[Closed] Onokabe, Surabaya

I'm not an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) type of person, but every time a new AYCE restaurant opens in town, I always get thrilled to try. Recently, I had a visit to Onokabe, an AYCE restaurant at Praxis. Onokabe is a brand under Boga Group, the company of  Bakerzin, Pepper Lunch, Paradise Dynasty, Shaburi, and Kintan Buffet. While the name sounds Japanese, it is actually derived from Javanese word 'ono kabeh', which literally means 'everything’s there'. It surely lives up to its name, as you can find everything there, from veggie to meat, and from appetizer to dessert.

Trust me, you will be spoiled with the wide varieties of food Onokabe gets to offer. The buffet section literally consists of everything, from veggie to meat, from appetizer to dessert. There is even spit-roasted mutton on display!

Before I got busy grilling and cooking my food, I enjoyed their cooked food first. I took some makis, fried duck, Thai sauce chicken, fried kway teow, sauteed veggies and Padang-style clams. Everything was properly cooked, I got nothing to complain about.

You can have both grill and suki (steamboat) on one table. And what's better, there are seven choices of broth to choose from: soto, chicken collagen, beef herb, tom yum kung, wild mushroom, Szechuan, and miso seaweed. You can put the ingredients from the buffet counter into the suki, or you can easily grab some ingredients from conveyor belt too (they are typical steamboat stuffs like fishball, chikuwa, etc.).

For the suki, I chose chicken collagen and tom yum kung broths. I was attracted to the chicken collagen broth as I heard collagen was good for skin haha. I really liked the chicken collagen broth, which was not overly rich and had a light aftertaste. The tom yum broth was more towards spicy (actually it was too spicy for my tolerance) with strong herbs flavor.

The meat was marinated in different kind of sauces like teriyaki, pepper, margarita, BBQ, garlic and curry. So unique! I took a little bit of everything: chicken, beef, fish, squid and mussels. If their marination still does not suit your taste bud, you are more than welcome to mix and match different kinds of sauce provided at the buffet counter. If you are brave enough, try their spiciest sauce, the Mala sauce. For me, I prefer to enjoy the grilled meats just as it is to savor the natural juiciness of the meat, with a bit of help from crushed garlic. 

For the dessert, I had jasuke (corn with condensed milk, butter and cheese), ice cream with jellies, and marshmallows with chocolate. Super glad to find all of my favorites for dessert!

Overall, I was truly satisfied with my AYCE experience at Onokabe. Eating is indeed an expensive hobby (especially AYCE style), but when you know where to go, it is gonna be worth the money spent. And Onokabe is one of those places where you can spend your money on food with no regret.  The price versus quality also makes Onokabe one of the most value-for-money buffet restaurant in Surabaya. Don't forget to make a reservation or come early to avoid disappointment. A reminder, only take what you can finish (otherwise you have to pay a penalty for any wastage of food), so eat responsibly!

Buffet price:

Adult: IDR138,000++
Senior: IDR119,000++
Child: IDR89,000++

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Praxis, 1st Floor

Jl. Sono Kembang 4-6

+6231–99277049

IG: onokabe.sby

Opening hours: 10am - 10pm