The Journey

Truly amazing, a fantasy of a buffet.

Overall one of the top Oriental Buffets — bottom line you can pretty well justify the price of admission with the Sushi/​Sashimi bar. They have 2 to 4 guys only working on preparing Fresh Sushi & Sashimi constantly. They have a nice Hibachi Grill, Chocolate tower etc and some other nice selections that most buffets don’t have. A little more pricey but you get what you pay for!

One of the best buffets I’ve been to. I’m not a big fan of buffets, but when this place first opened up, it had some pretty good food. I haven’t been here in a long time but they sure did wow you with the selection, not to mention the chocolate fountain or crêpe station.

This is definitely not worth what they charge for dinner. The hot and sour soup is in a big kettle, but it wasn’t hot. The food was as hot as should have been. The restaurant wasn’t close to full and it took a while to get drink refills. I hadn’t been here in 8 years and now I remember why.

We were there early and asked to be seated in the party room, was told that party room was reserved but we couldn’t get the other party room cause we can’t reserve it?!! Then she would speak Chinese to the waitress and was cursing at us in front of our kids cause she was frustrated or something. We had a party of 15 and would not leave a dollar here for a business like this ever again. Needless to say we left and would not be back! Food is mediocre at best.

First things first. When you walk through the glass doors, you will be greeted by unprofessional staff. You can always count on them to be rude.
Their food selection is OK. Nothing special.
It’s definitely not worth paying for what they charge.
Save your money and go somewhere your business is wanted and train professional that will treat you with kindness and respect.

It’s a good place to get lots of Asian food. While it also has other cuisines, Asian is my main go to cuisine. The wait is very long but totally worth it. Lunch on weekends is only $ 12 and it’s all you can eat. I’d definitely recommend their rolls, seafood udon soup, their grilled meat, and potstickers

The food was fresh and the sushi was excellent. The crowded isles to get your food is uncomfortable and both my wife and daughter were ran into by the plate cart hard enough to knock them off balance. The selection is wide and exotic. Was good for a first time visit. Probably won’t be back unless we r in neighborhood and craving sushi.

Very good place to eat! Wait time is pretty hectic but the food makes up for it. Took us 1.2hours to be seated party of 4. This is around 6pm. We love crab legs and had heard good things about this place and based on previous reviews I must say this is our new spot. We are not from the state and missing Cali’s variety of seafood buffets. We had previously gone to Formousa and was a complete disaster. So this place is clean, variety of food is great and taste is bombalicious. They keep up with stocking the crablegs and that to me is a win win situation given how busy and pack it gets.

I had heard good things about this place, and finally decided to give it a go. Not impressed. Maybe I was just having an off day, maybe it was the strange dirty-​dishwater smell permeating the buffet area, or maybe it was the disgusting gargantuess that belched so loudly a sailor would blush as she was leaving and I was walking in (manners!), but I didn’t really like the place.
It’s kind of pretty in a gaudy sort of way, with the wierd tile pyramid waterfall, battered wrap around booths, and boat-​like salad bar. The food, however, left something to be desired. Lots of miscellaneous seafood dishes– sushi, fish, mussles, etc; a few Asian standbys like fried rice and lo mein, a sort of Mongolian grill, and the usual sub-​par desserts. All for the low, low price of about $ 12 for lunch. I think I’ll stick to my local Chinese buffet, and won’t be returning to The Journey. Also, it’s been about 5 hours since I’ve eaten there, and I’m very sick to my stomach…

I can’t believe I gave this place a 4, it is everything I detest; flashy interior and exterior, buffets, mass produced Asian food, enough room inside to seat perhaps 400 people: Gasp!
With all that said it was not half bad. Prime rib, shrimp on skewers with old bay, dumplings, chicken on skewers, all kinds of Chinese dishes, sushi (not Japan quality, but ok), desserts, on and on and for under 25 a person all you can eat.
Good for a big group and for those starving teenagers. We will come here from time to time.

