East Garden Buffet

I just moved to Kentwood and was hopeful this would be one of my favorite places. I LOVE Chinese Buffett restaurants — I really don’t mind if the place is dirty as long as the food is on point. I always get a little bit of everything. I started with the egg roll and it was AMAZING. I moved onto some pork and chicken and that’s when I started losing hope. The food here is bland, cold and simply gross. If you’re interested in cold «gray» chicken — this is the place for you. I thought FOR SURE I would get sick from this place but thankfully did not. I will NEVER go back. Omg so fing gross… *gag*

The buffet here is just gross. I went to look at the food and didnt even know what I should put on my plate. Nothing looked appealing or even decent to me. I was with family so I couldn’t be rude and not eat, so I put some noodles and a few pieces orange chicken on my plate. I wanted to try the soup, so I got a bowl to try. The food is just very bland. I asked for sirachia and just flavored everything with that. The soup wasn’t hot and barely warm. I just stopped eating after that one serving.
I hope they open a better buffet here in Michigan, because Asian food does not taste like this!

Typical giant chinese buffet. Long on variety, low on quality. Avoid the sushi.

One of the worst buffets I’ve been to. All of the food was cold and had been sitting out for quite a while. Not worth $ 10.

I got mu shu pork take out and was incredibly disappointed. I asked for brown rice with it and got something that looked like yellow-​colored white rice. The mu shu pancakes were not pancakes at all, but steamed wonton wrappers. The most disappointing aspect, however, was the fact that there was no plum sauce included. Who can eat mu shu pork without plum sauce? The meal was very cheap, but not worth going there again.

Just a below average Chinese buffet. Nothing special at all. Worn and dated inside. I would never go here again.

Although I rarely go to buffet nowadays when I think Chinese buffet East Garden would be my first choice. I especially like their fried squid and steamed halibut which is all about I get. Overall, I believe they have the best offering among the buffets in town.
I see reviews here whining about dishes not getting refilled. When that happens I make it a point to say something to the host and they always respond. I just don’t walk around grumbling. Because of the usually large crowd and popularity of the place many of their dishes do get consumed quickly and need to be refilled.

About seven months ago, maybe eight (but no more than nine), I had some Family business that needed to be conducted in a public place with good ambient background noise. The Family frequents this buffet for its location, food, décor, and friendly staff. I’ve been here several times when I can’t make it to Ming-​Ten and am familiar with most of the wait staff.
On this particular occasion, around 7pm, but not before, a middle-​aged disheveled balding man came in mumbling to himself, as if carey ing on a conversation on a cellphone or to himself. I could feel the mood of the staff change at the appearance of this pan-​handle looking person perpetually pontificating to himself. The staff made one of the new girls wait on him. The poor thing froze at the creature’s table as if she were a mouse in front of a viper, mentally trying to make herself small or invisible, while she waited for what seemed ages for him to state his business and get on with the act of consuming, hopefully, food and not her. And he did have that look about him, though I could tell that this viper had no poison or teeth to speak of, but this was the waitress’ first real job and she had no idea, much to the delight of some of the other girls on staff.
I usually do not ‘people watch’ except to be aware of my surroundings, but sit where I can see an entire room at a glance; especially when on business. Since my client was late, as usual, I was able to sit back and watch this creature continue to mumble to himself, circling around and around the buffet like a vulture not realizing that the salad was dead and not getting any younger. The food here is very fresh and constantly resupplied when things are running short, but no one wanted to go near this person while he was afoot, so they waited until he returned to his table before bringing out more of my favorite selections, and that was starting to annoy me. The buffet has a lot to offer; from egg and spring rolls, the usual chicken and beef dishes, to sushi. The egg-​drop soup is very good, and the staff has done very well with their choices of sushi. There are even duck and crawfish dishes, for those so inclined.
Having finished business and enjoying the client’s company, we lingered a while to watch the newest waitress try to avoid, as much as possible, any contact (eye or otherwise) with the sketchy vulture she was being forced to service. He seemed to relish making her skin crawl as he would not stop staring at her no matter where she was or how many other tables she also had to keep track of. Every time he got up to again circle the buffet for the kill he would plan it so that he did just as she brushed by, and after stabbing at various dishes, would return as she passed his table and then stare at her (like Snoopy pretending to be a vulture) expecting her to come back to ask what he needed. My client and I began to place bets with the staff on whether or not he would even leave a tip, the way he was trying to run her around as if he was her only table at the End of the Universe. I lost, thinking he would not leave one. To the disheveled consumer’s credit he did leave a tip; ten percent. All in Small change …
Where: 6038 Kalamazoo Ave SE Grand Rapids, MI 49 508, United States
Hours: Week nights 11:00 am — 10:00 pm
Ambiance: Buffet and Casual
Credit Cards: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex
Alcohol: No
Reservations: None needed, Take-​out and Catering available
Wireless Internet: No
Online: No
Contact: (616) 698‑8933
Parking: FREE
Meals Served: Lunch and Dinner
Price: $

So bad when we tried to order something else they said we had to pay for it anyway. I asked for another item on menu, but was told would have to pay for both. Wife tried one bite as well, tasteless. I asked again for another menu item and was told again I had to pay for that order and anything else I would order. Told repeatedly I did not want, so when we checked out I was told to pay for both meals. Had to argue with cashier that we ate only one meal and didn’t want to pay for second. She then took of a few dollars but still wanted to charge us for both meals. After several minutes of pleading we finally were told to pay for only one. I will never go back, they were rude and really had to fight to avoid paying for food we didn’t even eat. I travel all over the US, if you don’t like something they ask if they can get you something else or at least take it off the bill, with no argument. I have never in all my life been told I would have to pay for something that I didn’t even eat other then one bite.

the food seems to be definitely better than most of the other asian buffets around. the sushi looks like they actually use real fish, they aren’t deep frying and smothering everything in sauce. i just do veggie rolls and they make them special for me and i tip the sushi chef to show my appreciation. they also have seaweed salad!

