Went in for Lunch, Prices now are updated to about 16.99$ for 11-3 pm on mon-Fri and like 22-23$ for Dinner or all day on Saturday.

They used to let you get saturday lunch prices when we came last time a few years ago, but still with a menu that includes ayce steak and items that seem house made with lots of preparation, Like curry rice and Bimbap rice bowls, it really did kinda feel more restaurant than buffet.

Last time we went, it was very good (though the meat was a bit unseasoned/unsalted at times, but very good dipped into soy and the sauces).

It's still pretty good, but it's a little bit worse than it used to be. More items are duds but it's still a pretty fun place. Some of the meat seems very hit and miss and even varies wildly on trips. Sometimes it's fresh and tastes very good and has a bright red vibrant color, other times it tastes like it's a bit old.

Some parts feel like a ingredient issue vs chef preparation issue. The takoyaki looked wonderful and the frying looked wonderful but the bonito flakes tasted years old and some of the condiment plates that were a sidenote last time, tasted noticeably older than the last time we came. I think some of the stuff here might be getting used even when it's old, though the brisket we ordered this time was good.

You kind of seem to play portion size guessing roulette here though. We've been here 3 times, and often times the size of meat you're served varies from paper thin plates to like 1-2 lbs of meat chunks to like 1-2 oz.

Then you order a bowl of rice and you're served like a 4 oz scoop of rice or 16 oz scoop of rice on one dish and then like a head sized 20-40 oz feeling sized scoop of rice on like salmon. Then the portion sizes of the tonkotsu ramen had a wonderful broth and egg, but the noodles seemed to be 2-3x packs of plain nissin instant ramen noodles (possibly tonkotsu flavor). Excellent flavor, but was slightly hoping for different noodles than the instant stuff for a restaurant experience.

But the miso bowl was 1/8th the size of the ramen bowl, and while the broth was wonderful, we had just gotten through like 40 oz of rice and 2-4 oz of meat and now we had like 2 lb of just instant ramen noodles in a bowl. I think i would have been happier with maybe 1 packs worth as a side to get more variety. But it seems like a common theme is, the food tastes better with one side, but the portion sizes are all over the place to keep you guessing.

Every order of meat will be like 2-4 oz of meat, every order of rice or noodles or carb can feel like family sized portions for 1 person that make you feel pressured to eat head sized portions of rice and chopstick sized portions of meat.

It's still tasty and i'd definitely order at least one, perhaps the chicken curry or kimchi rice are my favorites, but you might be wanting to share some of the frankly ridicolous portion sizes considering meat is often for the whole table, but 20-30 oz feeling portion sizes of rice/noodles is often coming for one person!

Of course, after the customary restaurant tax and 12-18% tip, it usually ends up like 30% more, so you probably will expect to see 16.99$ -> 22$ for lunch and 22.99$ -> 30$ for dinner.

Still it's fun to come here once in a while and for waiters that actually deliver many food dishes and set up the grill, the tip is more reasonable feeling than most places where you tip for a person to deliver unrefilled water and charge a 40$ group tip. Though i've heard this store has had frequent mentions of waiters screaming or yelling over 10% or missed tips. So your mileage may vary.