Who can resist desserts? Can you? Definitely not me as I have sweet tooth! I must eat desserts at buffets. In fact, without eating desserts, it's like not having been to the buffet!
And Tenji had a wide array of desserts for you to choose from!
There were the cakes and chocolate balls.
Mochis, jellies and puddings.
And cookies!
And of course there was the famous Haagen Dazs ice cream! I think just eating 4 bowls of Haagen Dazs ice cream would make this buffet worth all the money you paid!
But, alas, they did not have green tea ice cream! How was that possible? A Japanese buffet restaurant with no Japanese green tea ice cream? That's a sin, if you ask me!
Anyway, we tried the other flavours but one of my friends had a funny feeling that it was not Haagen Dazs ice cream! I tasted it and guess what - I think she was correct! How could Tenji place the label "Haagen Dazs" there when they were not serving Haagen Dazs ice cream?
I remember eating the ice cream on my first visit to Tenji with blogger Jam. It was definitely not like this!
I asked a lady who was busy scooping the ice cream whether it was really Haagen Dazs, and she said, "Of course! If not, I will sue Tenji!"
Maybe she should start talking to her lawyer. I really hoped Tenji did not con us, but I really did not think it was Haagen Dazs. Either that, or Haagen Dazs' standard had dropped!
Anyway, I did not take any photos of the ice cream. It was melting fast and after a while, it was like eating milk shakes. Haha!
Oh, by the way, do you know that you are not supposed to eat ice cream right after eating sashimi? Tenji even put up a notice warning of the danger of food poisoning if we were to mix sashimi with milk. Since ice cream is made from milk, you may get food poisoning if you eat ice cream right before or after eating sashimi! So do take note!
These were some of the cakes we ate.
I can't remember which cake is which! All I know is that I loved their tiramisu cake. It was really delicious! But still could not match the best tiramisu cake I have ever tasted, which was at Alexis Bistro in The Gardens some time back.
I tried to take another slice of the tiramisu cake but alas, there was no more left! What a pity! I would have eaten a few more slices of the cake!
My friend later introduced to me this tiramisu pudding which was very nice.
It may not seem very appetizing here due to my poor photography skills, but I assure you it was very nice!
So next time go to Tenji, just remember the word "tiramisu" - applies to both the cake as well as the pudding.
Another friend mentioned that the jelly puddings were nice, so I took these.
On the left is the honey dew jelly and on the right is mixed fruit jelly. Both were nice!
So how did Tenji's desserts fare against Jogoya? Well, I would say Tenji's cakes were better but Jogoya had the chinese herbal gui ling gao which I liked very much! However, the last time I visited Jogoya, this gui ling gao was missing, so I guess I would have to conclude that Tenji's desserts are better!
Actually, there were quite a lot of food I did not try. I did not eat the crabs, as I was already full then. Furthermore I felt lazy to eat those crabs - too much hassle to break open the shells and all! I also did not eat the Western dishes like spaghetti, which my friend commented was very nice. I also did not try their ice kacang. What a pity, but what to do? My stomach was not big enough!
I saw these food on display. I did not know what they were, but I was too full to take them.
And these fried stuffs? They made me want to puke already cos I was really full!
We ate and chit chat until 4pm! We really were the among the firsts to arrive and the lasts to leave. Haha!
Before we left, I saw that the cooks and chefs were all still busy preparing food. Probably for the dinner at 6pm?
Outside, it had just rained and the weather was pleasant.
I enjoyed myself but would I return? Yes, but only if I'm paying the promotional price of RM39.90++. I don't think it's worth going there if I have to pay the normal price of RM77.00++.
So let's sum up my comparison between Tenji and Jogoya. But before that, I would have to say that it may not be very fair for me to compare in this way because I ate buffet lunch at Tenji but I had buffet dinner at Jogoya. As we all know, dinners are usually better with more variety of food and perhaps better quality.
Also, this comparison is just a guidance based on my personal taste. Everyone's taste is different so please do not take this like a Bible for Japanese buffet restaurants!
Besides, what I mentioned here can and do change. For example, if I said the codfish at Tenji was very nice, it is very possible that you go to Tenji tomorrow and find to your horror that the codfish tastes terrible! Quality of food does drop and I have personally experienced that at Jogoya.
