The VIP Buffet

Worst buffet I’ve ever been to, EVER!
I went here on a Sunday night and the place almost empty, just like the food. For $ 15, it’s totally not worth your money and time. So save yourself some time and money and just don’t go here. The service was horrible, and the food was disgusting.
There are other way better Chinese buffets out there.

CLOSED?
I’ve been here about 3 times in my lifetime and it was always the same and very basic for an Asian buffet. The in-​laws moved down the street and we recently dined in during the lunch time hour. It was okay and they seem to have a few good items around the place, but nothing gourmet or of good quality.
About a week or so ago we came by again since my mother-​in-​law was craving fried bananas and eggplant. We walked up to VIP and a budget truck was parked out front and being filled with food from their kitchen. The man seemed to be the owner and he said that they were closing and will be opening again either the next week or next month. We couldn’t really understand him since some of us thought he said «open on Monday» or «open in a month.» Either way it looks like they’re closing and either opening under new management or undergoing a remodel of some sort.
I’m glad that something is happening to this place because it was real mess. The food was fair but cleanliness & food prep was always on my mind. You never know if a place serves old, rotting, contaminated food to their customers. This place just looked shady.

Every time I go to this place its different horror story. I didn’t believe my step dad when he said he found some metal in his food.
However as I got some soup I found a booger with nostril hairs in it. Really disgusting. All the servers and staff didn’t do anything about it, even when I showed them!
We had to fight with the manager in resolving this issue. He wouldn’t even comp our meals. The best he did was give us half off, on one meal! There were 15 of us.
Never ever go here. The food also tastes stale, plain, dry. Don’t say I didn’t worn you of this horrid place.
Please bring your money else where because it is definitely not worth you time going here.

I guess I’m a bit of a Chinese food snob, but hey, when you’ve been eating it all your life, you know quality. :P
That being said… I was quite surprised with the quality and freshness of the food here last time I came. I’d been here multiple times before and it wasn’t too memorable. On the weekends for adults, the price all day is ($ 13.50). A little pricey, but they were really generous with the crab, shrimp, mussels, and oysters. Everything tasted really fresh and when we came during lunch, all the selections were refilled rather quickly. The beef and chicken here was also really flavorful and the veggies in most of the dishes were cooked well.
One of the neatest things about this buffet is that they have a Phở station. So if you are craving some beefy noodles, you’ve come to the right place! The worker will give a big steaming bowl of broth with noodles and thinly sliced beef. You take the bowl and then put in as much mint leafs, bean sprouts and condiments as you want. I didn’t get to try it, but it was really popular and it looked pretty good.
Sushi here is ok… not the freshest. But there was sashimi and they have a relatively decent variety. The desserts here were surprisingly good too! There was mango, mocha and cheese cake! All the cakes were soft, flavorful and not too sweet. I saw a worker bring out a box filled with these pre-​cut pastries, so it looked like they ordered them from somewhere. It was yummy though. There were a few more flavors too, but I was so stuffed.
Tons of seating, and service was overall pretty good. The staff was really on top of getting rid of old plates.
A pretty wide selection of food here. Good options if you are a big eater and crave some Asian cuisine!

I’ve lived in the whole area and never step foot in VIP. Blasphemy? Possibly.
As far as buffets go, it doesn’t disappoint. You can get Chinese, Vietnamese, American, Italian, Filipino cuisines all in one place with a complimentary bellyache as a souvenir.
Phở hits the spot, though!
It always sounds good in theory, but, as with common buffets, execution is a different story.

Nice Chinese buffet for the price.
Phở is plus.

Relative to other Asian buffets, VIP is pretty good. It was pretty cheap (I think less than $ 15 per person for dinner… but you might wanna check with others on that I dont remember exactly), and the food was alright.
They have a decent selection of the usual Asian dishes. I especially liked the fried dumplings and their beef and broccoli. The seafood dishes (crab, clams, oyster, salmon) were pretty good as well. I didnt bother trying their American dishes… those didn’t look too appetizing to be honest.
What sets VIP apart from other places, though, are that 1. there is no additional charge for drinks (just be sure not to get anything carbonated so it doesn’t fill you up) and 2. phở station. They serve phở on the spot, and while it isn’t as good as Vietnamese phở restaurants, it’s quite up there. There is even a section of the buffet with basil, onions, bean sprouts, etc for the soup.
Perhaps the best part of the meal for me was the dan tas (egg tarts). I’m a sucker for that stuff, and for a long time there was only one tart on the tray. Someone in our party asked if thered be more, and eventually they came out with more. Warm egg tarts are so damn good., I think we got about 10 of them.
All in all, good price, decent service, decent food. I’d come back!

