Kong booth is super happening! This is because they serves Portuguese Bird Nest Egg Tarts and Liu Sha Baos!!!
The Liu Sha Bao (Golden Lava Custard Buns) tasted surprisingly great to my amazement!
The Hong Kong counter serves mostly dim sum items like:
1. Signature Freshly-Baked Portuguese Bird Nest Egg Tart
2. Liu Sha Bao
3. Assorted Dim Sum
4. Dried Scallop Chicken Porride
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| Assorted Dim Sum includes Siew Mai and Fried Money Bags! |
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| Signature Freshly-Baked Portuguese Bird Nest Egg Tart |
This item is being grabbed like hot cakes! I had to wait for the second round of refill in order to savour these egg tarts!!
The egg tarts tasted great but I think the Bird Nest on top did not really enhance the egg tart much as the egg tart is originally sweet and you can't really taste bird nest in it. So its rather wasted to add bird nest to it although the idea seemed innovative.
Japan
Japan Counter serves:
1. Sashimi ~ Salmon Sashimi
2. Ama Ebi
3. Argentine Red Prawn Sushi
4. Cold Appetisers
5. Snow Crab Chawanmushi
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| Assorted Sushis |
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| The selection of Sushis is indeed vast! |
Oh yes, they do have a Shabu Shabu (steamboat) section which serves:
1. Hiroshima Oyster
2. Argentine Prawn
3. Sliced Beef
4. Dory Fish Fillet
5. Assorted Greens
6. Chicken
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| Shabu Shabu! |
Western - USA, France and Italy
The Western Section ain't very popular among the crowd because they are where all the carbs are - pastas, cream, cheese.. Things that makes you want to puke after you had an overdose...
USA
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| USA Counter |
USA Counter serves:
1. Straight Cut Fries
2. Nachos with Hot Cheese Sauce
3. Chicken Popcorn
4. Breaded Fish Finger
5. BBQ Hot Dog
6. Baked Cheese Macaroni
7. Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Italy
Italy Counter serves:
1. Lasagna
2. Pizza
3. Pasta Station
France
This is indeed the most popular counter amongst the crowd besides the Hong Kong counter as there are fresh seafood!
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| FRESH SEAFOOD ON ICE!!!!! ATTACK!!! |
France Counter serves:
1. Whelk à la bourguignonne
2. Seafood on Ice
- Steamed White Clams
- Boiled Prawns
- Steamed Green Mussel
- Whole Poached Salmon
2. Salad Bar
3. Homemade Pickles
DESSERTS!
This is the MOST attractive counter for me because I am a HUGE fan of desserts.
Look at the vibrant colours of the pastries tempting me to grab them as soon as possible~~~
Ohhh even the Colour Lapis looked so appealing!
They even serve Durain Cream Puff, Rainbow Cakes and many more...
Not to mention that they have a Häagen-Dazs booth which serves Belgian Chocolate Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream with Chocolate Lava Cake.
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| Belgian Chocolate Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream with Chocolate Lava Cake |
However, the counter which attracted me the most was the most disappointing one ultimately :(
Only the Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream was good whereas the rest tasted quite substandard. The Rainbow Cake looked good but it was rather insipid. Chocolate Eclair was not up to my expectation either as it tasted rather raw.
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| Leftover Desserts |
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| What we grabbed |
To be honest, we only finished half of the food (there were only 2 of us) and the rest was wasted.
The same thing happened to other bloggers / instagramers as well because they needed a variety of food to appear good in their photos but the food ended up in the thrash because we simply took more than we could have chewed.
Overall
Overall, food served tasted mediocre with lots of disappointment especially from the Desserts Counter. However, there are still other signature dishes which are worth a try but it will be quite wasted if you go to a buffet with these few nice dishes in mind.
I would recommend Sakura International Buffet for people with the below traits:
1. Huge appetite
2. Loves variety
3. Does not really bother about the taste of the food as long as there is variety
4. Too busy to travel out of Singapore to eat good food
5. Greedy Eaters
Please do avoid buffet if you are like myself:
1. Small appetite
2. Fussy eater who eats fine food
3. Dessert Lover
4. Hates Wastage
I hope this sharing is beneficial for you and do let me know if you have other opinions on this as I am never a buffet lover to be honest :)
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