Best Buffet

[pzarquon]

Re: Best Buffet

Interesting. I just got a glowing recommendation for Tsukiji at Ala Moana's Hookipa Terrace. My mom loved the food, and she usually eats like a bird. I mean, 99 percent of the time, a buffet is a waste for her, but apparently the selection and the quality of grinds actually prompted her to stuff herself silly.

She got the same impression I did (just checking it out, walking by one day) about the service: poor and borderline abusive. But, I guess if the food's that good, it doesn't matter.

May be going there for my birthday (kids under ten, it's alleged, dine free).

[infinitypro]

Re: Best Buffet

Our family hits a buffet for one of the celebratory days of the year here's our experience:

IHILANI: We went there for Father's Day 2006 and NOE and her girls dine there at least once a month. Absolutely recommended for food, service, atmosphere.

HALEKULANI: Father's Day 2007 once again absolutely recommended! Our tables were oceanside, the service was just a tad lagging, only a skosh with water refills, but the food more than made up for it. A bit on the pricey side, but for this budget savvy family worth it.

JOHN DOMINIS: We haven't been back since 2004, only because the food wasn't that amazing during that particular day and so as an entire family decided to move on since we had frequented there more than a dozen times.

OCEANARIUM: Easter 2005 was excellent in food, service and atmosphere; but it felt cramped.

OCEAN TERRACE (Sheraton Waikiki): AWESOME Saturday night lobster, prime rib buffet. We last went, just because during the Spring of 2007.

PIKAKE TERRACE (Princess Kaiulani Hotel): One year it was our family dinner buffet every Friday night, which turned into an extended family dinner. The atmosphere is great, entertainment is energetic, and the food is a buffet of lobster, crab, raw fish, prime rib, and more! Our daughter's halau performs every Friday evening, and well you know where we'll be!

WILLOWS: I have to echo the sentiments of everyone else, it's just AWESOME! The Sunday buffet is a mixture of breakfast, hawaiian food, and crab legs! The entertainment is table side, the garden feel is relaxing, and we are planning Mother's Day there 2008.

MAKINO CHAYAS and TODAIS: Unfortunately, we've lost the flavor for their food and atmosphere.

TSUKIJI'S: Is our next stop for NOE and I during school hours. Hopefully by then they will have resolved any customer service issues.

And, that's our experiences and recommendations with buffets!

[cynsaligia]

Re: Best Buffet

Interesting. I just got a glowing recommendation for Tsukiji at Ala Moana's Hookipa Terrace. My mom loved the food, and she usually eats like a bird. I mean, 99 percent of the time, a buffet is a waste for her, but apparently the selection and the quality of grinds actually prompted her to stuff herself silly.

She got the same impression I did (just checking it out, walking by one day) about the service: poor and borderline abusive. But, I guess if the food's that good, it doesn't matter.

May be going there for my birthday (kids under ten, it's alleged, dine free).

Our family hits a buffet for one of the celebratory days of the year here's our experience:

...

TSUKIJI'S: Is our next stop for NOE and I during school hours. Hopefully by then they will have resolved any customer service issues.

now that parc cafe has closed *sob!*, the only buffet on this island i have even a thread of a yearning to return to is tsukiji's. if you go, i highly recommend having lunch and sitting at the bar instead of one of the regular tables, which might alleviate the poor service problem (how much service do you need at a buffet anyway? *shrug*). i've been there three times (twice to have the buffet; the third only to eat sushi from the sushi bar). each time, the bartender helped make the experience enjoyable by providing welcome conversation, refilling our glasses and clearing table space as we noshed. despite the bar being an afterthought to the place (when you get there, you'll come to that very obvious conclusion, too), they have quite a decent sake selection. also, sitting at the bar will make your dining experience more peaceful and scenic since you'll be away from most of the bustle of the regular tables and you can look out the window to enjoy the mauka view.

they do have a separate sushi bar, and the sushi bar definitely serves much better sushi than the buffet, but that should be a no-brainer. if i remember correctly, tsukiji has the rare hon maguro at the sushi bar. they offer the usual sushi and poke suspects on the buffet side - maguro, hamachi, salmon, and so on.

that said, the sushi at the buffet is good enough. the sushi, along with the kal-bi, various japanese veggies, tempura (veggie and shrimp), curry, croquettes and chicken karaage are what i load upon my plate. they also have fresh mochi. i did note that a japanese couple ate nothing but the made-to-order noodle soups so i guess that means they were good (i generally don't load up on the starchy stuff--protein & veggies are where i go unless there's a starchy item that's really good and hard to come by outside of that particular buffet). cold things were as cold as they should be; hot items were quite hot. the fried items like tempura as well as the kalbi are prepared in relatively small batches so they're never soggy or stale or rubbery. remember that this is mostly a japanese place, not a local japanese place, so don't expect the shrimp tempura to have that fluffy, cakey batter, but at least its wysiwyg - no false advertising as to the size of the shrimp inside the batter. besides the small batch thing, food turnover is relatively quick, which adds to the freshness.

