Paradise Buffet — Restaurant in Auburn

Literally too hungry that I forgot to take photos.

I mean, it's a buffet. What are you gonna do?

Anyway, Paradise Buffet is one of my only 3 "S-tier" places in America, and I don't give that designation out lightly. It pretty much means that it is 6 stars if the rating system allowed it. The best of the best.

So does that mean it has some of the tastiest food I've ever had? Haha heck no. Who are we kidding? But the price is DIRT CHEAP for what you get (a fact I think many locals are not privy to, or decide to keep it a secret to themselves), and it's very, VERY hard to find a better-tasting buffet, at any price. It's the kind of place you only talk about if you had a bad experience, so I think the score average went down a bit because of that. But if you sit down and compare and contrast a little bit, you may realize that Paradise is pretty awesome.

First off, their menu is very consistent. By that I mean I don't think their selection of foods has changed at all for over 5 years lol. It's always the same dishes, to be found exactly where you expected them to be. They really give off Kim Vũ vibes in that aspect. You'd expect them to do these dishes well since they've cooked them for so long... and they do. I find it very hard to find something to complain about in general, except for things like canned fruits and cookies. You know, resold market stuff.

The sushi... Eh, it's buffet sushi. But the fact that it's EDIBLE at all already makes it better than the vast majority of buffets out there. Just don't come in expecting anything too much, but you pay pretty much nothing for unagi pieces that actually have some taste. I call that an absolute win.

I actually like the salad bar a lot. It's probably not super impressive if you're more used to traditional American dining than I am, but everything tasted fresh (including the mussels, which is usually a surefire stomach-killer at other buffets), and they've got some "upscale" stuff liked stuffed olives and fresh shrimps in there. Again, I call that an absolute win.

I generally avoid fried stuff and carbs in buffets (y'know, shouldn't fill yourself up too much), but darn the fried frog legs and coconut shrimps are super.

You know what's better than fried stuff at a buffet, though? Grilled stuff. Broiled stuff. Crusty stuff. The chicken-on-a-stick and hibachi grill are some of the best you'd get anywhere, and the prime rib is LEGIT! Again, dirt-cheap Chinese buffet, people. I've had worse steaks at Ruth Chris's.

Before I end up listing their entire menu (it never changes), let me just introduce you to Paradise's best-kept secret:

The cheesecake.

As far as I could tell, Paradise Buffet's cheesecake is unique. Which is really surprising since even Deema would serve you cheesecake from Costco. The cheesecake at Paradise is very solid and light, giving you just the right amount of creaminess without filling you up or overwhelming your taste buds (doubly surprising since buffets tend to do the opposite). It's cheap, sure, and it's a bit of a guilty pleasure. But as with everything else in this quaint joint, it's mad value for what it is.

TL;DR There were like 3 large families of Amish people coming in at once at one point, adding up to over a hundred diners. Amish people know their stuff.

P.S. It actually surprised me that I never got pictures from this...

By and large this was Very good first experience at this restaurant. Starting with the positives, the food was all very hot, fresh, and delicious. The sushi was kept cold and there was a great variety. I really enjoyed the selection of both American and Chinese favorites, and loved the hibachi grill. There was an amply supply of clean plates, and our server was great. He was very polite and ensured we had refills on water and tea whenever we needed. All of the employees had masks and gloves on, and throughly cleaned tables.

The only real complaint I have, which I cannot hold against the restaurant fully is that many patrons did not wear a mask when walking to, serving themselves, or walking back from the food area even though it's clearly marked to wear a mask, and the had an ample supply of gloves for people to wear. Which was confusing to see people not wearing a mask but put on 1 glove. I do feel the dessert area was the one area, mainly because of the chocolate fountain, that people kept using their hands instead of the sticks/ tools to use.

Overall it was a great visit, and we felt much less anxious once some of the crowd left, and the remaining people were much better about masks. The staff was amazing, friendly and very polite. The food was hot, fresh and delicious, and we definitely look forward to coming back for...

Everything about this place is amazing. The value you get with the quality of food is something that a frugal persons wildest dreams are made of. The sushi they make here can rival that of any sushi restaurant in a 300 mile radius, easy. I havnt had a lot else besides their sushi since the deal is absolutely insane for the quality you get (seriously, for a $9 lunch you can get a quantity of sushi that would be near $100 anywhere else really easily).

This time I went however it was close to closing, and the sushi chef got off 30 minutes before it closed. While I was able to still get an amazing amount of sushi whose quality never dropped, it finally forced me to try other food here. The chicken wings are phenominal, the prime rib to die for, the broccoli just perfect where it still had a nice snap on the outside while soft on the inside. Honestly my only complaint is that the filling on their crab Rangoon is topped so much that it's slightly overwhelming, but I'd say that's a good problem to have.

This is the gold standard of buffets I have been to, and it's ruined every other one. The only comparable ones are in vegas, and they cost nearly $20 more a head. This is an absolute must visit for every person...