Yamamoto Japanese Cuisine

I've heard a lot of great things about Yamamoto Japanese Cuisine ever since it opened back in early 2013. I know, I know, AYCE spots aren't the best places for authentic Japanese cuisine, but hey once in while (Always for me) you have that craving for sushi....what's better than AYCE sushi?! My family and I decided to drop by not once, but twice in a month (Pics are from both visits) to satisfy our cravings. It is fairly easy to find, located right beside Pacific Mall, tucked in between the stores and restaurants outside of Market Village, formerly in the spot of Mongolian Grill.


 **After our first visit, we were informed by one of the waiters about a coupon we could use the next time which would allow us to receive 10% off the entire meal, or a free sample of Uni (Sea Urchin). This coupon can be located in a CouponKing Magazine which can be found outside of Asian supermarkets such as T&T or
Oriental Supermarket, or you can call
them prior to ask about their new promotions.**




 On to the food shall we! We decided to get
a sample of their Uni (5/5). This was a generous portion even for 5 people, and judging by the looks it was indeed very fresh. Creamy, smooth and sweet, this was one very tasty and was a great way to start things off! This Uni in particular did not have that distinctive sea water
smell and taste some would have. I love their addition of the seaweed to pair with the Uni, as it
was crisp. This was one of the freshest Uni I've ever had, which I did not expect from an AYCE spot.

Next up, the Assorted Sashimi (4.5/5) consisting of Salmon, Hokkigai (Surf Clam) and Tako (Octopus). Again, this was glistening as soon as it arrived at the table, and it was definitely very fresh! The salmon and Octopus was cut nice and thick, and the salmon itself was nice and fatty. None of the sashimi had a fishy taste which was good.

Piping hot, the Gyozas (3/5) arrived next looking
nice and crisp. These were indeed very crispy
as they were deep fried and not pan-fried like
some Japanese Restaurants. The interior could
use a little more work as the minced meat and
vegetable wasn't very flavourful.

The next fried item that arrived was the
Deep Fried Cuttlefish Balls (5/5). These
are a must try in my books. Crispy, Crunchy
and flavourful, these deep fried balls of goodness
were loaded with tender cuttlefish pieces and fried to perfection. I just wished they had some kind of dipping sauce to dip these in! Maybe some sweet and sour sauce or plum sauce would've done the trick!

One of my favourite items to order at any
Japanese Restaurant would definitely be
the Deep Fried Shrimp Tempura (4.5/5). One
of my pet peeves when it comes to anything
that is tempura fried, is when it is battered too thick,
or is fried then served after a period of time which
results in cold, soggy tempura which isn't at all pleasant. That was definitely not the case here as the Shrimp was fried to a perfect crispy and was tender.

It was about time the sushi arrived! We got an
order of their California Rolls (4/5) and
Black Dragon Maki (4/5). One thing I enjoyed
is the fact that they do not stuff their rolls with rice. The California Roll was pretty standard but still did the job as the avocado, crab meat, tobiko and cucumber mix was creamy and crunchy. The Black Dragon Roll was very good as it was topped with Unagi (Eel) and avocado, and stuffed with Shrimp Tempura, which was still somewhat crispy. Their sushi rice is very flavourful and not hard or mushy.

We also tried their Ebi (Shrimp) Nigiri (4/5)
and Salmon Rose Sushi (3.5/5). The shrimp was nice and tender, which balanced well with the
decent amount of sushi rice underneath. The Salmon Rose Sushi was nothing special, as it really was just sushi rice wrapped in salmon sashimi, topped with a seafood mix of Octopus and Tobiko. Nonetheless, this was still very tasty and fresh.

Their Herb Salmon (2/5) and Albacore BC Tuna (3/5) looked pretty good upon its arrival to the table. Sadly, it was only mediocre, as the Herb Salmon was lacking the Herb Flavour and simply just tasted like a piece of Salmon Sashimi except it had a fishy taste. Not very pleasant. The Albacore BC Tuna on the other hand, was fairly decent as it was fresh and the accompanying ponzu sauce added a nice kick to it.

Luckily, the Deep Fried Chicken Wings (4/5)
arrived next, just as I was wondering if I ordered them or not. These were very juicy and crispy!
I think I burnt my tongue with the first bite as these were piping hot!










Craving some more sushi, we decided to try a few more of their
specialty rolls that being the (Left to Right) Spider Roll (4/5), Dynamite Maki (3.5/5) and the Mango Roll (4/5). These were all pretty good as the rice was not overcooked like and the ingredients were fresh. The Mango Roll was very tasty as the
Mango on top added a hint of sweetness and
was tangy.

We also ordered a combination of Nigiri's such
as the Inari (Sweet Tofu) (4/5) , Tamago (Sweet Egg) (4/5), and Sake (Salmon) (4/5). All were made with very fresh ingredients and there wasn't too much rice underneath which was a plus.

My sister, being the adventurous person she is, decided to try the Seafood Ramen (3/5). I mean, we were at a Japanese AYCE, how badly could they screw this up? It actually exceeded our expectations as the Ramen itself was tender and the broth was a nice miso base. It was a tad bit salty, but it was definitely decent for an AYCE spot. *Check out the size of that spoon!

Another one of my favourites that being the
Takoyaki (4/5), arrived piping hot like the other items we had. These had a nice crispy exterior and a nice and fluffy inside. The octopus ball was tender and this had a hint of ginger which I thought made the dish more vibrant. The addition of mayo on top I thought was unnecessary as it tasted pretty heavy with it.





The dessert portion of their menu is pretty standard compared to other Japanese AYCE spots, but they offer goodies such as the Creme Brule (5/5), Mango Yogurt (3/5) and Durian Mousse (4/5). The Creme Brule was incredibly delicious and well executed as the custard was not overly sweet and was the right texture. The sugar topping had a nice crunch and with a spoon you could actually hear it break through. This was even better than some of the Creme Brules I've had by far! The Mango Yogurt was pretty basic as it was essentially coconut milk pudding topped with Mango Puree. It was light and not too sweet. The Durian Mousse has the consistency of pudding than a mousse but overall it was very tasty as the taste of Durian was evident and it was very smooth.


My experience at Yamamoto during these two visits there were great. The staff are very friendly, but are sometimes hard to get ahold of as they are usually very busy, which is common for AYCE spots. The food here is very fresh, particularily their sashimi. All the hot items we've tried arrived piping hot which is a huge plus. One thing that they could improve on is making sure everything we ordered comes, as some of the items we ordered did not arrive at all even though we ordered it 2-3 times. Upon leaving, I noticed that they also serve A La Carte goodies such as specialty fish like Hamachi, Oysters, Toro, Kobe Beef and Etc. They also have Bento Box sets for lunch as well as Ramen combos. If you love a good AYCE spot, Yamamoto is definitely a place I would highly recommend. 


The Good:

• Fresh Ingredients
• Sushi does not have too much Rice
• Hot items come piping hot
• They do not skimp on ingredients

The Bad:

• Might be hard to get ahold of the staff
• Some ordered items might not arrive
• When they're busy there is usually a 2 hr time limit