Empire Buffet

It was closed today, and it looked permanent. I used to enjoy the buffet, sad to see it gone.

OMG it’s awful. We both got ill afterword which should not have been surprising considering the lack of cleanliness. Plus the price it’s shockingly expensive. Yet I drive by this place at least once a day and they always have like 20 cars in the lot don’t know who goes there.

This joint have been here since 2008… when EAT– ALL– YOU– CAN buffet was popping in about every city in the country.
Its 2013 several buffet place opened in various streets in this town (LAUREL).
We decided to check this buffet out even though we heard negative comments via word of mouth.
Get this… walk-​in to ask the podium’s receptionist a question before the others came in.
Here you go !!!
She raised her arms up to stretch in sleeveless blouse… hair in her armpits !!! :(
Yes its was not bushy like a man’s but it was enough for me to lose my interest in this establishment…
I turned walking towards the front door with eye-​popped shock !!!
Place was empty tho !!! Food? I will never/don’t want to know !

This places looks like they are running out of the budget, food doesn’t look and neither taste fresh, they are other buffet with more and better food varieties

WTF.
How does this place have better reviews and rating than the one down the street at the end of the plaza? We had gone to the other buffet before and thought we’d try this place based on the reviews. We walked in, and saw ABSOLUTELY NO ONE in the restaurant. Just the employees. We asked to take a brief look around the selection before actually being seated. Good thing we did. The food had been sitting out way too long, and was really small and limited. Especially compared to the other place. It also had a strong bathroom scent lingering throughout the restaurant which affected my appetite greatly. The service seemed nice and eager. Yet, I couldn’t bear taking the risk to eat here. It just did not look good. And again, for a prime time weekend dinner, it should have been busy or at least had other people. But nothing.
Sorry Empire, I won’t be eating at this establishment.

I was visiting Washington DC with my family. We stop to have some meal after busy day in the city. Place looks rather clean. Food is fresh but unfortunately some dishes are cold. They charged us about 25% more than promised price. After discussion with associate they did some refund. Make sure that they do they math right.

This is a pretty solid buffet. I went on Christmas day, and the place was pretty full. The food was restocked frequently and looked fresh.
I liked everything I got, including the desserts, although there was no one thing/​dish that particularly stood out as amazing (which is why I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5). I was also pleasantly surprised by how much seafood they have on their buffet.
I got the buffet to go. You pay by the pound, which seems fair. I got noodles, two kinds of chicken, steamed mushrooms, 2 breaded shrimp, a chicken skewer, a spring roll, an egg roll, and two cake squares, and my total was $ 6.28.
I will definitely be going back.

The hot food was fresh even during a slow Monday night. The cold food was so so, but nobody goes to a Chinese buffet for that. It is definitely is not as flashy as Teppanyaki, but I would call it good. My one complaint was that a few of the ice cream selections were empty but still in the case and not a huge selection of alternative desserts. They had steamed blue crabs included and a variety of seafood, as well as a small create-​your-​own stir fry bar and some sushi selections. I would probably go back at regular price and definitely go back with a coupon.

This restaurant blows, especially when you compare this buffet to that of Teppanyaki (in the same shopping center [hint** go there instead – it’s the same price]) as well as the variety of Asian buffets in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.
First, they do have a Hibachi Grill, which is the only real positive. You can give the chef ingredients to include in your customized stir-​fry masterpiece.
Secondly, the General Tso’s Chicken isn’t really chicken, but rather, it consists of mostly fried outer coating, filler, and a measly portion of questionable meat.
Thirdly, the sushi bar consists of california rolls and one other type. Seriously?!
Fourthly, even the white rice from the rice cooker isn’t cooked properly.
Fifthly, the dessert selection is meager (think jello and oranges)
Sixthly, there was only one beef dish (mongolian beef, which tasted average at best).
Seventhly, and most importantly, the food simply was not good.

