J Buffet

I wish I could give this place 0 stars, but I can’t. I always have hopes for this place that one day the food would be better or maybe I just went on an off day. NOPE! It’s crappy all the time. The selection of food is bad and everything is always chicken and no other meats, except for some dry, over cooked beef. The sushi is always nasty with way too much smushy or dry rice. I was happy to see a Hibachi open near J buffet in hopes that they will step their game up, but no. Both ultimately failed.

Ugh. Very disappointing. Old, dry, over baked/​fried/​heat-​lamped food. Not much to choose from. Not a good experience. Hopefully this isn’t typical. Too bad. Obviously a family operation and family seems nice.

I went here recently with my girlfriend. We agreed that it was decent, but not amazing. We thought it was slightly expensive for the quality and selection we got. We ate there on a Weekend for lunch and it was over $ 13 a person, and I thought that was a bit pricey.
They do have sushi, but it’s not an amazing selection of sushi and the sushi definitely is not emphasized. There were three different maki rolls out, and then salmon and shrimp on rice, and that was it. The sushi was okay but below-​average for typical made-​to-​order sushi… a little heavy on the rice, and the rice was a little dry.
The rest of the food I thought was very good. I wasn’t crazy about the selection though. They only had one soup (hot and sour soup) and it was good. There were very few vegetables. The only all-​vegetable dish was sauteed green beans and garlic – and it was OUTSTANDING. Really perfect texture and lots of garlic, very fresh tasting. But I would have appreciated more vegetable dishes. There were a handful of dishes that had some vegetables in them, and the veggies were all fresh and high-​quality, but the buffet overall was very meat-​centered and I did not like that.
I would have preferred them to eliminate 3 – 4 of the heavier meat items and replace them with more veggies.
All the meats I tried were good though. There was a lot of seafood, and it was all good. There was an outstanding baby clam dish with Chinese black beans, and there were mussels – very fresh and good. Also, cold shrimp and cocktail sauce.
There was also a bar of fresh fruit and the oranges and pineapple were very fresh and high-​quality.
I would probably not come back here. Ruby Buffet on Columbus Blvd. is similarly priced and has a much bigger selection. They also have better sushi, and a much bigger selection of sushi, and more options for vegetables. I also prefer the buffet on 69^th street in Upper Darby. It isn’t quite as good as Ruby Buffet quality-​wise for their Chinese food, but it also has a lot of very good soul food (collard greens, corn bread, etc.), and I love that.
I love Chinese buffets, and tend to be easily satisfied with them, so my critiques here are relatively minor. I solidly give this place four stars because I think I’d rather go here than many other restaurants in the area. It also has a nice location – there aren’t many great places to eat in Southwest Philly, and this place is conveniently accessible by car and also near the trolley line.

Ventured in as I was waiting for my car to be service next door. Service was good, selection was ok, nothing outstanding. There are way better Asian buffet choices throughout the Philly area. Just a lackluster experience all around.

Worst place I have ever been! Food was dry out and tasted terrible. I will never go bak again!

On my journey to Philadelphia, I went to J Buffet and Sushi with a big hunger and a craving for California Roll.
Friday night, after a day of attempting to sell law librarians on the ideas of a DVD that documented the biggest 2^nd Amendment case the US has ever seen, I was ready for large amounts of oriental dinner satisfaction. J Buffet satisfied some of the necessary desires but left me wanting others.
On walking in, the restaurant was about ²⁄₃ full with folks who appeared to be deep in their dining. I paid my $ 11.75 and presumed, based on the price, that I was to experience a fantastic dining experience. The waitress escorted me to my table and asked me about my drink preference. As no beer or saki was available, I selected water.
The waitress walked away after setting my utensils on my table. I walked over to the buffet presentation to find what appeared to be a bountiful opportunity. While I have taken to striving for salad before my main course, I cruised the salad bar to find an offering that lacked much in the fresh satisfaction. The kimchee was fresh, but the salad was somewhat wilted and the prepared salads (cole slaw, potato salad and seafood salad) seemed to have been left sitting untouched for a long time.
After taking my glances at the «fresh» vegetables, I proceeded to the hot offerings. Beware that any meat on a stick offered is probably going to be dried out and tough, to my dismay, as the Thai BBQ chicken smelled good. Even the beef offerings on a stick were dry, tough and stringy.
The honey chicken and pepper beef were much better… flavorful and of good texture, not so thick on the coating and pleasantly sauced. The steamed dumplings were quite good, with dough outside that was not dried out and meat inside that was well seasoned. I would not suggest the egg rolls, as they tasted pre-​prepared, tough and bland with marginal texture.
The California and Philadelphia roll satisfied… just be sure to avoid any meat that’s on a stick. It’s dry .
My water glass stayed replenished… and my plates were cleared in a respectable order.
Next time I am in Philadelphia, I will consider trying this place again, unless better options are suggested.