Kuroma Buffet & Dining — Restaurant in Johor

We pre-booked the lunch buffet as we don’t like to feel bloated after heavy meal especially during night time and also, we knew how sumptuous the dinner buffet is hence we are curious what lunch buffet has to offer. The staff service level is great right from the moment we do the booking. We made some enquiries over the counter and an Indian lady captain patiently and courteously answered and explained to our queries despite there are handful of customers at the counter. We had pleasant booking enquiries experience with her. Therefore, keep up the good work! The lunch buffet starts at 12.00pm, ends at 2.00pm and they’ll wraps up and start preparing for the night already. I’ll start off with the things I’m not quite enjoy because I’m sure there are lots of good foods, good environment, good vibes and et cetera but there are minor stuffs which I felt a bit letdown and hopes there will be some improvement. Normally, the mouth-watering desserts especially fresh fruits will be the last station for people to eat and in orderly manner, people will start to go get some at the end of the meal hour. I’m a fruits lover hence quite disappointed when I approached the fruits counter, only mere pitiful slices left and re-filling seems has stopped. It was still about 15-20minutes more before closing at 2.00pm. Next is the cake and jelly desserts counter which is enclosed over a glass in a chiller I supposed. Therefore, one has to queue up waiting in line as one has to choose and verbally order through their staff over the counter. Some of these cute desserts are really presentable and delicious to the eyes but actually some are not so nice. Among all the desserts, the only one I find it really nice is the chocolate mousse and the others are just so so only. Lastly, lunch buffet has a fixed 2 hours dine-in, in fact there is only one timetable, i.e. 12.00pm to 2.00pm. Therefore, before 2.00pm is approaching, I observed the staff has started wrapping up and preparing for the night buffet when some patrons are still sitting having meals in the restaurant. Personally, I felt they should start ‘behind-the-scene’ preparation after 2.00pm when all customers have left.

What I like about Kuroma. The waiters, especially are attentive and friendly. For the freshly cooked food counters, we just need to drop the table no. steel tags (given 3 tags max. per table if I’m correct) on each counter’s tray and once cooked the staff will deliver them to our table. Good system! we don’t have to stand there to wait or worry not getting any. I personally like the abalone soup, it is served soupy hot and really tasty with sizeable abalone in each cup. Also, the smoked duck is really nice. I’m sure one can drop tags without limits on the food you loved (once they returned the tags after delivered) but I guess but too many varieties of foods not just Japanese sushi and sashimi but some local cooked dishes which are really flavorful that makes you want to try everything here a bits and there. The deep-fried tempura counter is also a must go item. Freshly fried especially prawn tempura is crispy outside and chunky tender meat inside. The cold cooked plain prawns are fresh, the meat is really al dente in texture. Same goes to the range of sashimi. Though I’m not a raw sashimi fans, but one can feel the chunky freshness, there’s no fishy smell whatsoever. Like some reviewers mentioned, after about an hour to the dining, the birthday wishes starts to sings continuously through quite lots of tables and what really caught my surprise is the number of customers who had birthdays on that particular day. Would definitely come back again as we didn’t try out or missed out quite a few gastronomy dishes due to our tummy...

Very Disappointed – Overhyped and Poor Hygiene Standards

After seeing numerous advertisements on TikTok and YouTube, we decided to give this buffet a try. Unfortunately, the experience was far from what was portrayed online. Looking back, I seriously regret not reading the negative reviews beforehand. I was blinded by the high average rating and didn’t pay attention to the detailed feedback. Only after our visit, I realized I wasn’t alone—many others have also questioned the food quality and poor service. I’m writing this in hopes that it reaches more people before they decide to spend their money here. The food was mediocre at best, the hygiene was questionable, and the service was far from professional. If the restaurant truly wants to build a sustainable, long-lasting business, they need to buck up—focus on improving food quality, cleanliness, and customer service, rather than relying on influencers and online hype to draw in unsuspecting diners.

Location: Not too difficult to find, but it’s in the outskirts of JB.

