Having tasted many Japanese buffets in my lifetime, there are many degrees of freshness between every one of them. However, the best that I had was at IKoi Japanese Restaurant at Miramar Hotel. The area that Miramar Hotel is located at also has 3 other hotels, the Corpthrone King's Hotel, Riverview Hotel and the Furama Hotel, each with their own different types of buffets. However, IKoi was my top choice with the prompt service and impressive interior design - mirroring the Edo period of Japan.
Located on the first floor of Mirarmar Hotel, the front of IKoi seemingly doesn't suit the whole hotel's décor. However, once you step into the restaurant, the whole perspective of the restaurant will change. The walls are decorated with countless of pictures of the owners with celebrities who visits his restaurant. Even though IKoi's seating capacity is small compared to other buffet restaurants, they compensate it by maximizing the space. There are bar counters near the entrance of the restaurant and private areas for four or more people.
Gastronomically, the restaurant offers much. You would order from the waiters or waitresses who will patiently listen to your orders from the menu itself. They have many type of foods, like curry rice, nigiri sushi, Tempura and Tonkatsu. Another special thing about IKoi is that the restaurant would serve up their complimentary items first like their smoked salmon and Nabemono and Edamame.
Even though most of their complimentary items are delightful, I do not know why they serve a cup of ice surrounded by raw vegetables like carrots. The vegetables are tasteless and the ice serves no function at all. Their chawamushi (steamed egg) is delicious as well; not too salty which is to my liking. The Sashimi (Raw Fish) served is one of IKoi's highlights. You can either pick out those that you like or have the assorted ones. Each plate of Sashimi is impeccably designed with no slop to be found. They have the common salmon, swordfish, octopus,tuna and more.
One surprising item that I liked on IKoi's menu is their curry rice. Even though I try to avoid rice based foods in Buffets (to not be full too soon), their curry rice is surprisingly refreshing. It is not spicy but sweet. It is hot but not heaty. The chicken cubes inside of the curry are also very tender, a testament of IKoi's freshness in food.
IKoi also serves up unique items like Fish Rolls with Cheese inside and Salmon Mayo Sushi Roll. These items while unique, are nothing special. IKoi's speciality is to serve up awesome traditional Japanese food while maintaining affordability at around $40 per person. However, if you want to order spirits or sake, the restaurant will charge you seperately as alcoholic drinks are no included in the buffet price. One thing to note is that you will need to book with them early before heading down. A buffer of around 2 weeks is a good estimate as the restaurant is always swamped with people. However, it was definitely worth the price with the great seafood on display at IKoi.
IKoi is at the ground floor of Miramar Hotel, 401 Havelock Road.
Telephone No of IKoi: 6887 3788
Open daily from 11:30 am - 2 pm (Lunch) and 6 pm - 11 pm (Dinner)
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