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34th St-8th Ave (A, C, E)
34th St-7th Ave (1, 2, 3)
33rd Street (PATH)
I can't, in good conscience, keep this place at a one star rating considering how often I stop in. The 5 for $5 deal is still really lousy quality, but you can be selective about the slop you get and it can be a light-ish but cheap lunch. They got fresh fruit, brown rice, and certain salads. Maybe indulge in only one or two protein entrees and then you can cut down the grease.
The other star upgrade is for the Fay Da bakery part which is okay, and the reason I stop by so often. Their vegetable steamed bun is a quick and filling $.95. Two of these and an iced coffee can be a quick meal when I've squandered my lunch hour shopping at Daffy's.
I don't have to tell you by now that the main deal with Lunch Box Buffet is that it's five bucks for… Read more »
I really wish that I can give this place a -5 or something. I really don't like this place. My mom goes here when she comes to shop in the city, and yes the food is cheap, you definitely cannot beat the 5 sides for $5, but the presentation reminds me of school lunch.
Really gross for the dirty floors, tables.. and how many people is packed into this place.
I also don't appreciate the repeating advertisement that this place seems to run on their TV monitors for like miracle pills or not. Really cheap and sleazy.
The workers here don't speak that much English,..
I don't eat at Fay Da, but a friend tells me this place is more than the Fay Da that I see in Chinatown.. so methinks not.
I'm brown baggin it right now. Hoarding my goodies in the bag while I walk down the street and pausing only to take bites. Sometimes I just have to have some. I know it's not good for me but it sure hits the spot. Especially when I'm just passing through 34th street on my way home.
I'm a sucker for siopao, aka cha siu bao, aka steamed pork buns. For an even guiltier pleasure, I like pork filled pastries. And for dessert, which I sometimes eat first, I like taro buns. The pork buns at Lunch Box Buffet/Fay Da Bakery are not the greatest. The bun is kind of chalky and floury but its hot and they don't cheat you on the filling. The pork pastry is not equal to the kind you get during dim sum but its lardy and perfectly flaky. As for the taro bun, it's really excellent. I've never seen one before stepping into this shop but I'm really glad I tried it. The taro bun is all purple and perfectly round, about the size of an ice cream scoop. The outside casing is strong but once you bite into it, the filling is smooth and like a paste. The flavor is all taro. It's heavy and today I bought two.
I've been to the lunch buffet a few times. It's greasy, salty, and deep fried but it does the job. Cheap chinese food and a lot of variety.
The Lunch Box Buffet/Fay Da Bakery is cash only. Service is fast and it's clean on both levels. Sure beats Wendy's.
I've been here twice now, and really enjoyed myself both times.
Meal #1: Eat-in. I had 5 items for $5: curry beef, curry chicken, pork meat balls, boiled cabbage, and seaweed salad... The food was decent, each portion was large, the overall food amount was enormous -- but I made the mistake of copying the ordering-mannerisms of those around me, I asked for extra sauce/gravy on each item -- I should've known better, everybody else was ordering things like "sesame beef" "General Tso's chicken" and "Hawaiian potato salad," not that there's anything wrong with that... The upstairs seating area is fun, a welcome respite from the outside chaos.
Meal #2: Take-out. I had 5 items for $5: chicken in oyster sauce, black bean fish, spicy cucumber salad, sauteed bok choy, and mushrooms with squash... I was extremely happy with my selections: the chicken fell right off the bone, had just the right amount of juicy succulent fat; the fish was delicious and wonderfully tender, fell right off the bone; the bok choy was firm and tender and tart and fresh; the cucumber salad was nice and light and zesty; the only component of the whole (rather sizable) meal that I wasn't completely satisfied with were a couple of the mushrooms had a bit of a gooey texture. But otherwise everything was absolutely great... I took my food to Penn Station, awaiting a train to just the other side of New Jersey, where I was meeting two friends with a car for a road trip -- it was fun being curiously stared at by pretty much everybody walking by as I was eating the whole fishes, heartily sucking on the bones and tails.
Easily one of my favorite eateries in the area. Much better than Popeye's or Burger King or those horrible dirty water dog carts, and a more filling more affordable alternative to Wendy's right next-door.
I'm more a fan of the concept and location of this place than the food itself. Fay Da is my go-to bakery in Chinatown, so I'd recommend the baked goods for sure.
As for the buffet part, well... it's $5 for 5 items, $1.75 for 1. I went in there with pretty low expectations. They did have some of my favorite items, such as pig's feet and a very hard-to-find item, PUMPKIN! I was happy by that find alone. They don't skimp with the portions either. Not a bad choice if your alternatives are the Burger King and Wendy's that Lunch Box Buffet is nestled between.
