Jason Khor: 7 Dishes You Must Whack at Shinkei's Ala Carte Buffet

Just like having pre-drinks before you hit the clubs, you've got to have a pre-game ritual when you know you're about to hit ~~the clubs~~ Shinkei Japanese Restaurant for their Ala Carte buffet. Because I was going for lunch, I had to wake up earlier than I would like to and go for a run around Punggol Waterway.

After having clocked the miles and working up an appetite, I burst through the doors, with the knowledge that I was going to eat my weight in raw fish goodness.

(If you're a gym freak and you need to bulk, you may do the same. My alternate plan was to hit Energyone at SAFRA Toa Payoh and after a 5 mins walk, promptly plop my butt down at Shinkei, and order.)

To save you time, stomach space, and stretch your dollar, here's my guide of the 7 items that stood out in the 2 hours I spent stuffing my face.

1. Assorted Sashimi Platter

Sashimi Moriwase

In my professional Japanese buffet-eating opinion, you should just start off with two of these. It's legit power-packed, most worth it on the menu, and by far the most impressive of the what must've been over 20-plus dishes we tried. I lost count.

But this. This is king. This is love. This is Jap food heaven.

2. Sweet Potato Roll

Satsuma Imo Roll

This satisfied my sweet tooth. In contrast to the fresh, smooth, cold, chewy sashimi, this crispy, cracking, warm, sweet sweet potato roll was fun to chomp down on.

3. Zucchini wrapped with Bacon

Zukkini Be-Kon

The bacon was crispy and when you bite into the juicy zucchini, it bursts just like an XLB! The contrast of textures made this super memorable. However, the second time round, it was not as boomz, because the bacon wasn't as cooked and it wasn't as crispy. They've got to work on the consistency a little.

4. Fried Tofu

Agedashi Tofu

5. Roasted Salmon

Shake Abuei Maki

This is A++. Get ten of these and maybe one of each of the rest. Or don't have the rest at all. This was the one that stood out and had us asking for more.

6. Yuzu Sake

If we had the chance we would've gone back and do this properly. We made the mistake of filling our cups from the soft-drinks station with green tea and peach tea. Skip that. Drink this. Drink only this. Punctuate your entire course with a shot of sake. It's sold separately though and goes for $22 for 250ml bottle.

7. Red Bean Soup with Mochi

Shiratama Zenzai

The best part about any buffet is that your choices are never either or. It's always the best of both worlds. Why have just ice cream when you can get red bean soup with mochi AND top it up with scoops of your favourite ice cream? The lychee flavoured one seemed to go well with this. I'm not sure if choclate chip mint would, but please try and let me know.

The Ala Carte Buffet is $45++ for adults and 2nd diner gets 50% off this January. Check their website for info here.

Thank you Shinkei Japanese Buffet for inviting us for the tasting! We had so much, it was not even funny. Really deserving of the "buffet" in the name, you guys were hospitable and we left, stuffed and satisfied.

Leaving you with Shinkei's instagram post of us going nuts at their gorgeous creations: