QQ Asian Buffet

Update: QQ is closed (thanks for the tip!)

In a word: Quality by way of quantity.

The specs: #0531  
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Isthmus, Yelp, , listing at Eat Drink Madison.

Darby, Dave, JM, John, and Nichole ate at the buffet with 3 fountain drinks.
The bill was $58, or $11.60/person, plus tip.
JM gave QQ Asian Buffet an A-; Darby, Dave, John and Nichole gave QQ Asian Buffet a B (see our grading rubric).

Latest QQ Asian Buffet news and reviews

It's just this buffet, you know? But a buffet with some unconventional choices - maybe not enough to be a draw, but enough to stymie someone looking for just sweet and sour chicken and beef and broccoli.

Some things we could have done without:

• While the decor was thankfully way beyond its faux-Ren Faire legacy, the fluorescent lighting was kind of oppressive.
• None of the steamed buns seemed quite right - they crumbled apart too readily.
• The hot and sour soup was hotter than sour.
• Fried dough that *isn't* those lil' sugared donuts.  What exactly is the purpose of sugar-free donuts?
• The lack of vegetables on the "vegetable bar" was disconcerting...

Some highlights:

• ..but there was bok choi: laden to death with butter, at least it's a green.
• Cold mussels.
• Octopus salad.
• Whole crawfish.
• Entire island that beat the pants off of China Buffet. 
• "Stuffed seafood" on the half-oyster shell was a retro delight, right out of BHG circa 1965: a custardy, cheesy, oily congelation of something fish-ish was probably deadly but at the time seemed like a good idea.
• Salmon. Come to think of it, the extent and quality of seafood was remarkable compared to other Asian buffets (Oysy notwhitstanding).
• Real lil' sugared donuts. Nothing wrong with those.

QQ is a hit with some folks we know, especially of the ultra-youthful persuasion, which we can get behind. For grownups, once might be enough. It was also our third "three names/one location" place. Yet we're mostly still sad that China Palace is gone.

Comments

[catwoman5]

Yea - that was my take on this place, too - pretty much a B. Not bad, but not all that great, either. And I miss China Palace, too!!!

[Karen]

It's the only Chinese buffet I know of that features pizza!

[D Barber]

Tried when it first opened and might have given it a B then as a solid offering. However, in winter the dining room proved chillingly cold and the food lukewarm and worse. Muddy flavors, stinky seafood, and overdone fried food like eggrolls. Adventurous offerings like octopus salad just scared me off when so much else was not fresh.

A place that barely earns a D grade on a bad day doesn't get a return visit from this consumer. ymmv, as I see from your review and responses to date.

By the way, if you want to have pizza and Chinese-like dishes at the same meal, try the working-class Hy-Vee "Grand Buffet".

[theginn]

Been here a few times (Asian buffets are my fast foods). I enjoyed it at first because of all their seafood selections, but as those have diminished, so has the quality in general, which was the case at least on my last visit.