What a nice surprise! I have passed this restaurant on my way to WalMart since June when I moed here and always saw the parking lot full, now I know why! Food was fresh and delicious Service was very good Drinks constantly refilled Servers asking if we were saisfied or needed anything Restaurant was clean Price was good! I will definitely be back!
(5)
Jay K.
I like it. let me get the bad stuff out of the way. Bit dated decor, small food selection(no sushi or hibachi) Lunch Selection is 99% chicken. the good stuff....I believe the quality of the food is above average. Normal big chinese buffet, everything taste the same. Mr. Wang's is a restaurant AND a buffet. This leads to better quality food being served at the buffet. All of the soups are excellent and don't look or taste like rest(in a good way) Been there for lunch and dinner. both are priced reasonably. I exceptionally love their crab rangoon and what appears to be a hand made beef eggroll (dinner) I always feel like I ate at a restaurant, not a buffet. Don't let the looks fool you, the food quality makes up for it. Also the owner(i'm assuming) is very nice and welcomes you as if you are his friend.
(4)
Lauren S.
The two stars are for great service and cleanliness, but the food is really not good. Very overcooked, possibly day old meats in a variety of very similar bland sauces. Even the soups were bland and watered down. If you're forced to eat here with your older coworkers, just get the vegetable fried rice and top it with the sauce from the curry chicken (but skip the chicken). Also they serve Pepsi here, so...
(2)
Patsy B.
Mr. Wang's is so good. They have a variety of Chinese food on their buffet. Beautiful and clean looking restaurant. I use to eat there all the time. The food is very tasty. I ate the beef and broccoli, egg roll, the ice tea is really good. The waiters are very nice.
(4)
T X.
Good price. The buffet at lunch time are mostly chicken, hardly any beef or pork or seafood. For that price, I guess we can't ask too much.
(3)
Tonika W.
Me and my fiance came to eat at Mr.Wang and the food was good. It was our first time eating there. We had the Buffet and food was hot and they were bringing out more food. The scenery was fair, and cleanliness on scale 1_10 . I will give it a 7.
(3)
Anita M.
Freakin Yucks!!! I used to like it for the crab legs. But Not Anymore. I made the mistake of taking my kids there Friday night 10-31-14. If you want to GROVEL at the food bar waiting for something fresh, go there. My kids loaded up on fries and noodles. My bill?? $30 something bucks to get the hell out of there!!!! YUCKS. CHOW TOWN is sooooo much better.
(1)
Joe V.
We went in for lunch buffet on Sunday. While most buffet visitors are expecting like 90 entrees, Mr Wangs has about 40 for lunch. but I must say I would rather have 40ish FRESH entrees than 90 entrees that are flavorless or mushy. Lo Mein was nice and firm, not mush and had great flavor, every chicken entree was very tasty. Service is fabulous, drinks refilled immediately, very friendly and engaging owner. We didn't have a single item that was bland and that says a lot for a buffet. So the food is worth 3 -3.5 stars and the service and cleanliness is the rest. It was a lunch menu so no crab and none was expected. I would go back for sure
(4)
Courtney O.
I was half excited to try this place, i had heard some pretty decent stuff about it, but ended up with a major let down. The food was but truly up to as all, was typical cheap food that is meant to get you full if you can stomach it and pretty much nothing more. The service ok but not extraordinary or nothing like that, one of the guys that works there seems kind of ride but wasn't my waiter thank goodness. It was clean for the most part but not fancy or nothing, honestly speaking i will not be returning ever if i can help it.
(2)
Michael N.
Find me a Chinese Buffet that deserves more than a 3 star review and you might as well have found me the Holy Grail. This is just like any other Chinese Buffet. You go in knowing what you are about to experience. They have all the standard entree choices, soups, noodles, rice, ect... There is soft serve vanilla or chocolate ice cream for a nice happy ending ;-)
(3)
Preeyam P.
