Friday, September 2, 2016

A Chinese Buffet – Joy Luck

One more dining adventure awaited us in the St. Louis area during our family visit in June.  Bill and Bonnie picked the restaurant…although Bill was the primary mover.  He and I both like to eat and this choice featured ‘volume’!


This is Joy Luck Chinese Buffet Sushi and Grill in Brentwood Missouri.  Bill and I both love buffets although neither of us should ever patronize one!  It’s getting harder and harder to find a competent buffet of any type or cuisine but I’m always hopeful…


The dining room might as well be windowless as all of the blinds were closed.  The room has low ceilings but it’s bright enough and the tables aren’t crowded together.  Décor is minimalist…



The buffet area has 2 runs of hot stations plus others for salads, desserts and the like.  There is also a chef on hand who will put together made to order stir fry.  Another area has a modest sushi selection that you can choose from… The offerings on the buffet were warm and fresh and the buffet area as well as the dining room was clean and well maintained.


This was Bill’s first plate of food from the buffet!  A bit of this and more of that… The adult dinner buffet cost $10.49 but our waiter ‘neglected’ to offer us the 10% senior discount…which I noted much later on Joy Luck’s menu.  Still, given what we managed to consume, we certainly got our monies worth!


This was my first plate of food.  When at a buffet, I sample a few things that I think I’ll like and then I focus in like a laser beam on those items for my subsequent trip or trips to the hot tables… Hey, at least I at some vegetables!  Note that I always pick up some extra spicy pepper sauce to complement my choices.


Bonnie and Laurie weren’t hungry enough to go for the buffet.  They opted to share an entrée from the menu.  Then they started out with big bowls of Hot and Sour Soup ($3.00 each) Laurie said that the soup was OK but it lacked the ‘heat’ that we both enjoy.

Joy Luck’s menu offers over 100 options to those who just don’t enjoy buffets or appreciate the quantities of food that confronts a buffet ‘browser’.  What I didn’t know was that this restaurant has a ‘secret’ Sichuan menu!  Since I love ‘spicy hot’ Chinese cuisine, I probably would have opted out of the buffet and gone for one of the Sichuan specials, such as the Pork Hock or the Spicy Lamb.   


The ladies split an order of Chicken with Peanuts and Celery over some type of noodle. ($11.99) The noodles weren’t pretty but they enjoyed their dinners.  With the soup they sure had plenty to eat!

The buffet and the food at Joy Luck Chinese Buffet, Sushi and Grill were better than average for this dining genre.  Service wasn’t the best with our empty plates piling up a bit on the table.  I would like to return at some point to try out the Sichuan menu… This restaurant is located at 8030 Manchester Road in Brentwood Missouri.  Phone: 314-645-9982.  I couldn’t find a Website or Facebook site for this restaurant.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 


4 comments:

  1. It all looks delicious! Have a great weekend!

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  2. Looks like Bill got his money's worth, especially if he went back.

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  3. Dear Dave, I too am not much for a buffet style restaurant. But it looks like you did enjoy it. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  4. Chinese cooking is usually done in a wok or a bamboo steamer. A wok is simply a large, bowl shaped pan that can hold soups, stews or stir fry easily. Phoenix Chinese Restaurant

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