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I have been thinking of trying Shin Minori Japanese buffet for the longest time and the chance finally came in the form of a birthday treat voucher! Although it was free, i thought it would be very weird to dine alone and hence, dragged Alex along as a companion!
Bad choice. Alex, as we are aware, is a picky eater, doesn't eat much as well and any kind of buffet would be utterly wasted on him. Oh well, it is Japanese cuisine and i bet i can eat the worth of two persons by having more sashimi!
Ordering the ala-carte items was actually very simple using four different coloured sheets categorised as sashimi /sushi, agemono/ yakimono, temaki/ makimono and ippinmono/ itaemono/ nimono/ piza/ teppanyaki/ gohan/ men/ shiru.
There were 146 items to choose from and knowing the limited capacity of my stomach means i would have to strike a balance between dishes i personally like and those labelled as chef's recommendation!
First up was Kani Miso Shiru - Cream of crab bean paste soup that tasted almost like a not too bad mixture of sweet pumpkin soup and savoury lobster bisque.
I am going to have my fix of assorted raw and good quality seafood; sashimi moriwase! Tuna, salmon, snapper, swordfish, octopus and cuttlefish - all, with the exception of cuttlefish, were so palatable! Alex doesn't take raw food which means i would have to finish everything on the plate.
Honestly, by the end of this, i was almost 50% full.
Sushi! I didn't have any as i tried not to touch any carbohydrates when i am having buffets. In the opinion of Alex (who would be the best to judge the sushi), he claimed they were the best! p.s. i am not sure if i should endorse what he said since he has weirder taste buds than mine.
Tempura Moriawase - Assorted tempura prawns, fish and vegetables. I might be a person who likes deep fried stuff but when it comes to tempura, i have yet to try any that blows my mind away.
Pumpkin with Special Sweet Sauce - despite the unexciting appearance, i did enjoy the freshness crunch of well simmered pumpkin. Unless you are a pumpkin lover, you can give this a miss.
Tako Yaki - the octopus balls sold under the brand of Takopachi were much better and definitely much warmer than these from Shin Minori.
The waitress informed that the above was Tori Teppan (Chicken on Hot Griddle) and i wondered if she is telling the truth, even now. Nothing's wrong with it truthfully as i did love the thin, crunchy skin and garlic marination. However, i don't remember food cooked the teppanyaki style had such a texture. Well, i could be wrong.
Mystery deepened with the above two trays. I would have thought one was Tori Karaage (deep fried chicken) and the other was simply the same thing with wasabi mayonnaise! Wrong, the latter was supposed to be a pan-fried dish!
Gyuniku Shogayaki - beef with special sauce that was incredibly delicious with layers of tender beef and should have come with an additional bowl of Japanese sticky rice to soak up the yummy sauce!
Tori Teriyaki and Buta To Garlic - both meat skewers were good (comparable to Tori Q) and i would have ordered more if i was not already 95% filled up by then. Surprisingly, my sister thought otherwise when she dined at Shin Minori last June.
Unagi Yaki Meshi - Eel fried rice that was moist, juicy and a well deserved carbo-rich conclusion to a good meal. For those hoping for desserts, i am sorry to say there was none!
How could i forget chawanmushi - the Japanese steamed egg? Alex was impressed even though i was pretty neutral with it.
Knowing Alex, if he likes something, he will order more of it and befitting his character, he did request for three more servings of chawanmushi!
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I covered at most twenty items, which was not even one-seventh of the menu. Nevertheless, i prefer Shin Minori over Shin Yuu and would likely make another trip to try other items on the extensive menu!
The next time would see me bringing a bigger cohort to share the food!
Location
81, Clemenceau Avenue
#03-15/16, UE Square
Reservation
Please call 6733-2272
Rates and Operating Hours
As above.
Website
Menu
As above. For updates, please check out their website.
Price
Buffet Lunch Adult - S$32
[Subject to GST and Service Charge]
Additional Information
Sake is separately charged while a cup of green tea (in our case, cold green tea) cost an additional S$0.30 each.