Four Season Buffet

Way back in early January, we made our way to Burlington and paid a visit to Four Season Buffet.  Yes, we drove all the way there to eat.  I'm sure some people would like to point out that Wonderful Buffet in Bellingham is much closer and cheaper.  However, I would like to say that I've been to Wonderful many times and it is merely "okay".  I think the price is what lures people in.  So I was interested in how the slightly more expensive Four Season would compare.

Of course we would attack the Sushi Station first and there was a modest amount of sushi rolls, nigiri and marinated seafood.  This was a slightly bigger selection than Wonderful, but considerably smaller than what you'd find at Harvest Buffet in Tacoma.  Overall, this was acceptable with a balanced amount of rice for the rolls and nigiri.  The ingredient quality was good and things were constructed decently.  I liked how the specialty rolls were not all California roll based.

After grabbing our sushi plates, the next course of action is to do what we usually do - go get some Seafood!  We ended up with some snow crab legs, crayfish, mussels, clams, fried butterflied shrimp, salt & pepper shrimp, calamari and baked seafood in crab shell.  I would say the highlight was the snow crab as it was still springy in texture and briny.  The fried shrimp had a good snap texture while the clams were buttery.  Didn't like the baked crab shell as it was heavy and overcooked.  Off to the side, we also found a selection of soups including egg drop, hot & sour and wonton.  These were typical with the hot & sour being the best of the bunch.  The wontons were not very good.

Our third plate consisted of a random assortment of items that included BBQ Ribs, Walnut Prawns, Baked Mushroom Caps, Sausage, Orange Chicken, Stir-Fried Veggies and Fried Rice.  I wasn't a fan of the ribs as the meat wasn't that tender.  Nice char on them though.  Walnut shrimp was good with a sweet mayo sauce.  Orange chicken was tender but the batter was a bit bready.  Veggies were cooked properly where they weren't soggy.

After all that, we made our way to the Mongolian Grill section of the buffet.  I went ahead and chose my items and then went over and presented it to the grill chef.  I also selected the sauces I wanted (Garlic and Teriyaki in this case) and waited for it to be prepared.  The noodles were nicely caramelized and al dente.  Shrimp had a sweet snap while the veggies were more or less a bit soft.  As for the beef, it was sliced too thick and hence, was on the chewier side.

Onto the Dessert Station, we found various pre-packaged cakes, Jello, mango pudding and fruit.  Nothing particularly amazing here, but it did the job.  I loaded up on the fruit because it was a refreshing way to end the gluttony.  There was also soft-serve ice cream available.  Overall, Four Season Buffet is a great value in my books.  The food is acceptable enough and the selection is pretty good for the price.  About that price (as of January 2025), well, it is quite complex:

Mon - Thurs Lunch $11.99

Friday Lunch $15.99

Saturday Lunch $16.99

Monday - Thursday Dinner $18.99

Friday Dinner $20.99

Saturday Dinner $21.99

Sunday All-Day $22.99 

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Decent
- Good variety

The Bad:
- Well, it is a buffet, if you don't have reasonable expectations, then some things will be subpar

Royal Star Buffet

Awhile back on my way down to Seattle, I noticed that the Royal Fork Buffet in Mt. Vernon had shut down. Not that it was surprising though. The food was distinctly below-average (even for a buffet) and the selection was pretty boring. Still, there was a part of me that was lost forever with the closure. Royal Fork was part of my childhood. We'd head down to the Bellingham location (long gone) for the good ol' American buffet on our shopping trips. Now with the Mt. Vernon location gone, there are no more physical reminders of times past. Then all of a sudden, the place was open again. Driving back from SeaTac, we noticed it was now Royal Star Buffet. Well, I guess that was a cost-saving name change with only the fork becoming a star.

