East Star Chinese Buffet and Sushi Bar
1025 Nasa Pkwy, Houston, TX, 77058
East Star Chinese Buffet and Sushi Bar Menu
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Address :
1025 Nasa Pkwy
Houston, TX, 77058 - Phone (281) 280-8822
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Opening Hours
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Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
Categories
Chinese Cuisine
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.
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Traveller222 2.
Food is delicious. I've been to every single Chinese buffet in the area and hands down this is the best out of all. Almost everything I tries tasted authentic and fresh except for the ice cream. Food is nice and hot. Dishes get refilled every 10 mins or so. Since the restaurant is full almost all the time food they have to constantly refill food. Only reason I'm giving this place 4 stars is because of bad sushi. They have little miniature size sushi that taste nothing like sushi. All the cooked dishes are way better tasting. hibachi grill and buffet used to be my go to buffet in the area. After eating here I will not go to any other Chinese buffet. I recommend this place.
(4)Joel F.
The manager here is like a guy works at a car towing place or a maybe a prison? When we brought up our concern with the food HE FREAKED OUT and told us to leave. Never met anyone so rude. Obviously we'll never go back there. I'd recommend only sending your enemies here?
(1)Julian J.
I went here on a Sunday and had a horrible experience. Cold to luke-warm food, horrible rice, bad egg rolls. The place was crowded too, so it wasn't like there weren't a lot of people there. I talked to the manager about the bad taste and temperature of the food and was told to leave and never come back. I've never had such a disappointing experience, have never been treated so rudely, and you should take your business elsewhere. I have been here multiple times over the past few years and have never had such a bad experience. I am an MD and will be filing a report with the health department, as I have been feeling quite nauseous ever since I've eaten there. Customers could get sick with the low temperature of the food. Avoid!
(1)Courtney M.
NO STARS!!!! This place is an effing joke...they refused to re-stock the buffet an entire hour before close and there were at least 20 customers left!!! I proceeded to address this with the MANAGER and he flat out didn't care. To make matters worse...the cooks/employees came out and piled their plates high with what was left on the buffet. At about 40 mins to close this is what the buffet looked like ...(see pic)
(1)Raine B.
I like this place, but the only thing I don't like is they won't manage the buffet. There are kids putting their face over the food, touching the food while the parents act like they don't see them. I go early before the obnoxious get there with their bad A kids. Food is pretty good, sometimes it's cold not sure what goes on with them on some days. Not sure how flies get in the restaurant either, I'm just saying.
(3)Christi R.
No stars! The manager is very rude here! We had family in town visiting and had a big group meet us here for dinner. They screwed up everyone's checks, then the manager told us he was angry with us. Really? It shouldn't be that difficult to charge us for a buffet and a drink per person. Never again! Stay away!
(1)Teresa R.
If I could leave no star I would food is average we they do have good fried fish which my son loves so that's why we ended up there we had a large group there for my sons birthday I asked the waitress to to just put everything on one check and as people left they could pay their part and if anything was unaccounted for Id cover it... Well the manager had a fit and made her remake individual checks so my family was the an additional 30 min while she did this then after he took everyone's payment he informed me there was an additional 24 dollars that wasn't accounted for that I needed to pay but he couldn't tell me what it was for and yes they grated us 20% manager was rude and demeaning to us AND his staff
(1)Jr G.
The audacity of the manager here! Found a shard of metal in my sushi. Tell the waitress to get mgr. She tells me I gotta wait till he finishes his food. He finally gets to me and I show him. He says, "that couldn't have been in the sushi where'd it come from". I tell him the sushi and he says no way. I told him if he thought I put it? Then he says I want free food. This guy here! Then starts waiving his hands everywhere trying to get his point across almost hitting another customer in the eye. I inform him. He says maybe we are from a different culture!?! His uses his hands to get his point across I'm guessing, U have to be kidding. Then says maybe I had a bad day before I got there and why do I have to keep talking to him. To just go...So I went and now I'm gone never to come back here again. Food seems to be going downhill anyway! Posting my picture too! Hope he sees this. Ps. He didn't even care to check the sushi for more pieces!
(1)Hanh N.
I used to come here once/twice a month for crawfish/oyster and sushi. However, the last 2 times i came here, the food was so bad, and the store was crowded. People stepped on one another, there was no order/line. And the owner saw that and did nothing. I vowed not to come back. But last night, have nothing in mind what to eat, so I gave this place another chance. It was not busy, but the food was awful. The crawfish is like frozen for a month and mixed with heavy seasoning to distract the customers from its old, plastic-like texture. Worst is the oyster. I dared the manager to eat them, they don't mind cleaning them properly, and the taste, again, too bad. The sushi bar is ok. With $13/person, you can treat yourself better somewhere else. I can hear same reviews from other tables, so unless they keep up the food quality, i do not think anyone will ever come back.
(1)Kenneth R.
The food is cold and they charged my card twice. I bought my bank statement and they refused to give me my money back. They just made up stories why they can't do there jobs. Don't eat here they server cold food and still from you.
(1)Crystal K.
I'm generally not a fan of Chinese food or buffets but putting those biases aside, I can usually go to a Chinese buffet and fill a plate. Here it was a little difficult. The fish looked grey and like the same fish was sitting out all day. In fact, none of the food looks fresh. I stuck mostly with the soups which were decent.
