Hoshi Restaurant

I guess by now, having read about my visits to several different Japanese restaurants, you’d be pretty sick of hearing about yet another sushi endeavour right? Well, tough luck (if you’re one of the few Singaporeans who dislikes Japanese cuisine).

Earlier tonight I went for a Japanese ala carte buffet with my parents (dinners with parents are always the best times to experiment with new restaurants without worrying about busting a hole in the wallet eh?) and, while the restaurant we visited had a few negatives, the food was of so good I had to recommend it to all of you out there who loves Jap food.

Located on the third floor of IMM at Jurong East, Hoshi restaurant has always been one of those Japanese buffets my parents and I had wanted to try but, due to its high price and the fact that we were always inexplicably full when we passed by the restaurant and thus couldn’t validify paying the price, we always skipped by it.

Today, I finally had the chance to try the ala carte buffet and boy, was it worth it.

For starters (and, well, main courses, I guess), the restaurant’s food was of top quality. Despite their relatively limited buffet menu (the non-buffet menu, which actually wasn’t all that pricey, was more varied), there was the usual selection of favourites bound to satisfy everyone’s Nipponese cravings. Plus, quality over quantity right?

Between my parents and I, we shared a veritable feast of dishes which, while not a lot, definitely justified the buffet’s price in quality. The salmon sashimi we ordered was fresh and tangy, with just the right amount of raw fish taste. The prawn (ebi) tempura were freshly fried, with soft-but-bouncy prawns and crispy batter. The baby octopi was chewy and tasty while the soft-shell crabs were definitely a must-have. The best dish of the night, however, definitely went to the sirloin steak, which was just rightly done and packed a flavourful punch. To top it all of, all these dishes were all-you-can-eat (although I’d advise you to stop after a helping or two to prevent from getting sick of it).

The best part? All the dishes come in small, single-person servings so you don’t end up over-ordering and over-eating.

I’d recommend the place to anybody based purely on food alone.

True, the restaurant does have its faults. Some of the dishes (the breaded prawns and mini udons were pretty lacklustre) were bland and the service staff, although friendly and accomodating, were somewhat harried and disorganised (some of the dishes we ordered never made it to our table). Plus, at about S$40 per person on a Saturday night, it definitely wouldn’t be a choice for the cost-conscious.

Still, for those who can afford it and want to help the ailing economy, Hoshi restaurant is a must-go.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars