It was my pick again, and since my son was not sick this time, I thought we could celebrate Chinese New Year by going someplace Chinese! The weather was actually not as bad as it could have been, but nevertheless I picked a nearby establishment that is open all the time, Joy Luck Buffet at Manchester and Hanley. We had not visited it on a Saturday lunch in a long time, and it seemed like a good time to try it out.
When we arrived the parking lot was well cleared of snow and we were able to park pretty close to the entrance. Since we decided to just eat from the buffet, we were seated at the front tables without the heating elements for the hot pot. The place was not too crowded initially, but it filled up pretty quickly as noon came and passed. They had some unusual art on the walls which looked like elegant Chinese calligraphy with tacky photos of plates of food pasted on top of it. My son took some pictures included in this posting.
The tables of buffet selections looked the same as they typically did during the weekdays, although at first the buffet area was pretty empty of customers, which is a rarity compared to when we visit from work. For my first selections, I tried some pot stickers, some General Tso's chicken and a few pieces of sushi. The sushi roll selection was pretty large again and there were a lot of options to try.
We took our food back to our table and my son tried one of his pot stickers first. He exclaimed it was the worst pot sticker he had ever eaten, and then he gave me the other two pot stickers he had picked up. I tried mine and came to the realization my son was actually correct. The pot sticker skin was too chewy, it was only half warm, and the whole thing felt like it was old and not freshly made. The chicken also seemed not so fresh, and was mostly just mushy breading. My wife also had some General Tso's chicken and she later commented she could not find any chicken in hers. I had also picked up another chicken entree and it also seemed mushy and half warm, not very appetizing at all. The best and freshest offerings appeared to be the sushi rolls, so I continued to eat those which included pieces with inari skins, avocado, tuna, fake "crab" legs and other ingredients. For my second and third return visits to the buffet the sushi roll pieces were all I picked up.
As more people arrived we noticed a lot of people did keep coming, with most (but not all) of the Chinese clientele walking over to the section with the "hot pot" tables. I saw waitresses carrying over large plates of hot pot ingredients over that direction so many groups must have ordered hot pot selections over there. However, there was still a reasonable crowd in our section of the dining area and most of those people appeared to be going to the buffet for their food. The best items on the buffet that day (besides the sushi rolls) seemed to be the melons, the donuts and the large canisters of ice cream they purchased elsewhere. My son exclaimed it was the worst dining experience he had ever had (and I must admit I have selected a number of losers over the years!)
My wife did report that the ladies' restroom was clean and well maintained, although she did find the puddled water on the floor disturbing. She also noticed they located an open trash can directly under the toilet paper dispenser in the stall and found that an awkward placement. And she thought the picture of the lady on the restroom door looked like she was using the facilities herself.
So overall the visit was quite a disappointment, especially compared to the weekday lunchtime visits when the food usually seems a lot better. The increased weekday volume probably keeps the buffet food fresher and not just leftovers from the day before. I would definitely prefer to select something more interesting off the menu, but will have to find the opportune time to do so.
What my husband wrote was true, but too kind. Our first round of food was lukewarm and tasted like yesterday's leftovers were just plopped into the steam table without preheating. The potstickers were extremely rubbery and barely above room temperature. The General Tso's chicken coating was almost mushy, and there was scant chicken inside. The sauteed green beans were mushy and lukewarm. The stuffed mushroom stuffing tasted too fishy. The mongolian "beef" was replaced with pork. The beef & broccoli sauce was watery. The California roll sushi was bad. There wasn't a "sweet and sour" anything (pork, chicken, shrimp) for us Americans with a sweet tooth. Even the creme puff was bad. I agree with my husband in that the highlights were the juicy & sweet honeydew melon and the store bought ice cream. I have been to many Asian restaurants and buffets during my lifetime and this visit was one of the worst. I was especially confused by the large number of Asians who were eating there, as that is usually a good sign. Clearly they must have been eating something other than food from the buffet.
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