Can’t decide between barbecue or hotpot? You can have both at Seoul Garden, a Korean-inspired buffet chain from Singapore which offers a plentiful array of vegetable, meat and seafood dishes for the pot as well as the grill. Their outlet in 1 Utama has been around for years and is still going strong, judging from the lunch crowd. It’s also Halal-certified, so the colleagues and I came here for our farewell lunch with L.

We got here early so the resto was still quite empty. Social distancing rules are observed with tables spaced far apart, and patrons are required to wear face masks and gloves when taking their food from the buffet counters.

The lunch buffet is priced at RM46.20 for adults, which I think is reasonable for the location and the variety of items they offer.  Before you’re seated, you can choose from several soup bases, such as Kimchi Jigae, Milky Seafood, Ginseng Chicken, Ginseng Abalone and the fusion-style TomYum Kimchi.

Over at the meat counter, you’ll find a selection of marinated meats ready for the grill – including the unique Coffee Chicken. While it might sound unappetising, it actually has good flavour, with a fragrant coffee aroma and a hint of sweetness / smokiness to it. You’ll also find both spicy and non-spicy Bulgogi Beef, Kimchi Chicken, BBQ and Teriyaki Chicken, Black Pepper Dory, Tom Yum Squid, and much more. If you upgrade to Premium for an additional RM12, you’ll get access to the Premium counter which has smoked duck, salmon, lamb, sirloin and other mexclusive items.

While waiting for your soup to boil and the grill to heat up, hit up the ready-to-eat counter, featuring various fried goodies (fried fish fillets, potato wedges, fried chicken), noodles and rice. For lunch service, they fry the stuff in advance so some of it might not be as crispy, but the flavour is still decent. PS: A general rule at buffets if you want your money’s worth – don’t load up on the carbs. They’re filling, so you don’t get to eat as much of everything else. Might just be me though; to each their own. 😛

Soup’s boiling, grill’s hot – time to tuck in!

Highlights: Being a meat eater, I enjoyed all of the meat items, especially the smoked duck from the premium counter, the tom yum squid, the black pepper dory and the coffee chicken.  The ingredients were fresh and tasty – none of that awful bloody/iron taste you usually get from meat / seafood that have been frozen and thawed countless times. The soup base we picked (milky seafood) was too salty, though. Other than that, no complaints. We ended our meal with ice cream, fresh fruits and pudding for dessert.

BBQ /Hotpot buffets can be pricey in the Klang Valley, so RM50+ is a reasonable price for me, for a buffet of this quality. There is a good variety of items, the space is comfortable and clean, and the service is friendly (albeit a little slow especially when you need them to change the grill plate / add soup).

PS: Birthday babies dine for free! If it’s your birthday month, simply come with 3 paying adults and your meal will be covered for. 

SEOUL GARDEN 1 UTAMA 

LG 345, Lower Ground Floor, Highstreet, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Lebuh Bandar Utama, 47800, Selangor

Opening hours: 11AM – 10PM

Reservations: seoulgarden.com.my