OK, I should have known better. All day long, I heard my co-workers talking about the great Chinese buffet restaurant they went to for lunch. This was not in Elgin but when I commented that many buffets sacrifice quality for quantity, several of my peers made statements like “I’ve been to alot of these Chinese buffets and most of them are really good”. Having stayed back at the office with my humble turkey sandwich, toward the end of the day I started to get really hungry and thought gee….Elgin has a Chinese Buffet, maybe we should try that tonight.
I went onto Yahoo and there were about 10 glowing reviews for THE GOLDEN CHINESE BUFFET on Larkin on the west side and one negative who said it was inedible. I ignored the one for the sake of the 10 and we went.
I could ramble on and on about how the place was dirty, the food was cold and mostly unrecognizable, I could spend hours recanting about the skin covered gravy and the endless vats of mystery meats covered in thick sauces, I could complain on and on about the crab rangoon that did not contain crab but cut up pieces of red dyed pollack fish (sea legs), I could wax profoundly on the stench of the place and the un cared for, falling apart insides of the place…..but I won’t….I will simply say SAVE YOUR MONEY…..GAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
Filed under: Asian Restaurants, Restaurant Reviews | Tagged: Bad Food, Golden Chinese Buffet Elgin
I have never found a good Chinese buffet. When I am in the mood for good Chinese food I head on over to Chan’s Garden. I eat there at least once a week and they know me by name. I usually get the Sesame chicken. The place is not fancy but it is clean and the service is great.
http://chansgarden-elgin.com/
Thanks for the tip and the link Tom. We are always looking for a new restaurant in Elgin to try and review. We will be sure to check out Chan’s Garden soon.
Ugh. I fell for the Golden Buffet a few months ago and had a similar experience. It was definitely way overpriced for the cold, mushy gelatinous experience we had, not to mention the sticky tables and floors.
I’ll definitely try Chan’s Garden – thanks for the tip. For quick take-out, Wing-Ho is pretty good (and cheap) in the Butera shopping center (ClockTower Plaza).
My brother & I are at constant odds over whether or not this Chinese buffet has decent food or not. I’m with you! I ate there twice and both times it made me feel sick!