We went to Kentizen based on a friend's recommendation that Kentizen has a great fusion buffet. Upon being seated, there were only 2 other customers in the restaurant - no one else came into the restaurant during our entire meal.

The hostess took us to our table and told us that we could order items off their list. It took forever before someone finally came to bring us tea. When it came time to order, the server told us that several of the items we wanted wasnt avaible that day because they were sold out or that some of the ingredients were illegal to import to Canada. WTH? if that's the case, take them off the menu.

As we ordered items, the server told us that we could only order 5 items at a time. What was really disappointing/upsetting was that the other pair of customers were ordering off the same menu as us (we could hear them) but their plates were MUCH larger than ours. When i asked the server she said "oh, they're regular customers so they get a better deal."

Sushi was really old - crispy rice pieces and the fish looked old. Some of the rolled sushi we asked for like the Rainbow Roll and Phoenix Roll were brought out to us, but they just looked like California Rolls. When we asked about them, the server said "yeah, it's Rainbow Roll and Phoenix Rolls." We sent them back and asked for the real rolls to be made for us. Again, California rolls were brought out. At this point, we decided that the server really didnt comprehend what we were trying to explain to her so we gave up.

The AYCE menu had Japanese items and Chinese items but no fusion cuisine to be seen. This was really disappointing because we were hoping that there would be some cool items.

Seeing their online menu in advance would have 100% deterred us from going.
http://www.kentizencuisine.com/kentizencuisine/page-3-0-eng.html

Upon rave reviews from friends who loved this place, my boyfriend and I decided to go for dinner on a Monday night. At 7pm, we were the only customers there and for the longest time, it remained that way which was quite depressing for peak dinner hours. For the price of the buffet, you were allowed to order anything off the regular a le carte menu. Crazy deal, right? NOT! The manager came and took our order and frequently stopped us in between as to say, "Quit ordering so much." When we selected the expensive items on the item, we were told they were unavailable, illegal to be shipped to Canada (yes, they said that!) or not fresh. Basically, they didn't want to waste their expensive items to AYCE diners. One item that caught our eye on the menu was this deep-fried dynamite roll (prawn tempura inside California roll). We asked what was inside and the manager explained it was prawn tempura. My boyfriend said, "Ok, we'll have this" (pointing directly at the picture). We eventually got the tempura part, but not the roll. When we asked about our order, the manager said our order had indeed arrived as we had gotten our prawn tempura. We explained that we wanted to try the deep-fried dynamite roll and the manager had the nerve to say there was no such thing on the menu! When we referred back to the picture on the menu, the manager explained that it was just a deep-fried California roll, all said while clearly there was a deep-fried prawn tail sticking out in the picture! WHAT A LIAR!

I have been here more than a few times now.

I love Salmon sashimi and each time I came I really enjoyed it.

came here in mid december, they no longer give Salmon or Tuna sashimi, just those thinly sliced salmon pieces on rice .... could eat 50 of those ( of course without the rice) and it would be equivalent to 5 piece of sashimi before.

Value is still good for lunch, but it is no longer Outstanding.

W/C still clean, some parts inside were broken/worn, but still okay.

Ambiance is outstanding, clean, lots of room.

Service is good also.

Won't be coming here as much now .... no sashimi.

BTW, they still validate parking.

When I first walked into this eatery for a quick lunch, I was surprised to see a large ballroom that could seat upwards of 200 people. It was nicely designed and I was promptly seated by the operations manager, Kingsley.

Kentizen of course offers an a la carte menu - but the buffet is a fairly decent size, with copious amounts of tuna/salmon sashimi along with plenty of different kinds of sushi in the middle of the buffet. Arriving at their opening time of 11:30, the sushi tasted very fresh. I also enjoyed the seaweed salad on the side, and the many dishes of Chinese servings scattered on the borders of the buffet. What was especially good was the lemon and General Tao chickens, which allowed you to customise your taste.

I will need to drop by for dinner (or get invited to private parties, which Kentizen does take bookings for) to get a better feel for this eatery. For only $12, and several hours free parking in cramped Chinatown, this is a great place for lunch (or quite possibly dinner) – the experience feels quite different from what I have experienced before.

First of alll, let me tell you that as soon as I entered this so called "restaurant", I was greeted by a pair of rude and inconsiderate hostesses. As we were sat down, I felt as we were rushed to order. I chose to eat from the buffet. Eating here was a bad decision. The food had odd smells, the sushi was horrible and worst of all, I got food poisoning. Diarreah was the least of my worries. I had to be hospitalized with shellfish poisoning and nearly died.

The dinner is not worth the price, and some of the food was very bad. Over-all it was a disappointing experience that I will certainly not repeat, and I urge others not to bother in the first place.

The sushi selection was small and the rice in the maki and nigiri was chilled indicating that they were made in quantity ahead of time and refrigerated. Cold rice is terrible. Sushi rice should be at room temperature. The rice also tasted like it was just plain rice without sushi su. The sashimi was just salmon and tuna but was of moderate quality.