I’m both a sucker and stickler for buffets.
This place is so close and convenient to me. I want it to be good. It just had to be. But unfortunately it’s not.
This buffet is pretty standard in it’s set up (furnishings, buffet line). Average/​good service.
I like that they don’t charge for beverages (self-​serve).
The food was mediocre at best. They have odd selections like mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, etc. I know Asian buffets will often try their hand at non-​Asian food, but please don’t. This buffet, like many others’ attempt at non-​Asian dishes fail due to blandness and generally missing the mark on flavor and taste. This cross cultural diffusion doesn’t just go one way…
There’s a bit of Western influence in their Asian food because, man, do they butter up their food. There’s a layer of butter on certain Asian dishes. Overall, their food is stale (maybe because I went late on a Sunday?), though the selection is decent.
Also, I go to Asian buffets for crab, which they didn’t have much of so automatic star deduction there.

This place is like a bad car accident you try not to look at but can’t help it… same thing. The food isn’t the greatest but we keep coming!
It’s never been TOO packed where we had to wait for a table. Although one time we wanted a table in the back that had seated for 6 people, but it was just my BF and I and the lady told us we had to get a smaller table in the front. Really? Because you guys are going to get a RUSH of big groups? OOOOOOKay whatever.
The food is okay… some things, you can tell, have been sitting out for a while. What I like is that they have walnut shrimp. Mmmm I first tried this at Panda Express and now to have it AYCE at a buffet is extra YUM!
One thing that did gross me out a couple of times is that they sometimes leave the door in the back open and flies come in! I saw flies all over the desserts that are toward the back… where they have the cookies and ice cream stuff. That was gross. But I keep on coming! lol Hey what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger hahaha.
Unfortunately we just can’t stay away from this place and I think we’ll keep coming until one of us gets sick lol =/

Relative to other Asian buffets, this one’s a winner! As many have mentioned, phở is served here. Self serve drinks are included too which u can’t say about other establishments either. Service is typical. Cleanliness is okay. Bathrooms are byon, bring your own napkins.
For about $ 13.54 it’s a quick filling eat! I would have to say again if you like Asian buffets, this is king. er queen.

If you’re hoping for this place to be something more than a standard Asian buffet, then just stay home. I’m going to save everyone some time and get right to the foods worth highlighting:
Phở — More and more Asian buffets are starting to serve phở, and it’s actually quite decent here. They have all the sides and condiments that you need (hoisin, sriracha, cilantro, jalepenos, white onions, green onions, bean sprouts, etc.)
Broccoli beef — I know, weird right? Of all the things to turn out to be delicious… broccoli beef. And it is QUITE good (yea David P, yea).
Mussels — I’m not a shellfish expert, but the woman tried this and says it is very decent.
Mac and cheese — Again, I did not bother with this, but the woman tried it and really liked it. She thinks it’s just boxed mac and cheese with added butter and cheese (which she says is brilliant).
Beef ribs — There are some grotesquely fatty pieces, but if you can find a good piece, the bbq sauce is damn good.
Orange chicken — YUM. And yes I know it’s not real Chinese food. So what? It’s Chinese-​American fusion. And it’s delicious.
Chinese donut — Yum.
Mashed potatoes — Absolutely disgusting. It reminded me of the mashed potatoes our elementary schools used to serve us (though some of you might be jumping for joy at this).
French fries — Disgusting.
Fried rice — Disgusting.
For the foods that weren’t on this list, it was probably mediocre. Like I said, for an Asian buffet, this place does the job. But if you want something better (and you don’t mind a slightly ghetto area), go to Yummy Buffet in Norwalk. It’s a yummy buffet.

For the price (12.99 on a weekend for an adult), this place rocks. Especially since they have a good amount of seafood to offer.
My faves during this past visit include, the fried crab, honey walnut shrimp (without the walnuts, but the sauce and prep were exactly the same), bbq chicken skewers, fish with veggies, baked oysters with soy sauce, and the noodles. If I had more room in my tummy, I would have had the Phở, but alas, I didn’t want to explode from overeating, so I slapped my hand away from the bowl…
The only thing that didn’t look appealing was the sushi. It wasn’t bad, but the selection wasn’t really appealing.
For the price of a dinner at Denny’s or Coco’s, why not come here for all you can eat Chinese food and a drink with dessert?! Not too shabby…

— Quality of food has improved since my family has been coming here, a lot less greasy. I don’t feel like I’m clogging my arteries after eating here.
— Lots of choices for the money. Maybe it’s the layout of the thing but the impression it gives me is that there are lot more choices than in other Asian buffet places.
— Has a phở station, but for my taste, I thought the broth was too sweet. I tend to stay away from it, I prefer my tried-​and-​true phở places. By all means try it though, you did pay for it.
— Self-​serve soft drink fountain and I really appreciate that I can have an after-​meal coffee or tea at no additional charge. If I’m at an AYCE buffet, I’d like an AYCD (rink) too.