End of an Empire… buffet.
First off, let me say that I take Chinese buffets seriously. This is why I simply cannot let my 5-​star review stand, despite the update being written 3 years ago. Maybe it’s just me, but I would be upset if I visited this buffet after reading glowing reviews expecting to be filled with copious amounts of good-​enough-​for-​buffet quality grub and MSG only to be filled with the latter.
I still prefer Empire over Teppanyaki (
) but that would be like saying I prefer diarrhea over explosive diarrhea — I’d prefer to have neither. Teppanyaki is still doing very swift business and it’s clearly taken its toll on Empire.
The redeeming characteristics of this Chinese buffet are 1) they have coupons for B1G1 in regional coupon books, e.g., Best of Laurel, which brings the cost of buffet for 2, including soda and/​or hot tea to less than $ 13 — that’s about the price of 1 at Teppanyaki with a beverage and cheaper than 2 3-​entrée plates at Panda Express, and 2) the ice cream is still really, really good.
IMHO, the best Chinese buffets in the area for the money are Poseidon in Glen Burnie (quite a hike for most) or China Buffet in College Park (food is decent but always, always packed so food is at least fresh).

Well, there is a new gal in town and she tastes so good. This buffet is now average at best compared to the new beast around the corner.

THE WORSE FOOD I EVER ATE IN MY LIFE! Dirty place, nasty food. Overpriced! I will never go there again.

I have a secret that I keep from my foodie friends. I like buffets. Some are completely awful (See «Souper Salad» review) but some, like Empire Buffet, turn out to be quite good. The selection was abundant and I enjoyed the entrees I chose. The only thing I found strange was that you had to pay before you ate. What if I hated it?
Of course, I had to balance my visit here with a few non buffet places just to keep up my reputation as a proper Unilocaler. «My name is Jessica and I like buffets…»

This is one of the best Chinese buffets in the area! I’ve gone a few times during dinner. I actually brought a friend once and she loves this place so much, she has been there more than I have. It took over Lonestar steakhouse when it closed down, so there is a lot of CLEAN spaces to sit.
The sushi here is buffet quality but I’m not really picky on sushi to begin with. My boyfriend tipped the sushi guy and he gave him better cuts and more raw salmon. So… tip them a few bucks if you want better sashimi. They also have raw oysters (hidden in the salad bar) and whole steamed crabs. I LOVE crabs. It’s really hard to find whole crabs at a buffet as they mostly have snow crab legs (which as a native Marylander, feels like I’m eating plastic). But they don’t have Old Bay. :-(
My favorite thing there is the new fresh cook bar. They have scallops (which are surprisingly good for a buffet), steak, noodles etc. They cook everything in this garlic soy sauce which is AMAZING! Yum Yum. I could just go there to eat that. Also good is this crab/​cheese thing in a shell. No clue what it is, but it’s really good.
With all that said, some of their Chinese food is disappointing. I don’t expect much at a buffet, but everything else is so great, it’s sad that at a Chinese buffet, the Chinese food is the worst part. Also not a big fan of the Ice Cream, which I have to scoop myself. I love that there are 6 – 8 flavors, but I just don’t think other people are as cautious as I am about not touching the ice cream when I scoop it. That grosses me out.
Overall, this place is SO totally worth a try and worth your money. It’s also right next to Laurel Lakes, so you can walk off the 10lbs of food you ate afterwards.
EDIT: 2÷16÷10, writing the review made me have a craving for it, so I went yesterday. They didn’t have crabs or oysters (well the ice was there but not content)! Maybe because it was Monday and slow? I don’t know. They also didn’t have the crab/​cheese thing I liked. BTW, two of us went and it was only $ 25 and some change plus tip. I had the General Tso’s Chicken and it was actually good. But I actually went for the fresh cook food. Yum…

Dinner after 4pm adds crabs, scallops at the hibachi, oysters on the half shell and a myriad of other tasty treats.
Worth the price, I believe dinner will set you back a mere $ 15 which includes the drink.
They have a repeat customer card which is stamped per lunch and per dinner, get 10 and get a free meal.
In the end, it’s a buffet!!! Cheap, low end food… is it really worth it?

