Waka Japanese Restaurant @ Bayview, Penang: Most Disappointing Japanese Buffet!

Well, I'm rather disappointed at the moment after my Japanese buffet dinner at Waka Japanese Restaurant (WJR) @ City Bayview Hotel, Penang. Perhaps, I was having high hopes for great Japanese foods there. My colleague recommended this place to me a few weeks ago, highlighting their large oysters.

I'd planned to eat at WJR since early this week (think I'm take my eating too seriously nowadays, planning so ahead of time). I must admit I'm not a fan of buffet as it's just silly to eat in large quantities to justify the amount we're paying. However, I always end up 'trying' buffets and then regretting eating it post-buffet. My buffet dinner at WJR was no different, aii.

To cut my nagging short, I'd put my comments and descriptions at the photos that I took when I went eating (NOT stuffing) at WJR yesterday.

Waka Japanese Restaurant entrance. I actually called to make a reservation for myself but it was not necessary. The buffet dinner is only on Friday, 6.30pm - 10pm. Fewer than 10 people (actually 7, including me) were eating here yesterday.

View from my seat. On the left is one long table with sushi on one side and miso + soba on another side (sadly, only one table...no, just half able for sushi only!) . There are oysters, fruits and salad on another long table just beside me (not seen in photo). The table in front of me contain cooked foods such as fried oysters, fried chicken, beef, fried rice, etc.

First 'boat' containing sashimi; slices of salmon, tuna.

Sushi, salmon and tuna. Generous portions (actually, all you can eat) but lacking in inherent taste. The salmon and tuna taste was negligible (luckily got soya sauce and wasabi) and a bit stubborn texture when eating it, as though just defrosted.

Salmon. I must mention here that I found 2 small fish bones (both in salmon), so please eat slowly.

Second 'boat' containing oysters. It's actually about medium sized only. I'd ate bigger oyster before and this is definitely not the 'big' size that my colleague mentioned.

Close-up photo of the oyster. Small to medium sized oyster only.

My selection of oysters. The good and bad? Good that it's still fresh, luckily. Bad? Not washed properly, felt some sandy particles when eating it.

Assorted sushi. Only TWO plates (see below photo for second plate) ! Wtf?! How can a sushi buffet only have two plates of sushi? Varieties were really limited here and nothing exciting, as though I go there just to eat their salmon.

2nd plate of assorted sushi: the rice taste sweet and nice but the fillings were bland, as though just bought from Jaya Jusco sushi corner, lousy. Hello??? I came for varieties and exciting dining, not to stuff myself like a pig with salmons and lousy assorted sushi!

No idea what this is, and not interested to find out also. From the beginning until the end, nobody touches this plate at all. So, it makes me wonder how many nights already they'd display this food. Expiry date?

Another set of unknowns. Don't they know how to label their dishes? You expect me to eat something cold, uncook and suspicious looking without knowing what it is? Nobody touched these dishes also from the beginning until the end.

Miso soup and soba, with bits of tauhu and spring onions.

Appetizing? I won't mind if they put some Japanese flavoring but nope, just like drinking ajinomoto (made in Malaysia), aii.

My assorted sushi that I took. It's nice to eat but definitely not hotel standard.

Chawan mushi with only one small, thin slice of mushroom, disappointing

Fried/ baked mussels. Wtf?! I thought these were fried scallop but no, they were mussels instead. I suspected that these mussels are fried/ baked because it's not fresh anymore (leftover from yesterday night?). Taste aweful, rubbery texture, freshness zero.

Boneless fried chicken. I was glad that they made this dish because fried chicken is always my favorite and boneless fried chicken preparations definitely worthy of added bonus point. Unfortunately, no marinating, no flavoring, so no..., aii.

No labelling(!) but I guess it's the Japanese way of replicating our steamed kampung chicken, but not by using kampung chicken. Don't really know why this dish is in a Japanese buffet also.

Beef minced? sliced? Unsure. Taste weird.

My sampling of the cooked dishes; chawan mushi, boneless fried chicken and fried/ baked mussels

Get the fresh oyster instead. Fried/ baked mussels is worst than eating cockles.

Another sampling of cooked dishes. Lousy

Dessert corner with sponge cakes and fruits. Wtf! I'm paying nearly the same as Rasa Sayang buffet at Shangri-La but all I get is just mediocre, no, worse than mediocre foods, fruits and cakes.

Here is the sponge cakes, with some icings and whipped creams. To me, not even real cakes.

Salad corner. Another food that nobody touched. Limited range of veges even for a non-vegetarian like me.

Tempura. How good a Japanese chef can be seen by how he prepares tempura, according to my boss last time. These tempuras were not even properly fried, not crispy and oily

Teepanyaki. I ordered scallop and salmon. You can see for yourself the amount of oil here...and I don't think it's Omega 3 fish oil.

Ice cream corners with only 4 flavors; chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, peppermint. Nothing special.

Ice cream toppings

My own design. Sponge cake with 2 scoops of ice creams.

The damage: RM78

Waka Japanese Restaurant

Level 2, City Bayview Hotel,

Georgetown, Penang

Tips:

Avoid

Tasty Or Not?

Ratings: 1.5/10. Wasted my money, my time and my precious dinner here.