Food Review #13 - Kuru Kuru (again!)

The husband had a sudden craving for japanese buffet over the weekend, so we decided to head down to Kuru Kuru again. You can read my first review here.

The buffet now comes with an option of free flow soft drinks and dessert, each customer only needs to top up $4.90++. They then serve you a small jug of your chosen soft drink (refillable).

The sashimi was very fresh this time round, not like my last review. They were also very generous with the portion. 

This spaghetti mentaiko packed a powerful punch upon the first mouthful. Flavourful and hot and filled with mentaiko goodness, it was really good stuff that the hubs and I couldn't stop shovelling mouthfuls into our mouths, despite how hot the dish was. However, it did become a little "jelat" after that. Still, I would say this was really good.

Ebi and shitake tempura. Not sure if you can tell from the pic that the ebi tempura's skin is not crispy. It's almost a little chewy? I suppose somewhere somehow the batter probably went wrong. The mushroom tasted fine, and since our first batch of ebi tempura was ok, well this might have been a slight accident. However, the prawns were quite big and fresh and at least they were hot when they arrived at our table.

Tori Wasabi Mayo. The hubs ordered this as an afterthought but we were so full we could hardly finish it, even though it was quite nice. Crispy, hot and the wasabi mayo added a slight kick to it. 

I felt that since my last review, Kuru Kuru has improved quite a fair bit. I was surprised to see that on a Saturday afternoon there was not much of a crowd. My only gripe is the inconsistency of standard of food I guess. We did eat some dishes that were quite bleah and not worth ordering at all, e.g. Agedashi tofu, baked macaroni with prawns.

The bill came up to $80 for both of us, including gst, service charge as well as the drink & dessert top up. 

I think the hubs was a little disappointed in the braised pork belly which he used to enjoy so much. He did comment that he probably wouldn't want to go back there again but for me, I felt that the fresh sashimi and delicious yakiniku (not pictured) are redeeming factors for Kuru Kuru and I will go back just to eat these few good dishes again. But then again, I am easy to please like that :)

Food Review #5 - Kuru Kuru Japanese Restaurant

Tucked away at a little mall in River Valley, Kuru Kuru Japanese Restaurant is one of the hubs' and my favourite haunts for Japanese buffet.

We liked this place for its affordability, fresh sashimi and good service. However, in recent years, we realised that as Kuru Kuru's reputation increased, its prices followed suit as well. What used to be affordable now turns out to be slightly more expensive than before. In addition to that, food quality is not consistent. It definitely dropped a few ranks on my list of favourite haunts. :(

The highlight of every Japanese buffet, Kuru Kuru offers Salmon, Tuna, Yellowtail, Sea Bass and Octopus sashimi. Yesterday night when we went there with friends, we were served some very dubious sashimi. It looked a lot like Swordfish (which isn't on the menu). We asked the waitress coz we ordered 4 types of sashimi and only 3 types came so we weren't sure which one it was. We could recognise salmon and tuna easily enough. The waitress told us it was sea bass, so we asked her to bring us another serving. However, what she brought us was even more dubious. It was dull grey, warm, rubbery and wasn't even sliced properly. It was really disappointing. The salmon and the tuna were relatively fresh, but could have been colder or fresher I suppose. Compared to the past, I felt that the sashimi last night were really lacklustre.

Soft shell crab maki. Pretty average.

It's signature braised pork belly. The hubs loves it. I don't really like pork belly that much coz of all the fats.

Yaki Niku, one of my favourite dishes despite the oilyness. The beef is sliced thinly and fragrant, the gravy is also good with rice. :)

Very normal saba fish. Small pieces though.

Tori Karaage, which was quite average. But my friends loved the Tori wasabi mayo though, they commented the wasabi mayonnaise was done very well, and I agree.

All in all, I feel that Kuru Kuru can make more efforts to serve fresher, good quality food. Serving buffet is their choice and not an excuse to compromise on the food quality, especially now that they are looking to increase prices.

We paid $32++ each so it amounted to $37 per person. Service was decent though could be improved. Only good waitress is the lady with the sun tattoo near her thumb *smiles*. She's attentive and ever so polite. The rest of the waitstaff...hmmm...really can improve lah. :)

Food: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 3.5
Value-for-money: 3/5

Kuru Kuru Japanese Restaurant

491 River Valley Rd #01-07
Singapore 248371

Tel # (65) 67332292