(2)Hatem S.
Had a dinner there. Food quality was very bad. Crawfish looked too red and fresh but when u open it is almost black inside. Crab was very tiny and not fresh. Muscles was not fresh and that's why served baked topped by cheese. Oysters are not fresh at all. Sushi is the worst. Shrimps and grilled calamari was not too bad. I am not gonna do it again.
(2)Christina M.
Although I'm not from Clear Lake, I went with a friend who recommended this place as a good Chinese buffet in the Houston area. As far as Chinese buffets go, I was definitely not disappointed. I've been to pretty much all of the __ Star Chinese buffets around, and this is definitely my favorite one of the bunch. They have all the expected choices and a good variety of sushi (which you don't often see at these types of buffets). I was able to get a good sampling of the food, and I didn't try anything that I didn't enjoy other than the ice cream, which is strangely icy rather than creamy. If you live in the area or are strangely attracted to cheap Chinese buffets like I am, I would definitely recommend East Star above the others.
(4)Erin W.
I would never recommend this place. I do not understand the reviews some people give. The food is not good at all. I will never go there again. Very disappointing.
(1)Tracie A.
One of the best Chinese food buffets in the area. They are always busy which means there is always fresh hot food out! Some of the best things they have is the sushi. For being a Chinese buffet, the sushi is excellent. Fairly cheap too if you go during the week for lunch. It's a little crowded sometimes but I think that it a great thing for a buffet. The greens beans are probably one of the best things on the menu. They have a giant selection of desserts also. If you are on a diet, I have found it pretty easy to enjoy this place still. They have lots of veggies and non-fried items to choose from. The chicken and broccoli is one of my favorites also. The seafood bake is very good also, for being seafood and cheese, it surprisingly is very good. They of course have all the essentials, fried rice, steamed rice, lo mien, general chicken, beef and broccoli, sweet and sour pork. All of it is very good for this being a buffet. Plenty of items for the kiddos also, pizza, fries, chicken strips, sausage and of course ice cream! My son has no issues finding things to eat like at some places. The waitress are super friendly and always make conversation with my kids. Overall we really enjoy this place.
(5)Heidi P.
Pretty decent Asian food buffet, typical of what you'd expect at this type of place. Nothing that makes me go wow! But it has a pretty big selection so you can satisfy whatever craving you have for Asian food here. I've only been for the lunch buffet. For an iced tea and lunch buffet for 1 it was about $11.50 not including tip. Try Kings buffet for a smaller selection & the same food, but it's done slightly better. And lunch price is about $1 cheaper there.
(3)Juncel A.
3.8 stars. I'm not a big fan of Chinese buffets. We all know the freshness and cleanliness of the food is always in question when it comes to these places. This particular one, on the other hand is better than most places IMO. The place always has quite an amount of people eating, which means the food is always hot. There are a lot of employees constantly stirring the food so it doesn't get burnt on one side and at the same time keeping the buffet area clean. Overall the food is good. There is a variety of options to choose from. There's sushi which is OK, but not horrible. There's always three different types of soups available, cocktail shrimp, ceviche and sometimes oysters are also available. One thing though, don't really expect an "authentic Chinese meal" here. I mean let's be real; it's a buffet place after all. Service is hit or miss, its an Asian place though so it is what it is. There is ample parking outside, so parking is really not an issue even if they can sometimes get packed.
(4)David Z.
Stopped by again yesterday for dinner. Food still as good as ever. Great spare ribs. Above average selection. Friendly employees.
(4)Lendy E.
Brought my son here tonight for his birthday. It is the best buffet in the area. The food is fresh and everything was very good. I enjoyed the sushi and my husband liked the non Chinese food that is offered. It is a little higher than the other buffets in the area but well worth it. This will be our Chinese food place from now on.
(4)Victor C.
I will say this one of the buffet with better service that ive been to. I like the Hot & Sour Soup. Good little variety.
(4)Todd P.
Always consistently fulfilling expectations and filling plates with a variety of great Asian delights. I had the privilege of taking my 8 year old son to Food School here to give him the opportunity to try many different foods. He tried everything and loved it. Especially enjoyed was the crawfish, shrimp, and crab on the weekends. The two of us had a great time for $23 plus tip. Great deal and great service. We do love this place a lot. INCREDIBLE sushi selection. Soups are wonderful (hot/sour, wonton, egg drop). Everything you would want and expect.
(4)Mike B.
Very busy, service was good. I tried about 75% of the offerings. I really enjoyed most of it, but a few items just seemed off, not to my liking at all. Shrimp was excellent.
(4)Romero L.
For buffet this place is worth checking out.They have a wide selection to choose from and their sushi is pretty good.Favorite choice are the crab legs very tasty.
(3)Phi L.
I frequent this place once a month so my boyfriend can have his fix of General Tso Chicken while I feast on the sushi and chicken skewers. The servers are nice and attentive to our drinks, and I've never had problems about food not being fresh/hot. I also like it being a buffet because when people's diets/cravings clash, they can come here and choose what they want to eat. For $12/person, it's a solid place. They have items like: sushi, bbq chicken, fried chicken, fried fish, fried rice, noodles, crawfish, shrimp, mixed veggies (bok choy, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms), shrimp cocktail, oysters, pizza, fries, won ton soup, crab cakes, etc etc.
(4)Mike M.
