SAKURA International Buffet - Tampines

TAMPINES - SAFRA - SAKURA INTERNATIONAL BUFFET

We arrived at about 8 pm on a Saturday night. There was a long queue!
We were ushered in after a table was hastily cleared.
What a mess! The place was packed, the tables placed closely to each other with little walking space - making it difficult to move about. The floor was slippery, sticky and had spilled sauces.

Anyway, we headed for the drinks station first. 
There was quite a variety of soft drinks, sweetened beverages and a coffee machine (one had broken down). 
They have Lipton tea bags for tea lovers. 
Once again, the place was a mess with spilled drinks, scattered ice and generally a small place with a large crowd and barely any order.

The Sushi & Sashimi Counter

 Imagine my disappointment when I saw this. 
My favourite Inari sushi was gone and never refilled. No fish roe sushi either :(
The remainder of the sushi didn't look appetising at all! :(

Thankfully there were still some salmon and squid sashimi left, along with a miserable amount of tuna. 
Octopus had run out and was not refilled.

I was also vastly disappointed when I saw that the ginger slices had barely any left. 
I love my sushi with generous servings of wasabi and pickled ginger :(



The salmon was OK, though not as fresh as other salmon sashimi I have tried before.
The tuna was horrible! It wasn't fresh and had a stale taste. Yuck.
The squid wasn't crisp and chewy as it should be! Instead, it was mushy :(
The wasabi wasn't fresh either. 
It had lost its bite and I had to heap enormous portions of it without the soy sauce to experience some of it's spiciness.

My partner managed to grab the last inari sushi! 

The rice was pretty tasty, but other than that the sushi weren't good. 

Skimpy fillings that weren't very tasty. What a let down :(

Cold Dishes Counter

ARGGGHHH!! WHERE ARE THE EDAMAMES?? I LOVE THE EDAMAMES!! :'(
And nooo! Barely any Baby Octopus left! I love them too!! :'(((

I scrapped off the last remaining octopus, took some cold jellyfish and headed back to the table.

My lovely marinated octopus which were supposed to be sweet and crunchy were SOFT AND SALTISH D:
The jellyfish was marinated well, but it wasn't cold and crunchy either - it was soft and mushy.
Maybe it was due to the previous disappointments, but the octopus and jellyfish were the worst I had ever eaten.

Seafood Counter

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-
I LOVE SEAFOOD :'((((
The Crabs were all GONE. One last scallop remains. A few mussels remain...
Nooooooooooooooooo-

Sigh.

The seafood wasn't up to standard either.
The mussels were not fresh - mushy and saltish.
The scallop was saltish too?
The prawns were very saltish?
Aren't these supposed to be fresh seafood?
I've eaten at many buffets, but this is the first time I've come across saltish 'fresh seafood'.

My favourite sections - sashimi and seafood - were pretty disappointing.
Oh well, at least there's a salad bar.
After so much saltish seafood, a nice platter of salad would be delightful...

Salad Bar

 ...

I spy a single lettuce leaf?
Everything else was empty, with some scraps of shredded carrots, sweet corn and legumes.
I decided to skip this section entirely...

 Next up we have the grilled food which you have to pre-order with your table clips.

Grilled Mushrooms

The mushrooms were not bad. They were soft and slightly saltish. 

Chicken Satay

Mutton Satay

The satays were probably the best dish here. The sauces were tasty.
As for the other grilled items such as salmon and beef, the meat were rather tough and the seasoning too saltish.

I didn't bother taking photographs for the cooked food section.
Most of the trays were empty with only the leftover sauces remaining. 
The cooked broccoli only had one stem left! 
The Dim Sum items and soups were still available.
The Kueh Pie Tee section was thankfully still available, though they had run out of coriander toppings.



There's a reason why the Kueh Pie Tee and Dim Sum sections were still filled.

As you can see, the Kueh Pie Tee shells had softened already and broke easily when I filled it.
The chilli sauce was so saltish??
It didn't taste good with the sparse coriander leaves and saltish chilli.

