Daly Buffet Seafood and BBQ Lunch Buffet Review in Daly City

JNgoc Adventures

Summary:

This video reviews the Daly Buffet in Daly City, offering a detailed look at their lunch buffet, which costs $64 for two people including an 8% service charge. It features a wide array of options, including a salad station, fruit bar, dim sum, and various hot foods such as baked mussels and teriyaki chicken. A standout is the Malatang station, where guests can customize their soup with diverse ingredients and choice of broth. The sushi section offers nigiri and various rolls, complemented by cold appetizers like kimchi and chicken feet. Reviewers particularly praised the Malatang bar, describing the broth as amazing and the quality as very good, noting it as a main attraction. Hot dishes like fried chicken and noodles were also highlighted for their flavor and crunchiness. Despite some sushi rolls having a high rice-to-filling ratio, the overall freshness and flavor of the seafood and hot items were well-received.

Arrival and Initial Impressions [0:00]

The video begins with the hosts, JNgoc Adventures, arriving at Daly Buffet in Daly City. They note that the buffet has been open for about a month and expect it to be less crowded than when it first opened.

• The buffet is located next to the Century Theater and offers free public parking.
• The total cost for two people for lunch is $64, which includes an 8% service charge, eliminating the need for additional tipping.
• The interior of the buffet is described as newly revamped and busy for a Monday lunch.

  

Buffet Tour: Stations and Selections [1:15]

The hosts provide a comprehensive tour of the buffet, showcasing the diverse food stations.

• Salad and Fruit Station: Features fresh oranges, honeydew, lychee, peaches, strawberries, and various melons. [1:26]

  

  • Unique items include sweet fungus and lotus seed soup, and miso soup with tofu.

    

• Dim Sum Station: Offers a variety of steamed buns and other dim sum selections. [2:03]

  

  • A staff member helps to serve the dim sum items to ensure cleanliness and order.

    

• Hot Food Section: Includes a range of cooked dishes. [2:22]
  • Items observed: Potatoes and shrimp, fried squid, chicken teriyaki, fried fish, baked mussels with cheese, and baked scallops.

    

    

    

    

• Malatang Station: This is highlighted as a main attraction, allowing custom selection of ingredients and soup bases. [2:42]

  

  • Ingredients include fish cakes, various proteins (tofu, mushrooms, beef, shrimp, tripe, fish), and noodles. [2:54]

    

  • Soup bases offered: Mala, tomato, and Thai. Customers hand off their selections to chefs for cooking.

    

• Teppanyaki/BBQ Station: Offers fresh ingredients for stir-frying. [3:22]
  • Selections: Chow mein, cabbage, carrots, fish, shrimp, octopus, and mixed vegetables.

    

  • Chefs cook the selected items on a large grill.

    

• Additional Hot Foods: Further hot food options. [3:41]
  • Includes: Plantains, coconut shrimp, fries, chicken wings (buffalo and orange), egg rolls, sesame balls, garlic bread, and fried rice.

    

  • Cooked greens like string beans and stir-fried bok choy are also available. [4:35]

    

  • Other dishes: Fried shrimp, stir-fried eggplant, spicy chicken, fish and tofu, clams, and sweet and sour pork. [4:48]

    

    

• Sushi Section: Features a variety of sushi and sashimi. [5:21]
  • Includes: Nigiri (crabsticks, octopus, hamachi, salmon, shrimp), various sushi rolls (some with avocado, tempura batter, cream cheese, tuna, tobiko), and gunkan maki (seaweed, crab, tuna, masago).

    

    

    

  • Accompanying salads: Seaweed salad, crab salad, and mixed greens. [6:16]

    

  • Pickled items: Kimchi and pickled radish with carrots. [6:28]
• Dessert and Cold Appetizers:
  • Desserts: Cookies, assorted jellos (strawberry, mango, lime), and various cakes. [6:37]

    

  • A unique "jelloy" item was also available.

    

  • Cold Appetizers: Wood ear mushrooms, cucumbers, chicken feet, pig's ear, cold chicken, crawfish, shrimp cocktail, clams, mussels, and snails. [6:59]

    

    

• Beverage Station: Offers an all-you-can-drink selection. [7:20]

  

First Round Tasting and Reviews [7:34]

The hosts begin tasting their selections from the first round.

