Chanans Buffet

I used to like eating here but unfortunately this place is closed. There is a big «For Lease» sign in the window.

I liked the food and went to the restaurant multiple times before. Even as a child for field trips. I had some at a friends house in the area… and I was like WOW this is good. not realizing it was this location until I inquired further! (and I loved the sugar rolls & Egg Fu Yung) Before you could blink I was back into Chanans from childhood!
BUT!
… I was very disappointed that they delivered to me one day and then the next… they said they couldn’t find where my house was. In this day and age with GPS… you couldn’t find my house? I live exactly 10 minutes away from this establishment. I asked another time if they could deliver and they said they don’t deliver to my location. What? So… ever since then… I haven’t been back. Their food was good but I found another restaurant as my go-​to chinese.
I do like their food, but they let me down as a person who was living in the same zip code and couldn’t get delivery. I thought Chinese restaurants would want to compete considering there are so many Chinese restaurants popping up in the area.

Hmm. I suppose one would come here because the lines at the other buffet places are long or something like that. Aside from a couple of fish dishes, all the items were sub-​par. The spare ribs were tough, there wasn’t enough selection for veggies (there was only one real veggie dish– the green beans). The spring rolls had more wrap than the meat and veggies inside. The sundae machine must have just been turned on since the ice cream was melted. I wouldn’t dare touch the sushi or the oysters. I’m not sure how long things have been sitting out there.
There wasn’t much choice for items to put in your Mongolian bbq. To think that we went on a Sunday (paid dinner price for the meal), I think we deserved more ingredients. Actually, I don’t think there’s anyone manning the Mongolian bbq station. Hmm.
Anyway, I really would have marked this as only 1 star. Their fish saved them.
Go to Teppanyaki for better selection.

Ahh. This was the place in its prime. Unfortunately, it has lost a bit of its charm since it first opened. The food hasn’t changed but the atmosphere has turned morbid. There are two very good things about this buffet… the Hot and Sour soup and the mongolian grill. Everything else is average quality or worse.

I’m a fiend for Mongolian bbq and of late, the prospects have been lacking unless you’re willing to make a trip out to one or another that usually involves at least a half hour behind the wheel, followed by looking for parking at a place you’re not really familiar with, etc ad infinitum.
So, I was really looking for a wing joint when I came across a review for this restaurant– two words popped out at me– mongolian bbq. I said to my wife, no way, there’s a mongo bbq spot that’s near the house and we’ve never heard of it? I’ve driven by it pretty regularly these past 7 years since we moved to the area and not once had I ever thought to see the inside of the place. Lets face it, it isn’t in the best of places, and the storefront is uninspiring to say the least, but you know what they say about judging a book by its cover? Well, what they don’t tell you is– sometimes that’s all you need to do.
But not here. I’ll admit, I didn’t sample much from the buffet– I’ve gotten out of the whole buffet thing some time ago when I put on weight and had the damnedest time getting it off. Portion control is your friend if you’re trying to maintain weight (or lose it). I tried the plain steamed rice and the plain fried rice– yes, I do like rice and it is usually a way to judge how good they are in the kitchen by the condition of their rice. You would not believe how many establishments I’ve been to, with rice cookers in SIGHT and it is still horrible. Even monkeys can get it right so why can’t people? Anyway, the rice here had a firm bite– might’ve been even better had I not come at 2pm and got the orts and leavings from the lunch rush. So lets move on to the part that really matters, the Mongolian bbq.
For those of you who are used to the sheer glut of options a la B.D.‘s and Bang Bang, you will be struck by the dearth of choices. Three meats– chicken, pork or beef; a number of veggie options– the staples like broccoli, bean sprouts, onions, scallions, peppers — there’s other stuff but I don’t eat it so I don’t recall exactly what it was… maybe nine sauce choices– unlike the sugar-​based sauces of the aforementioned chain restaurants, these are more authentic in both flavor and constitution. Unlike most places that feature this sort of cuisine, they use plates instead of bowls– since it is a buffet, it doesn’t matter how many trips you make to the buffet so plate up!
One of the things that used to bother me was that at the chains, you would invariably see burn marks on your food– a combination of using sugar-​based sauces and general lack of cooking knowledge for the staff; almost to a man. Which is why they tell you in no uncertain terms that the sauces have to be kept separate from the rest of the meal until the end, after they’ve finished cooking they toss the sauce over top of it all so that it is basically bland food topped with sauce. Here, you put it all on one plate– the cook will take the plate, slide the food onto the grill and then take a squeeze bottle and spray the plate so you get every bit of that saucy goodness; a quick observation will tell you that this man knows his stuff– you needn’t stand there and watch (although you can if you choose); I went ahead and grabbed my rice and stuff and when the meal’s cooked, it gets placed in the window. When it is crowded, naturally you’ll want to stick around but it was relatively empty so I was able to mosey about and have a look. It all looked like standard chinese buffet fare– looked ok, people seemed to like it, but I had none of it since I was here to sate a Mongo fix.
The Mongo– it was pretty good; I went a little crazy with the hot pepper oil, but I chalk that up to enthusiasm because I’d found a new Mongo spot and it did not disappoint! It reminds me of the Chung King in Laurel — similar setup w/​a buffet and a drum grill separate from the rest of the kitchen. The staff were polite– and some people don’t like this but I appreciate it when you don’t bother me every 5 minutes asking if I need something. The waitress came by twice, refilled my water and was gone. She was polite and circumspect as well as efficient. I’ll be coming back, and my wife will be coming with me as she loves it as much as I do and we both were making do with Bang Bang. Until now.
Oh and one last thing– these are the cheapest eats for this sort of cuisine you’ll find. I paid $ 7.90 for my lunch; I only had one plate but I had the option of going back as often as I like– a dangerous proposition to a man of my prodigious appetites! The dinner option was only $ 10.33 — not sure where they get their pricing from but my wife and I could both eat here, our fill mind you, all for the price of a single bowl at Bang Bang– and this will taste much better. I only gave 3 stars because I wasn’t thrilled about the Chinese buffet side, and the fact that it was obvious a lot of the stuff out on buffet had been there for some time.

