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| - Best to remember that this is not high end cuisine. It is low cost, high protein, ready to eat when you walk in buffet. It offers plenty of options, soups, salads, fruit, fried foods, desserts, hot Chinese and cold sushi. The problem with having so many options is that it is nearly impossible to keep everything fresh. That's the trade off. Plenty of items look like they might have been there for a while. I would recommend finding a seat that overlooks the serving area and then watching where the fresh dishes are being deposited to find the better options. Normally a sushi fan and considering the type of restaurant I was in, I just didn't have the guts to try anything from the large sushi offerings.
I actually was more interested in trying the Mongolian BBQ, a hard to find fare in the East Valley. Again, freshness being the major challenge, I was hoping to skirt the issue since Mongolian BBQ is like a salad bar of veggies and meats that are cooked to order. Sadly, it was hard to judge the freshness of the BBQ since most of the veggies were bathed in ice. It was a bit difficult getting the veggies on your plate without adding the ice. However, picking out the celery from the ice was child's play compared to the meat section. The meats were frozen blocks of bricks with only grilling tongs as a tool to break them apart. Thankfully, the grill chef took pity on me and broke off a few meat chucks, saving me from losing face or tearing a bicep. The chef did a good job of ensuring everything was cooked, but unlike most Mongolian BBQs, the food is cooked on a standard café griddle where every other fried food is prepared. As a result, my Mongolian BBQ lacked a fresh flavor.
Al-in-all, I think it is unfair to judge Eastern Super Buffet too harshly. They are not about freshly cooked Chinese food to order. If you want your food fast, your bill inexpensive and your veggies easier to chew, you'll do fine here. Did like the shumai...
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