Chef Lin Buffet has done it again. It has once again been recognized - in not one but three categories - in this year's Best of the Best awards. This year's merits include Best Chinese Restaurant, Best Dinner Under $10 and Best Buffet.
This year's wins mark the restaurant's 15th Best of the Best award. Over the past 13 years, Chef Lin Buffet has racked up an impressive amount of accolades in categories ranging from Best Buffet to Best Business Lunch.
Fried frog legs, available at Chef Lin Buffet."What is it that makes your restaurant the best?" I ask Chef Lin when we sat to chat on the cusp of the latest awards ceremony.
"We don't ever change the price," he replied. "The quality of our food goes up but the price stays the same. We've cut our profit in order to compete."
The low cost of Chef Lin's all-you-can-eat Asian cuisine is certainly advantageous for customers - the lunch buffet costs $6.45 and the dinner buffet $9.95 - but that isn't its only draw. There is also the restaurant's revered coconut shrimp - lightly breaded, fried and marinated in a slightly sweet and decadently creamy coconut sauce. In fact, Chef Lin's coconut shrimp has competed and won on national levels. "It is definitely a favorite," Chef Lin said.
The coconut shrimp is found exclusively on the dinner buffet, where the overall seafood options are in greater abundance. Endless crabs legs and oysters on the half shell are also exclusive to the dinner buffet. Lucky for me I stopped by after 4 p.m., which is when dinner is served. Luckier still, the buffet is also priced by the pound for to-go orders.
I spent almost 15 minutes carrying my Styrofoam to-go box around the buffet while carefully selecting my dinner. Finally, I decided on a few deliciously crisp fried frog legs that tasted like a light chicken wing. I also took a helping of the seafood medley, a couple buttery crab legs, a tender hunk of fried catfish, a heaping of Chef Lin's famous coconut shrimp, a couple golden spring rolls and a side of baked green beans. For dessert I took a crème puff.
I paid less than $5 for all that. It was more than a substantial dinner, and even doubled as a light afternoon snack. I ate two spring rolls before I even pulled out of the parking lot.