Hanabi Japanese Restaurant (Bukit Timah)

food 6.5/10 (though not top quality, value for money)
ambience 7/10
service 6.5/10

Although this restaurant offers both a la carte or buffet option, i recommend going for the buffet as it is worth your money. If you are going in a big group, it is advisable to make an advance booking as the restaurant is usually packed during dinner time and the seating area is very cramp and limited.

Although the food quality is below average, the mackerel is grilled close to perfection. I suggest trying the garlic rice, but not more than 1 portion as being a Japanese buffet, it's always smart to leave stomach for as much raw fish as possible! That is what's going to make your $30+ spent worthwhile.

The service shown to me by the staff there has always been average, probably due to the crowd, though they still attempt to smile and shout their typical Japanese greeting each time someone enters and leave the restaurant.

Went to this place on 31st Jan 08 for New Year Eve's dinner with 7others with 1 infant & 1 toddler.

Maybe due to New Year, Timing was limited. We chose the 2nd Session that start at 8pm and our last orders at 9.45pm. ( & We thought this place was too popular thus they have to do it this way)

Anyway, Place was small and crampy, we had to adjust the seatings ourselves and the staffs could not be bothered.

Buffet is in ala Carte manner so we have to order through the waiter and waitresses.

Food serving is very slow, twenty min through we are only serve one sashimi platter and some sushi and we have to ask for our drinks. ( Do note we have only 1&45Min for ordering! & It's Not even crowded!)

So we have to adopt our Kiasuisim and write down what we wanted to order and pass to the waiter! Nothing came! and when we check, the Kitchen says nothing outstanding!!

Thus we have to order again!

The worse part is that the Kitchen is unhygienic!

Were treated to fish scale on the salmon sashimi! Not once but twice! The Manager on duty can only managed a feeble explanation that they had to descale the fish in the kitchen! what bullshit is that!!

The sushi and sashimi was all cut and sliced in messy manner that a primary school kid can do better.


He tried to offer ice cream for compensation, That's Crappy !

This is the worst experience in dinning I had ever! The One star I give here is for sake of being kind for the Festive Season!

Went to this place with a few friends for lunch. It was not crowded. The variety of the food is great and we had a really good meal...

Went to hanabi today after reading the reviews. Overall, the experience was not as good as wanted.

Service

The service is REALLY BAD. Was served by a rude and impatient staff when i made reservations over the phone few days ago. Today at Hanabi, I asked for baby chairs and was given a rude and loud "TSK and EYEROLL", and was told to inform in advance next time.

Most of the staff there are from China, and perhaps due to understaff, they are impolite and impatient when handling simple requests such as refills of tea and asking for wasabi.  Some of our orders were forgetten as well. There was even a staff who tried to ask us to sign up for Hanabi membership card, but when we asked for an application form to bring home to consider, she said they only left one application form in the entire outlet, and left our dining area rudely.

Quality

There is indeed a huge variety of almost 80 dishes, such as sushi, grilled , fried and dons. Some of the must tries are the garlic fried rice, mixed tempura platter, unagi-egg don and sashimi. However, overall the quality of the rest of the food is average. It's a pity that there isn't any desserts on the menu.

Overall, Hanabi is for non fussy eaters who are looking for variety. For quality, i would think sun with moon is better. It's a place to try at least once for the large variety they offer. It would be better if they were to improve their service.

We went to Hanabi Kings Arcade last weekend for buffet lunch. I can say it's worth for the value. We like most of their sashimi dan tempura. I noted the sashimi cutting is not uniform. I guess they just want to utilise all the parts of the fish. Also you can request for special order for vegetables tempura that you like most, in this case we asked for pumpkin because I like it very much. Then the grilled mackerel fish also very nice, the fish is fresh and you can feel the freshness in every bite ( I think the chef did a good job). For chawanmushi is ok, but the cheese chawanmushi is very cheesy not suitable for people who don't like dairy products. The sushi serving is very generous. The service in general is pretty good because the place not so pack that day. But one thing when we asked for wasabi for the second sashimi serving, they only bring it to us after we asked for 3 times and by the time it came we have finished our second round. But we'll definitely come back because the food worth the value.

