Ocean Buffet — Restaurant in Garland

Ill give a break down of each dish i had. I went at lunch time.

Eggrolls: the egg rolls were great. They had a fresh taste and perfect crunch

Dragonroll: The dragonroll was not my style. I believe its filled with sausage. It was ok but not something i kept going back for

Cream cheese wontons: probably one of the worst ive tasted in a Chinese place. The texture was lacking and the filling was sup par. I was really let down because these are one of my favorite Chinese dishes and i didnt get to enjoy it much

Sushi: not that good. It wasnt the worst but the main problem with it was they barely had any fish in them and the rice seemed too chewy and the flavor just wasnt like other places have been

Chicken wings: yes i know coming to a chinese place to eat their american food but i just cant help myself. They were good but every other Chinese place ive been is alot better

French fries: who can pass up french fries no matter where you get them? The french fries here were good but you have to get them when they are hot or the crunchy texture starts to go away for some reason

Potstickers: these were good. They were chicken not pork filled.

Seaseme Chicken: absolutely horrible. Ive noticed most Chinese places have horrible orange, seaseme, an general taoi chicken when its on the buffet line. For these dishes its best to order from the menu not the buffet station

Fried fish: i only had 1 piece and didnt feel a need to get any more. It was ok but nothing special

Stuffed shrimp: now this was a good dish. Not perfect due to it consisting more of the stuffing than it did the shrimp but the flavor was good

Overall it was a let down. The main reason why it gets 3 stars is because the price is good. I ordered 1 lunch buffet with water and the total came out to be $8.22. As for the service it was mediocre. I almost didnt give the waiter a tip due to it taking him almost 30 minutes into my eating for him to decide to fill up my almost empty water but he was on top of removing my empty plates i set aside.

The Golden Wok Chinese buffet up the street is better and about the same price. Ill be going there instead...

First the wait staff is wonderful, Jason you take their 5 to a 1 so I gave them a 3.

I have frequented this buffet for more than 20 years, observing multiple food safety violations over this time, but overall it's been ok, and if you eat off a buffet....you rolled the dice. Food in the sauce is kept hot. Everything else not.

On 06.09.23 I requested staff reheat Calamari. I was refused (the staff has done it 2 - 3 times a week for the past several months). Manager Jason, tells me it is "fresh - on the line in the last 20 minutes", picks up a piece and tells me it is warm. I stated it was not. I asked him to check it with a thermometer. He did and 2 - 3 pieces were 105* +/-.

Jason states the food can be held for 4 hours. Ok, perhaps if held at a safe temp. Repeatedly Jason states it can sit for 4 hours regardless of temp. He states that to have hot food, it must be ordered fresh. I went to the Garland Health Dept website which states food must be held at 135* I showed it to him, he does not agree. I asked for a copy of his most recent food inspection. He tells me I am asking too many questions. Given his Feb. 2023 score was 53, I understand why.

I told him several times I would make a complaint to the health department, and multiple times he told me no problem. Apparently, he does not care and is not concerned about repercussions. (Please also require them to place the pan of crisp noodles for the soup under a cover.)

The fact the food is held at an unsafe temp. is a problem, but it happens. The fact Jason has over 30 years in the restaurant business (he told me several times) and believes it's okay to hold and serve food at an unsafe safe temp is the larger issue.

This place used to be the very best. Jason, you ran it then, and had a place to be proud of. You have stopped caring - I miss the quality...

Location is a bit shady I went at lunch and never felt threatened, but its a bad neighborhood and keep your eyes open in the parking lot kinda place. Place was clean and tidy The dining is set up as table areas separated by partitions with booths and tables, all surrounding the central buffet area. Buffet was average The buffet is about 6-8 stations clustered in the middle of the dining area. There were not as many entree' items as I had expected, with the outer buffets being mainly deserts and treats. I didn't like it that the steamed crawfish was placed next to the orange chicken because people were dipping the seafood into their plates and splashing the juices into the surrounding foods. Otherwise the buffet felt a bit crowded and crammed together. I had to maneuver around people to get at the food. There is a hibachi grill and sushi bar at the back of the buffet which looked clean and had lots of food ready to grab and go. All dishes were plentiful and nothing was empty. Taste Average at best. I suspect this place is just too big to take time in food preparation. Beef and broccoli was bland and the beef actually had a hint of seafood to it. The meat on a stick skewers were over cooked chicken and though edible, not particularly tasty. Food was plentiful but unimpressive as far as taste. Price $7.99 ea lunch buffet plus $2 for tea. I paid $10.15 out the door. Its a little more for dinner. Staff Friendly but not overly.

Overall: I found nothing that compelled me to return. If someone else is paying for lunch and I had no choice but to go there, I'd go, but not otherwise. I wont go...