Reading some of Martel's blogs, stumbled upon these shots of Hakone's buffet in Waikiki... 39 bucks apiece (shabu shabu with "kobe beef" is 55 a person)

http://hawaii.metblogs.com/archives/images/2006/01/H03.JPG
http://hawaii.metblogs.com/archives/images/2006/01/H05.JPG
http://hawaii.metblogs.com/archives/images/2006/01/H04.JPG
http://hawaii.metblogs.com/archives/images/2006/01/H10.JPG

whoah!

story http://hawaii.metblogs.com/archives/2006/01/hakone.phtml#more

I've never had great sushi from a buffet. How did this rate?

i haven't tried this place, but yeah, they have GREAT sushi from buffets, especially ones that are this small. (yes, there's enormo buffets with lamb, prime rib, steak, sushi, etc.... this buffet looks to be more seafood/japanese).

if they can keep it fresh it can be completely mindboggling.

Some places always ruin it with cold rice.

Here there is a sushi buffet in the nice Downtown mall; all you can eat for $19.95. Todai is the name; it is a chain. They also serve hot Japanese entrees, salad and desert. I have never gone because there is good sushi all over the place here. Reports?

www.todai.com

Never been to Todai, but I saw one of the WORST managers I've ever worked with in a restaurant there once. She got a job there after she was fired from the place I worked.

Todai is a ripoff. While I don't eat sushi, they really had nothing else palatable except for soft ice cream. Don't you like Koji's?

Todai is HUGE in honolulu, it's the big-ass kinda buffet i was talking about.

it's pretty good but kinda touristic. huge. they make sushi fresh for you if you want.

there's way better, smaller buffets all over. and straight up japanese/ seafood places that rock. that morning access to fresh fish is tough to beat.

What about those Hawaiian sushi buffets with the little boats that float all around the resataraunt and you grab the boat with the sushi you want? Ever been to one of those? I thought the one I went to was great.

Koji's is alright. I dunno, I feel like I've been burned quite a few times, sushi-wise, in Portland. That Masu place downtown has pretty fucking great sushi, but it's kind high-end. And the Dandy Warhols hang out there sometimes.

But I guess you take the good with the bad.

I have never been to Koji's, but Yoko's is GREAT. I think it is on SE Gladstone...so good. Good atmosphere too.

Has anyone in Portland bought fish at Anzen or Uwaijmaya (sp?) for poke??? I am looking for the best place.

Uwajimaya has an INSANE seafood section. I've never bought anything from it, though. It's like going to the zoo, huge live octopi and shit.

Isn't there a Yoko's on Broadway, too? Or maybe it's Yuki's? That place is pretty alright too- a step up from Koji's in my opinion.

I've been meaning to go to this place; http://www.okinago.com/ .. $15 for dinner, not bad. and $19.99 for buffet + lobster tail. I wonder if that means all you can eat lobster tail or just one lobster tail. I also wonder how many lobster tails I could eat before they kick me out.

Yuki's is the one on Broadway--I heard it sucked. What other ones do you reccomend in PDX? Any place closer than Yoko's to NE?

Isn't there's a Koji's on 15th, right? And there's also that really sketchy looking place where Irvington Market used to be, also on 15th, on Weidler. Sushi Explosion or something stupid.

And Yuki's, when I ate there 2 or 3 years ago, wasn't half bad- but it coulda gone downhill, who knows?

Masu is really good, though. You work downtown, right? Check it out for lunch someday.

"FoodJunkie" over at portlandfood.org had this to say about Yuki's:


We regularly patronize Yuki on NE Broadway to fulfill our monthly sushi cravings and it has always been first rate. The freshness of the product, variety of the menu and the wonderfully artistic presentation by the chefs has never ceased to meet our expectations...especially when Toro is in season. This visit was especially good for two reasons. First, the chef attending to us offered us a small sample of his house smoked tuna w/ jalapeno avocado sauce and it was perhaps the BEST smoked tuna I've ever had. Very light smoke, nicely marinated and melt -in-your-mouth tender. And the best surprise was that Yuki now offers Hitachino Nest beer (the White Ale and the Red Rice). The White Ale is a superb alcoholic beverage to pair with sushi, IMHO....esp. if you're not a big fan of saki and you're not fond of the "typical" Japanese beer offerings provided by most restaurants. Even if you're not a beer drinker, Hitachino White Ale may change your perspective on what beer is and just how good it can be.

We went to Todai for lunch a few months ago- I thought it was horrible. Very bland, everything overcooked & not the freshest ingredients. I'm told the dinner is better cause you can get crab legs & lobster- but it's still the asian equivalent of a Sizzler, if you ask me.

Yuki's is the one on Broadway--I heard it sucked. What other ones do you reccomend in PDX? Any place closer than Yoko's to NE?

I can't remember the name of it- but there was a great asian seafood store on SE Division (or was it Powell?) near 82nd. It looks kinda scary from the outside- but they were really nice inside & they had quite a selection of live seafood. Doesn't get any fresher than that!

any one else have a Ci Ci's pizza buffet...?? all you can eat pasta/pizza bar and coke products for 6 bucks. Not bad. Other than that id havve to say STIR MAX (chinese food buffet, pretty good)...when your band comes to my town, we'll go there.

japanese food gives me a headache.

i like the fat boys in krush groove at sbarros during "all you can eat." the fat boys rule!!!

INSANE seafood section
I'm gonna go to chinatown tomorrow and by some fish and make a a seaweed/fish stew

Om Seafood I think is the place on Division/82nd. It is a store and a restaurant. The restaurant is supposed to be incredible.

I may have to get Ryan over to Yuki's today...I would love some sushi.
Koji's is not good, at least to me. That place at Irvington Market is a chain noodle house "Noodle Time" or some such. Panda Express also opened next door. Gross.

For the price, Todai IS a rip-off. There's one in the mall near the business park where I work. If it was about $7, it'd be worth it, but for $20, I'll never go again.

In general, I think Indian food makes the best buffets. The stuff is generally just 30 different flavors of mush, anyway, so it holds up well under a heat lamp or in a steam tray. If the food was good when it was originally made, it'll probably still be good on the steam table 3 hours later.

Also, any buffet where you pick raw food and they cook it for you or you cook it yourself at your table is usually pretty good, too. This is usually found at either Mongolian BBQ places or at a Taiwanese hot pot/hibachi places.

YES! I had my first Mongolian BBQ with 16 in California a couple months ago. We loved it. I wish there was one around here.

japanese food gives me a headache.

its probably the MSG

Tip: Go to Todai on your birthday, get a buffet on the house.

when i lived in austin there was this awesome 'fanzine' called HEY HEY BUFFET. it profiled and rated buffets around austin and offered tips on getting the most for your buffet dollar.

tips on getting the most for your buffet dollar.

Tip #1- skip the salad
Tip #2- eat the most expensive items first
Tip #3- don't drink ANYTHING