For a Japanese Buffet, Hanabi sure fits the bill!

Reservation is a definitely a must as it gets fully booked most of the time. My friends and I arrived at the restaurant early and got a comfortable table at the back. It was cosy and fitting for our lengthy conversations. Ambience of place was nice as well.

The service was great as there were waitresses ready to take our order at anytime. They were friendly as well, making recommendations as we ordered.

The sashimi was not too bad although it could have been more fresh. The Yakiniku there was great! A must try! Temaki was nice as well. The tempura was crispy and fresh, just right for our taste buds. The menu had a huge variety of dishes which is satisfying.

In conclusion, Hanabi is a great place a dine once in a while and Japanese food lovers should definitely find some time to pop by.

When we arrived, it was fully packed – not a place conducive for conversations over dinner. However, with over 100 items to choose from, patrons will definitely be spoilt for choice.

We started with the Sashimi, and it was excellent. It was fresh and the serving was generous – definitely bettered that of Ikoi’s – no wonder another friend of mine has been urging me to visit them for their sashimi.

The Mixed Tempura was also of pretty good standard. I like for the fact that it is thinly coated with flour and served piping hot – it is simply enjoyable to consume them.

However, the Sushi Handroll could definitely be better. I totally despise seaweed used for sushi not being crispy – an indication that it is not fresh and has been left in the open for too long – no matter how good the ingredients are inside the sushi, mushy seaweed just does not cut it.

Overall, Hanabi is ideal for non-fussy Singaporeans who delight themselves in Japanese cuisine. With a wide menu range, this restaurant certainly appeals to them with the quality of food – in my opinion, definitely a better bet than Ikoi. Service was found wanting at times especially when it comes to topping up of tea and taking orders. Service staffs are mainly non-Singaporeans so communication could also prove challenging at times.

You can view the photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.

Went Hanabi today to try out. Restaurant was pack but service was fast. Like the tempuras as they don't coat it with so much of the powder. Food is fresh. Beef kimchi is nice. Cheese chawanmushi is nice but very filling. So if you really want to eat more food I think u can opt it last. They serve as usual all the sashimis that most places served but without my favourite swordfish. The shishamo is too salty. California maki is nice though. Well recommended. Did not had a chance to try the garlic fried rice as I was pretty full already. But they really have about 70 dishes to order from. If you are a rice eater its well worth the price to go there to try out all the different sushis. Be reminded that any 100g of food wasted will be charged at S$5.00.

Strictly for what it's worth, this is one of the better places to have your Jap buffet fix.

Let's start with the pockets. 26 for lunch and 30 for dinner, be sure to make reservations for the latter.

In terms of food, my personal favourites are the pork kimchi, the beef yakiniku, the cheese chawanmushi, the salmon miso soup, and unagi maki.

The all-important sashimi is of a decent range and mostly fresh. The sushi is more than decent but for some reason the handrolls' seaweed is always involves some serious gnawing. The tempura is crispy as can be but never particularly delicious. And in my dozens of visits to the restaurant the quality of the agedashi tofu is very erratic.

All in all we're talking about some 70 items on the buffet menu, and dinners always feature a couple of neat complimentary unique items. No dessert items on the buffet menu though.

Went to Hanabi over the weekend for dinner with my family and I must say I'm very pleased with the place! The food came out quite fast considering the fact that the restaurant was almost full and the best part of the buffet is that.... its a buffet! We just kept ordering and ordering and ordering... hehehe. My personal favorite is the garlic rice, though the serving was a little small, I think I myself ordered like 3-4 servings of it!

Oh and they served chilled sake in the coolest bottle which holds the ice in the middle of the bottle to chill the sake! Oiishi!!