How Much Should a Chinese Buffet Cost??
My Hobby
I seem to have loads of hobbies. So many hobbies I just cant pay attention to many of them for lack of time. (Wonder if my Steemit addiction has anything to do with this???) However, this is one "hobby" I can always find time for: Eating at new Chinese buffets! (OK so its kind of a lame hobby, don't judge. You should see some of my other ones!
The Basics
When I am in a new area on some type of business, or just as often helplessly lost with no idea where I am, I love to try a new Chinese buffet! Having become an old hand at this game, I have fashioned my own strategy for evaluating them. Of course first impressions are important as to the friendliness of the hostess. and the general appearance of the place. How is the music, the lighting? Is there a good mix of booths and tables? As I have been usually driving for an extended matter of time, albeit quite possibly in meandering circles, my bladder is non the wiser, so naturally my first stop is the restroom. The general cleanliness of the restroom is usually a good indication of the quality of the overall experience.
Reference Standard
There are always certain foods that are typically served at all Chinese buffets. These are the ones that give you a quick baseline as to the quality of the food. Some good examples would be eggrolls, potstickers (fried dumplings), and of course Hot Sour soup! Obviously I love all three and am a bit of a connoisseur of them! If they don't get these three things right, you are not in for a good meal! Here the Hot Sour soup was so so. Sadly, it could have been a bit warmer in both temperature and spice.
The Food
The two Crab Rangoon on the left very quite nice, as were the two eggrolls on the right. No complaints on those! However, the biggest disappointment of the night was the cold postickers. You should not bite into a fried dumpling and it be room temperature. Not only is it a bit off putting, but also could be dangerous if at that temperature for too long as it is made from pork.
On the bright side, the BBQ chicken wings were right on the money.
On the left you can see some large pieces of beef from the Pepper Steak. Although I would prefer smaller pieces, it had a nice taste. on the right you can see General Tso chicken that had a nice amount of spice heat to it. Really yummy! In the middle was the Mongolian beef. This was my favorite dish of the night and had an lovely flavor. Of course there was plenty of rice. Can you believe I have actually been to Chinese buffets where the rice was out!!!
The Verdict
Thanks for stopping by!
All words and images are mine and can be also found on my various social media sites.
Twitter
YouTube Main channel
YouTube Photography
YouTube ASMR/Mukbang
Twenty20
Minds
Reallly made me hungry thank you looks great.
Chinese food always makes me hungry too lol.
Best Chinese food buffet I ever had was in South Dakota of all places. $8.99 for a buffet. I've never found a place as good theirs. I judge a place by their egg rolls and sesame chicken. Good sesame is battered and fried crispy before sauced up. A place that has plain chicken with no batter is a the lowest I can score.
Yes that is a good yardstick as well! I will have to take that into consideration when I evaluate them! Great point!
this all looks very good. depending on what the buffet is serving it should cost between $9.99 (cheap food) to about $24.99 ( gourmet)
Sounds about right :)
I think $16 is a fair price to pay for buffet. I find Panda Express has best price and quality food for less than 10 bucks (it's not all you can eat though). BTW, where is this restaurant located? Thanks for sharing.
Its called Asian City in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.
My favorite is #88 on any menu
Yes they have to have lots of rice. I like to eat vegetable dishes. I like to see the steam come out of the food. Otherwise it is too cold. Yes them pot stickers are too cold. $16 is ok if you have a lot to pick from and you see a lot of steam.
Yes upped! I totally agree! Steam needs to be there to show its hot enough!
I don't know but as years go by I don't eat as much and find paying for expensive buffet too wasteful. Anyway, bufffets tend to make me overeat.
That's an interesting hobby and one that would work pretty well for anyone that travels, especially to smaller towns. I have something similar that I do, but with Mexican restaurants and comparing the chili rellenos and tamales. I'd say $12.99 is about right for a small town Chinese buffet with the food that you had.
I used to work in a Chinese restaurant way back in my youth. This reminds me of all the good food that I got for free at the end of the shift. Lots of times I would take home the extra hot and sour soup. I tend to skip the buffet now because I eat too much and have a much tougher time keeping the weight off. Nothing like it once in while though.