I am not usually in this part of town, but I had heard this was a decent buffet; especially if you like oriental fare/​food.
I won’t fault them for the fact that when we arrived around 5, there was already a huge line, and it also extended well into the parking lot. I initially thought maybe it was a good sign that the place might be definitely decent. After reviewing the critiques on this restaurant on Unilocal,I figured they were worth a try.
The line moved fairly quickly so we could get in and get seated fairly quickly. It appeared that the people that run the place seemed to have that scene managed to an art form in order to expedite the process.
The main issue was once we were seated, the lines to get our food were just as long. This is where the bigger picture becomes crystal clear.
The way the buffet is set up is not very efficient and organized; and it’s absolutely confusing to navigate. It was a cluster of chaos. It starts at two ends and/​or sides of the restaurant. The main annoyance is that at some point the lines run into each other head on. Then you end up staring at the other person in front of you face to face and play a weird and awkward game of chicken as to who will make the next move in order to get some of the food you each want. It’s just uncomfortable and weird.
This unfortunately happened to me. I ended up at the noodle bar encountering a woman who looked like she was 2 seconds away from snarling at me trying to get to the noodles as well. I was technically there first, and as she was waiting for me to move, I just politely said — «I just wanted a few noodles, and then I am outta here». She was not amused, shot me another acidic glance, said nothing, and walked away in a huff. It was beyond rude and uncivilized. Whatever.
The place is simply a ravenous sea of humanity that seem to have very little etiquette or manners. More than not, many were behaving poorly when it came to practicing patience and respect other people’s personal space. The way many of them were acting, you would have thought this was the only restaurant open in town, and it also reminded me as if it might be their last meal right before the apocalypse.
The loud circus/​zoo type atmosphere is nuts and unnerving. It just didn’t jive with me considering the buffet cost $ 20.00 a pop for an ‘upgraded’ spread with all of the supposed amenities and offerings. And, along with the average presentation of food, honestly, I really didn’t think the layout was impressive enough for the lofty price point.
It was over 60.00 for three of us. OUCH — and that’s insane for what we got; namely the poor experience and food respectively.
The food was also slightly above average as far as taste.
I have had better, and I have also had worse.
Notable and honorable mention would go to the potstickers/​fried dumplings and the veggie sushi.
I was glad I was able to score a sampling of each before I was trampled over, or my hand or head was chewed off.
;o/​!!!
I would also like to suggest to the owners of the restaurant that they clean up the fountain water feature below and around the wooden bridge as you enter the restaurant. It was absolutely full of debris and trash. It was very dilapidated, neglected and disgusting looking.
This one is officially ‘off the list’. I won’t bother coming back.

I’ve been to my fair share of buffets, and this one seems to always fall off my radar. It used to be crazy expensive for dinner ($ 50), and now that it’s down to a reasonable price ($ 20), we decided to give it another go.
Decent selection of typical, American-​Asian fare. In regards to the sushi, I could only eat the unagi roll. I tried the spicy tuna; a favorite of mine at most places. Their spicy tuna roll was a tuna roll with some crazy hot sauce slapped on top. I almost choked because the hot sauce just took my breath away. Not in a romantic way. Its like they couldn’t take the extra time to add the spice to the tuna mix. Plus, the tuna tasted cheap and rubbery. That just turned me off the sushi altogether.
Then I went for my usual buffet essentials: fried rice, crab rangoon, lo mein, chicken and pot stickers. It was ok, but nothing to write home about. They have something that looks like a hibachi grill, but there’s no signage that helps you understand the process. It just looks like a bunch of line cooks crammed in front of the buffet counters to look like people are working really hard on the food. Maybe they are, but it sure doesn’t taste like it.
The salad bar is kind of scary. It’s tilts up on both ends and sinks down in the middle, like a boat, and contains a random variety of cold foods. Salad toppings, fruit, puddings, etc. I don’t know about you, but it just doesn’t look appealing to me when every cold food item in the restaurant is on one island. The desserts leave a lot to be desirable. Fake cakes and stale pastries, like most buffets. I did enjoy the Japanese cheesecake though. The chocolate fountain sounds cooler than it is. It doesn’t taste very good to me. The ice cream is pre-​scooped into cups; unlabeled with a look like people have been sticking their fingers in them to figure out the flavors. Blegh! That night, my husband and I both were sick to our stomachs. I had heard from other friends that they also felt ill after eating there.
So, scratch this one off your list. It’s not worth $ 20. SMH.