Excellent buffet bar, many selections and sushi too, I love the fresh vegetables oh and the peanut chicken plus many of the fish and meat dishes available, service is always friendly.
(5)Michael C.
Not impressed at all. The hot food was cold and the cold food was warm. The staff was friendly, professional, and really cared about ensuring the guests were taken care of.
(1)N. G.
Friendly greeting. Fast seating times even if they have a line coming out of the door. I happen to stop by when 2 buses full of high school students stopped there for lunch and it took them 8 minutes to seat for sure more than 20 students and get to me. Not bad if you ask me. They have a large food selection. All hot and fresh. All the items I tried were good. Family friendly atmosphere. It is clean! Unlike other buffets.
(4)Rache B.
We ate here on christmas eve. The place was packed but they were able to sit us easily. there were eight of us in our group. We had 2 kids. The food was tasty and good. The price was just right. We drove ask the way from pearland and the drive is worth it. Will come back soon.
(4)Casey P.
Food looked good but when I actually ate it... I was wrong. I've had few worse Chinese buffets. It was clean and looked nice which is the only reason I'm giving two stars. Taste wise I only got one plate and couldn't bring myself to get another. I tried a little of everything and there wasn't one thing I would want to eat again. Yuck. ;(
(2)Grisel R.
I love this place!!! All the food is always hot and fresh the crab legs and shrimp are the yummiest!!!
(5)Courtney M.
This is my all time favorite Chinese Buffet. I go here 2-3 times a month. They have sushi, oysters, crawfish, crabs, fried foods, and even pizza (which is great) for those who don't like Chinese food. They also have a lot of dessert options. Their crawfish, crab rangoon, and General Tso's chicken are some of my favorite items here. The wait staff are always extremely nice and fast with refills, napkins, sauces etc. This place is clean as can be. You'll see the people who bring new food out will also bring out clean utensils and trade them out with the old ones that people have been touching to get their food. They also come by and clean the sauces on the table and give you fresh ones. I've never seen a buffet with this amount of cleanliness. If you don't have time for a buffet, you can fill a to-go box and they charge by weight. I believe the crawfish and crabs are everyday, but only for the dinner service.
(5)Doug K.
Has any one else noticed that they never close the CASH REGISTER and that if you pay cash they make change without entering the transaction into the till? Um, hello, TAX EVASION!! That is a busy place, they are not paying ANY TAX on HUNDREDS of meals a week! I am sick and tired of these immigrants coming here and absolutely, blatantly milking our system! Where is the IRS?? Isn't there a whistle-blower program for tax evaders like this?? Respect our country and it's laws or GTFO.
(1)Misty D.
Great place to eat. I love the food and the price is reasonable. For a chinese buffet you really can't ask for much more. The ambiance is very nice. Staff is friendly and the food is fresh.
(4)Smart E.
You will be hard pressed to find a better Chinese buffet in this price range anywhere in Houston. The food is absolutely always fresh and they have a wonderful selection. My favorite dishes are their General Tso's chicken, mussels, peel n' eat shrimp, and fried chicken. I love everything here except I can't vouch for their sushi. However, if you're wanting great quality sushi, you really should be looking at $25-$30 seafood buffets or an actual sushi restaurant.
(5)Yuliya S.
One of the best buffets i ve been to ! Sushi can be compared to most of the restaurants
(5)Dana G.
Very clean and the service its great. The food is what you would expect on a chinese buffet as far as the hot foods go. They have a large variety of sushi, though. And it was great to see seaweed salad; a dish I absolutely adore. I go back when I'm in the area
(4)Tcs H.
Well I'm impressed this place was pretty good. Its 10.00 for adults and about 6.00 for kids. ... the odd thing about this place is I was not expecting it to be this nice is over all clean, the chairs and booths are just comfy enough. I am short so size does matter to me when I am sitting at a table. The sushi section is WAY bigger than expected. Its good too! Some are OK but some of them are really good. The really AWESOME thing about the sushi bar is the very open bowl of seaweed salad they have. I LOVE seaweed salad so it was defiantly a plus in my eyes to see that. Normally you can only find it mixed with sushi rolls, on top of a roll, or you have to order a side bowl (that's mainly in restaurants). Staff is nice and on point. My eating partner in crime thought it was odd they didn't have a dish of just straight steamed mixed vegetables. I'll defiantly be back.
(4)Eugenia L.
For a buffet, they have a good selection and variety of hot dishes and sushi. Food is constantly being refilled, so you're never stuck with the leftover scraps of that dish. Which is a big plus at a buffet. Most of the food is decent and is basically what you can find a Chinese take out restaurant plus some extras. I personally like the cheesy seafood casserole with fake crab. It's my weird guilty food pleasure lol. There were other good size chunks of other (real) seafood in there as well. Staff also removed plates and refilled drinks in a timely manner.
(3)Barry M.
This place was great. The sushi was very good and they had a wide selection. The wait staff was very attentive. They also have the hot saki. Sweet!
(5)Alan C.
This is a buffet, folks. It is not an exclusive steakhouse where reservations, jacket & tie are required. Get in, get it, and get out. And it's all good. Delicious in fact. 3 thumbs up for excellent food, excellent service, friendly staff. if you like crawfish, crab legs, raw oysters, go on weekends. it will be very crowded.
(5)Jared D.
