Chinese Buffets in Dublin

I'm delighted to see buffet-style restaurants opening up in Dublin. They can offer great value for money, allowing you to pick out your favourites and indulge. I still have great memories of a chinese buffet restaurant I found in Birmingham years ago which had shredded roast duck and sweet potato fritters on the starter counter. I barely made it to the main courses!!

In the last week, I've tried two of the new comers, the Full House on Middle Abbey Street and Jimmy Chungs on Eden Quay.

The Full House offers a lunchtime buffet for E8.80 which increases at eveningtime. The restaurant itself is nicely decorated and is more spacious that it appears from the outside. The food on offer is standard fare with limited choices for mains and starters. It was filling, and I noticed that containers were constantly being replenished from the kitchen downstairs. However, it wasn't particularly tasty or inspiring chinese food. The wontons were pretty much all pastry with the tiniest dab of prawn fillings, while the prawn toast was mainly deep-fried bread. Good value though, if you're looking for a quick feed.



A few days later, I visited Jimmy Chungs, which is part of a Scottish chain of chinese buffet restaurants. The dining room is spacious and decorated nicely with modern touches. Lunch comes in at a pricier E10.90 Mon - Thurs (E12.90 Fri - Sun), while it costs E17.90 in the evening. Although this is a more expensive option than the Full House, you do get more choice and dessert is included. Starters are pretty good here and I've seen plenty of people filling up their plates with the substantial satay chicken skewers. In comparison to the previous restaurant, the prawn toast and wontons are generous and the 'Volcano mushrooms' are definitely worth a try. There are plenty of main course choices, although I did find them all a little on the bland side. The chilli chicken, although nice and crunchy, didn't feature any chilli and I found a lot of the sauces to be quite thin. However, the Mr Whippy machine is a clear favourite when it comes to dessert, although cake and fresh fruit is also on offer. In short, there is great choice, if again a little on the bland side.

So there you have it. Both restaurants offer value for money and are good safe, if uninspiring, bets when it comes to eating out. Let's hope that some more restaurants will open offering more authentic Chinese food.

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