Address: 401 Havelock Rd, Singapore 169631. Hotel Miramar
I’ve been wanting to bring Dear to Ikoi Japanese Restaurant for the longest time since I tried it with my ex-colleagues many years back. I remember vividly that my experience was good and affordable and the sashimi was fresh. But of course, we didn’t have the chance to visit as Dear was still studying in Digipen Singapore, while I was busy getting my grooming certificate. We were on a tight budget back then and every penny was like very precious. Then I kind of forgotten about it till recently and finally we made time to pamper ourselves to a nice Japanese meal. We made a reservation through the Whatsapp number that we found on their Facebook page. We’re not sure if they’ll take walk-ins, so best to make a reservation in my opinion to secure yourself a table.
We arrived about 15 minutes early and they weren’t open yet, so we waited at the hotel lobby. As we waited, the crowd at the lobby started to formed and everyone was waiting for Ikoi Japanese Restaurant to open. Once we were seated, we were welcomed with appetizer on our table. A plate of sashimi each and a bowl of edamame to share, which I totally didn’t touch and Dear seemed to enjoy it more than I do.
Before we even enter the restaurant, we do know what we want and started to order when the waitress came over. We ordered almost everything we wanted at one go despite it being a free flow buffet.
We ordered some sashimi which in our opinion, fresh! Thankfully they disappoint me on my second visit after so many years. Dear approved and is satisfied which is good enough. The tempuras were good, crispy even after quite a while as we savour every dishes that we ordered. My favorite is the ebi tempura, or rather I’m just bias as I have a personal preference towards seafood. It goes well with the dipping sauce provided.
I saw Japanese curry rice and soba on the menu. We were told the portion would be small, so we ordered. When it arrived, we weren’t expecting palm size curry rice and soba. It was cute and we were so happy receiving them like two teenage girls giggling at the sight of it. It’s nice, but since it was carbs, we didn’t order again. Dear did order the fried rice to try, it was normal and nothing special. Go for the curry rice, it’s more worth the carbs intake in my opinion.
I love oden and I’m ecstatic when I saw the menu. And I just have to order it! No regrets as it was indeed oiishi! The flavour was just nice, not too salty or overwhelming. A very light taste enough to cleanse the palate. It’s refreshing to me, though I wanted another bowl, but by then we were almost full. We did order more sashimi and sushi which kind of filled up our tummy fast.
The meal comes with a complimentary soup. Though Dear said it’s a buffet, what’s complimentary? Ok, don’t ask me but that’s what it was called I think. It came in a nice ceramic pot. The taste to us was exactly the same as the oden, just without the ingredients. It’s nice, warms up the tummy as we ended our buffet dinner.
I’ve asked Dear if she would want to visit again, she said yes when we have craving for a Japanese cuisine buffet. It’s nice to have free flow sashimi and eat till we’re satisfied. But of course like most buffet, there’s a wastage fee. I can’t remember how much, but do order what you can finish. Don’t be the typical kiasu Singaporean and order more than you can chew!
All in all, I give this place a 4 stars out of 5.