Master Buffet

Stopped into this place on Easter Sunday.
I was surprised on what they have to offer, besides being a normal buffet with all the goodies they also provided prime rib and ham which was a special on that day.
Everything was good.
Planning on going back there again for dinner.

Talked to the waitress and she said they have only been open for 5 weeks as of April 8, 2012.

You know that saying you get what you pay for well yes that is the case for Master Buffet. The locals here must either come on special night for crab legs because they don't serve that on weekdays.

The food was okay as in if you like American Chinese take out food that is what they are serving for you as a buffet. I couldn't recognize the beef and I didn't care for their sushi. However, their price is cheap it's like $9.95 per person and they didn't charge us for our 14 month old baby so that was a plus.

Service was nice and they were friendly so they get 1 star for decent food that fills you up and two stars for friendly service.

Ugh.... Where do I start?

Well first, I'll start with a quote from the Wausau Daily Herald, on March 8th:

"It's very hard to find good sushi in our area because not many local restaurants serve it," said Ren (the owner).

So because I have dropped a pretty penny on Sushi at Chang Garden and Shanghai grill in central WI, Matsu Ya in Stevens Point, as well as in venues in Madison, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Alaska, I was intrigued.

What a joke! First, as we got to the restaurant and were waiting to be seated, I grabbed their menu. Very underwhelming... only 10 varieties of Sushi and Sashimi, and 8 rolls. All but two of the rolls featured tuna or shrimp tempura. Nothing to brag about. Also, what I found very amusing, is the fact that they show Ikura sushi (salmon roe) in a picture on their menu, which is not available. I was also surprised at the lack of Tobiko and Tako, which are available at other restaurants in the central WI area. Another picture shows temaki which is also not available...

Because sushi is available with the buffet, we decided to give it a go. We were seated and we ordered iced tea. Not only was the 'tea' part almost none existent (it looked and tasted like water), the ice lasted all of 3 minutes.

So this is already getting long and I haven't even eaten anything... so...
Two of the whole shrimp dishes were so over cooked that they were almost impossible to peel, and the texture of paste. The crawfish appeared to have been boiled without any seasoning, because they tasted like nothing. The frog legs were cold and extremely salty. All of the sushi that was available when I was there contained imitation crab meat, and the rolls were not tight and fell apart when placing it on your plate. The texture and flavor of the teriyaki beef was just wrong. Desserts were dry, and the icecream... well, I wasn't even going to touch it.

The looks on the couple's faces next to us confirmed it wasn't just us. When leaving, there were about 20-25 people waiting to be seated (although there were a number of open tables when we left). I hope they weren't too disappointed...

Unless someone I know tells me it has improved, I'm not going back. The best items on the buffet were the beans, fried dumplings and the fried rice. The bill for 2 people on a sunday was $10.99 + drinks. This would have paid for 3 at King Buffet near Shopko. They will get my business in the future.

Had to stop in to this local favorite of mine after having just left the worst buffet ever (Hibachi Buffet, Rib Mtn).

This former Tony Romas restaurant was remade into a spacious buffet house. BONUS - a sushi bar! At least 6 types of sushi each time I've come, and there has always been at least one person making the sushi at all times. Once I came here, and just went back for plate after plate of sushi. No extra cost; it is part of the buffet (well, I did tip the sushi maker - there is a jar - when all I got was sushi)!

Will you find better sushi at a non-buffet restaurant than here? Well, only because of the sauce drizzles, and more complex flavor combinations at the restaurant.

Ok, now to the other selections...
Did I say they have dim sum? I had just noticed dim sum featured on the Create channel, and here it was in Wausau. I'm personally not a fan, but this is the only place I've had dim sum. The textures seemed appropriate - not chewy or over cooked for some steamed dumplings. I tried at least 5 different types, and they all vanished in my stomach.

The rest of the selections will satisfy even the pickiest eaters who will just have pizza and fries (they exist, but I didn't try them). Plenty of stir-frys, fresh cut fruit, a variety of fried foods (crab rangoons, egg roles, sweet&sour chicken, doughnuts, etc.), salads, and of course a variety of desserts, which are better than most Chinese buffets. Don't just come for dessert though. Have a plate of sushi, and then enjoy a dessert. :)

Really! Who is giving this totally average cookie cutter Chinese Buffet 4 or 5 stars! I feel like I have eaten at this same place with the same food and same stale fortune cookies like a hundred times! I really think there is one truck that drives around the country and drops off the sane food everywhere!

Eh. Two stars even after calibrating my expectations because I know what I'm getting into- a Midwest, all-you-can-eat, Americanized Asian buffet. I can leave a restaurant like this stuffed, and guilty over the fact that I can't comprehend how the business model works when people eat so much. Not so at Master Buffet. The food was not very good, and as a consequence, I did not eat very much! The food was lukewarm and poorly seasoned (I've never needed a salt shaker before when eating Chinese food). The sushi rolls were flavorless.

All of that said - if you're in Rothschild, staying at one one of the nearby hotels, and don't want to drive 8 minutes to something better in Wausau, your best choices may be Master Buffet and the Denny's next door. I guess the positive was the prices - I think they have tiers for 7 and under and 12 and under, so one of my kids ate for $4-something and the other $6-something. My 7-year old ate nothing but pizza that looked like the same kind served in a grade-school cafeteria and thought it was awesome.

Some friends and acqaintances had made some favorable comments about Master Buffet. Although lukewarm a number said that they are getting better. Yelp reviews seemed similar so we decided to check it out.

FYI Master Buffet's selection are mainly oriental dishes, including some sushi.

One thing I grant them: they have a great variety of dishes. And they keep each dish well stocked. If you consider being able to go back for more stuff again and again, then this is the place for you. We found that most dishes were tepid or warm (and not hot) plus quite flavorless.

The taste and quality of a number of the dishes that I tried pale in comparison to dishes found at the good Chinese restaurants in the area, specifically The Mandarin, Shanghai Grill, and Chang Garden. I tried two sushi dishes and they were not very good.

It's been years since I have been to King Buffet. My recollection is that King Buffet is better.

One dish that I tried that I have not seen available in the Wausau area was frog legs! They are served on a stick. The spice or marinade does have a Cajun taste. They were very good.

Brown rice is available.

I've been meaning to try this place and finally talked the husband into heading over last weekend. Overall, the food is pretty darn tasty. There is so much stuff which overwhelms me a bit, I may be in the minority, but if I'm going to a buffet, I prefer a smaller variety of quality items - not a bunch of filler stuff. Some of the highlights were the peanut butter chicken, chicken with jalapenos and honey chicken. The dim sum items and dumplings were a huge let down. I was so excited to see steamed buns and they just were not good at all. I was impressed with the maki rolls - nothing exciting, all cooked fish varieties, but flavorful enough and a nice little treat. This place is very clean and well laid out.

Our waitress, while nice, lingered a bit too often... it got to be a little uncomfortable after awhile. We'll probably go back, you can't really beat the price of the lunch buffet.

This place was really great! Awesome selection. Vegetarian options. Great dessert. Good service too, and it was our waiter's first day waiting tables! Staff as very accommodating. Price was really reasonable. A new favorite! (We actually liked it so much we went back the next day!)

Won't get long winded here. The buffet was as expected. Food was good with good variety and freshness.