This is a review not only solely reviewing Buffet City but also comparing it to lings Chinese buffet in Lakeland as I have heard and the two were comparable. Both restaurants were visited multiple times on a non-holiday Saturday at roughly 12:30 PM

ATMOSPHERE: buffet city was in the need of some deep cleaning and repair especially when traveling to the restrooms which was very foul smelling. Lings was much better lighting and was for what could be observed well maintained with care shown in regard any doors people pass through. Someone there is rightfully conscious about the fact that doors are contact surfaces where peoples' hands may become contaminated by cross-contact, which is why they have a waste bin right next to the restroom door on both sides so to encourage the use of paper towel when contacting the door. I counted hand sanitizer in at least four different places throughout the guest area.

SERVICE: to be short Check and drink service at the Buffet City were noticeably better.

FOOD VAREITY: Given that Buffet city has a significantly smaller footprint and dining capacity the food variety is also a bit smaller. This is not saying Buffet City is lacking in variety generally but more so that Ling's just has more variety with exception to frozen desserts. Buffet City does not have a soft serve ice-cream machine as ling's does but has multiple other frozen ice-cream deserts and some dairy-free frozen desserts.

FOOD QUALITY: Unfortunately this is where Buffet City falls significantly short. At Buffet City there were some items on the hot buffet that were not only old but so old that they were unforgivably inedible. I being a fan of steam buns found that even though both places obviously were making the same type of steam buns the ones at Buffet City on two occasions had been on the buffet so long that the bottoms were rock hard. One other even more extreme example was the hot shrimp which was on all occasions literally spoiled and the entire party had to spit it out. Other seafood option were also exhibiting an overly fishy smell and were avoided. I can tell you from working at restaurants for over 20 years that seafood should not taste feel or smell this way as it is a sign that it is either turning or gone bad. Either way if considering or not consider the seafood items Lings food was of a much better flavor/quality.

PRICE: From first appearance Buffet city is cheaper and it is cheaper under most circumstances, but there is one exception where this may not be true. As mentioned, the times my party visited each establishment it was on a Saturday during lunch hours. On Saturdays and Sundays at Buffet city the dinner price is the all day price making it more expensive for lunch on day of the week, but at lings they only charge the dinner price during lunch on Sunday. This means for Saturday lunches it is more expensive to eat at buffet city. this said any other time other than Saturday lunch it appears Buffet city is a few dollars cheaper per person and children qualify for a reduced price up to age 12 currently where at Lings the age limit for children's pricing is 9 years old.

CONCLUSION IN MY OPINION: Despite a few places where Buffet City beats Ling's in south Lakeland, the food quality and general variety for the most part at Buffet city is lacking compared to Ling's buffet. Due to the issues with the seafood a Buffet city and the lack of general upkeep of the customer area specifically the bathrooms where I had to hold my breath a much a possible I will be avoiding the place in the future. Ling's on the other hand I will be going back to visit again.