i suggest that you don't bother with the soft serve ice cream. i think it's a couple bucks on top of the buffet price. besides, i'd go for the crepes anyway (included in the buffet price and made to order). i'm not a crepey person--you'll practically never see me order one--but when i tried a bite of eric's orange marmalade crepe, i swooned and ran to get my own because the sweet versus tart and the texture of the crepe seduced me so. i didn't really bother with the regular salad items or the dessert tray but they did look good and i heard one woman whine when she went up to the desserts, found all the strawberry cake pieces gone, and was told they weren't going to bring out anymore because the buffet was going to close shortly.

they also have a robata bar, but the first two times i went, it wasn't completed and the third time, the exhaust system wasn't working properly so they shut it down just as we sat at the bar.

by the way, the only difference between the lunch and dinner buffet besides the price (about $18 for lunch and about $30 for dinner, i think), is that at lunch you don't get crab or prime rib and during lunch, and you won't get to enjoy live music. we were told the last time we went some months ago that they were going to start a jazz night. strangely, the stage for performers is above the bar.

anyway, i'd say for the $18 per person price, the lunch buffet is a reasonably good value. for sushi at the mall, it's okay - better than genki in terms of fish quality but not as varied, and pricier.

i will say that i've heard from several people to stay away from the buffet across tsukiji, kyoto osho, if for nothing else but that cold stuff not cold, hot stuff not hot.

[Kungpao]

Re: Best Buffet

Raise the dead post!

What are your guys' opinions on The Oceanarium for Sunday dinner? The menu looks decent but I've read mixed reviews so I thought i'd ask the experts!!

I've read anywhere from the food being "mediocre" to being "awsome". Then there was this "time limit" that I read in a review somewhere. 's that true?

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Best Buffet

You guys can still afford to eat out?!

[cyleet99]

Re: Best Buffet

What with gas prices and grocery prices and electric bills, eating out is often about the same price, especially when you can choose the good stuff at a buffet and be with your family.

When we moved here, I was surprised at how much my friends ate out, but now see why. By the time you figure all the extraneous cost plus fighting traffic to get home to do the cooking (get tired of crockpot or stirfry all the time) it's definitely more relaxing.

[tutusue]

Re: Best Buffet

In addition to what cyleet wrote...I know folks, including myself, who are dining out less often and choosing restaurants that offer specials.

Susie, people aren't nixing dining out altogether. They're adapting according to their own personal financial situations. And, every situation is different.

[sophielynette]

Re: Best Buffet

If I ate all my meals from the McDonalds value menu it would cost about the same as groceries, although I can't say my doctor would approve.

My grandmother retired from cooking not long ago. They only eat at restaurants now. It boggles my mind.

[Kungpao]

Re: Best Buffet

Well... yeah. We've been saving since last year for this vacation. We're good at keeping a budget and haven't been anywhere to relax at all. Work is killing me and my wife and I feel that we've earned it. Plus, it gives me time to enjoy being with my parents who live in Illinois. So while we may be cutting back on things at home, that doesn't mean we are poor. I have a co-worker who eats out for lunch every single day. Pick and choose the things in life to enjoy and make us happy. Vacation in Hawaii and good food are 2 of those things for us.


So Oceanarium Restaurant... Sunday Dinner? Yes? Stay away?

[tutusue]

Re: Best Buffet

[...]
So Oceanarium Restaurant... Sunday Dinner? Yes? Stay away?

I've only been there for breakfast and it was fine. I think Auntie Lynn went there for a family meal. Hopefully she'll chime in.

[LikaNui]

Re: Oceanarium

I've eaten there several times, usually taking visitors from the mainland. It was okay. Not five-star, but not horrible. However, I haven't been there recently, so things could easily change one way or the other.
Even if the food turns out to be just average, it's a whole lot of fun sitting in front of that massive aquarium. Unless you have something like that in your home town, go for it.

[sophielynette]

Re: Oceanarium

Even if the food turns out to be just average, it's a whole lot of fun sitting in front of that massive aquarium.

Sitting in front of a massive aquarium while the inhabitants watch you devour their friends and family? Sounds classy

[LikaNui]

Re: Oceanarium

Sitting in front of a massive aquarium while the inhabitants watch you devour their friends and family? Sounds classy

On the other hand, you might be devouring their enemies, thereby doing them a favor!

[Kungpao]

Re: Best Buffet

The Oceanarium was quite good. I certainly ate my money's worth in poke and sushi alone. Sunday menu was a little misleading. Suckling Pig wasn't suckling, it was just roast pig cubed. Tasty... but misleading. And the "dim sum" was missing "some" lol. There were only 2 or 3 dim sum items in my book. Crab legs were phenomenal. Prime rib was juicy and flavorful, and desert was decadent.

The Aquarium was nice in and of itself. We got to see feeding time with a diver in there putting out big cards that read happy birthday's along the glass for the b-day parties.

I'd go again.

[Jake's Ohana]

Re: Best Buffet

My ohana enjoys Tsukiji's. The buffet was amazing. The food stations reminded me of my visit to the Rio Buffet in Las Vegas. The buffet stations are amazing with some good tasting food.