Not bad for a chinese buffet. Although there are signs everywhere that make the staff seem/sound rude they are pretty nice. They get people in and out very quickly. The food changes every so often between meals so if you have a favorite just hope it's a staple. Sometimes things are not labeled or they labels are mixed up so just keep an eye out. The soup is not my favorite and there are no vegetarian spring tools, however the crab angels make up for this. As a vegetarian I have to say that the options are plentiful and flavorful. Avoid the church rush if you can.
(4)
Anna M.
I'm giving it 4 stars, because it is buffet, but it is really good buffet. The food is so much better than other chinese restaurants in Birmingham area. I went for the lunch buffet. Total bill including drink (without tip) was $10, so it is decent for a lunch. Most of the chinese dishes were really pretty good, not as good as fresh cooked, but good for a buffet. There is plenty of variety to chose from. The soup was good. As someone else noted, most of the dishes are chicken, but I found a beef dish and it was a bit tough, so maybe better that it is chicken. It is a place I will go to often for lunch since it is close to work.
(4)
Jason B.
Great food, great price! Prior to getting onto Yelp earlier this year (2014), I use to frequent this buffet whenever I was short on time. In short, this side of town has two main buffet restaurants, one is Mr Wang's and the other is U China Buffet. What sets Mr Wang apart is this simple fact that the owner is always present when I'm there and he's always in a great mood. In addition to this, his staff is constant and the food is great. Now I've read a few reviews where people complained about the service and food, which surprises me since its a Buffet (i.e. serve yourself). Additionally, this is not a 5 star fancy french restaurant, its a Buffet for $7-$9. If you're looking for a quick meal, low price and a nice variety, then this place is for you. Happy Yelping!
(4)
David C.
Not bad at all! It's a Chinese buffet. Been to hundreds of those, right? Service is friendly. Price is reasonable. Food variety about average. Here's where they raise the bar, though. ... the flavor and quality of many of the items I sampled were extremely good and far better than I'd expect from a buffet. Definitely a very solid buffet choice!
(4)
Wanda T.
This is the best Chinese Buffet in Birmingham! Try the Hot and Sour soup, the yummiest egg rolls, the best garlic chicken, the tastiest Mongolian Beef! Everything on the menu is Delicious! !!
(5)
Steven C.
Not sure what the standard is in this city, but it must be quite low. For a $10.00 buffet my expectations are not real high. But, based on the other reviews I gave it a go. Mistake. There was no dim sum, dumplings or crab legs (snow would be acceptable). Oddly enough, they did have MSG free offerings. However, there was not even a leaf of lettuce in sight. If you like shrimp there is plenty to be had. In short, it's pretty average and the food is pretty bland.There is no way this place is worthy of 5 stars for a run-of-the-mill Chinese food buffet.
(1)
David C.
Not too bad for Chinese in the southeastern U.S. I didn't even look at the buffet, but the Hunan chicken I ordered was pretty good. Waitress was disappointed that I ordered from the menu as opposed to the buffet. My guess is the chefs probably give her a boatload of grief when they have to cook something other than the mass-produced stuff on the buffet line.
(3)
byron l.