• Baked Mussels and Baked Crab:
  • Described as good, very cheesy, and not having an "overly frozen taste." [8:09]
  • The mayo and cheese seasoning was praised.
• Dim Sum Tripe:
  • Noted for its great texture, with ginger and scallion flavor. [9:29]
  • Acknowledged as "a tad oily" but good in taste and texture.

    

• Sushi Rolls:
  • Rolls lacked specific names, so selections were based on appearance. [10:18]
  • Tuna roll was good flavor-wise but had a lot of rice.
  • Tempura batter roll with cream cheese was "very good" but also large.
  • A tuna and tobiko roll with crab and cucumber inside was a favorite, praised for its flavor. [12:12]

    

• Malatang (Mala Flavor):
  • Described as a "main attraction" and "amazing." [13:20]
  • Broth was noted for a good numbing effect without being overwhelming, and extra spicy was an option.
  • The quality of the Malatang was rated "10 out of 10," remaining good even after sitting for 10 minutes.

    

• Hot Plate (Coconut Shrimp, Fried Chicken, Chow Mein, Noodles):
  • Fried chicken and coconut shrimp were crunchy and flavorful. [15:16]

    

    

    

    

  • Chow mein was deemed "really good" and a must-have at a Chinese buffet.
  • Noodles (vermicelli-like) had a delicious umami taste.
• Sushi (Spicy Tuna Roll, Salmon Nigiri, Hamachi Nigiri):
  • Spicy tuna roll was "fresh" and "really good." [17:53]

    

  • Salmon nigiri had a decent fish-to-rice ratio and was surprisingly fresh. [19:02]

    

    

  • Overall, the fresh fish and well-prepared fried food were highlighted.

Second Round Tasting and Reviews [20:05]

The second round focuses on different selections, including a different Malatang flavor and cold appetizers.

• Malatang (Thai Base):
  • The Thai broth was found to be flavorful, with a good level of spice, though a bit more sour than preferred. [22:07]
  • Ramen noodles soaked up the flavors well.

    

• Cold Appetizers:
  • Pig's Ear: Good texture but lacked strong flavor. [24:10]

    

  • Wood Ear Mushrooms: Not very flavorful, potentially due to being a top layer without much juice from the vinegary base. [24:28]

    

  • Chicken Feet: Described as "yum" but not the typical fall-off-the-bone dim sum style, requiring more effort to eat. It retains the "essence of chicken feet." [24:51]

    

• Stir-fried Eggplant:
  • Despite an initial dislike for the "goopy" texture of eggplant, the flavor was "so good" and would pair well with rice. [25:57]
• Steamed Clams:
  • Typical steamed clams, "really nice to eat." [27:02]

Third Round Tasting and Final Thoughts [27:59]

The third round focuses on the Teppanyaki grill and more dim sum items.

• Teppanyaki (Chow Mein, Lamb, Cabbage):
  • Freshly grilled and steaming hot, the combination with soy sauce was "so good." [28:02]
  • Lamb and beef were identified as the two meats from the Malatang bar.
  • The habachi grill adds a nice variety to the buffet.

    

• Malatang (Mala, Lamb, Enoki Mushrooms):
  • Customized with extra spicy mala broth, lamb, and enoki mushrooms instead of noodles. [29:07]

    

  • Declared the "star of the show" and the host's favorite.

    

  • The wait for the Malatang bar is considered "definitely worth it."
• Dessert/Dim Sum (Sweet Jelloy, Steamed Buns, Plantain, Short Ribs):
  • A mysterious "jelloy" item was sweet, savory, light, fluffy, and bouncy, with a slight porky taste. [30:50]
  • Black steamed bun with custard filling was "sweet" and "delicious," like an egg custard bun. [31:26]
  • Mini egg custard bun was also sweet and dessert-like. [32:01]
  • Plantain was enjoyed. [32:22]
  • Short ribs (pork chop-like) were sweet and savory, recommended with rice, and praised for the chef's flavoring. [32:38]

    

Conclusion [33:37]

The hosts conclude that Daly Buffet is a "solid buffet."

• They appreciate the return of such buffets, evoking a "nostalgic feeling" and a "sense of home."
• While not expecting "grand quality" from buffets, they found the food "still good."
• The Malatang bar was a major "hit."
• The atmosphere is described as "family-oriented," "homey," and "wholesome," with many older patrons.

  

• Suggestions for improvement include adding more dim sum items like har gow and shumai.