Northern BBQ & Sushi Buffet: Korean Barbeque (UPDATE)
UPDATE 2/13/2009:
This restaurant no long exists. It has been replaced with Juliana, also a Korean Restaurant but not a Buffet. Stay tuned for my review of this restaurant!
Northern BBQ & Sushi Buffet is not in business anymore as Miss Anonymous (comments below) has posted. The restaurant went through new ownership and became New York Buffet but now it has changed last year once more. The Restaurant is now called Juliana, Korean Restaurant & Bar. The disappointing part is that it is no longer a Buffet! Will post when we get a chance to eat there.
Northern [Korean] BBQ & Sushi Buffet
157-26 Northern Blvd
Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 886-8880
WARNING: THIS WILL BE THE MEATIEST EXPERIENCE YOU WILL EVER HAVE. VEGETARIANS/VEGANS BEWARE.
If you’re coming with a large party, especially on a Saturday night, be sure to make reservations! My party of 10 had to wait about 45mins before being seated. The people in here are mostly Korean, in fact you’ll be greeted by the staff in the Korean language. They’re really friendly and cute!
The atmosphere in the restaurant is very relaxing despite having a buffet environment. It’s definitely better when you bring a crew of your friends to dine out.
I really love the environment here. When you are seated, feel free to get up and get some food. I started off grabbing some hot food and sushi:
There’s my cali rolls, my potato croquet (god i love it), fried rice, chicken wings, and stir fried string beans. Yum.
Now, grab a plate full of meat to grill on your table. That’s right, it’s a BBQ and you do it yourself. It’s just the best way to do it.
Ask the server to start up the grill for you, otherwise you’ll play with the gas knob all night and wondering how the hell does it work. When you first work the grill, please drizzle some oil on it. It makes the cooking process faster. I’m sure you all know, but just a reminder especially if you’re a newbie like me. Usually the server do it for me, but here, you actually do it yourself. And seldom a server will come by if s/he isn’t busy and do it for you too.
The beef brisket, shown above, could be marinated a little more. What I highly recommend are the ribs. OH MY GOSH, it’s the juiciest, tastiest, most succulent piece of meat I ever had. Let me show you:
It just so so good! Use the scissors that they provide you to cut up the meat. Cut it after when it’s done cooking. This is the best piece of meat I had all night and I loved it!! There are other meats like steak, sausage, pork, intestines (ew, but still cool), etc etc, but this by far was the best I have had for the night. It’s all you can eat buffet, so try everything!
Sometimes when you finish a plate, the server might not see that your plate needs to be changed so call them over and they’ll gladly do it for you. =)
My only gripe about this place was that they had a poor dessert and fruit section. For the fruit section they only had grapes and cherries and ran out of cantaloupe and honeydew. For dessert they have jello, I think that was it and it wasn’t even that great.
I highly recommend this place!
Price: $25/person ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT!
Japonica: Japanese Restaurant & Sushi
Japonica
100 University Pl
(Btw E 12 and E 13th St)
212-243-7752
I honestly have never heard of this restaurant until it was listed as one of the participating restaurants for Japanese restaurant week, which was from March 4th – 10th, even though I pass by it like a million times. But of all the restaurants that I opted to chose, this was the one that I wanted to go because it has rave reviews, despite it’s steep price. If you do your research, you’re going to read that this place has one of the freshest sushis around and that it’s expensive. But for the week, they had a special which I had to take advantage — $29.95 for a Japonica Box that includes a variety of raw fishes, sushis, and rice bowls, and dessert. For that price, how can I go wrong! But yes, getting an impression that it’s like a mid-high scale restaurant, I knew I should at least try it once.
If you’re interested in going, call to make reservations. Now you might read that this place doesn’t take reservations, but they do. Just call to make a regular reservation because they might assume that it’s a special reservation where they put you in their small private traditional Japanese room with pillows on the floor for you knees. That room is a min of $300, so yeah, that’s something for you to know. Reservations help because it gets extremely packed at night, since it’s located 2 blocks away from Union Square, and the restaurant is pretty small — smaller than what I thought because the picture on the website gives me this vision that it’s big.
As I walked into the restaurant around 6:30, the place was already packed. Luckily I made reservations ahead of them because there were a lot of people waiting on line as well. After a few minutes of waiting, our tables were set up for my party of 6, and we were greeted very nicely by the waiters.
Like I said, the place isn’t that big, but it gets packed. There are Japanese waiters all around if you need assistance, which I thought was pretty good since they’re so helpful and efficient.