Now, the name change was not the only thing different about the place. Apparently, the place is now Asian-run and is reflected in the food. The most major renovation to the inside of the restaurant has been the addition of a Mongolian grill. Otherwise, it looks exactly the way it did before. Now you might be wondering why I returned here in the first place. After all, buffets are never really the best places to find great food. Well, this is exactly what happened... We were at The Outlets and our stomachs were growling. I suggested the Mexican taqueria which was met with indifference. Then we drove by countless chain restaurants such as Applebees, Red Robin and Olive Garden, which did not interest us in any way. Then, I threw the idea of Royal Star out and Viv was like, "you want to go there???". When I mentioned that lunch was only $7.69, she reluctantly agreed. For the price of a supersized McD's meal or a foot long at Subway, we got variety. Oh and was there a lot of different items to choose from.

Let me start listing some of the available items and bear with me, it's a lot... Starting with the first picture from the left, there was Cheese and Imitation Crab Casserole, Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms, Mussels Motoyaki, Stuffed Crab Claws, Fries, Fried Zucchini, Potstickers, Spring Rolls, Garlic Bread, Fried Mantou and Pizza Bread. Of these, I totally avoided the casserole. As for the mushrooms, they were okay while the mussels were salty and the sauce was far too eggy. The crab claws were completely laughable since they were very tiny claws stuffed with fish mousse. There were 5 different soups right next to this station consisting of Hot & Sour, Egg Drop, Wonton, Clam Chowder and Chicken Noodle. I only gave 2 of them a try since the egg drop had an unnatural-looking yellow hue to it and the wonton soup looked downright scary with its monstrous dumplings. The hot & sour soup was actually hot and sour, however, it had no depth whatsoever. Surprisingly, the white clam chowder was pretty good. It was full of clams and potato while being sufficiently creamy.

Directly across was another station with Poached Pollack and Salmon, Fried Fish, Broccoli, Corn, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits, Fried Wedges, Riblets, Pizza and Fried Chicken. Most things were forgettable here other than the 2 meats. The riblets reminded me of the ones served at Applebees except the BBQ sauce was a tad bland. The large pieces of fried chicken were pretty good. The meat was moist while the skin was nice and crispy. Moving along to the next station was Stir-Fried Cauliflower with Seafood, Steamed Clams, Egg Foo Yeung, Chili Shrimp, Chili Salt Shrimp, Chicken Yakitori, Fried Wontons, Fried Chicken with either lemon or sweet 'n sour sauce and Stir-Fried Veggies. The highlights here were the clams (which were a bit overcooked, but still decent) and the chili salt shrimp (they were small, yet had lots of flavour).

Onto yet another section was the Chow Mein, Fried Vermicelli, Sauteed Mushrooms, Mongolian Beef, Sweet 'n Sour Meatballs, General Tso's Chicken, Green Beans, BBQ Pork and Fried Rice. The best way to describe this section - move along, nothing to see or eat here. The food was surprisingly bland despite its appearance. The fried rice was soggy while the noodles almost seemed to be unseasoned. The last row consisted of salads and Peel 'n Eat Shrimp which were actually quite good. They were properly cooked with a nice snap. Personally, the best section of all was the Mongolian Grill where you can pick your meats, veggies, noodles and sauces. The chef cooks it to order and it suddenly becomes the freshest item in the buffet. In fact, if I ever were to return, I'd just hit up the Mongolian grill for $7.69. That would be worth it in itself.

Lastly, the dessert station was pretty much the same as before in terms of location and unappetizing appearance. These were essentially "courtesy" items since they only existed for the purpose of being. None looked particularly good and I didn't even feel it warranted a picture here. However, I'm going to be reasonable. The price is dirt cheap and if you stick to the stuff that is okay, you'll be satisfied. Yet, if you really want to try everything... Well, it might leave a bad taste in your mouth - literally.