As far as Chinese buffets go, this one is pretty darn good, particularly at the price. There are certainly things here I would eat over and over again and be completely satisfied.
Stopped by on Saturday with Mike T. after spending the afternoon at Laurel race track. I will say that my opinion after my previous visit was considerably higher and EB has moved down from «when can I go back» to «hey, if I’m in the area» on my ranking of places to obsess over.
If I honestly averaged visits my rating would be 3.5 stars, but Unilocal doesn’t allow ½ stars and the things I like here, I REALLY like, so I will round up. Included here are notes on a few dishes — everything else I tried (not noted) was fine and probably more a personal preference on taste.
FOOD — THE GOOD
Bay scallops in seafood sauce (served on scallop shell) — they didn’t have this dish yesterday, but I ate an embarrassing amount the last time and had the telltale pile of scallop shells to rat me out. Sooooo good.
Fish & Chicken balls — 3 1-​inch balls of a blend of ground fish and chicken fried and served on a skewer. First visit these were AWESOME all by themselves. Yesterday they were just ok and lacked a little something, might have been salt as they were tasty with a spot of soy sauce.
Wonton soup — Ok, skip the wonton part (it has no flavor and there’s almost no filling anyways) but the broth is very good, they have plenty of chopped scallions to use as a garnish and the crispy wonton strips are great.
Ice cream & sherbet — So very very good. The coffee ice cream has a great rich flavor and the rainbow sherbet is a fantastic to cap to the meal.
Crab Rangoon — These are purse style (not triangle packets) but have a good bit of flavorful filling and are perfectly cooked with no singed tips.
Seafood Gumbo w/​cheese — The sign is misleading, this is not a gumbo. It is actually a tasty warm seafood dish consisting mostly of krab and shrimp w/​onions and a few other ingredients. The sauce is not really cheese (though there was a tad). Its more a light cream sauce but not heavy, just enough to gently coat items. Normally I avoid Krab dishes — but this one is really quite good, and I do find myself going back for an extra little bit each time.
FOOD — JURY’S STILL OUT
Mussels with cream sauce — Yesterday this dish was literally inedible, but on a previous visit I really liked it, so I won’t write this one off quite yet.
Blue Crabs — They are tiny but thankfully not encased in old bay or anything. The meat is sweet and tender — IF YOU CAN GET TO IT. Unlike other Chinese buffets there didn’t seem to be a swarm over the steam table when they arrived so you don’t need to pounce and horde but there are other things that require less effort that I’d rather eat here.
Dim Sum — There are usually 6 items offered. Some of the items I’ve had were really tasty (like the shrimp shumai) but some of the dumplings have been bland.
FOOD — NOT SO GOOD
In general, a lot of the dishes here seem under-​seasoned. Sure it’s a buffet, I’m not expecting haute cuisine, and I guess under-​seasoned is better than swimming in salt or spice «just because». But several of the dishes I’ve sampled seem to be on the bland side.
Sweet & Sour Chicken — greasy and tough
Sushi — The note I wrote myself after the 1^st visit just said «yuck» but I ventured over there anyways yesterday. Nothing sparked my fancy as far as the rolls went, but the nigiri looked just bad — tuna shouldn’t be that color, the red snapper looked dry, and the salmon was poorly cut. Mike T. was braver than I and ate a plate (and is still here). I just passed.
SERVICE
There’s not much to say about service at a buffet, but the staff here is really friendly and efficient. Food is readily replenished on the buffet, drinks are kept full and empty plates are quickly whisked away.
There is now a Mongolian BBQ grill in the back. The selection of items to include in your dish is a little limited, but the plate of food Mike T. came back with smelled and looked great, so that is on my list to try next visit.

We stopped in here on a Saturday for dinner after letting the kids tear around on the playground by the lake. Given the overwhelmingly good reviews, I dragged the family in on another one of my Unilocal induced food excursions.
I really struggled between 3 and 4 stars here, and I’ll tell you why.
First, the food is good. Not great, but good. It does beat the hell out of any of the other Chinese food in the Laurel area (I’m looking at you, Eastern Buffet). Standouts included the crabs (small, but tasty) and the Empire Chicken. The pork-​chive dumplings tasted good but were kind of hard and crispy on the edges and a little too soft in the middle.
The ice cream, as previously mentioned, is not the cafeteria soft serve — it’s the real thing. Very popular with our kids.
But everything seemed like it had been there about three seconds too long — not enough to make it nasty or anything like that, just a little limp and sad. Perhaps it’s an artifact of the small dinner crowd.
The price is also really good — and unfortunately I didn’t plan ahead with coupons or anything.
So why not 4 stars? Probably because we were there for dinner, and the selection seemed… underwhelming. For lunch, on the other hand, I think I’d go 4 stars — I bet there’s faster turnover on the dishes and so things are probably a tad fresher.