Definitely one of the better chinese buffets I have been to. The sushi selection is HUMONGOUS. Rolls on rolls on rolls. And sushi pieces. They even had a plate of salmon sashimi once. I wouldn't say it is the best sushi i have ever had (Masa is currently winning that), but for a $10 buffet, you cant beat it. The rest of the buffet is pretty standard. They did have crab legs too, but the entire chunks were fried, which I didn't understand. Trying to crack open something that is reminiscent of a KFC chicken leg isn't really my idea of fun. The amount of English spoken by the wait staff is...minimal. Not a bad thing, just a thing. Will definitely go back when I'm looking to stuff my face full of sushi for $10.
(4)Kimberly L.
No. Just no. Overpriced lukewarm food? I can go to a fast food place for that...a few times over! Since our regular Chinese buffet has been having problems with keeping food hot, and I was craving some hot, fresh Chinese we decided to try here again. Bad decision. Maybe it was just an off day but nothing was hot or fresh except the egg drop soup, which was pretty good. But everything else was lukewarm, or in the case of the peanut chicken, downright cold. And the total for two adult dinner buffets and water? $23.71. Wow. Am I just cheap? Doesn't that seem high for lukewarm food? Even if it is all you can eat..... So we will not be back here. I guess Chinese buffets are off the list of places to eat for awhile until we can find one that keeps the food hot. I don't think that's too much to ask....
(1)Amanda M.
Found a hair BAKED INTO my rice crispy treat. Told the manager, his excuse was that it was a buffet. That excuse would fly if it was simply sitting on top of the food, does not fly when it is cooked into it. He then pointed out that we had already eaten. Well yes, one does typically go for desert after their meal. He comped one of our meals but was quite a dick about it and not the least bit apologetic about the incident. Will not be coming back.
(1)Honey J.
Best Chinese buffet in this area. Every since the disaster that was China Border, I was a little hesitant about a Chinese buffet but Star China makes up for it. It gets pretty crowded on Sundays but other than that its pretty easy to get a seat. The food is always fresh and the wait staff pretty much stands around waiting for your glass to become half full. Highly recommend this place.
(4)Dick B.
We used to frequent this place and remember the quality of the food being much higher than it is now. Most of the dishes seem to use the same flavoring and lack overall taste. The sushi is cut very thin and has a poor texture compared to other sushi buffets. The rice was undercooked and tasted grainy and hard. Overall it appears that the owners have really scrimped on food quality in order to save money.
(2)Daniel L.
I have a fever and the only cure is to be able to get sushi and be able to throw some other tasty passengers on the plate along with it! East Star pretty much fulfills my gluttony and perpetual desire to play with my food - something that is very hard to do in a respectable "adult" atmosphere. This is a buffet - so if you are expecting gourmet everything and caviar, just get back in your Bentley and keep driving. But buffet is not inherently negative - as there is no caviar here - but everything that is here, is prepared well and consistent and it comes out being rather tasty. The sushi is the big draw for me. There are many options - including octopus which is delicious. Dead serious. And there are many rolls. The worst thing I can say about the sushi section is that the wasabi is weaksauce, like it barely even registered and I took a big scoop of it. Dim Sum? Don't mind if I do. Very tasty. Fried rice: big helping of that to serve as the bed for the General Tso chicken. General Tso chicken: You would be demoted to whatever is just below General, the Diet Coke of General as it were. This was not bad at all - but it was not on par with everything else I put in my mouth. Fried sushi: yeah I had to try it. It is such a weird sensation to have the outside fried but the inside be so squishy and tasty. Weird. But awesome. I felt very Texan today to have experienced fried sushi! And East Star enabled that. Vegetables: all East Star does here is win. They have many options all down the line for some good vegetables. Lots of broccoli, squash, carrots, and other things. I really liked seeing how many great vegetable options were in place to offset my fried sushi intake. Drink service was kind of sketchy. Great value for the price. A very fun place. Try and make a Jenga tower of sushi on your plate and let me know how it goes!
(4)Mary Z.
Last night marked the first time my parents and I ever ate here for supper; normally, we prefer a heavier midday meal and lighter evening fare. But we were extra hungry after long workouts and yardwork, so we went. At nearly 6pm the place was busy but not crowded. The buffet was as clean and well-stocked as I remembered from previous visits to Houston, and service was prompt & friendly. As always before, I gorged on a great deal of the no-frills, sliced salmon sashimi and the seaweed salad---those things are soooo $$$ on LI and in the NYC area. And their texture and flavor were so fresh, not fishy at all. I also piled on crisp-not-stringy string beans, mushrooms & onions, two kinds of perfectly cooked shrimp (one with delicious strips of grilled jajapeno), and more mixed vegetables. I tried the teriyaki steak but wasn't impressed. Too sweet. Though we usually avoid Americanized asian buffet fare, I couldn't resist an ample sample of the ENORMOUS barbecue chicken wings---and I wasn't disappointed. They were juicy, fall-apart tender, and not fatty or oily. Neither was Mom disappointed with her home fries or Dad with his fried fish. We also noticed crawfish and crabs, but were too hungry and impatient to sit and wrangle with those. As for dessert, I did not want anything sweet. But my parents went for fruit and swore that the orange slices were uber delicious.
(4)Demeco V.