So here’s the pro’s of this restaurant.
–Fair price
–fresh food
–sushi bar
–cleanses of the restaurant
–and good lighting
Cons.
–crowded

Food is fresh and tasty. There is a nice variety of main dishes, fruit, dessert, and even a sushi bar! Sushi is being made fresh in small batches throughout the dinner rush. Price is comparable to any other Asian restaurant though the food quality is definitely above average.

Ate here with my son and Dad right before Thanksgiving. I have to say I was impressed. We went on a Sunday around 1 pm… We just beat the rush… right after we arrived the line was out the door… but we were seated immediately. The interior is nice… Somewhat stylish and clean and well laid out so there is ample seating but you don’t feel like you’re on top of other tables.
This buffet was impressive… Everything I tried was good… The sushi was fresh and flavorful and they had a great variety… At least 15 different types of rolls… With a chef rolling the as needed right there (and he was busy as it was a popular choice). The fruit was standard buffet fair… Melons etc… But good and fresh. The entries were good too… With a nice variety of dishes… Everything I tried tasted like it was freshly made and had not been sitting out… Maybe because the place was hopping.
I didn’t see any crab legs on the buffet as some note… Maybe that’s not an every day thing. But there was enough variety and all of it tasty that we had a very enjoyable meal.
For the price I thought it was a good value and great place for lunch… We ate so much we ended up skipping dinner :). Will definitely be back…

A great buffet to eat for lunch. I’ve been here many times and I never had a problem with service or food.

I’d go if you wanted a quick meal at or during peak lunch/​dinner times, and were in the area.
I will continue to go here because I work nearby and my options for asian cuisine are very limited. I would never go out of my way for this place, or bring anyone here who had high expectations for Chinese food.
The service is quick and friendly, however it can take a couple minutes to get your bill when it is all said and done.
====
As weird as this may sound, everything they offer that is not «Chinese food» is decent. Everything that is «Chinese food» I’ve had better, and some is just plain bad.
I have been there twice now and when going tend to stick to salad, fruit, cooked sushi, a couple crab rangoons, and tempura sweet potatoes.
Their sushi is comparable to grocery store sushi (however on principle I will never touch the raw selection, gross). There’s enough variety on the California roll to keep me interested. I mean take it for what it is.
Their take on Thai chicken and Butter Chicken were alright, but no where near authentic. When I tried the lomein it just tasted like raw saltly dough, and their rice was dry and unappealing. The couple other dishes I’ve tried were a little off tasting, maybe it’s msg like another review said, maybe not. I thought msg was supposed to taste good?

Great buffet, probably the best chinese buffet on this end of town. The food is fresh, and has a good taste to it (it doesn’t compare to a non-​buffet restaurant like Great Lakes Chinese, but that is to be expected with it being a buffet.) They have a great selection, and they even have fresh made sushi. The place can get crowded, but that is to be expected. The place has decent prices too.

«Chinese food here is not comparable to California», is a phrase I’ve heard quite often. I have come to a harsh understanding of how true this really is. Coming into East Garden Buffet, I had very low expectations. I think when you go to buffets, all the standard precautions should apply. I came here for the lunch buffet and here’s my take on it.
There are some decent GOOD points about this place. It is located in a really interesting plaza and the interior looks really nice. I think for the value, you really can’t beat it. I mean its $ 6.99 or so for lunch buffet? All you can eat? Yeah it’s a pretty sweet deal. The food they bring out and replace often. The sushi is made in front of you. Rule of thumb, ALWAYS be skeptical of buffet sushi. If you want to be adventurous you should have the cooked sushi (namely anything with avocado and imitation crab). I will give them 0.5 stars for excellent presentation and general cleanliness of the sushi station.
There was a large selection of seafood, chinese dishes (like mongolian beef, sesame chicken, mushroom chicken), vegetarian dishes (anything green). They had a really good looking salad section, and fresh fruit in the melon/​honeydew variety. The desserts are good, usual pastries and such. Considering that they are pastries, you really can tell if they have been thawed or stale.
Some CONS: fried anything was extremely poorly done. The only reason why there would be such discoloration of fried foods is simply due to the use of old oil. The dishes were generally salty and msg loaded. I am not a huge fan of places that plastic wrap their metal trays and then place hot food over it to be served (plastic and heat don’t mix).
Give this place a try and come to your own conclusions as to what you like for Chinese food. From what I’ve heard the food has gotten better. I have to say I wasn’t impressed and other chain Chinese food places of the fuzzy black and white panda type would be better.

I get sushi takeout occasionally. It’s not the greatest sushi, but I’m not one to expect much for $ 7.99/lbs. I usually go at busy times, so the selection is always fresh. Their sushi is better than most of the other buffets in the area. 6 pieces of maki and some seaweed salad runs me around $ 4. Makes a great lunch and it’s cheaper than that crap they sell at Meijer. The only other thing I’ve had here is takeout lo-​mein. It’s hard to screw that up.

Fresh, interesting food, all you can eat, (and I sure do… I eat, and eat, and eat, and eat…) great almond tofu, a variety of fruits, salads, and main entrees to suit virtually any taste. Their fried rice is awesome, as is their mongolian beef. They have crab legs on the buffet for the seafood fans, and some sushi as well. Ice cream for desert. Very good place for a family meal, as there is no alcohol available.
I noticed a banquet room on the side as well, but I’m not sure the details on that.