With rows of sushi, tempura, a stir-fry hot counter and a halo-halo station, buffet enthusiasts of Sama Tower can find haven in a local Japanese and Filipino restaurant. Agemono is Abu Dhabi’s answer to all-you-can-eat restaurants around the globe, providing a space for shared meals, free-flowing conversation and satisfied stomachs.

Agemono’s kitchen opened nine years ago and has served both the Japanese and Filipino Abu Dhabi population since. With its welcoming staff and plethora of families slurping Japanese noodles and discussing their days, Agemono has a warm atmosphere to complement its spicy hot dishes. Agemono’s kitchen was so hot, in fact, that the branch in Karama expanded to three other neighborhoods and recently opened a sister branch in the Philippines itself.

Nothing screams student more than a cheap and delicious buffet. At only 49 AED a person from Sunday through Wednesday and 59 AED on weekends, the Agemono buffet offers something for everyone’s gluttonous dreams. From their stir-fry counter, you can choose the ingredients: fresh vegetables, squid, shrimp or tofu and either their oyster or lemon butter sauce. For dessert, try the Filipino halo-halo, a dish with beans, jello, sweet potato and banana. If halo-halo is not your treat of choice, dip marshmallows and fruit into their chocolate fountain.

For hungry students terrified by the prospect of making decisions at the buffet, go for one of their signature dishes. Try their shoyu or miso ramen, or one of their chicken dishes, the chicken katsu or teriyaki donburi. Filipino customer favorites are the Bulalo, a beef soup, or the milkfish, stuffed with tomatoes and ginger and grilled to perfection.

Work up an appetite by walking to Agemono, located at Al Mariah Mall, near the Tourist Club area about 20 minutes east of Sama Tower off of Hamdan Street.