Okay, I'll admit it. I committed a major transgression. No, it's not something that I need to keep a secret from Viv. In fact, she was right there with me. And get your mind outta the gutter! What we did could almost be inexcusable - we visited an Asian buffet (specifically Super Buffet) in Bellingham... Yes, something like this is on par with eating at places such as Foody Goody (now thankfully gone),
Sui Sha Yah and Grand Buffet. Wait, I've done all three! OMFG. Okay, just throw the tomatoes at me. Hold on, don't do that, I think Super Buffet may need them because their salad bar was looking a bit sad...
Oh trust me, that wasn't the only pathetic thing there. Oh where should I start... Wait, before I start, let me make one thing clear - drinks are NOT included. Why am I making this an issue? Because they asked us for our drink order without telling us it was an extra charge. It apparently happened to a few tables around us too. Not cool.
Much like
Haiku and
Bluefin in Seattle (and to a lesser degree
Royal Star in Burlington), the buffet consists of several stations featuring specific Asian cuisine (I'm not even sure if I can use the
word cuisine!). The
Sushi section had various rolls, cones and nigiri which were not really all that appetizing to look at. The slices of fish atop the nigiri were smaller than a tip at a Chinese restaurant. We could see more sushi rice than fish itself! At the very least, the rice was surprisingly acceptable having a texture that was still chewy yet not dry. It was bland, but hey, low expectations here. At the far end of the sushi bar was tempura and fried maki. Adjacent to the sushi bar was a section of
Cold Items consisting of tako, hokkigai, wakame, oshinko, crayfish, peel 'n eat shrimp, mussels, squid, kimchi and for
some odd reason, boiled eggs. Nothing here was really all that appetizing, yet it was edible. Across from this section was a mixed variety of
Hot Food such as spring rolls, baked mussels, steamed oysters, snow crab legs, stuffed mushrooms, teriyaki chicken, pork ribs, fries, fried prawns, steamed sole, BBQ chicken, garlic bread and cream cheese & crab wontons. Most of the stuff here was pretty forgettable, especially the chicken since it was pretty dry. The pork ribs were alright. They were not fall-off-the-bone, but they were a "pleasant chewy". The crab legs were okay for what they were. Since these are typically
frozen, there was not much to expect. Surprisingly, the sole was perfectly cooked being flaky and moist. At the end of this section was a selection of
Soups which included wonton, egg drop and hot & sour. Meh, these were pretty typical buffet soups with the hot & sour being somewhat edible. Of course there was a lack of depth (because the soup base was probably water), yet there was plenty of flavour thanks to MSG. The ingredients were pretty decent though, especially the moist chicken.
Behind the sushi bar lay a pathetic selection of
salads. Sure, I'm not one to visit the greens too often, however, for some people, I'm sure it would be a huge disappointment. Rather than ingredients to go with the bowl of mesclun greens, there were far too many bowls of gelatin. Directly parallel to the "salad" bar lay the mostly
Chinese Food section. This included blue crab, fried prawns, coco shrimp, ginger frog legs, fried noodles, fried rice, General Tso's chicken, Mongolian beef, stir-fried green beans, steamed clams, fried squid, mustard greens, black pepper chicken, mixed veggies and ginger beef. The best way to describe most of the proteins would be the
word "dry". The frog legs were overcooked and lacking flavour while the same could be said about the fried whole prawns. The coco shrimp were lost in too much batter. Yah, they seem to overcook their meat here. It is a buffet though, so I'll cut them some slack. Looking over my notes, I don't think I actually liked any of the food from this selection, other than the clams.
The
Mongolian Grill section was more like Japanese teppanyaki, yet whatever... I'm pretty sure for cost-effectiveness, investing in an authentic Mongolia
n grill would've been a waste (since many people wouldn't care about the difference). The items available were beef, chicken, shrimp, pork, various veggies, short ribs, steak, squid and shrimp skewers. This turned out to be the least offensive portion of the buffet since the food was cooked up fresh (much like
Royal Star buffet in Burlington). However, the chef dropped my short rib on the counter and proceeded to plate it anyways! And I left a tip too! Well, it turned out to be a moot point because the short rib was unchewable. The rest of the stuff was actually not bad with crunchy shrimp, fresh veggies and nicely cooked noodles. There
was aggressive seasoning at work here (no, they don't let you choose your own sauces), yet it was not overbearing.
Lastly, there was a whole section dedicated to
Desserts. It only existed for the sake of existing. Many of the desserts were prepackaged stuff. In fact, the almond cookies were still in its tray from the box! For reference purposes, the desserts included cream puffs, macaroons (no, not macarons), palmiers, chocolate pudding, chocolate cake, fruit and banana with strawberry sauce (ew...). Alright. I have to admit that the price for
the buffet ($13.95) is plenty attractive, considering the sheer amount of food. However, it means absolutely nothing when the food, at the best, is mediocre. The extra beverage charge was annoying and so was the service. Most of the staff were milling around chatting with each other. Actually, all the guys were flirting with the only young female on staff... I fully realize that a buffet is not the best place to find good food, but there are good buffets and bad buffets. Super Buffet falls into the latter.
The Good:- Inexpensive
- Large selection
The Bad:- Food is not very good
- Restaurant is not very clean (esp the washrooms)
Posts
As if dining on buttery Hollandaise, a croissant and plenty of brie wasn't enough to send our fat intake of the day shooting Northwards of 100%, our plan for lunch wasn't going to help the cause. After picking up Whipping Girl's TV, we headed over to Bayou on Bay for some good ol' Southern cooking. With Viv out-of-the-picture for this trip to Bellingham, I could satisfy my craving for country fried steak with creamy gravy. This way, she wouldn't suffer the aftermath... Whipping Girl would! Hey, I was helping her pick up a TV! She'd have to accept the collateral damage.
After perusing the menu, it was quite obvious that our caloric intake for the day would be blown (if it hadn't already happened at breaky). We started with the Fried Okra which were prepared in manageable bite size pieces. They were crispy while not crunchy with a "thick-enough" breading. These were golden brown and not greasy at all. The okra itself was soft with a slight bite while exhibiting a slight sliminess (but that's normal). The plate of Yam Fries were really good because not only were they crispy on the outside, they were soft and moist on the inside. A light toss in pepper and salt added a simple, yet effective impact.
For our mains, we began with the Shrimp & Grits featuring a really rich, creamy sauce spiked with bacon. There was probably a tad too much sauce as the dish felt really heavy. Furthermore the grits themselves were a bit dense and clumpy. As for the shrimp, they were nicely prepared having a wonderful sweet snap. The aforementioned Country Fried Steak was crunchy with a nicely peppery coating. The meat was pretty dry, but flavorful. The sausage gravy was thick and full of meat. It was really rich while not being particularly flavourful except for the taste of fat. Yup, after we were done, we felt heavier than a tour bus full of football players. There might possibly have been a pit stop afterwards...
