Dining Out: A Belated Birthday All-You-Can-Eat Japanese Feast at Ichiban

When my friend Iris asked where I'd want to go for a belated birthday dinner, I was craving Japanese food but also just wanted to eat a lot, so what better place than Ichiban, my go-to AYCE Japanese restaurant?

Assorted sashimi: Salmon, surf clams, sweet shrimp, scallops, and white tuna

Beef tataki

Smoked duck and wagyu aburi sushi

Truffle wasabi tuna roll with jalapeño

Assorted aburi sushi: White tuna, snapper, shrimp, salmon, eel, and wagyu

Japanese-style cubed beef with garlic

Deep-fried scallops

Grilled jumbo shrimp skewer

Cream puffs

Deep-fried coconut custard

There was also steamed shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, Japanese steamed egg, enoki beef rolls, baked mussels with uni sauce, deep-fried calamari, deep-fried tofu, and a plethora of tempura. Unfortunately, we were too full to even touch the Asian stir-fried and noodle and rice sections, but you know, I think we did pretty well overall. GLUTTONOUS BIRTHDAY DINNER, SUCCESS!

Ichiban Asian All You Can Eat

4261 Highway 7, Unit C-8

Markham, ON L3R 9W6

(905) 305-8825

Hong Kong 2024 Travel Log: Day 1 — Breakfast Buffet at Cafe

Greetings from Hong Kong!

After a 15-hour flight and arriving at 4:30AM local time, my mom and I decided to slowly make our way to our hotel. Except it's Hong Kong, where efficiency is king. So even with taking our time going through immigration, running speed-walking to the smoking area outside to smoke three cigarettes back-to-back, using the bathroom, and taking a taxi, we still got to our hotel by 6:00AM. Since check-in isn't until 3:00PM, the lady at concierge registered us in the system and stored our luggage for us, but as the sun hadn't risen yet, we had A LOT of time to kill. But better way to start time-killing than with all-you-can-eat breakfast?

Croissant with fresh fruit

Smoked salmon, soba, and hiyayakko tofu

Sunny side-up eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausage, roast cherry tomatoes, and sliced baguette

Assorted flaky pastries

There was actually a LOT more food than we could fit in (there are entire sections for Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Western breakfast foods, plus a pancake/waffle station, a cereal station, a juice station, and a salad bar) as well as all-you-can-drink coffee (that is actually GOOD), but alas, we only have so much stomach space. We were so satisfied with this breakfast that we thought it was entirely worth it even if there wasn't a 40% off promotion for hotel guests right now (it's normally about $50 CAD per person). It's occurred to me that I haven't been to a breakfast buffet in over two decades and I don't know how I deprived myself of this ABSOLUTE JOY AND DELIGHT for so long. 

Cafe

Hyatt Regency Hong Kong

18 Hanoi Rd., L/F

Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

Hong Kong

(852) 2311-1234

Dining Out: New Year's Feast at Xiang Li Hot Pot

Food-wise, 2024 has started off with a bang as my mom and I went for AYCE hot pot at Xiang Zi:

Sliced beef, pork belly, and lamb
Assorted pork and beef intestines, enoki mushrooms, and lotus root
Assorted beef intestines, cucumber salad, lettuce stem salad, scallops, and tender beef
Mushroom and pork bone broth and hog maw and chicken broth (center)
Daikon, luncheon meat, stuffed bean curd pouches, fish balls, bean curd sheets, fried tofu cubes, wontons, beef balls, winter melon, and quail eggs
Sliced beef x 2
HOT POT!
Watermelon and cantaloupe for dessert
Who knew my mom would become one of my go-to food buddies? (Like mother, like daughter...?)

Xiang Zi Hot Pot

Uptown Market Shopping Centre

3989 Highway 7

Markham, ON L3R 5M6

(905) 305-9888

Photolog 2021: Day 81 of 365

Met up with my friends Amanda and Viv for lunch this afternoon, our first gathering in nearly a year. (We used to have quarterly meet-ups, but it's sadly become bi-annual now.) Since Amanda — an Italian living in a very Italian household in a very Italian neighbourhood — is deprived of Asian food, she requested that we go for AYCE sushi. As Viv and I are Asians who get to eat Asian food all the time, who are we to deny her request?

Salmon roses, salmon nigiri, surf clam nigiri, and spicy salmon nigiri
Dynamite roll, green dragon roll, and red dragon roll
Yam tempura roll and spicy salmon roll
Enoki beef rolls
Teriyaki steak with mushrooms
Tofu tempura
Shrimp and surimi tempura
So we made reservations at Sushi Kiku since York Region is allowing dining in now (in small groups and socially distanced, of course). I'm generally not a huge fan of all-you-can-eat sushi places anymore as I prefer quality over quantity now that I've gotten older, but it did hit the spot. They don't offer sashimi at lunch (to be expected since it's a cheaper than the dinner price), but there's still a huge variety of items on their menu which is probably the best part of AYCE places. That having been said, I probably won't go again... until Amanda requests it at our next bi-annual meet-up.

Sushi Kiku

230 Commerce Valley Dr. E., Unit 10

Thornhill, ON L3T 7Y3

(905) 597-8099

Photolog 2020: Day 26 of 366

Woke up early to go to Chinese New Year brunch with the whole fam at the Mandarin. (We don't bother cooking at home. It's too much work, and no one wants to host it.) Honestly, this is the best time of year, especially if you're one of the youngest and not married. You just eat a ton and get lucky red pockets. It's like Chinese Christmas.

Photolog 2019: Day 358 of 365

Had Christmas Eve dinner with my mom at Mandarin this evening, 'cause we're all about having the massive feast with no cooking or clean-up required. (Judging from the packed tables, I guess a lot of people had the same idea.) But, seriously, where else can you have everything from egg rolls and firecracker shrimp to roast beef and garlic bread to black pepper beef and chow mein to lemon meringue pie and sticky toffee pudding ALL IN THE SAME MEAL? That's right, only at a buffet.

Photolog 2019: Day 318 of 365

Had an early birthday dinner with the fam at Kiku. My choice: Japanese. Dad's choice: AYCE. So this was the compromise. I rarely eat at AYCE places nowadays, preferring quality over quantity as I get older, but there is something satisfying about being able to eat so many different things (and as much of them as you want) for a set price. Only problem is, it's been like, three hours since dinner and I still feel like I'm about to burst out of my sweatpants.

Photolog 2019: Day 214 of 365

Had dinner with my girls Amanda and Viv at Kiku tonight. It has been a long, long time since I went to for AYCE sushi since I usually opt for à la carte restaurants, but man, something has to be said for variety. Also, I don't know how, but I can eat like, three times more food at AYCE places than I do regularly. Mind over matter?

Photolog 2019: Day 168 of 365

Sushi rolls, salmon sashimi, shrimp salad, cucumbers, baby corn, and beet salad
Deep-fried shrimp, sweet and sour pork, broccoli and beef, black pepper beef, stir-fried shrimp, and an egg roll
Roast beef au jus, mashed potatoes, grilled zucchini, and garlic bread
People celebrated the Raptors' NBA Championship win downtown with an insanely massive parade. I celebrated by eating copious amounts of food at the Mandarin with my mom. (I gotta say, I hadn't been to a Chinese buffet in years and I forgot just how GLORIOUS it is.)