Wonderful.
How I wish I could access such cheap, good, real Chinese food at home. $5 can't even buy you a McDonalds Value Meal anymore, which is half soda anyway.
You get to pick from a huge buffet of authentic Chinese food, 5 dishes for $5. You can point and they place it on your small styrofoam tray reminiscent of elementary school days. But don't be fooled by the size of the tray--the food is heaped on and I was full for a good 6 hours after barely finishing it all. You can buy a bubble tea and dessert at Fay Da right in the same building. Bring your food on upstairs to the eating area and watch the New York street below as you savor your meal.
Here was my pick of 5 dishes:
----stir-fried mung bean noodles (also known as cellophane noodles): delicious, mung bean noodles are thin and translucent and nothing odd--they have a pretty regular noodle texture. Don't be afraid to try it!
----mushrooms and bamboo: in a dark sauce, no complaints, good.
----mushrooms and bean curd sheets: same dark sauce as the bamboo, good.
----small bok choy: good
----small whole steamed fish: about 5-6" long, this was my favorite. The flavor is exquisite. I was rather dumb to not realize it would have many, many small bones since it came whole, skin and all. But don't be discouraged. Even though I am Asian, I've never dealt with spitting out fish bones because my mother was always so afraid that we children would choke. Just take your time and don't stuff rice in your mouth at the same time, and separate the bones from the meat. It's worth the effort.
I'll be returning.
Definitely not the best Chinese food, but 5 selections for $5 is hard to beat. A huge amount of food for $5 bucks. Get the take out so you can make it 2 meals.
The food here is pretty good and at a place like Times Square $5 is a bargain!
I went with a bunch of friends for dinner here, the seating was bit inconvenient upstairs and they only give you 1-2 napkin/tissue. We made a few poor choices on the food, like the cold pasta and the giant fish ball.
Not bad overall, but nothing amazing.
This place is a riot.....it's like the Soup Nazi episode of "Seinfeld" come to life. 5 bucks for five entrees is definitely not a bad deal, they have a very wide selection of cold and hot foods and they don't skimp on the portions..but the servers are so comically militant! On my last visit I was waiting for a server to come by and place my last item on my tray (because unlike other buffets, you don't get to put food on your plate). She came and place some rice on my tray and yelled "You 5, you no more!" and walked off....um okay, I wasn't gonna ask for another entree but thanks for the clarification. Rudeness aside, the food aint bad, the price is right (especially for the neighborhood), and it's really clean and well maintained.
Like a lot of people here, confused the fact that Lunch Box Buffet and Fay Da Bakery have two entries here. Because of this, I can rate each one correctly individually rather than having to average both.
I'm pretty torn here on my rating. I've gone here twice, and most of the buns have been pretty bad,… Read more »
Oh yeah, They also don't take debit/credit cards. I was told CASH only.
Stopped in today, looked at the Chinese food for $5 bucks a plate.
There are a lot of selections,…
Read more »
We were crossing town on 34th and chanced upon this place. I wanted to check it out because I thought it was a bakery. The signboard said "Fay Da (if I recall correctly that is) Bakery" and I thought the name sounded familiar... like something someone mentioned to me before. And so I went in to take a look.
I completely missed the "Lunch Box Buffet" sign outside and so was surprised to see the huge buffet selection beyond the bakery part of the place. The buffet, though seemingly varied in its offering, wasn't appetizing both in the way the food looked nor the selection offered. I'd say this place serves the typical Americanized Chinese garb.
My friend was kinda hungry (the kind of hungry that you just need to feed your body something and anything would do) and decided to grab something and go. We should have opted for the baked goods but I guess we got caught in the confusion about the buffet and all and decided to go with a single serving just to satisfy her hunger.
We sat upstairs to quickly consume the not so delish food* and get the hell out of here. Let's just say, probably due to the location and the price point, upstairs was filled with a very undesirable crowd.
Bad food, bad service, bad atmosphere.... what can I say?
*Actually the stir fried noodles here weren't all that bad... but then again, I haven't come across a cook who can't get this dish right (except me of course. Try as I might, I never seem to be able to get this simple item the way it should be).
This place is amazing. I loved so much yesterday I'm going back again today since I have to be in the area.
For only five dollars, I got enough food to fill me and still have leftovers. Considering the amount of food I eat on a regular basis, this is saying a lot. Also they have some really cool cheap Chinese meat pastries for less than a dollar a piece.
The only reason I give this place four stars and not 5 is that they won't give you any free tap water and are highly over protective of their napkins for some reason.
