Zen Sushi not So Zelicious After All (too fishy)

So it was my convocation date downtown so we chose a nearby restaurant to fuel our energy after the ceremony. My parents had gone to Zen all you can eat in the south side and thought the one downtown should be pretty decent too. 

BOY WERE WE IN FOR A SURPRISE and not the good kind.

Here is my dad and I and my mom and I in your NICE WEAR for the event.


Below are some pictures I ended up taking thought the presentation sucked and the food was below mediocre.

First of all the service was horrible we had to keep harassing the staff to bring our order and often the order was wrong. Also there are many limitations as to what you can order and how many you can have. WHAT NONSENSE!!! for an all you can eat.

Rolls were ok but the rice was not the best.

Their teriyaki chicken and beef was decent but a tad SALTY for my tastes .

Other sushi and maki were just ALL RIGHT

Their sashmi didn't taste fresh and the whole place stank like nasty fish .

In all I really did not enjoy my food there, the place was dirty, the service horrible and the food MEH. Thank god I didn't have to pay for it or else I would have left.

I think for price to quantity to quality THIS PLACE IS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME.

Moose Factory: Gluttonous Galore

So I dunno why I am really into the all you can eat recently. I didn't even feel that particularly hungry but Dustin and I ventured to Moose Factory on Calgary Trail around 5pm and began our gluttonous feast.

Their brunch which ends at 2pm would have been more suitable for Dustin a brekie lover. But for me I love MEAT and lunch/ dinner food. The cost for this all you can eat buffet is $26.99 a person and you still had to tip. YIKES the asian me was grimacing at this point.

 we got sat down at a two person table with enough space for you to bring multiple plates to you table.

 they had a salad or cold dishes spread going. I loved the smoked salmon offering. Though I have tasted better, it wasn't bad at all.

 they also have a variety of soups. I went for the split pea and ham. IT tasted alright but slightly too heavy on the salt.

 This was my plate number one. I still had the pile it on mentality though I could go back to get more again and again. I THINK there might be a 2 hour period you can eat I am unsure. I had their bun, they weren't warm but fresh enough. I had their ribs which were ok juicy but not the same as Montana's. For some reason I was really addicted to their rice which really is probably a variation of Uncle Ben's. Even their vegetables were smothered in butter. I also had their dark turkey meat. I particularly enjoyed it since it was SAUCY and moist.

 I was totally enjoying myself till I found this little GEM in my food. Now note I do not have any white hair. EWWWW this is one of the downsides of having buffet.... HAIRS (pukes in mouth a bit)

 My second plate I finally got their prime rib. IT had some seasoning on the outside and it was quite fatty. (which I like) However, this is not even comparable to the one I always get at Milestones which is so tender it melts in your mouth and you get an explosion of flavor. This one NOT SO MUCH. I went for the seafood cold salad which I think they just used a frozen pack.

 By my last plate I was not able to fill my plate to the brim. Went for lighter affair and watermelon since a lot of their stuff I found to be a bit salty.

 the decor was kinda cool really enjoyed the hue chandelier .

 We then headed to the dessert table which is separate from the rest of the buffet.

 There was also a chocolate fountain. I wish they had bananas though!
I went for bread pudding which actually tasted like a soggy cinnamon bun but STILL tastes delicious. Their carrot cake though cute was not yummy. It lacked the spices and was quite dry.
At this point, the food level was rising up my throat. It was definitely time to go.

Overall, I guess not bad for getting a entree soup main and dessert. The hair really put me off but what can you do. IS this better than the all you can eat hot pot? WEll not really depends on your mood and what you wanna go for. I think I should just wait the 8 days and eat all you can eat in Asia at the 5 star hotel!! (more to come on that)

Food Taste: 7.5/10
Food Quality and Presentation: 6/ 10
Service: 5/10  (waitress didn't really come back to fill your drink or take your plates away)
Atmosphere: 7/10 (it was clean)

All You Can Eat Hot Pot: King Noodle & Hot Pot

So right before final I was craving the soup. Rerain and I ventured to a dingy little place called King Noodle and Hot Pot. I heard from my co-worker THIS WAS THE PLACE for hot pot. It was around 5 pm when we arrived and there was only 3 other tables occupied other than ours. The price for an all you can eat for anyone over a certain height (pretty much age of 12 unless you are super tall or short) is 23.99.

 the building itself looks super old and ghetto.  it is near 97th street so I guess that is a given. ( yikes my hand got in the way)

You get this ordering sheet. some items cost extra like certain broths.

We had to share a burner .

what the rest of the restaurant looks like. It wasn't too dirty on the inside at all. Quite clean actually.

here are the variety of sauces they offer. YUM to the mashed up garlic.

Rerain and I pretty much got every sauce available.

we went for spicy both sides. but since its halved you can choose. We should have chosen the clear broth since this one was sOOO oily my stomach hurt. 

We ordered platters of meat for lamb, different beefs and even different seafood.

I think their seafood can be a hit or miss some of it tastes fresh(er) while others were super fishy.

we had some sides such as this rice and some chinese sausage and triple fat meat.

our food was cooking. rerain ordered too much noodle types and we just couldn't finish it.

we also got ice cream (blueberry cheese cake)


All in all not bad for 23.99 plus tip. There was tons of vegs too and if I was hungrier I would love this place even more. I am an advent hot pot cooker myself at home so I think you should only come if you are really into meat and get lots of it. Don't just get the spicy one unless you don't want to be able to taste anything. I was so full after this I passed out. =)

This isn't a bad place at all. I don't know if it ever gets packed because I went on a weekday 30 min after they opened. They are relatively fast with bringing out your meat and veg etc. The only limitation is a 2 hour eating time. SO EAT FAST.