Cafe Sierra Seafood Buffet, Universal City, CA

[sheetz]

Over the holidays I went with a group of family members to the Cafe Sierra restaurant located in the Hilton Universal hotel in Universal City, CA. Their weekend seafood buffet is unique in that it includes a number of Chinese (mainly Cantonese) dishes along with the other American style offerings. Off the top of my head, the Chinese dishes include: Shark's Fin Soup, Ginger Crab, Spicy Eggplant, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Fried Shrimp and Squid in Spicy Salt, a few dim sum items (har gow, siu mai, char siu bao), fried rice, and some stir fried noodle dishes.

The Shark's Fin Soup was not bad at all but the rest of the Chinese items were pretty mediocre and certainly not the highlights of the buffet. OTOH, the non-Chinese items were quite good. These was, among (many) other things, prime rib, leg of lamb, grilled lobster, king crab legs, oysters on the half shell, and freshly prepared sushi. There were also a large assortment of fancy dessert items along with white and dark chocolate fontains.

This buffet is quite popular with Asian locals, and the patrons were probably 3/4 Asian. Price is $42 on Friday and Saturday night, and $38 on Thursday and Sunday. I had no problem eating my money's worth!

Edited January 5, 2009 by sheetz (log)

[hzrt8w]

...Shark's Fin Soup, Ginger Crab, Spicy Eggplant, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Fried Shrimp and Squid in Spicy Salt, a few dim sum items (har gow, siu mai, char siu bao), fried rice, and some stir fried noodle dishes.

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The "Shark Fin Soup" caught my eyes. I would never imagine that it will be offerred in a buffet. You said it's good. Was there real shark fin in the soup? Good portion?

Sound great! Then I realize... priced at $42... The counterpart Chinese buffet here in Sacramento is $10.

[hzrt8w]

BTW: Last year when I was in Hong Kong, I was at the Intercontinental Hotel (Avenue of the Star...), checking out their buffet. HKD500 (about US$70) per person. They serve lobster. All you can eat. Everybody had at least three... Get your money worth.

I want to try it later this year.

Edited January 6, 2009 by hzrt8w (log)

[sheetz]

Was the shark's fin real? I can't say for sure but I've never heard anybody accuse it of being fake. Of course, being a buffet, don't expect large amounts and don't expect very high quality. Even so, all the Chinese patrons were getting 3 bowls each!