Don't listen to all the noob buffet and/or noob chinese buffet yelpers, including the elites, sway you into thinking this is not a hidden gem, because it is. When you have been to at least 10+ Chinese buffets than you know what's up. Summary: Atmosphere: 1-3 Food: 5 (FRESH) Service: 5 (Fine for a buffet) Value: 5++ First off, CHINESE BUFFETS OF THIS CALIBER COST 4-5 more dollars per person in California. SO ALL YOU PEOPLE IN ALABAMA SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CHINESE BUFFETS IN YOUR AREA. This applies to all the local chinese buffets. 10-11$ per person is a win, particularly if you are a heavy eater. I'm going to be real with you, I'm from San Gabriel Valley in California, the mecha of chinese food. This buffet rocks all of the chinese buffets I have been to in the area. Some places that cost twice the price, have twice more the "suck." Atmosphere: So it's an average beat-up Chinese place, once in a while with beggars outside that can really ruin your day (odd story I don't want to recall). Just be mentally prepared. If you go to small authentic Chinese food restaurants, this should not bother you. If you don't..... Then adapt. Food: The food here is VERY FRESH for a Chinese buffet. I have never seen Chinese food at a Chinese buffet look this fresh. You can safely try just about anything and be satisfied. Now, there are normally rules you follow at a buffet, such as NEVER eat heavy carbs (noodles/rice) so you can fill up on the good stuff and get your values worth. This is literally one of the ONLY buffets I will eat noodles, because they are fresh and have just enough flavor to not overwhelm other dishes. I broke the most sacred rule here; this has to mean something. Ok, so this place does not have crab legs, so why am I rating this place so high?? It's because the overall quality of their dishes is great compared to other chinese buffets. Doing less things right is better than more wrong. Service: They take your plates away quickly, what else do you need? Value: $11 dollars for AYCE (all you can eat) is always a win. ________________________________ So if you bothered to read all this, here are the secret tips that makes this place rate so high: 1. The crab-cheese wontons are the BEST I have ever had at a buffet: always crispy, always flavorful. Regulars here are addicted to these for good reason. 2. Catfish= extremely crispy and tender on the inside. If this had southern seasoning, this would be equivalent to what I buy in southern comfort restaurants. 3. The mushrooms are better than most other chinese buffets. 4. The steamed fish is fresh. 5. Their shrimp is good, as long as it isn't over seasoned. 6. The noodles as I said earlier are really fresh.
(5)
Brian G.
Food was ok. We got out of there real fast after a cockroach ran across our table. It was not clean and I would not recommend this place to anyone.
(2)
Dan P.
I've had better and I've had worse. We ate here at about 6pm on a Saturday night and it was dead. The food was also VERY old and marginally warm. But that being said, and the reason I actually gave it 3 stars, the food was pretty good. I certainly would have given it a least 4 stars if it was fresh. At least half of the offerings on the buffet had mushrooms in it. Great for me but bad for my wife who is allergic to them so beware. Our server was great too. $25 for 2 buffets and sodas.
(3)
Art C.
Pretty good for standard Chinese buffet fare, and the people who work here are very nice. Another reviewer is right: the Mongolian beef & twice-cooked pork are pretty good. They know their market, and they serve it well: you're not going to get top-of-the-line Chinese food here (go to Mr. Chen's for that), but you are going to get a tasty meal for a reasonable price in a friendly environment.
(4)
Peter L.
Pricey for the amount of options, but slightly better than U China. Mostly likely the price is to cover snow/king crab legs on weekdays (but I'm not a fresh crableg person so I did not evaluate them as a dish). The shrimp fried rice makes an excellent base for your normal mix of Chinese buffet cuisine. The mongolian beef and twice-cooked pork are probably the highlight of the buffet. There is a hot red-sauce shrimp dish and spicy fried catfish dish that have got a southern flair to them, and there is fresh salt+pepper crawfish. The eggrolls were unimpressive. No sushi or dumplings (other than the wantons in the wanton soup) :( The egg drop soup is chicken-based and has a bunch of other veggies in it which was unique. Dinner was $15 and change with drink. The non-buffet takeout menu (which is your remaining option if you show up after 7:30pm or so) is somewhat expensive for takeout but is tasty. Dinner for two runs about $32 in this category. The ma po tofu is different than how it's made "up north" but acceptable.
(3)
Bryan W.
Pretty good buffet. Could use more selections but what they have is quite good. Very busy on a Sunday but food stayed fresh. Egg rolls were nice.
(3)
Cheryl W.
My family has been going here for over 10 years. It is one of our favorites. The food is wonderful and the service cannot be beat. Their health rating hovers between 98 and 100 all the time. Excellent value with lots of choices on the buffet.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
Barbara V.
