Great Wall is a Great Bargain
Written: May 22 '03 (Updated Jun 07 '03)
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Pros: Very inexpensive and a great value
Cons: Can be crowded and noisy at height of dining times
The Bottom Line: There is something for everyone. If anyone goes away unhappy, I would be amazed!
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| tennis_player's Full Review: Great Wall Buffet |
Great Wall is a very large Asian Buffet restaurant set in an aging strip mall. It is huge, brightly lit and gaudy in its decor. But, it appears to be clean and efficiently run.
The price is $9.95/person for dinner and $6.95/person for lunch - all you can eat. Judging from the large size of the clientele body shape, quantity at low price is a major consideration. But, the food is very good.
It has a huge dinning room in the front with a separate room for parties and banquets. There is also a small area partitioned off from the main dinning area by a low, chest-high wall. This is where they seat families with small children. There are booths along the walls and tables in the remaining areas. This allows the greatest flexibility in seating large or small parties as they can put tables together to accommodate almost any size party.
Upon entry, you will be seated by a host or hostess. A server will, immediately, take your drink order (tea and water is included in the price but all other drinks are at extra cost). Having done that, the customer simply goes to the food serving areas in the rear of the establishment and proceeds to help themselves.
Hot food on steam tables are on the right rear side, cold or room temperature items are on the left side with sushi items at the extreme left rear with desserts along the left side wall.
Hot foods include Hot Sour Soup, Won Ton Soup and Egg Drop Soup. There are also a few Dim Sum items (Sui Mai, Hom Bow and Pot Stickers) with the rest of the offerings of many and various Chinese items, including Chinese Roast Duck, Spicy Salt Baked Shrimp in the Shell, Asparagus Beef, Chicken Satay, Sweet & Sour Chicken or Pork, Szechuan Style Chicken and other various stir-fry dishes too many to list. For starches, there is plain rice, fried rice and at least two noodle dishes - usually Chicken or Vegetarian Chow Mein and Singapore Noodles. My favorite is the wide rice noodle - Beef Chow Fun.
The selection is huge. And, it is not restricted to Asian items. They have French Fries, Baked Salmon or other fish, sometimes a poached fish and cold boiled shrimp in the shell w/cocktail sauce on the side. There might also be Fried Chicken, macaroni & cheese, meat loaf and other familiar, common American foods.
There is also a fairly complete salad bar with greens, dressings, jellos, fresh fruits and melons.
The sushi area offers a limited variety of both fish and non-fish items (California Roll, Inari Sushi) with wasabi, sliced pickled ginger and soy sauce to accompany the sushi. There is someone making fresh sushi at all times and it is made in small batches and never in advance so it is never dried out or old.
The dessert area has a soft ice cream machine with chocolate and vanilla flavors along with small individual items like cakes, tarts and pastries. There are toppings and sprinkles to custom make your own sundae if desired.
Soft drinks are refilled for free and frequently. The servers remove plates whenever the customer gets up to go back for more food. The service is very pleasant and efficient.
The freshness, flavor, texture of most of the Asian dishes are very good. The Chinese items like Hot Sour Soup, Black Bean Asparagus Chicken, Beef Broccoli are really very good - as good as most typical restaurants make an order of it when ordered by a customer. The Chinese sauces are very good. The sushi, while not a great variety, is very good. The rice still glistens and the flavor is fresh. The desserts (small cakes and cookies) are just OK. They do not appear to be made on the premises. There is nothing outstanding about the salad bar. It's the Asian dishes that sparkle with good flavor and good execution by the kitchen.*
The price is right and the food variety is very good and it always seems to be fresh. I've never had anything that seemed old or offered past its prime. The stir-fry items constantly come out of the kitchen and if a tray item is low, simply wait a bit and a new supply will appear.
This place is an amazing value!
Try it and I'm sure you will like it as there is something for everyone.
Jim
*revision added 5/25/03
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Fresh shrimp is available only at the dinner offering. A 10% Senior Discount is available at age 60.
Best Suited For: Kids and Families
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