KFC buffet Japan – Grandberry Park review
Before coming to Japan, I saw several videos regarding the KFC buffet in Tokyo and decided to add it to my to-do list. The thought of eating different dishes whilst still having the KFC twist was exciting. I wrote a blog about the Christmas KFC box you can get in Japan and found that the gratin that came with the box was very good. The buffet in Japan is so popular you must grab a numbered ticket as soon as the mall opens. This is around two hours before the buffet opens. On weekends and holidays, tickets run out fast, and the wait can be lengthy. The restaurant is small and has around 22 tables. The buffet offers diners 90 minutes of tasty offerings on weekdays and 80 minutes on weekends. For those who arrive and just want the normal takeaway menu, there is a separate line with the usual wait time.
KFC in Japan is slightly different from back home; the chicken in the UK is crispier, and the sides are different, including mashed potato, salad, gravy, baked beans and coleslaw. In the UK, the chips recently changed to skin-on fries, which I wasn’t overly keen on. In the UK, I am a huge fan of the boneless banquet box, which includes 5 boneless fillets, a drink and sides. KFC had many branches in my area, and I even had the app to make things smoother. When I arrived in Japan, I was eager to see how things varied and what new things I could find. The chicken in Japan is not crispy; its flavour is the same, and according to my friends it’s less greasy than in America. But the grease level feels the same to me, so perhaps the UK KFC too is less oily than the ones found in the States. I am not a fan of the boneless offerings in Japan; this may be down to production methods, but they are not the same. This is also the same for chicken nuggets at other chains; I am unsure why they taste so different to me. So, my order tends to be the greedy box, which includes three pieces of the original chicken, a drink and a side.
I arrived at Grandberry Park for half 10 a bit later than I had planned. I was number 59 and ended up waiting two hours before I was seated. The mall is very big and has a lot to offer. I spent my wait time exploring and hanging out with some cute cats in the cat café.
The KFC buffet has three locations, but the most viral is the Tokyo location, which is in Grandberry Park. The buffet offers a rotating menu so once a dish is gone, it is replaced with something new. This was very exciting, and I want to make sure readers don’t fill up too much if they don’t know this information. The buffet offers batches of fresh original KFC chicken. The best cuts are often highly sought after; they offer a drinks bar and even beer. There is an ice cream machine too. There is a bread section, and I highly recommend trying the garlic bread. I ended up hooked and wish that they would be made a permanent addition to the main menu. The flavour was great, and the crispy bread was a highlight of my trip. I recommend the herb chicken wings; the flavour is different, and they are not greasy. The buffet offered dishes such as American biscuits, pancakes, pastas, curry, chicken fried rice, and garlic fried rice. There was a salad bar too for those wanting a break from the heavier dishes. There was a collection of soups and rice. At some point, a vegetable dish was added and a Carbonari. Both normal and crispy fries were on offer, and I was lucky to grab some fresh out of the oven crispy fries. The crispy fries are nice, and I think they are better than the Skin-on fries the UK branches changed to.
The dessert offerings are limited, but the lemon jelly was great; the flavour was sharp and the jelly smooth. There were also a berry dessert, cheesecake and soufflé. A hack for your ice-cream is to put some of the honey used for the biscuits on top. I was a little sad there were no toppings for the ice cream, but the honey should add some flavour and dynamic to the plain soft serve.
The experience was fun and cost around 3200 yen per person; by the end of the experience, I felt very full. It was certainly fun, and I am glad to have had the chance to enjoy it in person. If I were back in the area, I would probably go again with a different game plan to enjoy more food. I recommend checking out the KFC buffet, but those wanting to create video content should be aware that filming is not permitted.