Here is my story. I got locked out of my apartment and what comes to mind? ‘I should go eat at the buffet while I wait for my roommate to get home ~2 hrs.’ This is all because Su K. rated this place so highly and I wanted to get a piece of the action.
Price– $ 12.59/ feast
Quality– Best I have found in a buffet
Variety– Pretty decent.
Taste– High. The Chinese doughnuts were awesome, Generals chicken was tasty, Ice cream was cold.
Service– I got there at 8:45pm. Service seemed tired and anxious to go home. Not a problem but when I sit down to eat and I ask for a coffee I also want a water, standard practice. Seriously I cant complain for a $ 13 feast. I just went up and got it myself.

I just visited this place last night after attempting to do some shopping at the Five Below accross the street. Failing miserably because of the rediculasly long line, my buddy and I decided to fuel up with some food. I was really craving Red Lobster (it has been years since I’ve been to one), but my wallet winced in pain every time I looked that way. Alas, my friend reccomeded Empire Buffet.
Typically, I don’t like to do Chinese Buffet’s after dark because the food never gets replaced. And I was right. But wowee! This place is, by far, the best Chinese Buffet I have been to in a while (a place in Downtown Silver Spring coming in second). There were lots of different dishes. The Tempura veggies were delicious… the peppered chicken and the sushi were also very tasty. My dining partner pointed out that the wasabi was a little on the weak side and I’d have to agree but I’m not a big sushi fan to start with and this sushi was yummy!
Just when I thought I couldn’t eat any more, I looked at the table next to ours and saw ice cream. I couldn’t find the source and then I saw it by the door… a buffet of ice cream! I grabbed a couple scoops of the rainbow sherbet. to enjoy with my fortune cookie. I was so happy!
To top it all off, they gave us a free calender wall scroll to hang up for the year 2009 before we took off. This place was great and I plan on going back sometime in the near future. We already have 2 stamps on our frequent dining card!

Easily the best Chinese Buffet restaurant in the area. The staff is very nice. The place looks impeccably clean. They offer a frequent dining card, which is kind of cool. And, I know this sounds funny, but the roast beef (!) is delicious. Just the right amount of salt and garlic.
Oh, and it’s kind of a treat to find dim sum (albeit a small quantity of it) on the buffet table for the evening meal. There is also a sushi bar there, but I’ve not tried it (Correction– it IS part of the price. Another bennie!).
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UPDATE. I’d bitched on Unilocal before about the ice cream freezer being up front, and the water they leave the scoop in getting kind of gross. And, that was my only gripe. Well, that’s all fixed now– they’ve moved the ice cream to the rear of the restaurant, complete with it’s own water supply and drain, and placed it right next to the new (drumroll, please?) Hibachi Grill!!!
For fans of Mongolian Grill, this is similar, very simliar, but not the same. For one, there aren’t a bunch of sauces to squirt onto your pile of raw meat and veggies before you hand it to the kind man who’ll alternately grill and beat on it till it’s fully cooked. (It’s always quite a show at a Mongo Beef restaurant to see them prepare your food. This one is a bit more sedate, and isn’t as well set up for watching the guy grill). I think that when they installed the grill, they got rid of the roast beef at dinner, because it’s kind of redundant, and they’re right. But. Let me tell you that this grill hiked my rating from four stars to five.
Wait a minute. A Buffet restaurant with five stars? You betcha. It’s that good. Plenty of wait staff, enough tables for now, till they get discovered, (at least when we go), and a wonderful selection that always seems fresher than a lot of buffet restaurants.
I just read the other reviews. Yes, that’s REAL ice cream, from the dairy in those cardboard mulit-​gallon tubs! It’s delicious.
Congratulations, Empire Buffet! You’ve earned that fifth star.