This place has guilty pleasure written all over it.
It's close to work.
5 dollars for 5 items, yes please.
Is it the best chinese food i've ever had, no far from it.
Is it really good, bad chinese food, yes.
They also have Boba tea here which is something I love, very large sizes and until recently very well priced, but the Boba tea has since raised in price and is now on par with other places. 4-5 dollars I think.
I came, I saw, I went back.
I don't know who came up with this concept, but I have to doff my hat to them for being pretty smart with it. A buffet without the lasting issue of people overdoing the item limit or overpaying for it? Even adding a Chinese bakery section in front and placing it around one of the busiest places in New York? Genius!
The food's like everyone said. I still go back because it's a mixture of some of the more authentic stuff with the typical fare. There are few guilty pleasures to be had in having potato salad with pig feet (hey, I'm Hawaiian, what can I say?) and technically, I still save money and time buying a bun here rather than spending the fare to travel to Chinatown to get the same thing for half price. Genius!
This super Chinese buffet (though not all you can eat) is one of the cheapest options on 34th Street and possibly all around Manhattan. For a mere $5 you can choose five items in an endless sea of Chinese American dishes that range from anything deep fried to anything virtually non-Chinese (take the spaghetti and meatballs for instance). There are some semi-authentic dishes (Mapo Tofu, Chinese Curry, etc.) but they are overwhelmed by the fried chicken, wontons, and sweet and sour ::insert::.
The ladies who serve the food here are very nice but all they really want to know is posed by a question that is asked over and over again: "Wat do you want!?!" The pushy service is probably due to the hords of tourists, cheap skates, and hobos who collected enough money to eat again. This is heaven in that case. The place is quite spacious and features a second level floor for dining. For the price alone and the hunger factor, it may well be worth it.
Its not for everyone, especially Chinese food snobs. This is a no frills and a strictly stop-n-go cheap eats establishment.
Amazingly not-too-bad food, especially considering it's a $5 meal in midtown. Menu's about the same as regular Chinese buffets, but the food certainly tastes better. There's a good number of seats upstairs, but expect to share a table with strangers.
Oh oh oh, hey get this - Madison Square Garden is right across the street, you can see it from the window - so you can see MSG while eating MSG. Get it? Yeah, it's horrible, I'm usually a lot funnier.
This is probably your cheapest option for a full meal around Penn Station - $5 (after 5 p.m.) will get you five different buffet food items and a drink. The food is decent fare, although not the same quality you'd get in a Chinese restaurant. Mix in some American eats - fried chicken, mashed potatos, corn on the cob - and you've got quite a selection.
The portions are sizable, but if you go after the hordes of tourists, don't expect to get served as much or have as much to choose from. Overall, a decent spot to go if you're short on change and have a train to catch.
I stopped by this place, not knowing what it was. I was intrigued by their concept of a buffet where you just put it in a styrofoam box to go, but the food looked unappetizing - just like your regular americanized Chinese joint. The bakery section had mostly the same breads from Tai Pan, but at least 50c to $1 more expensive and less fresh. They were cold, and didn't taste as good as Tai Pan - maybe I'm a little biased? The drinks? They do not even know about their 'specials' and do not know how to make it. I ordered the Red Bean drink, and the staff were conversing for about ten minutes, discussing on the 'recipe' of the drink - the outcome? Watered down, random chunks of red bean, and just a mess. I would not waste any more of my money here. What's with all the hype?
Gotta love the quantity vs price ratio. The quality is a little lacking but cant complain. I agree the space is very crammed and if you eat in, the place is dirty and not well kept. I never tried the baked goodies but i assum ethey are similar to the one in chinatown, which is pretty good. Next time you are shopping at Macy's come here for lunch!
Whoa so cheap. And, pretty good, albeit oily. The best thing I had was the fried bean curd.
The food is so-so, but the price is perfect!!! You can read a full review at my blog: http://noviceinnyc.blo...
It is one of the cheaper eateries around 34th street, imagine just $4 (since it was after 4pm) for 5 items from the Chinese-American buffet. For lunch it would have been $5. They have drinks for $1 to $2 each. Now they have a selection of soup and also desserts for $1.50 per bowl. Their selection of buffet includes, fried rice, lo mien, mai fun, various kind hot & cold vegetables, sweet & sour pork to pork ribs, fried & steam fish, sauteed shrimps, from Kung Pao Chicken to fried chicken drumsticks, tofu cooked in different ways, stir-fry beef with broccoli, etc, you'd have to go there to check out their various kind of dishes as they change the menu everyday. They have ample seating on the ground floor and 2nd level plus they keep the eatery nice and clean.
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