What a nice surprise! I have passed this restaurant on my way to WalMart since June when I moed here and always saw the parking lot full, now I know why! Food was fresh and delicious Service was very good Drinks constantly refilled Servers asking if we were saisfied or needed anything Restaurant was clean Price was good! I will definitely be back!
(5)Jay K.
I like it. let me get the bad stuff out of the way. Bit dated decor, small food selection(no sushi or hibachi) Lunch Selection is 99% chicken. the good stuff....I believe the quality of the food is above average. Normal big chinese buffet, everything taste the same. Mr. Wang's is a restaurant AND a buffet. This leads to better quality food being served at the buffet. All of the soups are excellent and don't look or taste like rest(in a good way) Been there for lunch and dinner. both are priced reasonably. I exceptionally love their crab rangoon and what appears to be a hand made beef eggroll (dinner) I always feel like I ate at a restaurant, not a buffet. Don't let the looks fool you, the food quality makes up for it. Also the owner(i'm assuming) is very nice and welcomes you as if you are his friend.
(4)Lauren S.
The two stars are for great service and cleanliness, but the food is really not good. Very overcooked, possibly day old meats in a variety of very similar bland sauces. Even the soups were bland and watered down. If you're forced to eat here with your older coworkers, just get the vegetable fried rice and top it with the sauce from the curry chicken (but skip the chicken). Also they serve Pepsi here, so...
(2)Patsy B.
Mr. Wang's is so good. They have a variety of Chinese food on their buffet. Beautiful and clean looking restaurant. I use to eat there all the time. The food is very tasty. I ate the beef and broccoli, egg roll, the ice tea is really good. The waiters are very nice.
(4)T X.
Good price. The buffet at lunch time are mostly chicken, hardly any beef or pork or seafood. For that price, I guess we can't ask too much.
(3)Tonika W.
Me and my fiance came to eat at Mr.Wang and the food was good. It was our first time eating there. We had the Buffet and food was hot and they were bringing out more food. The scenery was fair, and cleanliness on scale 1_10 . I will give it a 7.
(3)Anita M.
Freakin Yucks!!! I used to like it for the crab legs. But Not Anymore. I made the mistake of taking my kids there Friday night 10-31-14. If you want to GROVEL at the food bar waiting for something fresh, go there. My kids loaded up on fries and noodles. My bill?? $30 something bucks to get the hell out of there!!!! YUCKS. CHOW TOWN is sooooo much better.
(1)Joe V.
We went in for lunch buffet on Sunday. While most buffet visitors are expecting like 90 entrees, Mr Wangs has about 40 for lunch. but I must say I would rather have 40ish FRESH entrees than 90 entrees that are flavorless or mushy. Lo Mein was nice and firm, not mush and had great flavor, every chicken entree was very tasty. Service is fabulous, drinks refilled immediately, very friendly and engaging owner. We didn't have a single item that was bland and that says a lot for a buffet. So the food is worth 3 -3.5 stars and the service and cleanliness is the rest. It was a lunch menu so no crab and none was expected. I would go back for sure
(4)Courtney O.
I was half excited to try this place, i had heard some pretty decent stuff about it, but ended up with a major let down. The food was but truly up to as all, was typical cheap food that is meant to get you full if you can stomach it and pretty much nothing more. The service ok but not extraordinary or nothing like that, one of the guys that works there seems kind of ride but wasn't my waiter thank goodness. It was clean for the most part but not fancy or nothing, honestly speaking i will not be returning ever if i can help it.
(2)Michael N.
Find me a Chinese Buffet that deserves more than a 3 star review and you might as well have found me the Holy Grail. This is just like any other Chinese Buffet. You go in knowing what you are about to experience. They have all the standard entree choices, soups, noodles, rice, ect... There is soft serve vanilla or chocolate ice cream for a nice happy ending ;-)
(3)Preeyam P.
