Empire Village — Restaurant in Sturbridge

We walk in, and the staff immediately said “are you picking up for DoorDash?” and I said no, but is the buffet open? (Even though I knew it was) Their faces lit up and they said yes and the server so kindly brought us to a booth and immediately took our drink order.

The buffet area was small, with the food only filling about 1/4 of each tray, but that tells me that they make things fresh and bring it out when it gets low. I had THE ABSOLUTE BEST veggie lo-main I’ve ever eaten. I also had some AMAZING boneless spare ribs, and I tried the broccoli chicken, General Gau’s chicken, crab rangoons and mini egg rolls. The chicken was all cooked perfectly. All of it was spectacular except for the pork fried rice. It was good, but too heavy on a certain spice that I’m not a fan of. But either way, it was honestly some of the best Chinese food that I’ve ever had. They also had beautiful soft music playing, and the bathrooms were spotless.

I just had such a good experience there and it made me so happy. Also the veggie lo-mein had obviously FRESH cooked crunchy leafy greens in it coated in sauce that made it even more delicious.

My only true criticism is the decor. The building is made of dark brick with dark windows that make the establishment appear to be closed. Inside, the decor is not horrible, but it’s a bit dated looking. I wish an interior / exterior designer could come in and spruce the place up. This place is also known for its drinks…. Why not put some neon beer signs in the window to advertise that? There is a LOT of opportunity for growth there. This place was way too slow for the quality of food it offers… and I know for a fact this is due to its unappealing...

My wife and I decided to try a different place for Chinese food , I called in my order a day in advance to pick up on New Years Eve day at 1:00 PM , I arrived at 1:00 and was told my food would be right out , waited for 15 minutes and inquired about my order and was told it would be right out , after waiting for almost 10 more minutes my food was ready , I was home 10 minutes later and was very disappointed to find half of my order was incorrect and they left out my order of lobster sauce which is basically how I enjoy my rice , I called the restaurant to let them know I'd be there shortly to grab it and I was told they do not serve lobster sauce on that day , I explained I'd ordered it the day before and was charged for it but was told there nothing they could do about it , I hate to sound like a whiner but on top of messing up my order the food I received was not hot and fresh like you'd expect , normally I'd give it another shot but my wife and I will not visit this establishment again , there were a good amount of customers there , so I'm sure some people enjoy this fare but I definitely am not one of those , I like to try different places to eat some hit and some miss ,...

food was gross. I looked at reviews beforehand and decided to order from the menu to be fresher and it was still a miss. the beef teriyaki was so chewy I was almost choking and had to chew for minutes and still could barely swallow. I like a good crab rangoon but even these were awful and warm and were all cream cheese that it was so soggy and disgusting. the chicken fingers were all mushy batter when you bit into them. honestly it was horrible and I thought ordering from the menu it would be hot and it wasn't. I honestly wanted to refund it because almost all of it went in the trash. save your money and go some where else. this was a busy Saturday night too so I thought for sure the food would be fresh and tasty. 3/2/24. the fortune cookies were the best part lol. they did seem to have good service but what's good service if the food is trash. I can only imagine how the buffet was. I wouldn't...