Tenji (Solaris, SOHO KL) & Jogoya (Starhill Gallery)

Frequently Asked Questions:

Which one is better?

Which one serves the best selection of food?

Which one is worth the money when it comes to satisfaction?

Jogoya or the brand new Tenji?

So so so... The moment you guys have been waiting for - a brief comparison from the food lover himself. Before I begin, I shall mention that I am not being paid nor biased for the following review and everything is purely from my personal discretion. Everyone has his/her own tastebuds and they do not necessarily match with the author's decription later. Feel, eat and indulge for yourself so that you can have your very own satisfaction.

It has been the talk of the town for a few months ever since the rise of the new competitors in the field of Japanese Buffet. First, the ever famous one in Starhill - Jogoya, a Taiwan based restaurant which serves premium range of food, has been dominating the market for sometime.

Then comes Tenji in Solaris, SOHO KL. With a theme of Gourmet Sensation, they bid to get a piece of the demanding KL food market with irresistable promotions. So irresistable that Desmond-t felt sorry to himself for months since he failed so many times to get a reservation. Now, the freaking Japanese Buffet market is even expanding. I've heard of this new place called Yaki Yaki in the heart of KL City as well with temptuous 50% promotion. Previous month, I also heard of d'Xenri Buffet with their discount packages too. Ah... you can never have it all!

Let's begin with the intention of getting there. The new Tenji is so new that everyone wants to get a bite overthere. You can call 1700 80 1818 for the whole day with nobody picking up the line and your call be directed to the automated voice mail. That's what happened to me during their first promo period, the RM29.90 lunch promo. I never manage to get there. But now, I guess the demand has slowed down and at last I managed to get myself a supper promo package at RM39.90++. Yes, now they have SMS reservation too! Just SMS: RSVP to 016-9201899 to reserve your seat.

Jogoya? They have surprise promotions too. I personally been there for a few times already. But I have never faced any problems booking for a table. Dial 03-21421268 and you will get yourself a nice seat already. I am not sure if during the hectic promotion period. But I do remember once when I got there with 50% discount for the ladies and King Prawns for the Gents package. Crowd = normal. Maybe they have promotions going on and on, that people streaming at a constant rate, you don't have to endure long queue and eating stress disorder.

Pricing? Tenji is currently running this all week Supper Promo (RM39.90++) and weekdays Lunch Promo (RM49.90) for March. Jogoya is having the Buy 2 Free 1 Promo for any dining period from 10th till 31st March 2009.

My favourite - fresh humongous oysters. How FRESH was it?

So fresh that it is directly scraped from the oyster shells directly from this bucket before being served. Now you understand why the queue can be so long... of about 20-30 ppl lining up at one time!

Scallops and more scallops!!! Beside those scallops are the orangish jelly fish. It's only up for a few seconds on the tray, and within a glimsp of an eye, *POOF* all gone!

I had so many fragrant coconuts that my friends and I started to make this volcano-alike arrangement. Well, I must say the waiters are way too busy to clear our table. The downside of this is... at Tenji, you will have to queue very long for the coconuts, unlike in Jogoya where it is well prepared.

Jogoya arguably got the best selection of crabs! In Tenji, I've only seen 2-3 types, but in Jogoya, you can even request the chef to cook your favourite crab dishes!

Plus the soft shell crabs are well decorated, very well standardized procedure. At Tenji, they just... bring it to your table, undecorated and macam seketul aje...but heck, they taste just as nice! It's about quality of food and presentation afterall.

I must say Jogoya has a better selection of customly prepared food. You can really interact with the chefs whom are always at your service. Not at Tenji, their chefs are way too busy.

You can never find any cheese baked crab in Tenji, do you? Maybe not during the promo period? I'm not sure though.

Both Jogoya and Tenji serves the premium Haagen Dazs ice cream and fragrant coconuts. But seriously the queue at Tenji is disturbing. The Haagen Dazs can really dry up at Tenji, LOL.

If you'd notice, I gave a big pass to other selection of food like vegetables, rice, noodles, chickens and other "ordinary" food. I would prefer to just highlight the main attraction of the restaurant, just to make things simple. You don't go to buffet and eat fried rice, do you? LOL My judgement? Food selection - Jogoya offers a better and wider range of food without any doubt. Tenji has a rather limited selection and worse is when they fail to replenish the food fast enough for the gluttons. I can tell in a frank manner that there are many food that I can find in Jogoya but not in Tenji. HOWEVER, Tenji do serve some fresh seafood - so fresh that I can personally say that it is comparable to the ones sold in The Fisherman's Wharf in Sydney! The oysters are way too cool and it's a real pity if one does not savour any of those. (like a friend of mine who made an analogy of an oyster with 20 men's bukkake, LOL) Pricing - I personally don't know what the food will be if I pay the retail price at Tenji, but the promo thingy is definitely the sole driving force for me being there. If it's not for the promo, I don't think I would get there again. Paying RM88++ for Japanese Buffet with rather a limited choice does not seem ideal. Same goes to Jogoya, although I slightly rate it higher. With a promotion going on, I'm sure Jogoya will reward you with a better value for money. Ambience - Thumbs up for Tenji. They truly designed the place well and decorated them very well. They have a rather packed arrangement in the interior part, just like Jogoya. Or you can select the spacious and cozy open air ambience with chilly breeze (if you're lucky) ahaaa... Jogoya? They have nice array of food at each corner, but the tables are just everywhere and they come with lousy cemented floor LOL. Service - I don't really see an obvious difference between the two. Some might say about the deteriorating services at Tenji, but I think it is understandable considering the enormous crowd during the promo periods. Jogoya? They're awesome, right from the telephone reservation till the moment you leave the restaurant. Overall, I'd say Tenji is much over-rated. If it's not for the RM49 nett (yes, the taxes rounded up to 22% !), I don't see myself there again. Jogoya? I'm sure their promo period is not as packed as Tenji. At least you can eat with ease, without enduring enormously long queues. That's what I got to say. What say you?