Not bad for a chinese buffet. Although there are signs everywhere that make the staff seem/sound rude they are pretty nice. They get people in and out very quickly. The food changes every so often between meals so if you have a favorite just hope it's a staple. Sometimes things are not labeled or they labels are mixed up so just keep an eye out. The soup is not my favorite and there are no vegetarian spring tools, however the crab angels make up for this. As a vegetarian I have to say that the options are plentiful and flavorful. Avoid the church rush if you can.
(4)Anna M.
I'm giving it 4 stars, because it is buffet, but it is really good buffet. The food is so much better than other chinese restaurants in Birmingham area. I went for the lunch buffet. Total bill including drink (without tip) was $10, so it is decent for a lunch. Most of the chinese dishes were really pretty good, not as good as fresh cooked, but good for a buffet. There is plenty of variety to chose from. The soup was good. As someone else noted, most of the dishes are chicken, but I found a beef dish and it was a bit tough, so maybe better that it is chicken. It is a place I will go to often for lunch since it is close to work.
(4)Jason B.
Great food, great price! Prior to getting onto Yelp earlier this year (2014), I use to frequent this buffet whenever I was short on time. In short, this side of town has two main buffet restaurants, one is Mr Wang's and the other is U China Buffet. What sets Mr Wang apart is this simple fact that the owner is always present when I'm there and he's always in a great mood. In addition to this, his staff is constant and the food is great. Now I've read a few reviews where people complained about the service and food, which surprises me since its a Buffet (i.e. serve yourself). Additionally, this is not a 5 star fancy french restaurant, its a Buffet for $7-$9. If you're looking for a quick meal, low price and a nice variety, then this place is for you. Happy Yelping!
(4)David C.
Not bad at all! It's a Chinese buffet. Been to hundreds of those, right? Service is friendly. Price is reasonable. Food variety about average. Here's where they raise the bar, though. ... the flavor and quality of many of the items I sampled were extremely good and far better than I'd expect from a buffet. Definitely a very solid buffet choice!
(4)Wanda T.
This is the best Chinese Buffet in Birmingham! Try the Hot and Sour soup, the yummiest egg rolls, the best garlic chicken, the tastiest Mongolian Beef! Everything on the menu is Delicious! !!
(5)Steven C.
Not sure what the standard is in this city, but it must be quite low. For a $10.00 buffet my expectations are not real high. But, based on the other reviews I gave it a go. Mistake. There was no dim sum, dumplings or crab legs (snow would be acceptable). Oddly enough, they did have MSG free offerings. However, there was not even a leaf of lettuce in sight. If you like shrimp there is plenty to be had. In short, it's pretty average and the food is pretty bland.There is no way this place is worthy of 5 stars for a run-of-the-mill Chinese food buffet.
(1)David C.
Not too bad for Chinese in the southeastern U.S. I didn't even look at the buffet, but the Hunan chicken I ordered was pretty good. Waitress was disappointed that I ordered from the menu as opposed to the buffet. My guess is the chefs probably give her a boatload of grief when they have to cook something other than the mass-produced stuff on the buffet line.
(3)byron l.
