Cham Sut Gol: Korean BBQ

Almost everyone enjoys a good dose of Korean BBQ, but if you want unlimited servings, Cham Sut Gol Korean BBQ in Garden Grove is the place to go.

Cham Sut Gol is best known for its all-you-can-eat menu. It is always packed, with the wait ranging from 15-30 minutes. But it's well worth the wait for the feast you will have.

For all-you-can-eat, the price is $18.99 during dinner hours, but if you're fortunate enough to go during lunch hours during the weekdays, the price drops to $12.99, making the ideal spurge lunch for college students.

On the menu includes various cuts of meat, such as brisket, pork slices, chicken, and bulgolgi (I'm sure there's more but that's what we typically get). The quality of the meats are great, and more importantly, you can reload as many plates as you want, as long as you have the stomach for it.

To complement the meats, there are also side dishes and vegetables to balance out the tastes, such as lettuce, rice sheets, kimchi, egg soup, and others. If you're really looking for a fun night, you can order beers and soju at a reasonable price per pop. Afterwards, there are other activities around the restaurants, such as Kbars and karaoke.

The service is also very good and fast. The restaurant ensures quality service for customers, and the tables have the buttons to ring servers if you need anything. This is the best place to go to within a 20 minute drive from Irvine.

Rating Scale:
Quality: 4.5
Selection: 4
Price: 3.5-5
Service: 5
Distance/Convenience: 3.5
Overall: 4.5

Final Bite: Cham Sut Gol is the best Korean BBQ buffet close to Irvine and is worth driving to there at any time. Go during lunch and get the same delicious food for a lower price.


Address:
9252 Garden Grove Blvd
Garden Grove, CA 92842
(714) 590-9292

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