With that, let us sum up the comparison between Tenji and Jogoya with a point system, shall we?
1. Food Variety
Admittedly, Tenji loses to Jogoya on this one. Jogoya has such a huge variety of fish and seafood it wins hands down! For example, I can find stingrays, lobsters, mantis prawns, unagis and a wide variety of crabs in Jogoya and they can all be custom cooked for you.
Tenji has very limited fishes and definitely no lobsters and unagi that can be custom cooked. And I think I only saw one type of crab there. However, what Tenji lacks in variety, it makes up for quality. Tenji's codfish can easily beat all the different types of fishes you can eat at Jogoya!
Besides, you can't really eat those expensive lobsters at Jogoya unless you are a VIP member! That's right! Some food are reserved for VIP members only. I find this a total put off, but what irritates me to no end is that, as a VIP member, you can only choose ONE food ONCE only from the VIP section. That means I cannot eat two lobsters even if I wanted to!
The excellent herbal ginseng chicken soup which was previously available to everyone is now limited to VIP members only. The problem is, since I can only choose ONE food from the VIP section, I am forced to make a choice between the soup and the lobster! That sucks! Of course I chose the lobster in the end! Haha!
I hope Tenji would not follow Jogoya's style by introducing the VIP member card. If they do, maybe you would need to be a VIP member to eat those delicious codfish in future! Well, who knows since their codfish is so popular?
Score: Jogoya 1 Tenji 0
2. Food Quality
I can tell you Jogoya's food quality had dropped drastically since the first time I ate there! I just do not know what happened! It was such a disappointment as I had thought they were the best buffet in town! The last time I ate there, I found most of the food simply average and some even below average! Certainly not worth paying 88.00++ for dinner!
Tenji's food were also mostly average, some below average too, but a few really stood out like the codfish, raw oysters, and the tiramisu desserts. Besides, I think their oysters were fresher!
Score: Jogoya 1 Tenji 1
3. Price
I would have to say that if I were to pay the normal price, I would not go to both Tenji and Jogoya. It would be better to order ala-carte at authentic Japanese restaurants instead. But if you can get 50% discount or at least close to 50%, then it's worth going!
Honestly speaking, Jogoya offers much more variety of food at almost the same price, so it would seem that Jogoya is a better bet for your money. But if quality is what you want and not quantity, then Tenji is the place to go! Still, I won't want to pay that much (normal price) for limited amount of food!
Score: Jogoya 2 Tenji 1
4. Ambience
Tenji definitely win for ambience! Their outdoor garden easily trashed Jogoya! However, the interior is pretty much the same for both although Tenji looks more "class" perhaps with their classy wooden floor against Jogoya's cold hard cement floor.
Score: Jogoya 2 Tenji 2
5. Food Presentation
Tenji also beat Jogoya on this one! But if all you care about is the food quality and not how they are presented, this will make no difference to you!
Score: Jogoya 2 Tenji 3
6. Facilities
Both are even on this one. Both have basins with soap and water to wash your hands and washrooms that are nearby. But admittedly, Jogoya is a much bigger restaurant compared to Tenji. Jogoya even have private VIP rooms to cater for private functions.
Score: Jogoya 3 Tenji 3
7. Service
I would say both do not really have good service. One thing I don't like about Tenji is they ask you for payment in the middle of your meals. That's just so rude! Whereas in Jogoya's case, you have to pay first before entering the restaurant. Well, either you pay before you eat or after - both is OK with me, but not during eating!
As for booking for a place, I find calling both Tenji and Jogoya a hassle although the staffs manning the phone lines do reply in a polite and courteous manner. Jogoya does offer online booking but I find Tenji is better as it offers a simple sms reservation system that is a breeze to use.
Both get 1 point each! so total score : Jogoya 4 Tenji 4
Conclusion: Both are even!
My advice? Go to the one that gives good discounts! At the moment, Tenji is offering weekday lunch and daily supper buffets at RM39.90++ (normal price RM77.00++ for lunch and RM88.00++ for supper) until 31st July 2009.
For more promotions, visit Tenji blog and Jogoya blog.
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