We are retired Army and after traveling all over the U.S. for many years we rank East Star Chinese Buffet at the top of the list. Their food was excellent !!!! So many times you go to a Chinese buffets and they use one sweet sauce for the General Tso,Orange Chicken,Sweet and Sour Chicken and any other meat with a sauce, not at this restaurants.All the dishes were unique in their respected flavors and were amazing. Now the service was by far the best we have experienced hands down. From the moment we walked through the door we were seated immediately. We were welcomed in with smiles and a feeling of family. Not one time did we have to track down our waitress. We actually had a team of waitress standing nearby waiting to assist us as needed.If you are looking for a Chinese Buffet where the atmosphere is family friendly and the food is as good as it get, then look no further because East Star is heads and shoulders above the rest. We have eating there three times thus far and will definitely be going again when we are in the area.
(5)Jake H.
Great food selection. Everything taste delicious the only draw back was they don't have grilled steak but they have excellent pork BBQ. I will definitely recommend this restaurant.
(5)Bobby V.
Their selections are great, although they should mix it up a little. Because it has been the same dishes for a while now. They have a good selection of Sushi to pick from. My faves are the salmon & tuna sashimi, but it's only on weekends. Overall a great place to have lunch or dinner. They are usually busy on the weekends, so go early.
(4)Wendy B.
I don't always get sudden searing diarrhea within 30 minutes of eating, but when I do.... it's because of the cold General Tso's I just had at East Star. Woof!
(1)Sarah P.
I'm sad. This was going to be 5 stars for us. The sushi part of the buffet was amazing. Lots of selection. Fresh, crisp, vegetables in the stir frys. BUSY AS HELL. Almost too busy for comfort. But unfortunately we have had stomach cramps and tummy troubles for the past 3 hours. I have a pretty iron clad stomach too. Worth trying out though.
(3)Heath E.
It's my opinion that 99% of all china buffets could do with cookie-cutter reviews. East star chinese buffet and sushi bar does little to buck the trend. Good, not great. Lots and lots of choices, all decently prepared with a few american dishes added to appeal to a broader audience. The staff does their jobs sufficiently, tho some of the heifers that dine here will ravage certain dishes, making it impossible for the staff to keep up. But you can't blame them, you have to blame the gorgers that go up to the buffet with 2 plates to stack high with oysters and crawfish. Overall, the value-for-money is good. Maybe a little steep for a china buffet, but you are paying for a vaster array of choices.
(3)A. S.
Feel like food quality has been slipping the past few visits. Found a large fish bone in a fried sushi roll. Not so sure we'll be coming back to East Star. We could eat some great Chinese at regular restaurant for the price anyway.
(2)Vanessa M.
*3.5 Stars In the oh so scary world of Chinese buffets, this one is the best I have tried in Texas so far. The selection is decent, not huge. What I like most is the quality of the food. They have a ton of sushi choices which most buffets skimp on. The steak teriyaki was perfect and their fried rice was better than most Chinese food restaurants. Some other items include fried crab legs, crawfish, peel and eat shrimp, salads, pizza and an ice cream machine. The ambiance was this whimsical modern motif that I did not expect. The place was clean, service was great and I will be back. *They lose a half a star for having those cheap desserts that many Chinese buffets like to serve. Fake cake I call it. It looks like cake but it tastes like air.
(4)Erikalaw S.
Huge variety including sushi and crawfish. But its best for the basics: general's chicken & all the Chinese buffet wonders.
(5)David N.
So I am not often in this area, but every once in awhile I am stuck visiting my gf in here hometown of clear lake and she hates it here as much as I do as far as going out. But what do you do when you have nothing to do in an area? Search yelp of course. I found this place on yelp and I was just hoping it was the same quality as their other location in Katy. Sure enough it lives up to what I know to love in East Star. First off they have an all you can eat sushi section. Actually some decent rolls to be had. I spent the next few plates on the special salt crab...DAMN yummy. When we went it was during crawfish season so they actually had big spicy crawfish. Along with the specialty items you had your default foods such as beef and broccoli. Other stand outs were their dim sum, oysters, and clams. There was so much food to be had, I was stuffed!
(5)Souavarat S.
I love this place! Fresh food on the buffet, decent sushi for a buffet, and crawfish when it's in season is fantastic! I
(4)Tiffany D.
The first time I went to this restaurant, I was impressed. I went with my family on Saturday at lunch time. It was crowded, the food tasted good, etc. I went again today with my family in hopes of the same experience. We went around 4pm when it wasn't crowded. You could tell by the taste of the food that it had been sitting out for quite some time. The sushi was browning, and I noticed a fly sitting on one of the pieces. I figured that sweet and sour chicken would be a safe choice, but it was completely dry even with the sauce on top. Finally, I decided to get some crawfish. It tasted as if it had been cooked the day before. Needless to say, I will not go back. The next time I want a Chinese buffet with sushi, I will take my business to Oriental Gourmet.
(2)Richard W.
It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I was in the Houston area, and was looking for a place to eat. My wife had found a Vietnamese place that sounded interesting a couple of blocks away from our hotel and we decided to give it a try. When we got there we found a note on the door that they had closed at three that afternoon, so we turned around and headed back toward the highway. A couple of blocks later, we came upon East Star Chinese Buffet and Sushi Bar, and decided to give it a try. It's a large place, a big selection, and a huge selection of sushi for a buffet. The food was quite good, including the sushi, the price was quite reasonable, and the service was quite attentive. I've been to a lot of sit down restaurants that didn't ask if everything was alright or if we needed our tea refilled as often as this place did.
