Northeast Chinese II — Restaurant in City of Albany

I'm conflicted about how many stars to give because this restaurant is not like any I have ever tried in the Capital Region. It is no longer a buffet, or not all the time, anyway. I'm not sure they've settled on their format. The night I visited they were offering a hot pot buffet, which looked very good. I take it that you might ask for meats or other things that are not on the buffet because I kept seeing the waiters delivering meats, for instance to tables who requested them. There were probably 60-70 people there, and I was one of about 4 non-Asians. They all looked very very happy, and for good reason - the foods on offer are not the typical fare offered in Chinese-American restaurants in the Capital Region. The low stars number is because the service is all set up for dinner parties - I went by myself, so they had no idea what to do with me, and the menu is all wrong for one person. No one wanted to explain this to me, or help me out particularly, which I think was more because of the language barrier than overall politeness. The staff also was very tuned into all the dinner groups and really didn't have time for me, nor very much interest. When I indicated I needed help, they came to the table, so they know what they are going. The lunch menu is probably much better suited to the typical familiar experience of Chinese food in Albany. I ordered strange things because I wanted to try them, but they ended up being not to my taste, except for the mango bubble tea, which was delightful. Go with a group! Try lots of dishes! Make the staff explain...

This restaurant has two sections. One is for hot pot dinners and the other is for everything else. This review is about the hot pot dinner offered by this establishment. We arrived at the restaurant at around 7:30 pm, on a Tuesday evening. There were a few dinners in the restaurant,all in their twenties. For some reason we were the only dinners who chose to have a hot pot dinner that night. The hot pot section where we were seated has special tables with hot plates to keep the hot pot container hot. The hot pot container has two baths of liquid. You can choose the “soup” in each bath to be one of two: spicy or not spicy. I recommend to have one of the baths spicy and the other not spicy. We ordered the type of meats, and tofu dishes for the hot pot. These foods are later cooked by the dinners in the hot pot soup. In addition there is a free bar with additional ingredients to choose from. These included a variety of vegetables, fungus, and shrimp and clams. The meat we chose were brought frozen to the table (that is intentional) and were quickly cooked in the hot pot baths. We liked the lamb and beef. We also discovered that the fried tofu and frozen tofu were favorites. The pig intestines were less popular. In addition to the food, a hot pot dinner is a fun activity. You get to cook (and play) with your food. So you should allow at least an hour for this fun activity. The service was fast and courteous. Overall we had a great experience. We will...

In our recent visit, we saw racist side of Northeastern restaurant. All the Chinese people who came after us got served quicker with their food. We waited even for my son wonton soup and rice who placed his order within minutes of us entering the restaurant as he was hungry, and that food came after the entire order of a Chinese family was brought to their table and who came to the restaurant after we placed our order of food. We got the crispy chicken which came after another Chinese family who came after 40 minutes of our arrival got their entire order that came one by one within minutes apart. At this point 2 Chinese family got their entire order served at their table. We finished the crispy chicken because that was only item of the 3 things we ordered came. We have to get the attention of the owners who said he would check and never came back with an answer. My daughter suggested that can we leave paying for what we ate, at the right moment the double cooked pork belly came out. Then after 5 minutes the last order came out. So for a item 4 items and 3 rice we waited for an hour and half. The worst part we were hungry and we were watching Chinese people eat because they were served quicker and promptly within minutes of their in the restaurant. We're paying for the food and not getting free food. So if you are not Chinese or white, you will be served like a third class citizen. Not good for your dignity if to be...