Man, was that worth it!For under $20 -- excluding tax and tip -- Asian Buffet, an all-you-can-eat Chinese/Japanese restaurant, is a sure winner, especially in a college town.
Located north on Route 29, directly behind the old Chang House lot (tear), Asian Buffet is the white building resembling the many barns in the Albemarle area. But do not be fooled. This is no southern establishment. Asian Buffet is as authentic as American Asian cuisine comes these days.
Customers are greeted by a babbling fountain as they enter the rather large open restaurant. Met promptly by the courteous wait staff, we were escorted to a plush booth in the corner of the rather quiet eatery -- save a few screaming kids a few tables away.
As we sat down, our waiter took our drink order and then just told us to "go eat." We were slightly taken aback by this. We assumed this would be a Chinese version of one of those calabash places everyone goes to at Beach Week, where you can get the buffet, but there also is a menu. We were wrong.
And so it began.
Round 1: Ready, Set, Eat
Not knowing where to begin, we quickly scanned all the stations: Sushi, soups, desserts, traditional Chinese and hibachi. So soup it was.
With several to choose from including egg drop and spicy crab and mushroom, we copped out and went for the more traditional wonton and miso. The miso was the better of the two.
Warmed to the perfect temperature and lacking the poignant salty tartness that many misos exude, this soup sent us back for a small refill before quickly getting ready for Round 2.
Round 2: Fries with that
This round we will call the Renaissance Round, as we dabbled in everything. First the fried plate.
We grabbed two fried egg rolls (vegetable), some fried noodles, a couple fried shrimp, fried dumplings, fried chicken for sweet and sour style and two fried wontons. Cardiac arrest here we come. Send us to the emergency room now!
On the whole, most of the fried dishes disappointed, being more mush than the crunch we were hoping for. The fried wontons, however, helped us finish our fried feast with a frenzy. These cream cheese filled wantons were dry and crispy, just as we expected, and the warm inside complemented the hard shell for a perfect blend to close the round.
Round 3: Eater's Rest Break
Enough said.
Round 4: Trip to Japan
After a short rest, we were ready to take on another round of relentless grazing -- this time focusing on sushi and hibachi.
All of Asian Buffet's sushi is made in front of the customers, although customized rolls are hard to come by. Theyhave everything Sushi Samba (a "Sex and the City" hot spot) has and more -- including some fabulous edemame. But Samba's definitely got Asian Buffet beat in the taste department here. Again, the food lacked freshness, leaving the roll to just sit in our mouths rather than creating a union of flavors and textures.
Yet, even with this setback, we decided to give Japan another try -- this time hibachi.
We grabbed a plate, filled it with rice, bamboo shoots, baby corn (Daniel's favorite), water chestnuts, broccoli, mushrooms, a dash of garlic and chicken, and gave it to the chef to toss and turn on the fiery surface. In under five minutes the chef threw on some house sauce to finish the dish and we sat back down to enjoy our best round yet. This was the kind of food we were used to. And even better, it was cooked to order.
Round 67: Food Comma
At this point we were hurting. Allison wanted to stop. So, we took a five minute break, and then we pushed on in the name of buffet-goers everywhere.
There was dessert to be eaten.
Yet even as we combed the massive trays of pastries and cream laden tarts, our stomachs churned and spoke loud, telling us it was time to give up. But we would not accept the TKO.
In our final surge, we made our way to the soft serve ice-cream machine and each topped off our meal with a nice chocolate/vanilla swirl cone. It sure didn't measure up to Arches, but it made the ice milk machine at Newcomb look like an Easy Bake Oven.
Post Fight Press Conference
This was a tough fight. And although Asian Buffet came out the winner this time, just wait -- our stomachs are now bigger than ever.
It may not rival a P.F. Chang's or even Ivy's Dragon Lady, but the Asian Buffet sure packs a big punch. Just remember to quit after Round 4.
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