(4)Phill K.
Outside.. run down, needs a facelift.. girls' face with raised one brow says.. are you serious? just relax.. its rough around the edges on the outside.. yummy on the inside.. but its a buffet and this ain't vegas! give it a chance on the first time entering in.. lots of neon and pastel definitely nicer on the inside than outside plenty of booths along the windows and a party room towards the back packed and its 4pm.. walking up to the buffet line.. choice of mushroom or egg drop.. lots of sushi which seems to disappear and replenished at a rapid rate very impressive variety if you compare it to tokyo one quality is average but hey.. its a buffet as for the meats.. bbq pork, fried chicken, grilled chicken fish cakes, shrimp, crab, scallops.. everything was good.. no complaints of dryness on anything here. maybe bland in some cases but thats ok. after a sample of everything i wanted to keep going but it hurt then i tried the red and white jello best jello i have ever had... hands down i couldn't get enough.. nice balanced flavor where you could still taste the strawberry and white vanilla with a good firmness. after 4 pieces, it hurt too much. great value for decent quality at 11 bux a person. i hear the lunches are 8 bux.
(3)Omar S.
I have been frequenting this restaurant approximately once per month for last 4 years. The selection is good, food gets cycled fast because there are so many customers, most of the dishes taste above average for a chinese buffet & a lot of parking outside. Recently I have found myself going there more often. I am a sushi fan and I eat sushi twice a week. I have tried all the sushi places in the vicinity, starting from masa, ichibon, akimi, tokyo bowl, samuria, all the way up to mrichu. Dont get me wrong, I am not recommending this place for its sushi, it is just a notch better than Kroger quality. I am recommending this place because of 1 sushi dish, which is the Salmon Nigiri (nigiri is without rice). They have this very good quality salmon on the counter, which melts in your mouth like butter. The salmon is on par with higher quality sushi restaurants if not actually better than some. This is the only nigiri they carry and they have lots of it. You can fill yourself up with this alone. Where else can you find unlimited (high quality) salmon nigiri for a fixed price? Even the low price monster Oishis of Houston pales in comparison with these guys. I must say, the condiments suck. Soy sauce lacks in flavor and salt. Wasabi lacks the punch. Ginger lacks the pungentness. Rice lacks the sweetness (but to their credit, the rice do stick). Seaweed seems plain hard to swallow. In all, most of their sushi is not for us, the sushi lovers. But if you like salmon nigiri, just go there already! Make sure you go these times for the freshest food & salmon nigiri 12-2 pm 5-8 pm Other than that, they will try to give you fast unlimited refills to your soda or ice tea (so you actually eat less of the good stuff), the waiters here come to you more often than once every 5-6 minutes, even in their busiest hours. Soups : 3 kinds, not a big fan of any Chicken : 3-4 kinds, Spicy KungPao is the best, grilled chicken wings very good Beef : 2-3 kinds, Beef Broccoli tastes good, teriyaki steak tastes good too Shrimp : 2-3 kinds, the salt and pepper fried shrimps are good Rice : Fried rice is good, much better than lets say Panda or Hibachi Buffet Bread : Fresh rolls keep coming, soft & fluffy. Not bad. Fast Food : Pizza (never tried), potato wedges (walmart food counter), fried fish (good with sauce) and I think sometimes they also have fried Calamari. Vegetables : 2-3 kinds, Grilled string beans is a OK. Mixed is not so good, has tofu. Noodles : 1 kind, kind of greasy Crab : 1 kind, fried, tastes good Crawfish : Lots of crawfish ( some big ones, some small) on the broil, if you are fan, head out. Salads ; The Seafood Saviche on their salad bar, delicious. Deserts : Usually crap, but some fresh fruit options make me go there. Unlimited softy ice cream (ok on a saucer), the cone sucks. I always take the Banana with the fake red color on top, I like it. Never tried the raw Oysters on the ice, but I see people eat them there all the time. But trust me, every though there are so many things I dont like, I have been there over 30 times for sure. You will find quite a few things you will like. Its hard not to leave full from here. If you are in for a quick lunch from your office, you will probably feel sleepy afterwords. In the area, there are no better Buffet than this. No No : Dont visit after 8:30pm, the dishes stop cycling, by that time the kitchen stops cooking I guess. So things start to become cold and not so fresh. No No : Dont visit before noon, the dishes are still loading, and not yet has finished. Total Turnaround Time : If you are come here on a hurry, from (I have a few times), you can leave in as little as 10 minutes with still some food inside you. Do not go the gym right after having a Buffet ! Noise Level : Loud Dress : Casual, wear anything you want, no one cares Kid Friendly ; Yeah, lots of kids any given time, lots of high chairs for them too WiFi : None Alcohol : Beer, even some good Japanese ones too Take Out : By the weight or pieces (if sushi) (sushi is 0.6 per piece and samshi is 2 for 0.60) (seafood and steak is 6.49 by the pound) (regular food, mush cheaper, dont remember the exact figure) Price : I think it hovers between 9-11 around the weekdays/weekends. My bill will soda came to grand total of $13 today on a Saturday. Recommended for people Who are really hungry Who needs something better than fast food or pandas chinese Who are in large groups on a budget Who likes Salmon Nigiri Who are with children Who lives nearby Who ones to pig out, worry/guilt/calorie free tensions If you want better chinese food, save yourself some time and head out to the nearest 888 or something. Marginally better I would say, not worth the increased price. Hey don't take your first, second or third date here, unless you are trying to prove Cheap is your middle name.
