Tuesday, December 23, 2008

West Coast Seafood Buffet

We try to lead a healthy lifestyle by eating balanced meals and exercising, but sometimes we just need to let ourselves go and pig out. But where's a place that will let you splurge without splurging your wallet?

One place that I enjoy going to is West Coast Seafood Buffet in Hacienda Heights (address below). This place is primarily a Chinese food buffet, although they do have some American food selections as well.

The key for this place is to go during its lunch special, which I think is 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM and is only available during the weekdays. The lunch special price is only $9.99, with a good selection of sushi and other dishes. It is also the best time to eat because that's when they put out the first servings of the dishes where everything is freshest. Sodas and other drinks are not free, but I generally don't get those, and if you do, they're only $2 with refills.


The best dishes are the sushi and fish dishes. They provide sashimi cuts of salmon, tuna or white fish, along with some basic selection of sushi. They do make rolls and handrolls, but the selection is only around four or five basic rolls. The fish are pretty fresh and the rolls aren't bad either, especially for $9.99.

There is also a large variety of cooked seafood and Chinese dishes. Dishes range from simple sweet & sour chicken to various seafood dishes, such as cocktail shrimp, scallops, clams, and oysters.

But there are downsides to this place. If you live in Irvine, then it's at least a 45 minute drive to this location. At least there is a mall next to the restaurant and movie theater if you wanted to chill for a little bit, but it's best for people that live in Hacienda heights or Diamond Bar area.

Absolutely DO NOT go after the lunch special. The price jumps up to $16.99, and from what I hear, the quality is significantly lower (I'm assuming everything is frozen or sits under a lamp). Unfortunately, as college students, we don't have too much luxury to travel so far during midday on weekdays, so it's really best during breaks or holiday seasons.

Despite the variety of dishes available, I advise people to pick mostly the seafood dishes and selectively choose other dishes, in order to get the most bang for your buck. And don't have very high expectations; it is a buffet so it is pretty good for what it's worth.

Rating Scale (1 lowest - 5 highest)
Quality: 3.5
Selection: 3
Price: 4.5
Service. 3
Distance/convenience: 1.5
Overall: 3.5

Final Bite:
The point of emphasis for this place is, if you have the time, go during their lunch special, when the restaurant is serving their food at its freshest. At $9.99 for good sushi, rolls, and a variety of other dishes, you can definitely splurge until your stomach hurts without hurting your wallet.

Address:
1655 S Azusa Ave. Ste D
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
(626) 581-9893



2 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. zomg. linggggggg.
    so i wrote a comment, but it disappeared so I'm going to write another one.
    WHEN WERE YOU IN HACIENDA?! and why wasn't i invited to your feast? anywhoo. good luck with this thing =]

    ReplyDelete