I’ve been to this buffet plenty of times and I gotta say, there food isn’t half bad for AYCE asian food. As pre-​stated, they do have a Phở station, which I think is pretty cool, but their food isn’t quite bad. Depending on what time you go, they can have crab legs, crawfish, stuffed crab shells, stuffed clams, broccoli beef, salmon, and they usually have kbbq and orange chicken. As well as their typical filler foods such as pizza, french fries, sesame balls (YUM!), chicken tenders, string beans, mushrooms, and veggies for days.
They should have a wider variety of sushi and desserts (plus toppings for their softer serve), but honestly, it just depends what time you go. I’ve gotten a couple of misses from this place but most of the time they were hits. Don’t expect any type of asian buffet food to be well cooked or very well prepared. Asians half ass their cooking, plus Asians uses cooking methods to cook food fast (e.g. stir fry, deep fry, sauté, boil). Typical Asian food for Asians.
Real rating: 3.5

My first impression was, «Asian-​style buffet with just about everything.»
VIP Buffet I know is popular with large groups (Asians in particular), church groups, big families. It really does have a good deal for big parties because everyone can get what they want, you don’t have to worry about clean up, and you can just let everyone eat as much as they want! AYCE Asian food, sushi (both sashimi and rolls), American food, seafood, phở, pretty much everything.
It’s clean, and the servers come and take away your dirty plates right away. The place overall has a variety of buffet tables that are constantly restocked, and they even have a phở station (which is something you don’t see a lot of). Their sushi section is good too.
My dad would take us (my siblings and I) to Asian buffets often when we were younger because one, he couldn’t cook, and two, the taste buds between my older sister, me (the middle), and my younger brother were so different. Asian buffet method was the only way to make all of us happy.
I know people are a little skeptical about giving buffets 4 stars, but this ones downright got it down if you’re looking for good price, cleanliness, variety, and service.
The lasting impression? «I would’ve given it 3-​stars, but I’m adding one star speaking for my dad, or most Asian parents in general who loves an easy way out of cooking dinner through a cheap, AYCE buffet.»

Hmmm — a buffet where I can’t find one thing that I like?
We have gone here a few times and each time I’m even more disappointed then the last
The steaks are tough, the Phở tastes phony (as in no taste, dishwater). I wish I could say it was just an «off «day but it’s the same each time.
Stay home — boil water and add noodles — it’s the same Phở!

I ate the sushi rolls which didn’t need pickled ginger or wasabi. It was good with spinach but the green seaweed inari filling got stuck in my teeth. I also recommend the green beans. I had four stuffed crab shells.
For dessert I ate the chocolate soft serve and layered chocolate mousse. I wish they had fish sauce available as a condiment. Skip that froyo because it’s not flavorful. My father preferred watching Chinese eat phở than getting his own soup. The fried rice had hard peas.

Get a sesame ball because they’re fresh. I wish there were labels. The salmon serving is also too large. This place is good for people who only eat two dishes worth at a buffet. Try the eggplant.

Would not eat here everyday even if you paid me to do it, but every once in a while I suppose.
All I ate was seafood to get my money’s worth. the sashimi wasn’t that great. the cuts were too thick. I liked the baked crab shell. They had crab and deep fried shrimp as well.
Nothing too special but you can get your craving of seafood satisfied here. I must say though that the Coffee cake near the canned fruit is good. The place is big so it’s good for company parties and what not.

EVERYTHING SUCKS except that they have phở~!!! and their fruits are actually fresh~! i would eat unlimitedddddd bowls of phở to the point where the guy would give me less and less each time.
When I go to buffets, more than the food I usually look forward to their desserts ESPECIALLY soft serve ice cream! VIP’s soft serve is N-​A-​S-​T-​Y. It tastes tlike frozen yogurt gone bad.

I’ve come here more recently about a month ago for my grandmother’s 91^st birthday. It was the first time my entire extended family got together for the most part (less one of my brothers).
The variety of food was surprisingly larger than I last imagined and wasn’t that bad. They even had a phở bar up and running. There was a good amount of people here for a Sunday night. I was also pleased to see that they take credit cards here. This was the place where I broke in my new black card.
The only reason why I’m dinging points is because the place felt stark and too quiet at times and staff kept reminding us to leave a tip every time they cleared our plates. This could have been because we were a large party, but it’s really not necessary to keep reminding us to do so like we’re new to America. I always thought the purpose of tips were «To Insure Proper Service,» and was at the total discretion of the patron (s).
Like most Asian buffets, what place would be complete if there wasn’t any soft-​serve ice cream dispensers? This the way to top off any meal. Cones are better because you can take them out and scarf it down as you walk to your car in the parking lot.
So long as music is being played in the background and a little more décor is hung up on the walls to liven up the place, and the servers stop insisting on large parties to leave tips, then the place will gain an additional star or two from me.