Hong Kong Buffet — Restaurant in Peoria

Tldr: good sushi selection, more variety of meat, however refills slowly, has the NASTIEST restroom and has hidden charges (drinks, tips)

I have always been a fan of Lin's buffet in Morton, so i had to compare my experience there to this reopened buffet place

*we went on a weekend and it was busy, had to wait for 20-30min to be allowed inside; waiting area has limited seats so we were standing the whole time *has better variety of sushi; i tried most of them and i enjoyed eating them the most since its yummy enough *3 kinds of chicken served, also has roasted pork ribs (the latter however was quite dry and was slow to be refilled), coconut shrimp was okay *chow mien was meh, has a lot of noodles than meat/veg, almost bland to taste *they served mung bean filled sesame seed bun but also tastes meh *crab rangoon is not that crispy *okay variety of fruits and desserts eg, cake slices, orange,grapes,pudding *ice cream station: served as premade cups with basic flavors eg, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla *Beware: they dont say upfront they will charge you for the drinks (vs in lin buffet that its free) so just take note for that

*the biggest turn-off was the restroom, in the womens area used tissue were all over the place, walls were dirty, two of the toilets at the time did not function and the bowl was already clogged with tissue. I could not imagine that if the restroom is this dirty and unmaintained, how much more for inside the kitchen??? So ewww *there are a handful of servers, so why cant they just allow some of them to regularly clean the restroom?! *the servers were hospitable when being talked to, but what i didn't like was they were almost yelling when they communicated with each other (in foreign language) though they arent that far away, and one of them was preoccupied talking to someone on the phone (with airpods on) while cleaning the tables, so it made the area noisier *also a bit slow to clean up empty plates in the tables *we weren't even able to finish our last meal when a server approached us to make us pay and specifically pointed out the bottom part of the receipt to make us leave a tip (lin buffet doesn't do this), which i find rude (wanted to get rid of us so others could sit); some people were just lining up the cashier area to pay (please... just wait til we're done)

So overall i prefer lin buffet more since its more consistent in their food and service, has no hidden charges, and has cleaner restrooms. I could come back, but just for the plated meals, and not for the...

What a horrible experience. The first thing I noticed was the price since it is posted in the foyer. Our meal was over $55 for two adults and a child.

As we entered the restaurant you first notice the run down appearance of the tables and chairs. The restaurant appears clean just worn out. I soon found that first appearances isn't always accurate. There was food on the floor near the buffet the entire time we were there even though an employee was walking around stirring the food. I'm not talking crumbs but large pieces of chicken about the size of the sweet and sour chicken nuggets. I went to the restroom, which was filthy, I was appalled. But probably the most unusual thing I saw was the man in the kitchen throwing soapy water all over the floor with a bucket. Kudos for him for cleaning that floor but it was very unusual to me.

Now the food. It was easily the worst Chinese buffet I have ever been to. We have been coming here ever since the building was built. Many different people have owned it. We have watched the building fall into disrepair and the quality of food degrade. This evening was our final visit. The food in the hot trays were suspended in saran wrap hammocks above the warming table. Therefore the food was not warm. I am not sure if it was warm enough to be safe but none of us got sick. They didn't bring any fresh food out while we were there other than sweet biscuits. They did have a staff member stirring the food to help it from drying out. The highlight of the meal was the sushi which was prepared nicely but it was the typical lower grade, not freshest grade sushi that you find at buffets. A huge disappointment to my boys was the fact the the soft serve ice cream dispenser was either broken or not in use. They did have some hard pack ice cream available. We did not try the make you own stirfry.

Now that brings me to the staff. Our waitress did a nice job keeping our glasses filled and seeing to our needs. She was unable to answer a question regarding g the sushi but I think that was just a language barrier. She was polite and always nearby.

My recommendation is to skip this place and head to East Peoria or Pekin for a Chinese buffet if that is what you...

I came in yesterday for dinner. Wife and I were seated relatively quickly. Here are my thoughts.

Atmosphere: Simply put.... relaxing, clean, and comfortable. Seats, tables, and booth looked new. Loved the open seating layout, and the colorful Hong Kong mural on the wall.

Food: Impressive. I was honestly kind of blown away. All the food was heated well, fresh tasting, flavorful, and appealing. There are also so many options. Meaty ribs, seafood, sushi, Chinese staples, desserts, and much much more. If you're a sushi lover, come here. One of my favorite parts of the buffet was the sushi bar. The sushi chef knows what he's doing and makes great rolls. The fish was of good quality, and rolls were skilfully made unlike other typical buffets. I also loved the salt/pepper shrimp. It was crispy and flavorful......which I appreciate because it's one of those dishes I ate growing up in a Chinese family. Even after the lunch and before dinner rush, staff were constantly monitoring the food, and switching them out. Food was always hot and NOT dry. Tasted great.

Service: Never once did I have to ask/ wait for my water to be refilled, or my dirty plates be removed from my table. Staff were quick, observant and pleasant.

Overall, a great experience for the first time at the reopening of Hong Kong Buffet. I believe it's a different owner now, but great job on giving Peoria a great buffet and thank you. If the service and food quality remains like this, I can see this being a successful buffet. Keep up the great work, owners and staff of HKB! Pictures will come the next time I visit........I definitely will be back and...