Sukishi at IOI Mall Puchong used to be my go-to place for a cheap but decent hotpot buffet, but the quality has gone down of late (or at least during my last visit in October).

Luckily for me, my friend recently introduced me to another chain – and I think I might have just found my new favourite place. Originally from Hong Kong, Wagyu More is a Japanese shabu-shabu chain, that specialises in – what else – wagyu hotpot. They entered the Malaysian market in 2019, opening an outlet at The Gardens Mall in Kuala Lumpur, and later at Sunway Pyramid. It was at the latter that C, J and I met up for lunch last weekend.

Wagyu More offers several buffet packages catered to different budgets. If you’re rolling in dough or just feel like celebrating a special occasion, the priciest option is of course the one with their specialty: All-you-can-eat Miyazaki A5 beef, priced at RM388++ per person. The slightly cheaper option is the Australian Wagyu Beef buffet – at a fairly reasonable rate of RM148++, this is ideal for diners who still want to indulge in wagyu beef, but don’t want to splurge. Fans of pork might want to opt for the Spanish Iberico Pork buffet (RM98++).

For the rest of us plebians, the cheapest option costs just RM38++ – a steal, considering that you get free flow of pork, beef, chicken, fish and vegetables. And if you feel like trying one or two ‘premium’ cuts, you can always go for an ala carte add-on.

The resto gets quite crowded on weekends, so I recommend booking in advance on their website if you don’t want to wait. We didn’t, as C and I had to wait for J to finish an event, and we weren’t sure what time she’d be available (they give you a dining time limit of 2 hours per session). We managed to secure a table at 1.15PM (I was starving by then, lol), but thankfully the service was fast, and everything was served immediately after we sat down.

The interior is bright and cheerful, with Japanese-inspired touches. Tables are adequately spaced, and they require diners to wear their masks and plastic gloves (provided by the resto) when taking food from the counter.

The main proteins. Basically everything at the top is available for the cheaper buffet, and you can go for ala carte ‘premium’ items at additional cost.

There are eight soup bases to choose from. We got collagen chicken and pork bone. In retrospect, should have gone for a more distinct flavour (like tomato or kimchi), because the two soups ended up tasting quite similar.

While waiting for the soup to boil, I made a beeline for the hot food section. And *gasp!* – no photos! Because that was how hungry I was lol. They had fried rice, pork meat balls, and insanely addictive curry samosas, fried spring rolls, and sweet potato balls. I think I ate 10 samosas on my own. They were really crispy, but didn’t feel greasy at all, and the curry filling was not too spicy either.

The section that I rarely go to in a buffet, but hey, here’s a photo. lol.

They have a good selection of vegetables, and even if you’re not a big fan of vegetables, they’re good for adding flavour to your soup base. Just remember not to take too much, as they do have a surcharge of RM10 for every 100g of food wasted.

Processed items – pork balls, fishballs, cocktail sausages, seafood cheese tofu, and more. Also small plates of noodles, for those who need to get their carbs in.

It has been seven months since I last caught up with C, and even more than that with J (no thanks to the pandemic!), so I didn’t take many pictures of the food. What I can say, though, is that the food is fresh and tasty; especially the pork belly. The meat cuts are thinly sliced so they cook evenly and fast. You can also dip them in your own condiment mix for added flavour: I made a simple one with shallots, chopped ginger and soy sauce. As for the broth, as mentioned earlier, I couldn’t really differentiate which one was chicken and which was pork towards the end – but it tasted good all the same; kind of like a naturally sweet meat broth that had absorbed all the goodness of the ingredients that were cooking in it.

Rounded off the meal with some dessert. Mochi was a bit hard, but the cakes were soft and moist. There was also chocolate and matcha ice cream. To wash everything down, you can choose from several drinks such as iced lemon tea, Coke, and peach.

Our meal came up to about RM48 per person, which is extremely reasonable given the selection and the quality of the meats, even for the ‘lowest’ buffet tier. I think it’s also a one-up from Sukishi, which doesn’t have a hot food section, or desserts other than ice cream. Do note that the dinner buffet is slightly more expensive than the lunch one.

So if you’re looking for a relatively cheap hotpot buffet, consider Wagyu More! I’ve yet to try the wagyu buffet … perhaps one day when I’ve gotten a bonus from work, or I’ve hit the jackpot.

A girl can dream.

WAGYU MORE (SUNWAY PYRAMID)

G1.98C, LG 1 Floor, Sunway Pyramid, No 3, Jalan PJS 11/15, Sunway City, 47500 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Opening hours: 11AM – 10PM

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