We sat towards the back, next to the private room, which has a long couch in the back with pillows that had nice floral designs, which was very comfy. And after a few minutes of settling down, the waiter came to ask what we wanted to drink and then got it right away. Very nice hospitality. It made me feel like I was in a Japanese home.
Alright time for food! As I said, I came to take advantage of the special on the Japonica Box, which contains:
JAPONICA BOX – $29.94 (reg. $34)
1) Begin with Miso soup or Edamame.
2) Box entrée:
- Salad, Tempura, and Fried sweet potato and broccoli
- Sashimi assorted(tuna, yellow tail and salmon)
- Spicy tuna crunch roll, Yellow Tail with Jalapeno roll, Hot Alaskan roll
OR
- Eel Don(Eel on Seasoned rice, in bowl) or Alaska-Don(seasoned rice mixed with crispy salmon skin, topped by salmon caviar).
- And choice of chicken Yakitori or beef Negimaki.
3) Finish with a scoop of scoop of sherbet or ice cream.
I opted for the sushi rolls instead of the rice bowls because I heard very good things about the hot Alaskan roll, so I couldn’t wait on that. My friends all had a mix of everything.
Here are the pictures!
I know, I have a million edamame pictures, but I’m so addicted to it. But this one, it’s lacking some more salt, but it’s very rich in soy. But just some more salt would do the trick, to me anyways, since I’ve tried a lot better in the Japanese towns in California.
Yakko-Tofu – $6.00
This fried tofu over soup is a delectable treat that has the combination of saltiness and sweetness. The tofu absorbs some of that soy sauce soup which gives the tofu and extra kick. For the price, it is a little overpriced but it tastes alright.
Here is my box!
I’m usually not too much of a fan of raw fish or raw anything, but my Alaskan roll that has raw salmon, cucumber, and avocado taste really smooth and tasty. I did not detect any strong hints of fishiness, which is always a good thing to me, and even my boyfriend who hates seafood, loved this roll. Excellent, just like how the other reviewers said it. The only thing I wished was better was the presentation of the roll. I know, they’re probably churning out a couple of hundred rolls a day and the chefs are tired, but a little rice would be nice on the rolls, because then it starts falling apart, like the ones I had.
The beef negimaki is best eaten with it’s still hot. After when it cooled down, it was pretty hard and the taste isnt really there any more. In the rolled up negimake is scallions inside, which I usually don’t eat, but I made an exception. It’s not bad, although I wish I could have accompanied it with a bowl of rice.
I did not have the fishes and gave it to my friends, who really enjoyed it. They tell me that it tastes very fresh and that it did not disappoint. I figure all 4 of them couldn’t go wrong since they were all in consensus. But yes, this seems like a good place to go if you love sushi!
Alright the rest of the pictures are a slight variation of what I ordered:
As you can see, the food looks pretty good and I could tell when my friends are having such a good time eating it.
If you’re not a sushi fan, I really do not recommend you to come here because everything is just ridiculously priced and it’s not worth it. My friend ordered udon noodles, and that cost about $20! Very expensive, and that bowl you can really get anywhere else.
And my boyfriend ordered the Sukiyaki – $24:
It has vermicelli on the bottom, and everything else that you see here. It’s actually an unique combination and it tastes pretty good. The beef was nice and tendered since you can see it’s not overcooked, but yes, I’d definitely recommend this.
For dessert, you get a choice of red bean, vanilla, and green bean ice cream. I’m a fan of red bean, so I had that.
The ice cream reminds me of mochi ice cream, which I really liked. I wish there was more of the ice cream, but this was good enough.
As we were leaving, I learn that you can’t joke around with the Japanese, seriously. My friend wanted to see if the pillows were for free. Take a guess at who! She seriously asked the waiter the manager there if she could take it home and they gave her this awkward look, and at this time I interrupted and said, “She’s kidding.” When we left, they mumbled something in Japanese, and I figure, oh man, she shouldn’t have said that! You don’t kid at a mid-scale restaurant like this one!
Overall, it was a good experience. Dress code is casual, atmosphere is great for groups because it does get pretty noisy when it’s crowded, but it’s a tad expensive for my taste. Go here for the sushi at least once. You’ll learn to like it.
HEALTH INSPECTION RESULTS
JAPONICA RESTAURANT
100 UNIVERSITY PLACE, MANHATTAN 10003
212-243-7752
Current violation points: 19 – PASSED
Inspection Date: 11/27/2006
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2.) Toilet facility not maintained and provided with toilet paper, waste receptacle and self-closing door.
