Hello, when we are visiting Canada the first thing we do is to look for a good chinese buffet. <BR>Which restaurant has the best chinese all-you-can-eat buffet in Vancouver? <BR>If you can mail me some food,Thx ,Leo

Hi Leo, I think that Canyon Heights in North Van. has the best chinese food, but it's not a buffet. <BR>

Hi Leo. If you love all-you-can-eat buffets specializing in Chinese food, you have come to the right place. Here are my recommendations (no particular order): <BR>1. Grand Buffet, 110-8351 Alexandra Road in Richmond or 6401 Kingsway in Burnaby. The Burnaby one is generally better, and Skytrain station is nearby but too far to walk. Cost is about $17 per adult. Specialty is (in addition to mind-numbing variety of good quality Chinese dishes) all-you-can-eat sushi (raw salmon and others), oysters, crab, shrimp, and pop included. <BR>2. Grand Pacific Buffet, 108-1015 Columbia Street, New Westminster. This one is located in a mall, next to the IGA supermarket. If you are taking Skytrain, get off at the New Westminster station on 8th Street, and walk west on Columbia for about 5 blocks. Cost is about $12 per adult. No fancy specialties but lots of variety. <BR>3. Buffet World, 2555 Commercial Drive, Vancouver or 7155 - 138th Street Surrey. The one in Vancouver is across the street from the Skytrain station. However, I have heard that the crime rate has climbed at that particular station - mostly teenagers - and security and police are spending more time around there. Anyways cost is about $11 per adult. Specialty is sushi (only cooked stuff), teppan, dim sum, and hot pot (for a small extra charge). I have never tried the Surrey one - they may not have the same offerings. <BR>4. Oriental Buffet. 15140 - 101 Avenue, Surrey (near Guildford Place mall). About $12 per adult. Specialty includes Peking duck, dim sum, Korean BBQ, and some cooked sushi. <BR>5. Sui Sha Ya Japanese restaurant. This one offers all-you-can-eat Japanese food, e.g. sushi, teriyaki, sashimi (with a limit), yakisoba, etc. etc. Cost is about $20 per adult, but if you love lots of good Japanese food, this is the place to go. <BR>6. Kamei Sushi, 201-4367 Kingsway, Burnaby. Offers sushi like Sui Sha Ya, but cost is only $18 per adult. Buffet is not offered all the time. <BR>#1 to 4 above all offer all-you-can-eat Chinese dishes buffet style. Quality is not as good as the better restaurants but is still pretty good. They all offer between 20 to 50 different choices. Eat small portions of each choice, or else you will run out of space in your tummy. <BR>I have not found any similar restaurants in Victoria. However, if you dying to try Chinese food there, try Don Mee in Chinatown there. Take a look at their "set menus" - preselected dishes for a set price - we tried one there for a really good price. There are some other good ones but you need a car to get there. <BR>

<BR>Thanks, C.C. & Kenny, my mouth starts watering already. Nothing beats a good chinese buffet,wright?

Leo, I just realized that I may not have described these specific restaurants very well. The Chinese all-you-can-eat places I listed above are not the little greasy spoon places with mostly rice and salad. These are places that will put the cruise ship buffets to shame. The restaurants seat between 300 and 500 people at a time, and on the busiest nights will be jam-packed full with a lineup at the door. Everyone of them serve heaping mounds of freshly cooked food, and crab and mussels are all the rage right now. One of them (Grand Buffet) seems to be able to get lots of fresh oysters (with the shells on!) but you have to be fast and pushy because the crowd of people will squeeze you out. And it is all authentic, although most of the dishes are the less expensive type. Dessert? They all have commercial-sized buckets of ice cream of 8 to 16 flavours. Plus cookies, cakes, fortune cookies, fresh fruits, salads, etc etc. <BR>If, on the other hand, you want the very best Chinese restaurants, I have a different list.

<BR>Leo: <BR> <BR>Forget the buffet...most are substandard. You're only in Vancouver for a short time..don't waste it. <BR> <BR>Go to: <BR> <BR>The Flamingo at 56th and Cambie <BR> <BR>The Imperial Chinese Seafood Restaurant in the Marine building on Burrard Street <BR> <BR>The Pink Pearl on East Hastings Street. <BR> <BR>You won't be sorry. <BR> <BR>Scott

Scott, I have to disagree. There are lots of buffet restaurants that serve chinese food, and a lot of them are substandard that are typical of cities outside of Vancouver, Toronto, or San Francisco. <BR> <BR>The ones I mentioned are very good, especially since they are all-you-can-eat buffet. Most of the clientele in these restaurants are Chinese, because they know a good value when they see one. Since Leo asked for all-you-can-eat, that's what I answered. And I have seen shoving matches over freshly cooked oysters as people try to grab them. <BR> <BR>I have gone to the ones you mentioned, but there are better ones. I would suggest Sun Sui Wah (either on Main Street or No. 3 Road in Richmond) or the one in the Radisson Hotel in Richmond. Basically there are lots of choices that can meet any taste and price range. <BR> <BR>Unfortunately, the one I liked the best is no longer in business. The Maple Garden Hot Pot restaurant served hot pot, and the seafood was so fresh, the prawns kept walking off our plates. Most Chinese restaurants also serve very fresh seafood, in which you can choose which crab, lobster, or fish right out of the tanks. <BR> <BR>So it all depends on what you want. <BR> <BR>

Thanks again Scott & Kenny for your advice. <BR>It's obvious that the both of you have a different taste, but that's o.k., because otherwise we would all be in the same restaurant. <BR>Kenny, i am glad that Sun Sui is closed because i don't like my food escaping from my plate(kidding), but you gave me a lot of alternatives and i just might try them all; but you have to pay for my Weight Watcher when i return to Holland!!! <BR>Thanks a lot, Leo.