The Good:
- Mongolian grill with fresh ingredients
- Dirt cheap
- Friendly staff

The Bad:
- Most of the food is pretty below-average
- Desserts are an afterthought

Royal Fork

*Royal Fork is now closed*

Ah yes, the Royal Fork. You and I go back a long ways don't we? Way back in those elementary years, I would remember my parents taking me across the Peach Arch border crossing into Bellingham for some buffet action. You see, the good ol' American all-u-can-eat never really caught on in the GVRD. Sure, there was the Copper Kettle and Uncle Willy's; but that fad didn't last too long. Only one Uncle Willy's left! So we'd tack on a visit to the Royal Fork with shopping at K-Mart (yah, really, that long ago!) and the sort. Yup, that was pre-Bellis Fair and outlet shopping! Talking about ol' skool! I remember loading up on mashed potatoes, corn and fried chicken. Then upon returning to the table, get a lashing for picking up such stupid fillers... You see, the "Chinese" etiquette for dining at a buffet was ingrained into me at an early age. Well, the Royal Fork in Bellingham is long gone. Besides, Old Country is bigger and better (loose definition of "better"). So today, as we were in Burlington already, a quick jaunt over to the adjacent Mt. Vernon led us to... Royal Fork.

With both kids in tow, it is almost deja vu as I am now taking them to Royal Fork. Unfortunately, there is no way I can ingrain any "Chinese" buffet etiquette into my son since he will not eat anything. Yah, mac 'n cheese all the way. Wait, throw in some croutons and tater tots as well. Oh the shame... Price-wise, it is $10.99 for dinner and 80 cents per year for the kiddies. That doesn't include beverages. From the price alone, I'd hit up Old Country instead. Or better yet, drive 20 minutes south and dine in much more style at the Tulalip Casino buffet. However, that is not the point of this visit. The reason is pure nostalgia and the fact that the kiddies could be kiddies without anyone caring.

After we grabbed a seat, I took a look at the offerings. At the first hot food station, there was mac 'n cheese, corn, carrots, green beans, mixed veggies and tater tots. The green beans were so mushy, I've had better from a can. I've heard of candied yams before; but candied carrots? The boiling liquid had so much sugar in it, the carrots were sweeter than eating Starbursts. The mixed veggies were so pale that it would make Nicole Kidman jealous. Over at the adjacent hot food station were cinnamon buns, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fries, fried fish, sole and gravy. I gotta admit, the fried chicken was pretty good. Still tender and juicy with a nice crispy coating. I swear the mash potatoes had some weird aftertaste. You know, like the one you get from instant butter flavoured potatoes? I only hope this wasn't the case. Viv dared to have the fish and honestly, no buffet can do fish correctly anyways.

The last hot food station consisted of shrimp bow tie pasta, fried shrimp, fried oysters, Spanish rice, roast beef and ham. Surprisingly, the oysters were pretty good, as with the shrimp. The bow tie pasta was okay; but the shrimp were overcooked. Roast beef was tender; but the ham was saltier than a Bukkake Soba (sorry, I just had to slip that in there). As for the salads, they did the job; however, some items didn't look all that fresh, especially the fruit. The honeydew looked to have suffered refrigeration damage of some sort. Surprisingly, the dessert station was quite diverse. That doesn't mean it was necessarily good; but at least there was choice. Fresh waffles, build-your-own strawberry shortcake, peach cobbler, apple crisp, chocolate cake, pistachio cake, cheesecake, sugar-free pudding and soft serve made for a good variety. The one thing I could say about the desserts would be "cafeteria-style". You can make what you want with that.

I know buffets are absolutely the last place you'd normally find great food and I get that. However, the Royal Fork is not very good. Plain and simple. Sure, it'll fill you up and it's great for families; but as Viv put it, "I wanted to eat to fill myself up; yet I really didn't feel like eating any of it". Old County is better if you really wanted to do a buffet. As for nostalgia, I think it's best that Royal Fork remain a memory.

The Good:
- If you wanted to stuff your face
- Good for families
- Well, it isn't exactly expensive I suppose

The Bad:
- Makes fast food look attractive
- Some items were very poorly made
- Some things didn't look that fresh