3.) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
4.) Cold food held above 41°F (smoked fish above 38°F) except during necessary preparation.
East Manor Buffet (Elmhurst, Queens NY)
East Manor
79-17 ALBION AVENUE
QUEENS, 11373
(Train: R or V train to Elmhurst Ave and take a 10 min walk, but preferably by car)
718-803-3952
This is my second time coming to East Manor Buffet. The first time was to attend a banquet, which was located on the second floor, and this time was to go for the buffet. I usually have a real bad experience with Chinese buffets because they all tastes like fake Chinese food like the ones you’d get in those chinese fast food joints, which are limited to the same 20 or so trays of food. But I figure, those places were cheap and the restaurant’s look reflected on that which is probably why I’d expect it. Here at East Manor, my expectations are a little high because it looks nice on the outside. My cousin is a partner the other East Manor restaurants which I’ve always heard good things about, located in flushing, but I figure all the East Manor franchises should be above standard for chinese cuisine and class.
If you come here in a large group, I’d recommend you calling in advance because the wait time could be pretty long, about 20+ mins. Let me tell you, this restaurant is enormous. It literally is a manor and it gets pretty packed especially on the weekends. Of course when you come to a buffet, you don’t expect sexy ambiance. This is a loud restaurant with people chatting all around. It’s normal. But because it’s so much bigger, there’s more sound to be carried around. When I was there, there was another room on the same floor that was also holding a small banquet. It’s a festive place to be at.
During the 20 min waiting period, I walked around and took many pictures of the artwork in the restaurant. There were several statues of dolphins and some other fish, a piece of artwork on the ceiling that looks like Michaelangelo’s work, and a beautiful waterfall. Talk about decorative place, I like that. Then after walking around, I run into Stacy and her boyfriend’s family. They sat right in front of a “bar” which I thought looked cool. But that’s me because I’m easily amused.
I swear, like all Chinese people gather here on weekends for dinner. Ahh, the funniest thing. They seem to be very satisfied with the food, so then I was extra eager to try the food.
After the long wait, the 8 of us were happy to be seated. We sat in a nice round table with a generic white cloth over it and on nice comfy velvety chairs, which was not bad at all. It really did good for my butt. The waiter, who was really nice, gave us a whole pitcher of water and came by every now and then to see if we were being helped which is good. It’s probably not as good as the service at Minado’s because they’re smaller, but it was good enough for me.
This is the first buffet that actually serves “hop-goo-cho,” I think it’s called Prunella herbal tea in English, but this is how it looks like:
It’s a sweet, cold, herbal drink that not everyone would enjoy. It’s really an acquired taste, at least to me anyways because it has this strong herby taste. My parents would used to tell me that it’s good for you if you feel the need to purge the impurities in your body. I don’t know if it really does that, but it’s a soothing drink.
Anyways back to the buffet. Here are some pictures of the buffet that I thought looked nice:
This is only part of the humongous buffet. Your jellos, edamames, salads, other desserts are on this table. The part that I like about this are the decorations. I love the flowers even though it’s unnecessary. It’s the decorations that makes it look beautiful.
Actually I wished the sushi bar was bigger, this was considered to be very very small, but it’s alright because they specialize in Chinese food, not Japanese. I wonder if the sushi maker is japanese…
So this is my first helping:
I’m so addicted to the cali rolls, I just can’t help it. I’d actually like some more rice for the rolls, but this is alright. I had some dim sum to start me off and I was off to a happy start. I couldn’t wait to get some more food.
My sweet boyfriend later got me:
That’s right, Peking Duck. This is my first time seeing Peking Duck at a buffet. Call me ignorant, but it is! It was my first time having it and it didn’t taste too bad to me. I’d probably like the fatter side of the duck, but this was good for me. Not bad, not bad at all. According to my boyfriend, he tipped the server and received extra meat. You should ask for more first and then tip if anything.
Of course I can post a zillion pictures of food from this place, but you guys have to go at least once to try. I guarantee that you’ll have a grand ol’ time eating here.
I think it was 8 of us, the bill came about $35/person which wasn’t so bad. This is including tax and tips. I think it’s definitely worth the trip to go. Check it out! =)
Health Inspection Results
EAST MANOR
79-17 ALBION AVENUE, QUEENS 11373
Current violation points: 7 – PASSED
Inspection Date: 04/19/2006
No violations that present a threat to the public health or relate directly to factors which lead to food borne illness were recorded at the time of this inspection.
1.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2.) Accurate thermometer not provided in refrigerated or hot holding equipment.
3.) Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.
