Dis-orient-ation

On the night of Saturday, November 29th, 2009, I was hungry and had an extra $30 to spend. This being the case, the obvious choice was to grab the girlfriend and go out to eat somewhere cheap. After much debate and the addition of three members to the party, we decided to go to the Oriental Buffet on the northwest corner of Schoennor road and Hall road in Sterling Heights. It was not big and fancy, but neither was it small and run down. It was very plain on the outside, but that's to be expected from a strip mall restaurant.

As you walk in, there are a couple claw machines with deceptively easy-to-get looking prizes on the inside; the prizes turned out to be not so easy to get. As you walk in, you have to go down a long hallway to the front desk. Manning the post were two kids, no more than twelve years old, playing game boy. They were likely some of the employees' kids. It smelled quite nice with all the various food smells floating around. Some waitress finally saw us after a minute and took us to a table. She took our drink orders and we were off to grab some food. That was on of the three times we saw her the whole night. The other two times were: after we were done with our food, we stopped her and made her get some refills for us, and then when she gave us the check.

The service there was very poor, even for a buffet. We got one round of drinks, which were mostly ice, until we were done with our food. That left plenty of time to scan the room for our waitress, during which time, I noticed the Christmas decorations. These were nice additions to the restaurant; they were nice enough to distract me from the crying babies one table over for a minute. The rest of the restaurant had a very nice oriental look to it. They were much nicer than you would expect a buffet to be able to afford.

The price was standard for most of the buffets I've been to. It was $71.50 for five buffets and two drinks. That means it was about $12.99 per buffet and $1.25 per drink for dinner time. Some buffets are cheaper in the day than in the night though. Since I payed for my girlfriend and myself, it was roughly $28.50 for the two of us; that's just within my $30 limit. For myself, who eats a lot, the price was well worth the amount of food I consumed. However, my girly doesn't eat a whole lot, so it wasn't a great value for her. So, I ended up being satisfied with the price for my food.

The food smelled amazing throughout the whole night. There were the scents of American food, Chinese food, Japanese food, Thai food, and Korean food all floating around at once. My olfactory nerves were causing my brain to have a field day. The intoxicating scent was in no way decieving.

My first plate consisted of the crispy chicken, the pepper chicken, the pepper steak, and the roast beef. The crispy chicken was just that: crispy, chicken, and also a sweet, smooth non-overpowering sauce. At first bite, the pepper chicken, served with jalapenos and tomatoes, seemed relatively plain and unexciting to my taste buds. Ten seconds later though, it felt like i got kicked in the back of the throat by a bunch of fire demons. It was quite stealthy. The pepper steak, on the other hand, came out strong from the start. It had a bit of kick right from the beginning, thanks to the sauteed onions, and red and green peppers accompanying the tender chewy (but not undercooked) beef. Probably the biggest surprise of the night was the roast beef. The strong flavor, the tender chewiness, the way it pulled apart so nicely, and the perfect amount of fat to maximize the texture and flavor all made this one of the best pieces of roast beef I've enjoyed in a long while.

I barely got the last bite of roast beef in my mouth before running back up for another plate. It started off not so great with some chewy, way undercooked crab legs. The disappointment was quickly forgotten when I munched on the green beans. They were crunchy, lightly salted and mixed with some sauteed onions. My next target was the broccoli chicken. The small chunks of chicken, served with both carrots and broccoli, were covered in a slightly tangy sauce with a definite broccoli after taste. The famous Chinese dish, General Tso chicken, was amazing as always. The breading was crunchy, with a tender chewy inside, although it was slightly undercooked. The sauce is indescribably delicious. I could say that its sweet, a little sour, and has a slight bite to it, but that just wouldn't be good enough. Anyone who can tolerate chicken should at some point try some General Tso chicken. Last on this plate was the honey chicken, which was just come crunchy breaded chicken with a moderately strong honey-like sauce.

At this point, I'm starting to feel a little full, but that did not stop me from going up for a third plate. I went up looking for some sushi, but they had none left. I filled my plate and returned to my companions. I tried a piece of their pizza. For a restaurant that specializes in oriental foods, the pizza was surprisingly good. The crust was crunchy, but not too much so. The cheese and sauce seemed to be quite fresh and almost seems made in-house. I also had some things that looked as if the were potato cubes. They were too starchy and dry and over salted. Their regular fries were nothing special. The rib I had was just a tendon with meat on it, but the saucy was nice and sweet. The coconut shrimp was creamy and not too coconuty. The romaine noodles seemed a little cold, but otherwise nothing special.

I was about ready for my final trip up there at that time, so I did just that. I grabbed some wonton soup, which was kind of watery, but it had a giant meat filled noodle, which was cool. I also got some bananas covered in some sort of strawberry syrup. It was sweet and delicious, but the bananas were a little over ripe. The rest of the fruit however looked pretty fresh. The only other one i actually ate was the kiwi, which was sweet and sour and very good. I also had some mac' 'n' cheese, that was awful. It had a rotten cheesy taste, and a worse aftertaste. I finished with some extra jiggly jello that tasted like it was strawberry with a raspberry-like aftertaste, but it could have been cherry. The guessing made it even more enjoyable. That was the end of my feast however.

Whilst stuffed like a thanksgiving turkey, I asked my concomitants about some of the dishes i couldn't get to. They are real characters sometimes. "I expected this mousse to taste more like an elk or deer, but it tasted like chocolate." I also asked how the stuffed mushrooms were. One replied that they were just mushrooms with some good filling. Me: "What's it stuffed with?" Him: "Flavorful yumminess." Another inquired, "Is this white rice supposed to be crunchy?". The honey chicken was also described as "So breathtaking, I needed to use my inhaler." I would recommend going there with some friends.

The check came, and with it also came the trademark of oriental eating in America. They are always a treat. First off, they are delicious cookies that I thoroughly enjoy. Second, you get a fortune. "Your ingenuity and imagination will get results" was my fortune. One of my comrades had an interesting one: "Try not to stand on your own side during an argument." I think it was supposed to mean to be open minded, but it sounds like, "Your opinion doesn't matter, agree with the other person."

The food, which is the most important part of a restaurant, was very good other than a few bad things such as being a little cold or old. I'd give it an 9/10. The value was pretty good for myself, being a heavy eater. For myself, i think the value was also a 9/10. This number will be lower if you don't eat a lot, but higher if you go at lunch time. The environment was pretty nice. It was nice enough to distract you from how thirsty you are. I'd give it a 7/10. The service was horrendous though. Being the generous person I am, I'll give it a 2/10. It is located near a target and a gamestop, so the location is pretty good, but during rush hour it can be hard to get in there. The location I'll give an 8/10. Overall, the experience was good. The Oriental Buffet gets a solid 8/10. I don't understand how a restaurant's food can be so appetizing, but their service be so deplorable. It can be a little disorientating.