Kiseki

Value-for-money Japanese food 27 July, 2010 by jazzinjuly

First of all, I must clarify: Kiseki might be called a Japanese buffet restaurant, but it doesn’t serve authentic Japanese cuisine per se. It serves what Singaporeans think is Japanese food.

That aside, the newest Japanese buffet outlet, Kiseki, located at The Heeren’s Basement. It offers a wide enough variety of food that makes the meal so value-for-money, you won’t even bother picking a bone about the authenticity of the food.

I went down for a media tasting lunch session (a large part of the restaurant was filled with paying customers, so I figured it’s as good as the real experience) and really did enjoy myself, despite the fact that I don’t really fancy stuffing myself.

The most alluring point has got to be that there is an endless supply of seafood and sashimi (and they are fresh). The food gets topped out once the supplies thin, so there’s no ridiculous waiting around for the food you want to eat.

The sashimi was presented nicely and served on a plate for the media and was incredibly fresh. When I went to snitch from the normal sashimi counter, you know to make sure it’s not just all a pretense, I realised that the sashimi served to paying customers were really fresh as well.

If you fancy sashimi, you could actually just sit in Kiseki for hours and just stuff yourself till you’re satisfied. You get a good choice of salmon, tuna, swordfish, squid and others.

True to Japanese curry, the one served at Kiseki is sweet, but a little too spicy. I figured it’s to suit the Singaporean taste bud, that will complain if chilli and spice is not added to everything.

There’s a hotpot counter where you can choose from various hot pots like Pork Shabu-shabu, Seafood miso soup and the Beef sukiyaki that I had. Not only was it served piping hot on a stove, the portion was just right to get a taste of the dish. And if you like it, you get to order more. And if you don’t, you didn’t waste too much stomach space anyway.

This was supposed to be highly recommended, but I thought it was a little bland. Alas, it does have a lot of ingredients in it. I think more so than steamed egg.

The yakitori counter served various skewered foods that were overall really salty. What I really liked was the grilled ladyfinger that had a crispy outside and gooey inside. The scallops and shitake mushrooms are also a must try if you can handle saltiness.

Oh, they were also serving grilled pike. That was really popular.

Of course there were assorted fried foods that lined the restaurant that didn’t really catch my attention, so I didn’t try anything except the crab ball, which was really good. But there’s got to be at least six different fried foods, including a stuffed crab snack.

The dessert bar was very impressive – assortments of tapas were lined neatly and you’ll be spoiled for choice. If you’re not into these there are also Chinese dessert choices like cheng ting.

Kiseki’s tofu cheese cake has got to be the lightest cheesecake ever made. It’s definitely a must-try!

Kiseki offers two fondue choices: Milk chocolate and white chocolate. They also have a fruits and snacks bar with items like strawberries, marshmallow, chestnuts and various fruits for fondue purposes. The white chocolate exceeded all of my expectations and was really rich and sweet, making it perfect to be taken with the chestnuts (I know, it sounds weird. But you wouldn’t be convinced until you try it yourself).

And I think the best part about Kiseki’s decor is that they have a designated kids playing area so that parents can dump their kids and eat in peace. And of course, feed them, occasionally.

All in all, I think Kiseki is a place you should visit for a value-for-money meal. Though I would say there’s an element of luck involved because I was informed that the items do change from time to time. Don’t worry, there will always be seafood and sashimi, and even red meats at the dinner slots.

So if you’re up for a big value meal, prices start at $19.80+++ for a weekday lunch.