We noticed some people were getting mussels and crab legs and other things that were not on the sushi layout or the hot food signs. We asked and were rather grudgingly told about other options. The mussels and crab legs when we got them were completely bland and watery as if they had been thawed in cold water and left to soak up as much as possible without being drained. We also had some sautéed chicken with assorted vegetables that was terrible. The chicken had obviously been boiled ahead and left to languish in the fridge or perhaps even frozen to be warmed up with some very stale vegetables in an overly salty sauce. The teriyaki salmon was also terrible; it was the most disgustingly fatty salmon I have ever had and also had that flat stale taste that salmon gets just before it starts being obviously rotten. The tempura prawns tasted like they had been cooked in old French-fry oil at too low temperature, allowing the very heavy oil to thoroughly penetrate, saturate, and remain in the batter.

We had some Hunan beef stir fry and beef with zucchini that was nice.

I don’t imagine they will be in business much longer. We were there about 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. on a Monday, and it only got to about 10% full, max. Word seems to be getting around.

I was excited to check this place out since the decor was VERY inviting. I had the buffet dinner at about 8pm on a Sunday.

Food: They had Alaskan King crab legs which I thought was a nice addition to the buffet (unfortunately some pieces were REALLY salty.. but still..) Lots of shrimp, sushi and hot Chinese food. Some of the hot food looked like it was sitting there for a while, but the beef short ribs and pasta that I did try were good. The sashimi wasn't as fresh as it could be, but it was ok.

Value: for just under $20 per head I thought it was fair, considering other AYCE japanese places are roughly the same price or over, without Alaskan king crab legs or unlimited sashimi.

My confusion, though, is where the fusion part of the restaurant exists. Basically, this is a restaurant that serves both Japanese and Chinese food. From the outside I was expecting new dishes that mixed the two in an innovative fashion, rather than just having two types of menus. I think their name should just say "Kentizen Japanese and Chinese Cuisine" ... then it would be less misleading :D

This is located on the top floor of Tinseltown and the lunch buffet runs from 12pm to 2:30pm

There is nothing very fusion about the dishes, but there is definately enough variety for lunch. Common items include tuna/salmon sashimi (gone very fast), standard sushis (veggie, cali rolls, egg/shrimp/squid nigiri), shrimp dishes (cold or part of stir fry or kebabs), veggie tempura, meat satay and kebabs, black bean beef stir fry with snow peas, fried rice and noodles, sichuan seafood udon, curry chicken, fried chicken wings, veggie potstickers, pork gyoza, and some spinach. Not much for dessert except for jello and cantaloupe/honeydew pieces.

Waiters constantly take away plates and refill drinks (get a glass not the teapot or else its extra i think). Tons of room to move around and has a relaxing atmosphere.

There are problems though. For one, they dont replenish the food fast enough, especially the sashimi. Also, the plates are completely ridiculous. This is a buffet and the last time I checked, they're for hungry people who push the limits of calorie consumption. With that in mind, the plates they choose are 8cm by 30cm...

At least you get some exercise walking back and forth.

We held a large private family function (70 people) recently and were extremely satisfied with the service from the time we booked until the end of our function. The value for money was excellent.
The food was very fresh and plentiful as requested and our plates were changed frequently. By the end of lunch, several friends took down the restaurant's number in order to book for their parties as well.
The restaurant itself is quite beautiful and great for kids as there is lots of space between tables.
I would definitely consider this venue to book another large function as it really was well done.

First off, the restaurant sign itself classifies itself as "fusion". When they say fusion, they really mean just serving badly made Chinese and Japanese food existing on the same menu.. not the fusion of two cultures in a dish. There was nothing fusion about these dishes on the menu nor buffet. Cold sweet and sour pork, gai-lan, sushi with hard rice, and ice-cold tempura which is colder than the seaweed salad (most of the serving trays for the hot food weren't even heated) hardly is my idea of fusion. I would actually put the food at this place below most Asian fast-food/take-out places. I honestly felt like I was served leftover food that just came out of my fridge and microwaved for about 15 seconds.. for both the hot and the cold dishes.

The buffet will seem like a deal because the a-la-carte menu is not particularly cheap. At their prices, I could actually go to a GOOD Japanese restaurant for some well made sushi. At this place, you're paying to have the choice of bad Chinese and/or bad Japanese food.

But the bad overpriced food is hardly the only problem. Words that can describe the ambiance: AWKWARD and CONFUSING.
The restaurant itself is actually very grand feeling and large like a ballroom. It has high ceilings, a dance floor and a bar. They try to make it feel classy and modern but do pretty much EVERYTHING wrong. I was there in the early evening in the summer when the sun was still out and not even starting to set (around 6) and the drapes were totally closed over the large windows but you can see the sunlight creeping in through the sides. We thought they might've been trying to cover up a bad view but there actually was nothing wrong with the view. They were trying to darken the room for a more classy ambiance.. but failed horribly as the result was the room became dark due to bad lighting and with sun creeping in through the sides of the drapes.
Next the background music through the speakers was totally not fitting not to mention halfway through the meal, they had someone play some live flamenco music or something with a Spanish beat... hardly the type of music that would go into an ASIAN FUSION restaurant.

The only thing salvaging the place is that the service was actually OK. They were attentive and courteous but nothing outstanding.

In conclusion, the only thing "fusion" about this restaurant is the combination of cold Chinese fast food (which is a disappointment as Tinseltown is right near Chinatown) with questionable Japanese food, a confusing ambiance of bad lighting, music for a Spanish nightclub, in a nice large ballroom, topped off by semi-decent service.

Within a dead mall with no real anchor, and possibly one of the worst Asian food dining experiences in Vancouver, I can confidently (but sadly) say that this restaurant will not be around for long if they keep this up.