KOUBEKUKKUWAHRUDOBYUFFUEHAHBAHRANDO

Every time we visit Kobe, we will come by for our buffet lunch and this time no exception. It was a weekday and we arrived at around 10.30am (the restaurant opened at 11am). So we took a queue number, made the payment and got the receipt and advised by another kind local, we had to write our names... on the "reservation booklet". And soon, many people flocked in and took queue numbers. When it opened at 11am, the staff called out the queue number in Japanese and we were on the 5th place in the reservation booklet thought we would be the 5th to be called. So when it was the 5th, we went up but the staff shaked her head (speaking in Japanese only) and asked us to go aside and wait. And she attended to others and let them in (later we found out that these were the customers who made up the reservations earlier). They should have 2 separate queues, walk-in and reservations. And what is the purpose for us to write down in the reservation booklet? It was only after a good 20mins then it's our so called turn to go in. Ambience remained unchange, it's bright and spacious. Foodwise, would say decent and satisfactory but not fantastic. Imagine this was a 1500yen buffet and how much would you expect to have luxurious dishes? Overall, the food spread and quality were satisfactory, with some hits and misses. Some foods were salty (like the soup) and others were bland. But the ramen, yakitori, and fried noodles, among a few, were yummy! They have local, western and asian dishes. Also have pastries, ice cream desserts and softdrinks, juices and hot beverages. But they lacked fresh cut fruits which were common in buffet meals. Service wise, other than the cashier who called out the queue numbers, there were very minimal contact with them as all were self-service. But the chefs who ran the stations were helpful and efficient. It's a good value for money buffet, considering the spread and senior citizens got discount too! So it's nice! We wanted to give a 3.5 star rating but could not give a 0.5 and so decided to leave it at 3-star as it's not ready for a 4-star.

Visited December 2023

Contactless entry, you need to go to the first automatic reception and input how many people in your party. You need to get a customer ID number. Then you need to move to the second automatic compute terminal, you need to scan your customer ID and they will give you a price. You need to pay first.... Price was now 1,200 for lunch plus tax for men. Then you move to the manned station where they will give you your customer ID card and seat assignment card. (This is where you will sit) No choice in seating. As for the food - think cheap, think greasy, think salty—volume over quality. The pizza counter was empty most of the time I was there. They did bring out a honey pizza but that ended up being just dough with honey. The Chinese section was salty. The fried noodles and the stir fry were just alright but I will give full kudos for the salt-covered crispy chicken. That was pretty good. Soup section was sad. Corn soup and Vietnamee pho - it was MSG soup. The fried section had alright fries and hash browns, the fried fish was awful, the tempura offerings were not nice. Salad stand was typical - boiled cold broccoli, cabbage, sliced carrots etc. Nothing to write home about. They did have a pretty extensive dessert section but it was not very good. Even the ice cream wasn't that good. The crepes were stale. All in all, if you need to just fill up. This is a good place. If you want good food, avoid the place. It fulfills a certain segment of the population.

Visited April 2022

We were here in Kobe on a day tour and it was almost lunch time after our shopping at Harbour Center and we passed by this restaurant. As there was already a long queue formed up, our curiosity led us to enter the restaurant to "take a look". Then we realized that the people, mostly locals (and ther...eafter big groups of students and senior citizens were to come by later), were queuing for the lunch buffet. As we had a light breakfast and it's almost lunch time, we decided to join the crowd to queue. So we took a queue number and waited for our turn to make payment. The buffet started on time. The price for the buffet was unbelievable, at 1000 yen for adult, 900 yen for senior citizen and think 800 yen for student (and without time limit). And trust me, the food variety offered here was much worthwhile than the price we were paying for. The special promotion rate for senior citizen was also applicable for tourists like us. So we enjoyed the buffet with some discounts for our elderly. After making the payment, we were given a table card with number indicating the table we were supposed to sit. The restaurant was actually quite big and divided into 2 main sections (with special rooms too). It was no doubt that it was popular among the locals and soon it would be full house and many people were still queuing outside. In terms of food variety, it was very good considering the price we were paying. They have most typical Japanese and local dishes, also western and asian cuisines, not to mention a tempting salad, pastry, ice cream and dessert bar, and both hot and cold beverages were inclusive in the buffet. Most of the food were yummy and flavourful and suitable to our tastes, and food were replenished very often and even if you missed them in your first serving, worry not! And the food were hot (unlike some restaurants that serve cold food, having prepared very much early as the chefs here prepared and cooked on the spot) and cooked nicely. The only disappointment was that the sushi and tempura variety was quite limited and no Kobe beef! (I thought they may include some beef need not Kobe beef which they didn't have, but that's fine as we went for that later in the evening). Thinking back again, hey, paying 1000 yen, you expect Kobe beef and more sushi variety? I must be mad! LOL~ Service staff were very efficient in clearing used plates and utensils, doing the job promptly and professionally. Kudos to the 3-member team! We did enjoy very much this buffet and ate to almost our "maximum capacity". If not have plans to go to other parts of the city for our visiting, we would love to stay much longer to enjoy the nice food! (eventually we left in about an hour and 45mins) It's definitely a great value for money buffet and very much highly recommended!

Visited December 2019

We had time to kill at the Kobe Station before going back to Osaka so we wandered into the Harborland which is connected to the station by an underground passahe. We found the World Buffet at the end of the underground passgeway, and got intruiged by the long line of families and groups of people wa...iting to get in. We decided to try the buffet out, and it was awesome! The food really tasted good, unlike in other buffet places where quantity is what you pay for. Love their sushi, veggie tempura (sadly, no ebi tempura), and ramen. They were also celebrating French week so they had quiches, pizza, and wonderful rich French pastry. Winner of the buffet though was the ice cream! They had only like 6 flavors but they were all creamy, rich, and tasted really like the fruit that were made of, especially the watermelon. Adults and kids alike were going gaga over the ice cream. One more irresistible reason to visit Kobe in the future.

Visited January 2019

We ended up there as the typhoon was approaching Kobe. It's just an ordinary all you can eat restaurant compared to other of this kind around the world, it's been actually very nice, food was prepared fresh, everything was quite clean and staff was very friendly and helpful even without the necessar...y english skills. Alcohol costs extra and comes with a 2hour flat rate. There was plenty of vegetarian, but not vegan options.

Visited October 2017