Gourmet Buffet and Grill Offers Something for Everyone

“Why do people go to buffets?”  my lunch partner asked Sunday, when we sat down at the Gourmet Buffet and Grille in the .      

Leave it to my friend to ask the right question.

“If it’s because of choices, there are plenty to pick from at other restaurants too,”  she mused.

“Yes, but buffets offer even more choices than appear on a menu and you can take a little or a lot,”  I countered.

Gourmet Buffet, , may very well be one of the largest buffets in the Lehigh Valley with more than 300 “authentic American, Japanese and Chinese” foods from which to choose. Its 10,000-plus square feet of interior space make way for two private party rooms; fresh sushi; a salad bar, Hibachi grill; four-soup station; seafood station with stuffed mussels, crab legs and oysters; two Chinese-style stations; fresh fruit; Hershey’s ice cream; a dessert station with little cakes and eclairs; the American station with apple pie and ham and steak for carving; and a children’s station with French fries, egg rolls and dumplings.

Could it be that customers also like paying one fee up front for however many tastes they take and helpings they can eat? On Mondays through Saturdays, lunch prices run $6.99 for adults and $2 for children 4 and younger; and dinners cost $10.49 for adults, $3 for children. On Sundays and holidays, all-day prices are $10.99 for adults, $3 for children.

We agreed that buffets are places to steer clear of when trying to lose weight because of temptations to try a little of everything. It's also more difficult for older and frail folks to get up, down and walk around to serve themselves.

My friend and I delighted in the diversity of fresh and tasty foods.  We both loved the creamy, cheesy crab-filled mushroom caps.  I found something I hadn’t seen at other Asian restaurants: a Chinese egg tart that reminded me of custard in a phylo-dough cup. Yummy! My friend tried the cheesesteak, which was made and sliced like a Stromboli.  “Very good,” she declared.

My friend's family had been to Gourmet once before, soon after it opened.  Her 6-year-old daughter loved watching the Hibachi chef prepare foods before her eyes. Patrons get to choose the fresh foods they want grilled and can stand to watch it prepared or sit at their table until the chef is done.  I liked the idea of the grille being away from the table, having felt my face flush while my toes were cold at some other Japanese restaurants.

Even vegetarians could find plenty of fresh vegetables to grill for a meal at Gourmet, we noted.

Eva Chen, an assistant manager married to one of two brothers who own the restaurant, said the family tries to offer different foods and a different dining experience than other Hibachi and Chinese restaurants. That's one reason they do not accept take-out orders but do permit BYOB.

“Here, everybody has choice,” she said, “young child…and those who want to eat healthy. Hibachi is healthy.”

Chen said her husband, Zheng Feng of South Whitehall, and his brother Zheng Ling of Bloomsburg, also own a Gourmet Buffet (no grill) in Bloomsburg that has been popular since it opened eight years ago. They were asked to consider opening in South Whitehall, Chen said, after a Dorneyville mall manager ate at the Bloomsburg buffet.

Three platefuls later, my friend and I had our answer to the original question, why folks like buffets: it’s fun to try this and that and take seconds of the foods we liked best.

 “I’ve got to fit in some exercise today,” my lunch partner said as we left.

Gourmet Buffet & Grill

3317 Hamilton Blvd., South Whitehall

610-770-8888

Note: Gourmet Buffet and Grill is offering Mother’s Day specials, including lobster with scallions, sirloin steak, roast duck, baked salmon, steamed clams and crab legs with its usual fare, for $10.99.