Saturday October 10th, went for dinner at Sakura latest dinning restaurant at Punggol Marina, Sakura Charcoal Grilled & Sabu Sabu, Called in to the restaurant at about 5pm for reservation and was told that they were fully booked and the next available reservation based on availability and first come first serve basis was at 8.30pm. I hesitate and did not make a booking, I decided to go down and see how packed the restaurant is, It actually make me more interested in finding out more about this restaurant.
At about 7.30pm I reach the restaurant, I have been to Punggol Marina just about half a year back, and that place was mostly deserted except for diners at the Punggol seafood restaurant, Boatel Steamboat buffet, and Hot Stone buffet which actually open until 3am in the morning. There is also activity at the prawn farm with people Prawning (prawn fishing).
There is surely much more people and activity on this visit than my last visit, Most of the crown are at the Sakura Restaurant and mainly also because they offer free shuttle bus service from Sengkang Mrt Station. I went up to the waiting list counter and check with the person in charge as to how long do I need to wait as I’m not in the waiting list, He told me that only after 8.30pm then I would have a chance, same as what the lady told me over the phone, I put my name and phone down and waited.
I actually saw a lot of empty table inside the restaurant and was wondering why they do not let us in since they have quite a number of empty table, it was later that I found out that some people reserved the table and have yet to turn up, I think some got lost on the way.At about 8.10pm, I got a call from the restaurant, proceed to pay up and was led to the table by the staff.
For S$90.00 for 3 person, with S$ 30.00 stored coupon value for beverages and premium food like lobster and Wagyu beef, It’s definitely value for money. We went to the food counter for food, I was personally amazed at the variety of food available both for the Sabu Sabu and Grill. They even have a small pamphlet telling you about the stored value and to let the Sabu Sabu pot boil for at least 15mins before you start cooking and not to mix cooked food and raw food utensils to prevent cross contamination between food. A very great way to inform customer.
From their website they state more than 200 variety of food items, I did not do a manual count, but I can tell you, in one sitting, even if you take one of each food variety, I can tell you, you won’t be able to finish it. The variety is really huge, Ice cream and dessert inclusive. One very nice feature of this restaurant is that they serve very high quality food and even the beef for Sabu Sabu and some other non marinated pork is individually packed and wrapped to maintain the hygiene level and to prevent contamination. I especially like the Salmon, which they give an aluminum tray for you to grill, They salmon tasted great, although the other meat also taste great, just that I enjoyed this particular salmon and got myself a second helping. Seafood are lay on top of shredded ice to maintain it’s freshness.
When compared to other similar restaurant, this restaurant will be one of the highly recommended choice by me, First of all food hygiene and quality is great. Environment is also good, although it is a bit way off for some, but then it is very near my house. Restaurant is very clean but lighting is a bit poor on certain area, hard to gauge whether the grilled food is cooked or not, but then this is just a minor minus point, I never tried the premium item because, I spent all my stored coupon on drinks, they have Wagyu beef at S$ 16.00 per 100 grams.
This time round, I remember to take some picture to tempt your taste buds,
Sausages, beef, pork, and my favorite Salmon inside the aluminum tray
Fresh Seafood
Satay of different meat
A shot of how the charcoal pit looks like
Another shot of the Steamboat
This is a delayed post because my dad ended up in hospital again, But he should be out in a day or two, I just hope and pray that he gets well soon and do no stay so weak.