Discover Hong Kong
All-you-can-eat buffet or a la carte dining? A growing number of Japanese Restaurants in Hong Kong are offering dishes that are ordered a la carte under an all-you-can eat format. Is this the best of both worlds?
Japaneses style sushi bars have been serving sushi and sashimi on conveyor belts for decades, and they continue to be spectacularly popular. Just check out the lines in front of sushi restaurants anywhere in Hong Kong, Kowloon, or the New Territories.
Japanese cuisine is, arguably, Hong Kong’s most popular national cuisine, out-stripping even Chinese cuisine.
All-you-can-eat buffets are also immensely popular in Hong Kong. So what about an all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet?
The problem is, not everyone likes eating food that has been sitting around on buffet tables or traveling along a conveyor belt for who knows how long.
One of the key points of seafood – especially seafood that is served raw – is that it should be freshly prepared. At least that is what most people in Hong Kong think.
How to Order
Open for lunch and dinner, Gozen Edo in Kowloon’s Kwun Tong district is one of the growing number of Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong that attempts to offer the best of both worlds. The eatery allows diners to order as many dishes as they as they want from an a la carte menu.
Each table is given a digital menu, and diners order dishes electronically. Their orders are displayed in the kitchen, where dishes are freshly prepared to order. Servers take their orders to the table.
Everything is included, and diners can eat as much as they want within a given time frame, which usually means two hours – either 6.30 to 8.30 or 8.30 to 10.30. There is an additional charge, however, for beer, sake, and a few special dishes.
So what’s to stop diners from over-ordering and wasting food? They will be charged HK$10 for any dish that they order and don’t consume!
The Menu
The menu runs from sushi and sashimi to a number of items – mostly shellfish – that are grilled at the table. The curried crab was especially tasty.
Other dishes include tempura, vegetables, udon grilled lamb chops – the list goes on. Desserts include a yummy egg custard served in what appear to be tea cups – or maybe they are sake glasses.
There is also a salad and soup bar together with glass fronted refrigerators stocked full of canned or bottled soft drinks, ice teas, and fruit juices as well as freezers full of ice cream and Popsicles.
Set menus are served at lunch from 12 noon to 3 pm.
The Ambiance
I dined at Gozen Edo with two other lifestyle bloggers on a week night, and it was jam-packed. This restaurant is obviously immensely popular.
It was crowded, and it was noisy, but there was an undeniable vibe. The diners appeared to be overwhelmingly in good spirits.
This is a very family friendly venue. It is a great place to go with friends. But it would not be suitable for someone wanting a quiet evening in a romantic environment.
Where
Gozen Edo – 8th Floor, One Pacific Centre, 4414 Kwun Tong Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Telephone: (852) 2755 5728.
The restaurant is a short walk from the Kwun Tong MTR station.
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