(4)Kathy B.
Let me first say it's nicer on the inside than it looks from the outside. My husband and I stopped here last Wednesday night and were very pleased that we did. We liked the food much more than King Food or Ruby's Chinese. We were seated promptly and ate our fill. It cost us about $5 more than the other Chinese buffets we've been too, but it liked it so much more. We will be taking my parents and my brother's family there again tomorrow.
(4)TheEverythingCritic X.
Great place to get a lot of Chinese food for a good price whether you eat in or take your food to go. The buffet attendants are johnny-on-spot at keeping the buffet area clean and tidy. It's a popular place, so the food gets replaced frequently. They don't overfill the trays, so food doesn't just sit there duing non-peak hours. When I've been there, the food has been fresh with no "stomach issues" afterwards. The selection is plentiful with all of the Chinese favorites plus a few regular choices as well like pizza and roasted/bbq chicken. The staff is friendly. No "service with an attitude". The only reason I came to this place is because my old Chinese restaurant ran me away with bad service. I was mad at the time, but they did me a huge favor. East Star has way better food at a MUCH better price.
(4)Mon D.
The word "buffet" can often bring shivers to the spines of sushi lovers. With visions of tiny specs of fish surrounded by giant balls of soggy bland rice. This is certainly not the case at East Star Buffet. Although it may not be sushi grade bluefin tuna in these rolls, it still tastes damn good. The quality is good for the price they charge here. I usually enjoy the food here and the rolls are definitely my first round of attack on the buffet line. The other selections are very generic americanized chinese but that doesn't mean it's gross. The food selection is not as vast as some places but the quality is first. The only thing I wish was better here, is the dessert section. But the soft serve ice cream keeps me happy. I must admit that i have never been a fan of the buffet restaurants, mostly due to bad food in large quantities paired with poor service. But I could see myself returning here if i happen to be on this side of town because the servers are cleanly and very attentive.
(4)Wen D.
For lunch, East Star has a large range of sushi and seafood and solid service. For the price I didn't expect the sushi. oysters, craw fish, or scallops to be out of this world. But they were good for the price per person. As a person who grew up on a range of Chinese restaurants, I'd say that this on ranks a bit above average.
(3)Chef R.
3 Stars: Hovering of waiters at a buffet is awkward. Even at an Argentinian/Brazilian steak house do they know how to keep their space. Maybe because I ate alone and they were trying to be friendly, I don't know. I do have to say thank you for not refilling my stomach size ice tea that cost $4 when I use natural sugar. I can not stand when my stomach sized ice tea is refilled when I am half through with it. I like to gauge my liquids! For that I gave a small tip. $13.95 tip not included. Eats are typical run of the mill Chinese buffet gone sushi bar. I miss real Chinese food :-\
(3)Tone N.
This place was packed but it has a huge selection. I am not a buffet person but the food was some what fresh. The sushi was ok. Would go back if I was in the area.
(3)Kjetil P.
Friendly staff, appears clean, decent prices and good food. Their buffet is very decent, not quite as large as the best ones on Bellaire, but still nice. What sets them apart is their large variety of sushi. Its really fresh and they even have fresh oysters on the shell. Quite honestly the sushi here can compete with most of the sushi restaurants around, and that at a fraction of the cost. I've had sushi all over the world, and although I've had better - it has been at the higher end sushi restaurants which knows to charge you for it. Dessert was the usual crap tho, but at least the kids got icecream from the machine.
(4)Chris S.
This place is constantly good food! Have eaten here 6 times or so. Seems each time I come there's a new item on the buffet line. Good variety to pick from. A lot of people from NASA eat here, so it must be good!
(4)Dan K.
The food was simply disgusting. I think they forgot to put salt in the dinner roll dough; the egg rolls had been sitting far too long and were tough and greasy. My guess is that the pineapple came out of a can. The frosting on the cakes tasted like ground up cherry cough drops. The ambience was also pretty poor - loud lauging lady with screaming baby nearby. We'll never go back; hopefully you all find a better place to spend your money.
(1)Christine L.
Not a bad choice to appease picky eaters. I usually agree to eat here when Chinese food is picked as the genre. They have a decent selection of sushi is why. In general, I don't like buffets but this place has yet to disappoint me. Yes, Americanized Chinese food, but hey, sometimes I crave that too. Don't judge.
(3)Raj R.
Very good dinner buffet.. Great selection but pricey around $14 bucks.. you can try calamarie, fried crab and good selection of sushie Pros: good dinner buffet cons: pricey
(4)Greg D.
This is one of the better sushi buffets in Houston. And I say that as someone whom as eaten here well over 50 times. You can not beat $7 for all you can eat sushi, with a great variety at that. We actually have our own table over by the window, which sets up far enough away from everything else that it's quiet. I go with a group from NASA and there are normally at least 10 of us. This is perfect for us as it's just a mile down the street from Johnson Space Center. The service has always been excellent and friendly. And if they are getting low on any one particular item on the buffet, they will make more right away and bring it directly to your table. I have an extremely unfair advantage over a lot of restaurants as I have an uncanny extremely sensitive taste for iced tea. Got that from my Mom. We can tell how well a restaurant cleans (or doesn't) simply by the taste of the tea. That's one reason you will see mentioned in a large percentage of my reviews, if the tea was fresh. Here it is. Being as familiar as I am with this place, I would give the one and two star reviews below some slack in the accuracy department. :)
(4)Edgar V.
