Chinese all-u-can-eat in Dublin

Piliger

I have been a once a fortnight or so regular in Jimmy Chungs, beside O'Connell Street for a year now and leave it in brilliant humour every time. Great food, Huge choice, nice desserts. Great value and nice waitresses
I was telling a friend about this (as I have often done in the last few months) when he mentioned the Chief Changs Buffet on the top floor of the Stephens Green Shopping centre.
So this afternoon I was on the Green and didn't have time to get down to Chungs so I went in to try Changs.
WOW was I disappointed
Only one starter available. No desserts apparent.
I had chicken sweetcorn soup which was tasteless. And I know the difference between 'delicate' and 'tasteless'. Nevertheless I ploughed on - it wasn't a disaster.
I then went for rice with beef blackbean sauce and a chicken dish that I later realised has beef slices mixed in ... weird. I am not kidding when I say they both tasted EXACTLY the same ! i.e. no taste whatsoever!
Now over the last 25 years I have had a lot of chinese, here in Dublin, and abroad. I have NEVER experienced a tasteless black bean sauce. I don't know how they managed it. I was hungry so I ate 60% but I just got to point where I couldn't go any further and left. No desserts available (huh?)
I really am amazed. I wasn't surprised there were only about four people there at 4pm in the afternoon when in Jimmy Chungs there would be almost 100.

Anyone know any other good all-u-can-eats in Dublin

Slydice

hmmm, I've been to changs and experienced a similar disappointment.

chungs sounds much better from your post

latenia

Piliger wrote: »

Anyone know any other good all-u-can-eats in Dublin

If you're constipated I recommend any of the places downstairs in the mall on the corner of Moore St and Parnell St. An hour later you'll have 'complete evacuation' of your bowels.

Piliger

I wouldn't tar them all with one feather.

StanMcConnell

The Indian place in Moore Street Mall is actually really good.

The Chinese Buffet on Abbey Street is good (€6.80) but very basic on the desert front (cup cakes & fruit).

Chungs is good but maybe, a little over-priced.

Br4tPr1nc3

there is china kitchen in donnycarney.

its located on collins ave, across from kitty kernans pub.

I have to say I love the food. not a huge menu, about 6 or 7 staters and a few main courses.

10 euro. But really have to say the food is lovely!

Piliger

StanMcConnell wrote: »

The Indian place in Moore Street Mall is actually really good.

The Chinese Buffet on Abbey Street is good (€6.80) but very basic on the desert front (cup cakes & fruit).

Chungs is good but maybe, a little over-priced.

The selection of dishes in The Chinese Buffet is very small if I recall correctly from when I ate there a year ago. The price is excellent, however, though with such poor desserts and selection I would suggest that Chungs is well worth the extra. I am not flush these days but 9.90 is still a damned good price

Piliger

I first discovered all-u-can-eat places in the US when I was there on business in about 1993. It has taken an amazing amount of time to reach ireland but I guess it took a recession to make it attractive.

When I was in the US the best ones I ate at were European style ... with roast beef and other roasts, chicken, and a variety of other dishes. I also remember that one always had to pay on the way in, through a kind of turnstile system. I liked that a lot better than pay at the end.

Dub13

Br4tPr1nc3 wrote: »

there is china kitchen in donnycarney.

its located on collins ave, across from kitty kernans pub.

I have to say I love the food. not a huge menu, about 6 or 7 staters and a few main courses.

10 euro. But really have to say the food is lovely!

I would agree with this,I have been in a few times but the Mrs & my sisters are always in and they never have a bad word to say about it.

vard

You should have asked ol' Jimmy Chung to borrow his MSG.

Davy

I think there is one in Omni beside burger king, good or bad?

Dub13

Davy wrote: »

I think there is one in Omni beside burger king, good or bad?

Very bad according to a mate of mine.

Davy

Dub13 wrote: »

Very bad according to a mate of mine.

It doesn't really look great from the outside, but afaik its been their a good while so thought it might be alrite. Glad I never tried it now

Dub13

The main reason I like the one on collins ave is its not a buffet,you order and they cook it.It does slow the process down a small but but at least you are not eating food that was cooked hours ago.

Eggonyerface

Davy wrote: »

I think there is one in Omni beside burger king, good or bad?

Avoid! Better off doing the all you can eats in the jazz(coolock village) or china kitchen on collins avenue. Both are all you can eat,but food is cooked to order instead of plonked in a hot plate and shared with the whole place

Br4tPr1nc3

yeah ive heard nothing but bad things about the place in omni. never tried it because of that also.

Piliger

Dub13 wrote: »

The main reason I like the one on collins ave is its not a buffet,you order and they cook it.It does slow the process down a small but but at least you are not eating food that was cooked hours ago.

