Yunlan is a newly opened Japanese restaurant located at the intersection of Guyang Road and Songyuan Road. Since it had a set menu on Enjoy that looked like an incredible deal, I decided to give it a try. I have to say, this set menu is truly a bargain—with so many dishes for only 298 RMB, and after using a 50 RMB coupon, it came down to just 248 RMB… Although this restaurant has an average spend of over 300 RMB per person on Dianping with plenty of positive reviews, one important thing to note is that it primarily operates as a buffet. There are also some group-buy set menus available on Dianping. As we all know, a 300+ RMB per person buffet and a 300+ RMB per person à la carte restaurant are completely incomparable in every aspect, so it’s perfectly fine for a casual meal~~
First up was the salad, which was very mediocre; the dressing was store-bought and tasted nothing special at all.
There were three types of appetizers. The wasabi octopus and kimchi seemed like they might not be homemade but rather purchased directly from outside suppliers, and their taste was virtually indistinguishable from other restaurants.
Teppanyaki Foie Gras Steamed Egg is a classic teppanyaki dish. The foie gras pieces were a bit too small, but the flavor was quite good.
Each person gets one boiled baby abalone.
For the sashimi, you can choose any 3 types, so I opted for botan shrimp, sweet shrimp, and surf clam. They were all just average, with no surprises.
Teppanyaki Large Shrimp—this was pretty good, with nice texture and flavor.
Scallops: these scallops were unusually small—so tiny—and because wine was added during cooking, they had a slightly bitter taste.
Baked Crab Shell with Cheese was delicious; definitely worth ordering if you’re here for the buffet.
Teppanyaki Beef Tenderloin made with Dalian beef—the meat quality was decent and cooked very tender.
Vegetables were fine for a light bite~~
Dobin Mushi
Sushi rolls—the mango one was really delicious…
Fried rice tasted pretty good too.
Finally, dessert—it was actually not bad, considering it’s a buffet…
To sum up… If you’re coming here for the buffet and don’t have high expectations for ingredient quality, I’d still highly recommend it. Although the ingredients are fairly ordinary, it’s still much better than cheaper Japanese buffets. Plus, the flavors are consistently well-executed, which is reassuring. However, I wouldn’t really suggest going for the buffet, because their set menus offer generous portions—you’ll be stuffed by the end—and they’re significantly cheaper. Besides the large prawn set menu, there’s also a more premium spiny lobster set menu worth trying. Overall, the ambiance is average, with standard tableware and no particular highlights. Service is reasonably good and staff are attentive, though they get overwhelmed when it’s busy. The chefs are even busier—sitting at the teppanyaki counter watching them prepare dish after dish makes you realize how hard they work… Lastly, the food really does taste great; the ingredients are decent for a buffet, though middling in quality compared to dedicated Japanese restaurants, so decide based on your own needs…
Photos taken with SONY A5100 + 35mm f1.8, post-processed in Lightroom.
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