Buffet Town

Buffet Town
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-44E Raffles City

http://buffettown.com.sg/

Coconut Panna Cotta

Family-Friendly Buffet That Borders On Average

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 5
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 6
Service: 4
Value for Money: 5
Spent about SGD $50 per person.


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Buffets. The gastronomic mountain where the emphasis is usually on quantity and variety over quality. Having been established since July 2011, Buffet Town in the basement of Raffles City shopping mall is no different. While they stand out for being family-friendly, conveniently located, with decent prices, the variety of options at Buffet Town isn't as expansive as elsewhere, nor is their quality of food anything to shout about. Ultimately, Buffet Town is decent at best.

Ambience at Buffet Town is spacious and modern. The large, 500-seater restaurant has carved out multiple dining spaces, with the buffet line centered around the entrance and middle of the restaurant. The warm lighting and earthy wooden tones of the wood furnishings are decently comfortable, and when crowded, the place is noisy and bustling. Of note is the children's play area, with various toys, play equipment, and even televisions screening retro cartoons. The visual display of food for the buffet isn't intuitive or attractive, except for the pretty dessert arrangements.

Service at Buffet Town is barely passable. There are far too few staff handling each section, especially when you have a large amount of diners. We ended up clearing our own finished plates most of the time. As a result, the place looks messy and unclean in parts, with staff struggling to keep up. Kudos to their hard work though. The popular sections will often have a long queue for freshly cooked dishes, but I wish they had some sort of numbering or queue system to manage the flow. Overall, poorer than usual service standards, could be so much better.

Food at Buffet Town is a confused medley of cuisines. Primarily, the speciality here is Japanese cuisine and teppanyaki, but they also offer other Western and Asian cuisines. While it's commendable that food is quickly replenished, the variety is more limited compared to other buffets. Taste is generally average at best, passable and of decent quality, but not outstanding. Prices are comparable to most other decent buffets, budget about SGD $50 per person for a meal here. Generally, the entire dining experience for me was rather ambivalent and confused, I don't think I'll be returning.


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Buffet Town Signage

Buffet Town Exterior

Buffet Town Interior

Price List

Play Area

Seating

Seating

Seating

Art Cyberpunk

Fascinated with this Soda Dispenser, which allows you to select from a variety of over 20 types of soft drinks, including diet or low-calorie options.

Soda Dispenser

Most of the items here are decent at best, passable enough in freshness and taste. Outstanding items for me was the Shishamo, having a smoky savoury salty flavour, with a moist texture, perfectly grilled. The Satay Chicken & Beef was excellent as well, meaty and juicy, with a bold savoury sweet flavour from the marinade, while the peanut sauce is rich and thick. The thick-cut Fries were very good, slightly crisp outside, fluffy soft inside with good potato flavour, and a light coat of salt. Among the desserts, the Cheesecake was outstanding, with a rich, creamy, soft texture, and a nice floral sweet cheesy flavour.

Sashimi Salmon & Tuna

Soba Noodles With Pickles

Grilled Pineapple, Shishamo, Barbecue Chicken Winglet, Tempura Prawn

Fries, Wanton Skin, Satay Chicken & Beef, Fried Chicken Winglet

Fries

Braised Pork Belly With Rice

Coconut Panna Cotta

Desserts - Cheesecake, Chocolate Tart, Egg Tart, Marshmallow

The Teppanyaki station is their signature here, as befits the restaurants branding. Choose from a variety of ingredients, and watch the chef grill the mix while you wait. This is among the main reasons to visit Buffet Town, and I find the Teppanyaki to be pretty good. Light smoky aroma from the grill, the intense sharp fragrance of garlic, and the combination of meat and vegetables all make for a pretty good, above average dish. I find myself wishing they also offered sauces on the side, so I could at least dress the plate, but the quality is decent enough to stand on its own. Good!

Teppanyaki Chef

Teppanyaki Chef

Teppanyaki - Raw Ingredients

Teppanyaki - Cooked Ingredients

Teppanyaki - Bok Choy, Bean Sprouts, Onions, Chicken, Beef, Crab Stick

The Salmon Head Atama Shioyaki is a signature item here, and you'll have to queue for it, as it's limited to 1 piece per person each time. And the oven only cooks 8 - 9 pieces at a go. Expect the longest queues here, but it's completely worth waiting for. The large, meaty salmon head has fish flesh which is tender, moist, and comes easily off the bone. Flavours of smoky, then light salty, followed by sweet, and finally the oily fish texture sets in. So, so good. Highly recommended!

Salmon Head Atama Shioyaki

Salmon Head Atama Shioyaki

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