Meaning it is a run of the mill restaurant. I like the mix and match and whimsical nature of all-u-can-eats myself, unless I'm out with someone for a 'serious' meal.

Karen23

Davy wrote: »

I think there is one in Omni beside burger king, good or bad?

I never tried it cos I heard a bad review about it and there never seemed to many people in it but the last few times I've passed there it seemed much busier , I wonder did they make changes.

ixoy

StanMcConnell wrote: »

The Indian place in Moore Street Mall is actually really good.

I know this is a thread about Chinese restaurants but can I second "Spicy Bite" (in the Moore Street Mall) as an excellent value all-you-can-eat. Good range of food (half-vegetarian / half-meat).

Piliger

ixoy wrote: »

I know this is a thread about Chinese restaurants

I meant it as an all-u-can-eat thread :P

Eggonyerface

Piliger wrote: »

Dub13 wrote: »

The main reason I like the one on collins ave is its not a buffet,you order and they cook it.It does slow the process down a small but but at least you are not eating food that was cooked hours ago.

Meaning it is a run of the mill restaurant. I like the mix and match and whimsical nature of all-u-can-eats myself, unless I'm out with someone for a 'serious' meal.

It is all you can eat,but cooked to order, nothing to stop you ordering three starters and three mains at the same time if you wish....same price

wyndham

Anyone remember years ago when it was very expensive to go to a chinese restaurant in Ireland? Could be £30 or £40 a head just for the food, in punts.

stovelid

Great bunch of restaurants.

Piliger

Eggonyerface wrote: »

It is all you can eat,but cooked to order, nothing to stop you ordering three starters and three mains at the same time if you wish....same price

I do appreciate your point and I'm not meaning to be knocking but I find that style less than satisfying.

The great thing about all-u-can-eat places (I don't always eat in them ... just when I feel like it!) is that you can browse, and pick and mix at your leisure. I have eaten in the style you describe but it is formal and it's uncomfortable to keep asking for a bit of this and a bit of that ...

Piliger

wyndham wrote: »

Anyone remember years ago when it was very expensive to go to a chinese restaurant in Ireland? Could be £30 or £40 a head just for the food, in punts.

At least! Up until 2008 or so myself and my now ex used to take our young son out to a chinese in Shankill called Grace's Garden on the night of getting the Xmas tree. It was one of those rituals that made the whole thing special.

Now it was a VERY good chinese. Fabulous Chinese decor too. But we never dropped less than 80 or 100 quid there, with no wine !

We stopped in 2009 and they also happened to go way down hill since then. Food poor, staff poor and still have high prices. They don't even invest in a decent web site.

A couple of years later a Chinese called "Green Dragon Well" opened on the Killiney roundabout and though it is nothing to look at it is really nice and now has special lunch menus for 10 quid and a great early bird for about 15.

There's nothing like competition.

gurramok

There is a food hall off Liffey st catering for all sorts of foreign food. Its quite popular for the Chinese dishes.

spurious

The problem with all you can eat is the fact that the food is sitting around under lights. That's where the problems begin.

Jimmy Chungs is bearable because they are so busy, the food gets eaten before it has time to get really disgusting.

The one in Omni had a visit from inspectors and was shut for a little bit. It's back in operation now I think. In fairness, some of those closures are for storage and preparation practices that happen in people's own kitchens everyday - they just don't allow them in commercial kitchens. I don't know on what basis it was closed.

Piliger

Almost all health based closures happen because of kitchen problem. Not because of food display issues. They would want to have the food uneaten for a second day to cause issues to worry about.
However the food does dry out and look and taste pretty poor if it is left out too long I agree. The solution is to go to reasonably busy places. The only place I recall seeing that was regularly almost empty was the place on Capel street (I think it was asian). You are right about Chungs. The food there moves too fast to sit around for more than an hour.

shanered

Should check out the Mongolian Barbaque in temple bar!
All you can eat and its fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You make your own dishes, hope you try it, its possibly my favorite place in town, does lunch for €5 too!

psychward

The problem I've had with all you can eat food when I've trued it before is anywhere I have been it seems to be soaked in oil or something greasy that bulks it out in your stomach hence you get full or sick of the food pretty quickly.

Piliger

shanered wrote: »

Should check out the Mongolian Barbaque in temple bar!
All you can eat and its fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You make your own dishes, hope you try it, its possibly my favorite place in town, does lunch for €5 too!

Wow interesting. What is Mongolian food ? :eek:

psychward wrote: »

The problem I've had with all you can eat food when I've trued it before is anywhere I have been it seems to be soaked in oil or something greasy that bulks it out in your stomach hence you get full or sick of the food pretty quickly.

I've been in a few poor ones but never ever that bad. One good reason for this thread I guess :-)