Don't listen to all the noob buffet and/or noob chinese buffet yelpers, including the elites, sway you into thinking this is not a hidden gem, because it is. When you have been to at least 10+ Chinese buffets than you know what's up. Summary: Atmosphere: 1-3 Food: 5 (FRESH) Service: 5 (Fine for a buffet) Value: 5++ First off, CHINESE BUFFETS OF THIS CALIBER COST 4-5 more dollars per person in California. SO ALL YOU PEOPLE IN ALABAMA SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CHINESE BUFFETS IN YOUR AREA. This applies to all the local chinese buffets. 10-11$ per person is a win, particularly if you are a heavy eater. I'm going to be real with you, I'm from San Gabriel Valley in California, the mecha of chinese food. This buffet rocks all of the chinese buffets I have been to in the area. Some places that cost twice the price, have twice more the "suck." Atmosphere: So it's an average beat-up Chinese place, once in a while with beggars outside that can really ruin your day (odd story I don't want to recall). Just be mentally prepared. If you go to small authentic Chinese food restaurants, this should not bother you. If you don't..... Then adapt. Food: The food here is VERY FRESH for a Chinese buffet. I have never seen Chinese food at a Chinese buffet look this fresh. You can safely try just about anything and be satisfied. Now, there are normally rules you follow at a buffet, such as NEVER eat heavy carbs (noodles/rice) so you can fill up on the good stuff and get your values worth. This is literally one of the ONLY buffets I will eat noodles, because they are fresh and have just enough flavor to not overwhelm other dishes. I broke the most sacred rule here; this has to mean something. Ok, so this place does not have crab legs, so why am I rating this place so high?? It's because the overall quality of their dishes is great compared to other chinese buffets. Doing less things right is better than more wrong. Service: They take your plates away quickly, what else do you need? Value: $11 dollars for AYCE (all you can eat) is always a win. ________________________________ So if you bothered to read all this, here are the secret tips that makes this place rate so high: 1. The crab-cheese wontons are the BEST I have ever had at a buffet: always crispy, always flavorful. Regulars here are addicted to these for good reason. 2. Catfish= extremely crispy and tender on the inside. If this had southern seasoning, this would be equivalent to what I buy in southern comfort restaurants. 3. The mushrooms are better than most other chinese buffets. 4. The steamed fish is fresh. 5. Their shrimp is good, as long as it isn't over seasoned. 6. The noodles as I said earlier are really fresh.
(5)Brian G.
Food was ok. We got out of there real fast after a cockroach ran across our table. It was not clean and I would not recommend this place to anyone.
(2)Dan P.
I've had better and I've had worse. We ate here at about 6pm on a Saturday night and it was dead. The food was also VERY old and marginally warm. But that being said, and the reason I actually gave it 3 stars, the food was pretty good. I certainly would have given it a least 4 stars if it was fresh. At least half of the offerings on the buffet had mushrooms in it. Great for me but bad for my wife who is allergic to them so beware. Our server was great too. $25 for 2 buffets and sodas.
(3)Art C.
Pretty good for standard Chinese buffet fare, and the people who work here are very nice. Another reviewer is right: the Mongolian beef & twice-cooked pork are pretty good. They know their market, and they serve it well: you're not going to get top-of-the-line Chinese food here (go to Mr. Chen's for that), but you are going to get a tasty meal for a reasonable price in a friendly environment.
(4)Peter L.
Pricey for the amount of options, but slightly better than U China. Mostly likely the price is to cover snow/king crab legs on weekdays (but I'm not a fresh crableg person so I did not evaluate them as a dish). The shrimp fried rice makes an excellent base for your normal mix of Chinese buffet cuisine. The mongolian beef and twice-cooked pork are probably the highlight of the buffet. There is a hot red-sauce shrimp dish and spicy fried catfish dish that have got a southern flair to them, and there is fresh salt+pepper crawfish. The eggrolls were unimpressive. No sushi or dumplings (other than the wantons in the wanton soup) :( The egg drop soup is chicken-based and has a bunch of other veggies in it which was unique. Dinner was $15 and change with drink. The non-buffet takeout menu (which is your remaining option if you show up after 7:30pm or so) is somewhat expensive for takeout but is tasty. Dinner for two runs about $32 in this category. The ma po tofu is different than how it's made "up north" but acceptable.
(3)Bryan W.
Pretty good buffet. Could use more selections but what they have is quite good. Very busy on a Sunday but food stayed fresh. Egg rolls were nice.
(3)Cheryl W.
My family has been going here for over 10 years. It is one of our favorites. The food is wonderful and the service cannot be beat. Their health rating hovers between 98 and 100 all the time. Excellent value with lots of choices on the buffet.
(5)