98 Pounds Buffet — Restaurant in Bloomington

We were looking for a Chinese buffet on our way home from a weekend trip. We came here because of the good reviews - I want to add mine about what KIND of Chinese food to expect. This was very definitely the most 'traditional' or 'authentic' Chinese food I've ever seen at a buffet. For us, this was disappointing and not what we wanted. We like the sorts of "Americanized" Chinese food that you find at most cheaper/larger buffet chains. Things like honey chicken, Mongolian beef, beef and broccoli, that sort of thing. At 98 pounds buffet, what they had was squid and octopus - real, palm-sized, purple-ish octopi cooked and floating in a colorful sauce with colorful veggies. Whole crayfish by the panful. Shellfish of all sorts in various shells. Whole shrimp. A whole entire fish of some-sort - head and everything - from which you could scoop a portion of the fish, and an extensive sushi bar. Unfortunately for us, my daughter and I don't care for most seafoods and definitely don't like sushi. So. There was very little here that we liked - but what we did eat was yummy. The General Tao's chicken is universal at any Chinese place and was a lifesaver so we didn't go away hungry. The fruit bar had an extensive selection of fresh fruits. The restaurant was busy and people were eating up the crayfish and the octopus like it was chocolate candy, so I have to assume it was good if you like that sort of thing. If you are looking for an "Americanized" Chinese place, this is not it. It was $32 for my daughter and I, which was too expensive for us/what we were willing to eat, but it is not the fault of the restaurant that we don't like what they were serving. Rather, I wish the reviews I found or the website had been more specific about what sorts of food was available here. What we did eat was good, the service was quick, the place was very clean and everything appeared very fresh and none of the trays were full long - or allowed to sit empty long. Over all, I personally won't eat here again due to not liking this sort of food, but I think it's a fine restaurant and probably one of the more authentic Chinese buffets a...

This was by far one of my worst buffet experiences ever and my standards arent even that high. It was my first time there and will be my last time.

I'll just bullet point things since it was so bad.

Prices were extrememly high Variety was aweful, theres barely any choices When we got there, the food looked like it was sitting for a few hours and they had a few empty trays. When we left, they only filled 2 dishes. That was another whole hour. We went there for the snow crab legs, when we got there, it was empty. Again, they didnt fill it until we were leaving; one whole hour. When we asked, they told us they were still cooking it. Service was horrible. The server came by once when we flagged her down to ask for water refill, napkins, and chop sticks since there was none on the table. The sushi was horrible with it tasting like card board. Actually, most of the food there tasted like card board because they were sitting out for so long. The floor was wet and dirty since it was winter and one of the guest's child actually slipped and dropped his food. Another guest was complaining loudly to a server as again, the food was old and there were empty trays. I qoute "I didnt pay all this money to eat garbage" The servers were also talking loudly to each other instead of serving the guests. The next day, we all got food poisoning as well. Again, probably from the food due to it sitting out so long.

Overall, I would rate this....hmmm.. a ZERO because they're really that bad. Save your money and go...

I'd have to say that the 1 star reviews were given by people who were expecting one thing and only went once when perhaps they weren't on their game for that day. I live down the street from this place and go there ALL the time, and I can say, they have their 3-star days, their 4-star days, their 5 star days and once they had a 1-star day if I were the type of person who rates based on one single experience. Yes sometimes their dinner buffet is so busy that they have problems keeping up, so it can get empty, which is why there are better times to show up there for dinner than others. But the quality always seems to be good, it certainly doesn't have a chance to sit around! And I'm not sure what people are comparing the chinese buffet part against by saying it's horrible. IT'S JUST LIKE ALL THE REST! Did they just come from a Vegas super-buffet or something?

I'd say overall they're 4-star because my main focus in a buffet like this would be the sushi, and while it tastes good, the variety is a little low, and it doesn't seem to change ever. There are other places which are relatively cheaper due to the variety, they're just too far away for me to justify going to over this place. And the staff have always been nice when I go there, to me and from what I've witnessed, to everyone else. The only people I've seen them be like that towards are the super-snarky types who have their 1-star review in-hand as they walk through the front door. I dunno, perhaps... it's you? ...