It’s become apparent to me that American Chinese buffets don’t really exist in NYC, especially not in Manhattan. These low overhead restaurants only make sense when space & labor are cheap. That being said, I’d REALLY love to take my fiancé to a Chinese buffet so he can experience it. I grew up eating in these emblems of suburbia. The strip mall standbys that somehow have all the same frozen food, comprising 17 different versions of chicken in sauce, those bright yellow noodles, a salad section with green and orange melon cut into unreasonably large chunks, sugar-encrusted Chinese donuts, a serve-yourself ice cream machine. I remember the tepid egg drop soup and water-logged crab legs like it was yesterday.

Where & how do we do this? We’re willing to go anywhere. The burbs. The outskirts. New Jersey. What’s your advice? TIA.

I know there definitely are, especially in the outer boroughs but I feel like there’s so many my heads getting overwhelmed with options and can’t think of even one. Can yall help maybe?

Any borough is fine really. Besides Staten Island. I just need the restaurant to be near a train.

My Vegas vacation spoiled me rotten with the great selection of buffets at every turn and I don’t understand for the life of me how come there seem to be NONE in New York. I know Ichi Umi but that’s exclusively Sushi/Asian food. Sbarro has a less than not impressive all you can breakfest buffet for 10.99 but the selection is weak and for lunch onwards they go by the pound which makes it not worth the $$. Are there really no regular buffets with a mixed variety, Italian, American, Asian etc? Hell, I couldn’t even find entry level stuff like Sizzler or Shakey’s in NYC. Do I have to make the trip to Atlantic City hotels? Do they even have them over there lol? What gives?!?!?!