Parking: Plenty of free parking available, which is probably the only plus point.

Atmosphere: Look atas, inside meh…. Nothing to shout.. the dance, We call it go through motion, mechanic….

Price: As advertised, but be aware that kids aged 3 to 6 are chargeable. For that age group, there’s honestly very little food that’s suitable or appealing – definitely not worth paying for.

Food: The buffet is mainly Japanese-themed, with a wide selection of sashimi and large oysters. Aside from that, there’s really not much else. It doesn’t qualify as an “international buffet” in my opinion. For the price, I believe you can find much better options in JB. In fact, for a similar price in Singapore with a “1 adult + 1 child free” promo, you’d get more variety and higher quality.

Major Issues – Cleanliness & Service: The biggest letdown came from the hygiene and the way the staff handled it. We found a live housefly crawling in our ladyfinger starter. When we pointed it out to the waitress, her first instinct was to just remove the dish without any apology or concern. I requested to speak to the manager. When he finally arrived, he didn’t apologize either. Instead, he tried to explain that the fly must have landed on the food after we brought it to our table. I pointed out that the fly was soaked in sauce – clearly it had been there for a while. He took the dish away and only returned over 10 minutes later, saying he had “reflected the matter to the kitchen.” Still no apology. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it. Later, while getting dessert, I noticed another fly happily sitting on the mochi. I managed to take a photo this time and reported it to the kitchen. One of the kitchen staff used a torch to kill the fly on the spot, then proceeded to just remove that one mochi piece. I had to hint to him that the entire tray should be discarded – it wasn’t a large portion or expensive item. But he seemed reluctant and likely wouldn’t have bothered if I hadn’t been watching.

This reflects a serious lack of food safety awareness and professionalism. Cleanliness and responsibility should be top priorities in any F&B business.

Summary: This place is all hype and very little substance. The food selection is limited, the value is questionable, and the staff’s attitude toward hygiene and customer service was extremely disappointing. I would not return, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend...

It is our first time to visit Kuroma. Initially was abit skeptical as we needed to bank transfer a deposit fee for our booking. The weariness from the 30mins ride away from KSL were removed as soon as we arrived. We were taken aback by the grandeur of the massive standalone restaurant which is a pretty sight to behold! We were warmly greeted by the entire crew at the door with a uplifting "Merry Christmas!" and with Santa and Santarina in waiting, giving every customer festive decorative headgear. The entire crew waited for customers to arrive and greeted every customer that entered. As we arrived early, restaurant manager Mr G took time to walk us around and share with us what is on the menu. He even assisted us with phototaking at some photo worthy spots in the restaurant. The entire restaurant was very nicely adorned with christmas tree, balloons in their pink theme. Their staff were very engaging, taking the time to perform dances and even sing for us. A skilled violinist performed around the entire restaurant to engage every table with his performance. Chef Tan also actively engages customers nearing to the end of session. Foodwise, pretty decent spread with crab, oysters, different kind of meats, cooked food, teppanyaki, dessert etc. Some special mention - tako sashimi, oyster omelette, pizza, fresh juices, yam macaroon, creme brulee. It is a pity that Kuroma crabs are existent yet sort of non-existent. Kuroma served cooked flower crab and Guifei crab in very limited quantities, both of which are smaller in size as compared to regular Alaskan crab, snow crab, Sri Lankan crab. Therefore, it makes eating a hassle, not worth the effort. Therefore, imo, likely the crabs exist just for show they DO serve crabs. I mean, Kuroma price is comparable to regular hotel buffets and yet we get a lot more in terms of offerings at the same price range.

Overall, it was a good experience dining with Kuroma, shoutout to their crew who are really passionate about what they do and did a great job at making customers feel welcomed. Marketing is done right as well, encouraging customers to leave reviews. However, Kuroma can probably review and improve their seafood section with this pricetag they are commanding. As with all buffets alike, sliced meat are tougher than we would like it to be, while cooked food is...