I've eaten here with my parents and I was not very impressed. Bland decor, bland service, and bland food round out the rest of this review. Truly, meh. If you're spending the coin for a Chinese buffet, take a page from JD N's review and head up El Camino Real (about 7 minutes north) to the Oriental Gourmet buffet. Much better quality for your cheddar. Bottom line: Skip this bland place.
(2)Peter J.
Just ok... sushi is frozen but I expected that...
(3)mike h.
excellent food - much better than most Chinese sit-down restaurant fare with the convienence & variety of a buffet. Love the wide variety of dishes offered including the vast array of sushi dishes. actually I'm not much of a sushi fan but my wife & daughter are & they are thrilled to be able to choose from such a wide variety of high-quality dishes at such a reasonable price. I am thrilled to have a variety of other good Chinese treats to choose from while they are getting their sushi fix. Plus I'm a big fan of the super-hot chinese mustard they have here - a flash of nuclear grade hotness & then it's gone with no afterburn - my favorite way to eat sushi! I'm a big fan of the americanized chinese goodies - sesame chicken, bbq pork, sweet & sour pork, it's usually the beige plate for me. dessert choices are somewhat limited but I'm not much of a dessert eater. I'm usually so stuffed from the main buffet that there's not any room left for the sweet stuff.
(5)Jordan N.
This place is very mediocre and definitely does not live up to one's expectations after sampling a lot of other Chinese buffets in Houston. The sushi wasn't very fresh. The chinese food is good. In Clear Lake, I recommend another buffet, Oriental Gourmet, over this buffet. It's just up the street (El Camino Real), the other side of Bay Area Blvd. But the atmosphere is kind of modern, which is a nice change of scenery from other establishments.
(3)Joy Z.
Actually fresher food than average buffet restaurants. I like the teriyaki steak a lot which is very tasty and thick ( normally it's very dry and thin at buffet place). Hot and sour soup is the best in town to me ( not salty, not junk, you still can see the whole bamboo shoot and tofu pieces). Only problem is it's a lil pricey for me ( i always have dinner, so) If it's one buck cheaper, I would be there for the whole week.
(4)Josh F.
I'd say this is one of the better buffets in the area. Broad selection to choose from, and very clean. So far I have no complaints.
(4)KR P.
The absolute best oysters and crawfish in the houston area! I've been here many, many times and never been dissapointed. Don't believe the bad reviews they have no idea what their talking about.
(5)Nana H.
DANGER!!! My friends and I got FOOD POISIONING from this place. I wouldnt go near that shithole with a ten foot pole. As i recently found out also- that most food poisioning is from employees ( kitchen staff) not washing their hands after using the bathroom. If you eat here, you will get sick, and puke all that low quality fish out all night long. I'd have China Star or Oriental Gourmet (which is still just OK) anyday over this over priced crap.
(1)Bobbi B.
I dont like Buffet and have eaten here reluctantly, because PEOPLE DONT handle food clean like Cooks should do ! Kids sneezing, slobbering, touching food with parents that DO NOT WATCH THEM ! Not to mention, adults that do the same. I just can eat buffet but if you have to eat here. Get a HOT clean plate. Stay away from the sushi as that will get contaminated first. Stick with HOT dishes and those fresh served, if possible. I ususaly eat the Hot Chow Mien noodles, green beans, and I pick a spicy meat that people usually dont eat. I get one plate and pray I dont get sick.
(2)Leeann L.
I dont know what the other reviews are talking about! This is actually me and my hubbys "place" we love it. They have great fresh sushi, they also offer spicy boiled crawfish and shrimp, along with alot of other chinese favorites. They have kids foods too. We try to go in once a month or so. We always really enjoy it.
(5)Jason M.
This place is the best chinese buffet ive been to. Everytime the food is hot and fresh. The staff is very courteous and decor is very nice.
(5)Michael E.
DO not waste ur money!!!! This place is terrible the buffet is a joke. We went on a Wednesday so there was no excuse for half the items to be cold and the other half was empty. All they had was 1 beef item and the rest was chicken. The sad thing is it all taste the same its like they used the same sauce on everything!! This place was good about a year ago dont know what happened but there are plenty other places that blow this nasty place away.
(1)Jason M.
I'm a sucker for bad Chinese food. $1 Chinese? I'm in line getting the two-item special. Keep that in mind. I found this place while on travel for work, and it's not the best, but it satisfies. The wonton soup is pretty good, and the sushi I dared to try (buffet sushi + Texas = scary) was actually pretty good, but I stuck to rolls and unagi. The chinese food itself was ok, some items a little heavy on the sweet sauce and some insanely oversalted. The variety makes it entertaining, however, from dumplings and egg rolls to fried shrimp, random seafood, and even pepperoni pizza. Desserts include fruit, cookies, puddings, and ice cream. While the overall food ranks a 3, the variety of items, quality of service, and pleasant atmosphere push it to a 4.
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