Panda Buffet — Restaurant in Sheboygan

As a Sheboyganer foodie, this Chinese buffet was exciting to eat at and surprisingly GOOD! I expected alot when a 3rd building by UMI japanese steak house opens! I ate dinner around 3:45pm on a sunday.

FOOD SELECTION/ TASTE QUALITY If you love seafood, sushi + nigiri, wings, and sweet hoisin bbq ribs, like I do, this is the spot! The seafood selection was WIDE. There was Calamari, frog legs, a legit seafood boil (corn, cray fish, oyster, sausage, shrimp), baked salmon, muscles, sauteed prawn shrimp, coconut shrimp, crayfish, and probably more i can't remember. As for your basic chinese dishes, they were amazingly different! Everything had their familiar chinese taste we're use to, but it tasted enhancing. Not in a MSG way because I didn't drink my water once until I finished unlike other buffets. It had a GREAT wok taste, especially their fried rice. Their Lo mein too was incredibly good, it was chewy in a higher quality way!

ENVIORMENT The environment was pleasing. I dont really pay attention to the music, but it had a nice variety of Japanese, Korean, and pop. Music wasn't loud. Buffet had a nice bright ambient while seating was comfortable lighting. I love seeing a modern chinese buffet. Tables, chairs, and flooring was remodeled.

CLEANLINESS I was actually jaw dropped to see a pair of cooks come out to switch out the serving spoons on the buffet! I never seen any place do this. Staff continuously swept and wiped tables. The bathrooms were very new and had clean mirrors and floors for once. The only downfall was the dryer wasn't operating in both male and female bathrooms. I wish they opted for paper towel as well because i always open the bathroom door with it. I would also like an arm or foot pull on the door as theres alot of finger food if you continue eating.

SERVICE/STAFF Its a buffet, it's self serve. But when my family was lead to a table they walked away without saying anything. We were confused "is she gonna ask for our drinks? Do we get it ourselves? Does someone do it?". I wish she communicated "We'll have someone get your drinks after you're seated or momentarily" after we sat confused for a minute. But that's big deal. The staff were also very nice.

The only reason why I rated this a 4/5 was: There was an American staff that kept touching their hair while behind ready to eat food. There was also a safety concern for me when I took my chances eat room temp raw salmon nigiris. I wish they had a Better system to serve this so it's not warm. I dont really like seeing plates being kept a foot off the ground below the buffet bars. Especially winter comes, will the slush splash onto the plates? Perhaps replaces these with decor?

Overall GREAT place to eat and no complaints for paying $20 for dinner.

RECOMMEND I would love to see in the future a better way to open the pull bathroom door Napkins provided on tables or near by A better holding temp for sushi Seating communication with drinks disposable gloves on the bar for handling sanitation (again, lots of finger/crustacean sea food) plates moved elsewhere that's not 1 foot...

Initially, the place looks nice and revamped but upon further inspection you’ll find it disappointing. The type of floor they’ve put in is very slippery, so be cautious when walking around. Aside from the quality of the floor, the floor didn’t look very clean and there was food on the ground in multiple areas. The plates were all located on a low shelf below the serving stations that is not so easily accessible for those that struggle to bend over. There are no condiments or napkins on the tables at the seating area. As for the food, the only thing worth going for is the shrimp. Everything else was just okay, nothing exceptional. The hibachi didn’t have many options for sauces or flavors to add. Besides that, the system for the hibachi was confusing since there’s no good way to keep track of which plate was yours other than remembering what you had put in it. The salad was disappointing with only dressing to top it off and a limited selection at that. The noodles and rice were all lacking flavor and it could be an easy fix with sauces but there was no such thing. As for the dessert, the cakes were good but the ice cream was water based and not that good. Overall, it was very overpriced per person and if you go with a larger group you’ll have to pay a 15% up charge for service. If you have kids younger than ten there’s a discount but there’s no discount for seniors. It looks fancy and new, but it’s not as good as any other buffet...

The reno and atmosphere is good. Liked it much better than before--when it was New China 8. To be honest, The moment i touched a plate, i was disgusted and lost my appetite. The first plate was still wet with streaks of oil. I refused the plate and my bf gave me a second and a third. I didnt want to make a scene so i took the plate and went to grab my napkin at my table to wipe the plate. The food, I am going to critique as a head cook and food vendor. The food options were okay, the chicken wings, over fried. Sushi options- basic to the core- Fried option-- try hard- no burst of flavor, it tastes like a warm deep fried cali role. Fried rice--plain with a hint of garlic and no soy sauce or flavor. Chow fun - ok. Lo mein - was good. Ice cream-- lets talk about back in the day milk ice cream. Milk, sugar and ice- thats exactly what it tasted like. Not creamy and the texture was right on. The truth is, I couldnt eat because i lost my appetite with the plate ordeal. They use plastic cermic plates and those plates dont "wash" well. If you wipe you hand across the plate you should see the streaks. Please if you read this, please put some effort into serving dry clean plates. Not greasy dried plates. I have video and I wont post it but I will be cautioning the people i know on my personal smp. I recommend everyone look at their plates...