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Imperial China Buffet
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
6 reviews for Imperial China Buffet
I lived in the Erie area from 1998-2003 and then 2005-2008. I didn't like it that much at all. However, I would move back to the area just to eat here on a regular basis. The make your own dish wok area is the best I food I have ever had.
When I first met my wife, I took her to this restaurant. When she agreed that it was the best food in the world, I knew she was the one for me.
let me preface this by saying that I LOVE cheap greasy chinese food. I was stuck in erie for the night b/c of a snow storm and while on the fair city i decided to check yelp for what i should do for dinner. all hands pointed here so i thought why not?
first off, most of the food lacked flavor. Hot and sour soup is one of my favorite things to get and they just ruined it. where was the taste? so bland and boring. most of the hot foods were boring and again lacking in flavor. I did however like their imitation crab meat souffle thing.
i had some mongolian bbq and the guy wasn't even really paying attention, so half of the food was cold
The desserts also lacked flavor and taste... even the soft serve.
the one redeeming quality was the price.
if in erie, go elsewhere.
I just visited Eire last weekend. Saturday, I was hungry for some Chinese food for lunch, as the reviews about this buffet I read on Yelp before my trip, I thought it maybe a good place to go. But I was wrong.
The food selection of this buffet is so poor. The buffet section is so small, as I recall, there were totally about 20 hot entrees, less than 10 desserts, a little selection for their Mongolia BBQ too. The buffet we have in our town, there are at least triple times more food than this one, sushi, Mongolia BBQ, American food bar etc. This buffet doesn't look like a buffet, it's like a Chinese restaurant's little lunch buffet, so small food bar.
The food: couple things tasted good their, but most of them tasted normal. Some of them tasted pretty bad. Their general Tso's chicken tasted terrible, the worst one I have had here so far, the chef dumped too much soy sauce in there, yuck. Their seafood stuff such as shrimp tasted not fresh.
Well, except cheap, about 6 bucks for lunch, $7.5 for dinner, this Chinese buffet is the one of the worst I have been.
There are certain things about Erie that are irreplaceable. Presque Isle is a good example. Imperial China Buffet is another.
In the years leading up to my move to San Francisco, I couldn't wait to try all the fabulous authentic Chinese restaurants in the city by the bay. Afterall, being that SF has a much greater population of Chinese-Americans with generations going back to the 1850's, one would assume that Chinese restaurants here would be unmatched. Well, I've tried several and none come close to the culinary ecstasy that is dining at Imperial China Buffet in little old Erie. Imperial has all you can eat crab, made-to-order Mongolian barbecue, buttery eggrolls and a vast assortment of delicious Chinese dishes cooked to perfection like nowhere else. Additionally, the last time I was there they had a large projection screen TV to keep you entertained while filling your belly. Nice touch, IMO.
A have a story about eating at this place. Several years ago, my dad was diagnosed wth artherosclerosis after hearing a wooshing sound near his ear. He needed to have a surgery done to clear out the plaque in the arteries in his neck, otherwise he risked having a stroke. The surgery itself was quite risky, as they would have to shove a thin wire up through his arteries and a large chunk of plaque could get lose and cause a stroke. The doctors said there was a fifty-fifty chance it would happen.
My dad was terrified of the surgery and the night prior he decided he wanted some of his favorite comfort food, a nice steamy bowl of Sweet and Sour Soup. So we went to the Imperial, stuffed ourselves, and we got our fortune cookies. There was an uncomfortable silence between my mom, my dad and I as he slowly cracked open his cookie and pulled out the little piece of paper. Then he started laughing a loud and very nervous laugh. He showed us the paper and it was completely blank. You have to understand how superstitious my parents are to understand the severity of this. My dad asked for another cookie and it came with a chipper little fortune about future wealth or happiness or somesuch.
My dad survived the surgery without any complications, but just barely. The surgeons even kept asking him afterwards, "Are you sure you didn't have a stroke?" Apparently his condition was much worse than they had thought and large chunk of plaque did get loose. He's doing fine now and he loves to tell the story of "The Blank Fortune Cookie of Impending Doom".
I love Chinese food, so perhaps I'm a little biased... This place's lo mein and fried rice are the best in town... Not to forget the Crab Rangoons. MMMMmmmm.... (I know what i'll be eating for dinner after writing this review) Service is very good... I've never had my old empty plate sitting on the table too long, and I don't think my glass has ever run dry. They even have crab legs at dinner some times! If you come make sure you get the Mongolian Barbeque. It's delicious!
Good fresh food, if you're not looking for an expansive Japanese steakhouse to take someone on a date but more of family oriented Chinese buffet then this is the perfect place.