For some reason, the Dim Sum items were cold despite being kept in a bamboo steamer.
The skin was tough and unappetising and the fillings bland.

For the fried food, only some prawn tempura and chicken wings remained. 
The rest such as fish balls and vegetable tempura were still aplenty.

 Perhaps they were left out in the open for too long, but the prawn tempuras were soft and soggy, instead of being crispy.
The chicken wings were not crispy either.

Desserts

We tried some of their remaining tarts and cakes. 
They were HARD and unappetising.

Fruits

We skipped the 'fruits' section altogether.

Overall, for the price we paid (about S$30++ per person), the quality and quantity were terrible.

To be fair, we came pretty late at around 8 pm. 
However, the staff at the entrance should have had the decency to warn us that we would only be eating the leftovers and that the food would not be replenished.

Perhaps the place was understaffed, as the plates were cleared infrequently, leading to stacks of plates all over the table. 
Spills should have been cleaned quickly to prevent customers from stepping on them and smearing them all over the place.

Separate tongs should have been provided for different items. 
Instead, tongs were used interchangeable and were strewn haphazardly.

I can only conclude that this was the WORST buffet I have ever been to.

Overall [3/10]

• Food [3/10]
• Ambience [3/10]
• Service [3/10]
• Value [2/10]

SAKURA International Buffet Restaurant

PUTIEN - Vivocity

HABOURFRONT - VIVOCITY - PUTIEN

The restaurant had a nice ambience and tasteful decor. 
The service crew were friendly and polite too.
One complaint though - the same piano refrain was repeated ad nauseam in the background.

We ordered a set menu for two, with some additional dishes.

Pickles

A nice little appetiser served right at the start.

Chrysanthemum Tea

We requested the tea to be less sweet, so that the fragrance of the chrysanthemum isn't overwhelmed by the sugar. 
It was light and refreshing - a good way to cleanse the palate between dishes.

Bamboo Herbal Prawn

Mmm! The prawns were big and juicy~ 
The soup was a little saltish though, but the herbal taste made it flavourful.

(7/10)

PUTIEN Lor Mee

The noodle texture was rubbery like ramen. 
Broth was quite tasty, and the noodles were served generously with seafood.

(8/10)

Deep Fried Tenggiri Fish

The fish was fried well. 
It wasn't too oily, the flesh wasn't too tough and the skin was crisp.
Nothing special, but still tasty!

(8/10)

PUTIEN Sweet & Sour Pork with Lychees

Not bad. Once again, nothing special but it still tastes great!
The lychee didn't seem to make this dish any more different from the standard sweet & sour pork 
(besides the addition of the lychee, that is).

(8/10)

PUTIEN "Jian Bao"

This item is available for a limited time only, with a minimum of 4 pieces per order.
The skin was thin and doughy. The inside of the Bao was filled with a juicy meat mixture.
Honestly, it's like a large version of the Xiao Long Bao!
However, instead of dipping this in vinegar, you have a special sauce - which really made it quite tasty!

(8/10)

Stir-Fried Kailan with Beancurd Skin

Not bad. The beancurd skin was chewy and juicy from all the oyster sauce it absorbed.

(8/10)

Fried Heng Hwa Bee Hoon

This seems to be one of their signature dish. 
It wasn't too oily, but the noodles were a little too dry for our liking. 
Tasted alright though! It was served with seafood.

(7/10) 

Steamed Bamboo Clam with Minced Garlic

This is from their special menu featuring bamboo clams.
Delicious! The clams were well-cooked - they weren't too tough or rubbery.
The light drizzle of soy sauce and the generous heaps of minced garlic made it really tasty!
My only gripe would be that some of the clams weren't washed properly - there were bits of sand.

(8/10)

White Fungus with Lotus Seed

A sweet and light finish to the meal.

(7/10)

Overall [9/10]

• Food [8/10]
• Ambience [9/10]
• Service [9/10]
• Value [8/10] - Spent about S$30 per person. The serving size was quite large!

