Store info: This Chinese food buffet is located on Stillwater avenue in Bangor, Maine, and the surrounding businesses are PetCo, JoAnn fabrics, and the Bangor Mall. Their contact number is (207) 990-6688. The restaurant's operating hours are as listed:
Mon: 10.00am - 9.00pm
Tue: 10.00am - 9.00pm
Wed: 10.00am - 9.00pm
Thu: 10.00am - 9.00pm
Fri: 10.30am - 10.00pm
Sat: 10.30am - 10.00pm
Sun: 10.00am -9.00pm
While Happy China Buffet's website does not actually list what time the pricing switches over to dinner or even how much lunch and dinner buffet cost, their menu, if you can get it to load, gives you a glimpse of what they can offer you. From experience, the lunch-dinner crossover time is around 4pm, and I know that the price for lunch for two people (with only one person ordering a soda, and the other ordering water) is $20 even. Two people having dinner under the same drink circumstances is closer to $25-$27.
Cuisine: Happy China Buffet has a very wide variety of food for being an Americanized Chinese restaurant. While this makes it much less authentic, it certainly makes a great choice for families that have pick eaters. They have everything from sushi and general tso's chicken to pizza slices and chocolate pudding.
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Overall Rating
★★★☆☆
Parting Advice: Just don't eat the dumplings.. Or the sushi.. Or anything, really, unless it's busy..
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Variety ★★★★★
As aforementioned, the variety at Happy China Buffet is outstanding. There is always plenty to choose from, and there should be at least one thing on the buffet that you would be willing to eat.
Quality ★★☆☆☆
Unfortunately, they are very hit-or-miss with this one. The quality at this restaurant is only high if you go at peak times of business. If you come in around 3pm, for instance, most of the remaining food is cold, and there is much less to choose from. However, if you come in between 5pm and 6pm, there are always heaps of steaming fresh food available to choose from. Oh, and one last thing. I do not know what is in the meat of the pan-fried dumplings, but it isn't edible. If you must partake, I suggest doing as I do, and only eating the doughy goodness. Also, I would rate the sushi a 1, if I didn't think it fell under "quality". The sushi is always left out until eaten, and when they do use raw fish, it looks sickly.
Price ★★★★★
You get what you pay for, after all, and you do not pay much here. You can get tons of food for such a small amount of cash. It is also cheaper at Happy China Buffet than Oriental Jade, and at least the food at Happy China is edible at least 25% of the time. Plus, they serve crab legs on Friday and Saturday nights! That's pretty much all I eat some nights, and it is well worth it.
Waitstaff ★★★☆☆
As with all restaurants, some of the waitresses are less than friendly. I am uncertain whether they just hate me for the fact that there are always uneaten dumpling middles left on my plate, or if it is because I typically drink 4-5 glasses of water during my stay. In any case, some of the waitresses very begrudgingly refill my drinks, or they wait half an hour to take my plate. On the other hand, the waiters are always spot-on. Usually if I have a male server, he refills my drink as soon as my straw slurps at the empty ice. Plus they're always smiling. Such a nice place, usually.
Seating ★★★★☆
The seating at Happy China Buffet used to be a bit tattered and overused, but they bought all new seating sometime within the last year. It is very lovely, and comfortable. The space between tables is a bit on the skinny side, so I docked them one star. However, they get a bit of a bonus from me, because they have a few more secluded areas. Also, if you request a booth, they will give you one if they have it. I have a favorite booth, though, and I almost always sit at or near it. Can you guess which table it is?
Decorations ★★★☆☆
One of these stars is for that swanky seating I mentioned. Another is for the ambiance of Happy China Buffet. And the last? Those plates are stunning. I am not joking. I want their plates. "But why did you dock them two stars?" you may be asking. Well, that is because they used to have a whole bunch of fish in the pools on either side of their front entrance. But every one of the fish died, and I am sad. Those fish added an unbelievable amount of class to the restaurant, and it's sad to see them gone. And the last star? It isn't as if they are a five-star restaurant. They don't have floating votive candles on every table, with soft violin music playing in the background. It is a buffet. Just eat the food.
Drinks ★★☆☆☆
So.. About the drinks at Happy China Buffet.. Do not order a mudslide. Happy China has a whole list of mixed drinks you can order on each table. However, no one has a clue how to make any of them besides the scorpion bowl (which is pretty great, but still!). I desperately wanted a mudslide one evening, so I tried to order one. The waitress proceeded to give me a funny look, and went off to speak with the woman at the front desk. She shook her head, and they both went off to speak with another employee. Eventually, they had apparently all decided that giving me a White Russian and charging me an extra fifteen cents was appropriate. She delivered the drink and I looked at my friend across the table.
"This doesn't look like a mudslide. Not at all."
"What did they give you?"
I took a sip.
"I think it's.. Oh! This is a White Russian!"
"What the hell? Why?"
"I don't know, but at least they can make this right.."
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