Jerry C.
Yelp
I understand it's their first week of a soft opening (I went on Day 5), so there will be some issues as they iron out the kinks, but staff all seemed like they were completely clueless with no training.
Got there 15 mins prior to open and there were already people waiting inside and queueing up to a waitlist. I was roughly 15 on the list. Opening time, and they start seating people. It took 20 mins to get to me. 20 mins to seat 15 parties is absurd. When I finally got texted my table was ready, I go up to the front and it was... not ready. The hostess was nice but didn't seem to understand the system either, other than only 1 person had an iPad with the queue and they sometimes text multiple parties at the front of the queue at once even though they aren't ready to seat all of them?
I specifically requested a table that was more private in the back if possible, but they sat me right near the front right next to the kitchen even though there were other seats available. I get seated, my server Gray(?) looked like he just rolled out of bed and didn't want to be there. Didn't introduce himself or give me a talk on how everything worked, just stood over me and asked me what I wanted. Having worked as a server myself, steps would typically be
1) Introduce yourself and greet the customer
2) Ask them if they have been here before, and if not explain the process
3) Guide them through the ordering process by asking them what broth option they would like, followed by what meat plates they can pick and how many, then let them know to help themselves to the buffet, etc.
I got none of that. Was not even asked what I wanted to drink, so I assumed they would bring me water by default. Turns out I had to go up to the machine and get my own water, that was something that should have been told to me.
I ordered 3 plates of meat. They came out really slow, one at a time. The last plate came out 40 mins after my initial order and I thought they had forgotten it or took it to another table, but right as I was about to inquire about it, it finally came. I sat for a long time after finishing my plates before anyone came by and asked me if I wanted more, and that was the only time. Even after finishing that 2nd round and sitting there with no food for 30+ mins, no one asked if I wanted more.
The buffet had a decent selection of veggies, and the usual frozen fishballs, noodles, seafood, etc along with some hot food selections. Nothing was labeled except for "cooked food". Yes, I can see it is cooked, there is even a heat lamp above it, instead of having everything labeled as "cooked food", it would be better if you had a big sign over the entire section, and the small labels tell what each item is.
Area was constantly out of plates despite not being too busy.
They had a couple dessert options that were just sitting on normal trays. I've been to other restaurants that have those same dessert options from the same distributor, and pretty sure they should be chilled and not room temperature. Feels like a safety inspection deduction waiting to happen. There were also no utensils for the desserts, not sure what they expect you to eat them with? When I asked the server for a spoon to eat the dessert, he just brought me the same giant spoon for the hot pot... so I guess I was suppose to just use that and eat cake with chopsticks?
The food was also disappointing. The meat quality seemed fine, but selection was extremely limited. The hot food at the buffet is something you'd find at a budget under $10 buffet. The chicken wings had the most comically thick and hard batter. The broth tasted like someone in the kitchen accidentally dropped a barrel of salt in it, it tasted like sea water.
After I was done I sat there for 30+ mins (no joke, I timed it), before someone came by to ask if I was ready for the check. Did not bother to see if I was actually done eating or wanted more food for the past hour. While I was waiting, I witnessed a server cleaning up a table and wiping down the metal ring for the hotpot with the nastiest rag that was sitting in a container with a bunch of dirty plates. Gross.
Overall, the service was terrible, the food was ok at best but I guess for the price and ayce, this is what you'd expect. I do not trust the sanitation of this restaurant nor them storing food properly to not get sick however.
On a positive note, I think the decor is beautiful. I love the bouquet of flowers they have hanging on the ceiling and complimenting the areas of the buffet. The tables and booths look nice, as do the plates and utensils.
The layout of the restaurant could have been better thought out. The routes to the tables all lead to dead ends and have narrow walkways, meaning you have people constantly walking past you and people squeezing past each other, including the servers themselves. The fountain drink machine which is self served is right at the entrance in a high traffic area blocking the buffet for half room.