Monday was a surprise. The husband had the day off. Since I had to go to the grocery store, we thought we would go out and have a nice lunch together. We drove around looking for places and since he is Gluten Intolerant, we stopped here. I have to say that is was very dingy. it was in major need of a touch up. A coat of paint never hurt anyone.
That being said, the buffet was surprisingly good for the limited options they had. It is not like some of Super-​sized but everything I ate i enjoyed (except the spring roll which was cold) — I really loved the pepper chicken and the peanut crusted chicken. I cannot seem to find that anywhere else. I will be back I am sure.

If you want a lot of food quickly, this is a good place to go. But there are several better Chinese restaurants in the area. On the other hand, the Mongolian barbecue is good but requires a wait if there are people ahead of you.
One thing they do well is to provide alternate food options for kids. If your offspring don’t like Chinese food, they can get pizza, french fries, etc., here. Lots of desserts, too.

Beware! Cockroach infested! food is ok but not worth the health treat…

This place is great if you dont mind sitting on 40-​year old furniture and silverware that looks like it came from the civil war. Other than that, the buffet was great. The waiters and desk attendants are quite friendly also, which is something you dont normally find in places in this neighborhood. Definitely satisfactory. :)

Generous portions for Take-​Out and Delivery. Enjoyed the Szechuan Bean Curd with vegetables, Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, and a tomato cucumber salad. We order about two –five times per month.

Pretty good. Decent for the area and price.

Ok, so this is a buffet, so obviously I’m not going to bore you with every single thing that I tasted here, but here are a few highlights!
*Chicken & Broccoli (Great Taste)
*Spring Rolls (FANTASTIC!!!)
*Stir Fry (Really Good! I actually made mine with fried rice instead of noodles and it was YUMMY!!! I used beef & chicken this time, but next time I’ll pass on the beef b/​c it had a little too much fat on it for me!)
*Green Beans (Good Green Veggie choice!)
All-​in-​all: 2 people buffet lunch +fountain drink = $ 15 (I left full & satisfied in under 45 minutes! Can’t complain here!)

Nice buffet. Enough hot entries to fill 2 platefulls of one scoop. A 3^rd plate of american type foods, and a 4^th of cold+desserts. Shallow steamer trays does result in frequent refills during lunch hour but does allow for fresh food. For just under $ 8, its a good choice

Pretty good food, lots of options on buffet and good price for an all you can eat lunch. Very satisfied!

This 3^rd Chinese Buffet in PG county completes the Triforce of Fat.
Food — What sets this place apart is the Mongolian BBQ. You can make your own stir fry and they’ll cook it for you. If you want it to be like BD’s, ask for 7 – 10 packets of sugar and add it to the brown sauce. The Chinese food is pretty bad here — not just going in but coming out. Every time I eat the Chinese food here, I get the runs and over the years, I’ve determined that it was probably the chicken w/​broccoli. The soups aren’t bad — they even have «fresh» wontons you can add to the broth. One of my fatvorite dishes here is this artificial crab casserole, which is basically crab meat baked w/​mayo and covered w/​cheese. Stick w/​the stir fry and the fatty crab and you’ll be a ok the next day.
Service — they do bring your water/​drinks here.
Location — I have fond memories of this location b/​c Pinball City used to be a few doors down and the Pizza Hut here was the one my family came to for my free Book It Pizza as well as the one where I got my TMNT Movie Poster from (does anyone remember when they actually had the «rock» album: Coming Out of Their Shells?). It’s pretty easy to get back onto 193, which is good b/​c you’ll probably need to hurry home to handle the #3 coming down the pipe.
Lunch $ 7.50 11am-​3pm M-​Sat
Dinner $ 11