If you placed all the small Chinese takeout places in Central Jersey end to end and back to back, you would have one supersized restaurant the size of Flaming Grill. The place is a warehouse of Asian (mainly Chinese) delights.
As with most buffets, it is impossible to taste everything they spread out on the half dozen steam tables under heat lamps, and the carving stations, sushi on ice, and dessert options in one seating. That is part of the attraction, and also part of the weight problem that is gaining in size in this country. The temptation to overeat is almost insurmountable.
This place has a host who places you strategically around the room, and a harem of young lovelies who take care of your every edible need. They are bright, friendly and charming. It is good to see so many college students with jobs, although the wonder here is whether they would have them at $15. per hour, because tipping at buffets is not a given.
The diversity of offerings is huge. They advertise that there are at least 250 different choices every day. That is probably true, but I didn't want to count them. I focused on the Chinese section of the house, which was the largest. Just in chicken, they had: Sesame, Salt & Pepper, Broccoli, Mixed Veggies, General Tso, Bourbon, Orange, Fried and Hibachi alternatives; plus 4 kinds of rice. A small sampling of those, with the accompanying Dumplings, Egg Roll, Summer Roll, and String Beans, and this boy was stuffed. Well, almost. I had to cave for the Peanut Butter Pie before checking out.
Everything I tried was okay, but nothing special. It was about the same quality as the better takeout joints, and far better than the bottom rung of that species; yet far from the better in house dining establishments. The problem was that nothing was quite hot enough, and some were already almost room temperature. For the most part, the kitchen turned out typical Chinese American fare. That is not a major complaint, because it would be foolish to think that a buffet, AYCE house, would attempt to reach a higher plateau than is available elsewhere. As long as it is decent on average, it can be successful with the large customer base it seeks.
There will likely be an economic cost to this newest generation of the Asian buffet concept. Many of the small mom & pop stands around the area will lose business to Flaming Grill because it is a "One Stop Shop." It competes on merchandise and on price. My platter, complete with a slice of Peanut Butter Pie (pretty good), came to $9, plus tax. I could have gorged until the cows came home for the same price. The little mama and papa-sans will fall by the wayside as their customers realize that they eat in or take out from this Super Store and save money.
Walmart of the Chinese American market. The new category killer. And, like Walmart, Home Depot and Staples have already proven, this is the wave of the future, and has already succeeded. read more