PUTIEN

Chuan Wang Fu Spicy Hot Pot

SERANGOON - CHUAN WANG FU SPICY HOT POT

9 Teck Chye Terrace

It's the store at the end.

Condiments

Your standard fare of condiments.
The peanut paste was alright. It is one of the best condiments to accompany the numbing spiciness of the Ma-La soup base. 
Some restaurants serve thicker versions which richness is more satisfying.
It's a shame that they do not have minced garlic. 
Instead there's garlic paste which does not give you the same powerful bite of raw garlic.

Yuan-Yang Soup Base

Nothing special about the chicken stock. 
The Ma-La base however was sufficiently spicy and numbing; some restaurants may be lacking in either department.

Appetisers

 The sauces in these cold dishes can be rather tasty!

Their selection of food is pretty standard.
Seafood - Fish meat and cuttlefish were normal. Prawns are abysmally small. Mussels and clams were not fresh.
Fishballs - Soft and lovely.
Meatballs - Seems to be handmade. Tasted OK.
Meat - Unfortunately for pork, they only serve the fatty version. Beef and mutton were lean. Chicken was alright.

  

Vegetables - Bamboo, standard variety of mushrooms and vegetables. 
It's quite disappointing that they did not serve Tang Oh, which is my favourite vegetable for steamboat.
Noodles - Only vermicelli, dan dan and potato noodles. We tried the dan dan noodles - they were alright.
Dessert - We tried their mango pudding. It was silky and sweet - quite tasty!

Overall [7/10]

• Food [7/10]
• Ambience [7/10] - Cramped.
• Service [7/10] - The staff try to attend to you as quickly as possible. However many items that we ordered did not turn up. 
• Value [6/10] - Spent about S$26++ per person. Quite costly for such a simple fare. 

Chuan Wang Fu Spicy Hot Pot

Lingzhi Vegetarian

NOVENA - VELOCITY - LINGZHI

LingZhi Vegetarian

Nice ambience and decor. The service crew were pleasant and polite. 
It was rather disappointing that quite a few dishes were not available though.
We ordered a set menu and added on some Dim Sum dishes.
The first appetiser dish was served quickly.

Beancurd Skin Rolls and Fresh Truffles served with Chef's Special Sauce

Pretty appetising dish. The sauce was sweet and sour, and the crisp lettuce gave the dish a refreshing touch.
The flavour reminded me of a Thai Green Papaya salad.

[8/10]

Braised Shark's Fin Melon with Bird's Nest Lily Bulbs and Golden Mushrooms

The soup was alright, with the Lily Bulbs giving the dish a nice crunch. 
It was however rather bland without adding vinegar.

[6/10]

Pan-fried Dumplings

Did not personally try this dish, though I heard that it was fine.

Other Dim Sum items that we tried:

Steamed Siew Mai - tough with hard bits inside; not very tasty. [4/10]

Steamed Mix-Vegetable Dumpling - skin was too sticky, making it difficult (and rather nasty) to consume. [3/10]

Crisp-fried Pumpkin Rolls with Mushrooms and Chef's Special Blended Sauce

My favourite dish in this set. The crisp outer layer complemented well with the soft pumpkin within. 
The special sauce and the mint leaves made the rolls more flavourful. I would definitely recommend this.

[10/10]

Braised Noodles with Shredded Vegetables

The noodles had a nice rubbery texture. 

The broth had a hint of Japanese flavour - I suspect it to be miso or some sort. 

[8/10]

Chilled Apricots with White Fungus

Too sweet for my liking. The sugary taste overwhelmed the entire dish.

[2/10]

Overall [8/10]

• Food [7/10]
• Ambience [8/10]
• Service [9/10] - The manager was cheerful and considerate - requesting that the pumpkin rolls be split into two so that they could be shared. Tea was refilled swiftly. Service crew polite. Dirty plates changed upon request.
• Value [7/10] - Spent about S$30++ per person

Lingzhi Vegetarian