If somebody told me they were taking me to eat at a buffet that served everything from sushi, gyoza dumplings, and beef teriyaki to mashed potatoes, pizza, and mac & cheese, I would shudder. My first assumption would be that anybody who did this much stuff couldn’t possibly do any of it well. The Journey actually surprised me with having decent quality items for the selection that they offer.
The place is certainly popular, and there will often be packed for lunch, at least on the weekends. One of the big draws for the lunch crowd is that their prices are surprisingly cheap at $ 8.50 for lunch during the week and $ 10.99 on the weekend. It gets more expensive for dinner, but the entirety of my few visits here have come on a Saturday or Sunday for lunch. Their parking lot is just barely big enough to hold all of the cars that it needs to when they are full, but since people who tend to go to all you can eat buffets also don’t tend to want to walk very far to get there, it can get pretty crowded with people getting dropped off at the front or waiting to see where the family walking out the door is going to be pulling out from.
The inside is much nicer than I expected. They have a big place, and there are plenty of sections where they can hold large groups. I think there are even some semi-​private areas if you were having a large party and wanted to reserve one of those. Once you are seated, a server will take drink orders (drinks cost extra) and you are free to go hit the buffet. They also have a small selection of beers, sake, and wine. The service here is hit and miss. It’s never great, which is expected at a buffet, but sometimes it is really bad.
They really do offer a little bit of everything when it comes to food. I usually stick to the sushi selection, which is very respectable. They have maybe 10 or so different rolls to choose from, along with some nigiri, sashimi, and even temaki. Outside of the sushi, I usually end up with some of the more popular Chinese food that we see over here, including fried rice, lo mein, beef teriyaki, general tso’s chichen, and a crab Rangoon or two. They also have a lot of seafood offerings. For those not willing to branch out to even Americanized Asian dishes, you can get mashed potatoes, steak, ribs, mac & cheese, pasta, and a handful of other comfort items. The buffet is dominantly Asian though. They also have a salad bar, side items, and quite a bit of fruit. Their dessert selection is pretty expansive, and includes a big chocolate fountain that I have seen way too many kids (and adults) get their hands into to ever want to eat anything from that.
The place looks clean and there are never any items that look like they have been sitting in a warmer for way too long. A look at their health department inspections reveals a few concerns, but it’s certainly less than what I expected to see for a giant buffet with a lot of seafood and raw items.
This is a place I will make it to once or twice a year. It’s worth a visit if you like going to all you can eat buffets and want something different from a Golden Corral type place, or something better than a Super China Buffet. Just go in with the proper expectations that you should have for any AYCE buffet and you will be pleased.

Great value for the money. For a buffet, the food is seasoned SO well. There’s a ton to select from. There’s traditional American fare (albeit a small selection), lots of seafood, sushi — quite a selection for a buffet and an entire bar designated for desserts.
We’ve been for both lunch and dinner. I think the biggest difference is that they put the more expensive stuff (crab legs) on the buffet for dinner, but not for lunch. When we did go for dinner, we tried the crab legs. Some were okay and some were rather dry. Not to worry though — butter cures all matter of sins :-)
The crab bake… OH MY BOB… The crab bake is to die for!!! The coconut shrimp was also a big hit for me.
I would suggest if you’re going at dinner — don’t arrive right when they open at 5pm. Give them 15 – 20 minutes to seat the mob of people that congregate in their lobby. If you’re claustrophobic at all — this will give you a massive anxiety attack.

THE Chinese Buffet of Chinese buffets.
Now this place is simply amazing. HUGE food selection, options for every dining preference, and literal drool worthy food. My only reasons for not giving 5 stars is poor service and price. Our server literally could care less about us (which I can tip less for I guess) and the price jumped up to $ 20 a person with little to no changes from the experience.
Though I’d go back in a heartbeat and eat my way through this place.

In the quality vs. quantity scale you usually expect buffets to land pretty solidly in the low quality, high quantity quadrant. The Journey, while not entirely escaping this stereotype, does manage to put up a fight. They have tons of offerings that include everything from the typical Chinese buffet lineup to sushi to a chocolate fountain. I don’t think I’d say any of it is amazing, but I wasn’t disappointed either. The price is pretty high for dinner, but lunch during the week is a steal! So no, I wouldn’t recommend making a pilgrimage from far away just to visit this place, but if you’re in the area around lunch time and want a lot of food, then check this buffet out.

I’ve been here several times and if you’re into buffets, they never really disappoint. We took one of our kids out on a kid date and surprised him with the Journey. They have lots of Asian-​inspired fares from salt and pepper crab legs to sushi, but then they cover the tastes of the not-​so-​adventurous eaters by having a BBQ station with ribs, steaks, sausage and sides to match i.e. mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, etc.
Their focus is seafood, which is a personal favorite of mine, so I was super happy with my plate full of fried calamari, variety sushi and grilled flounder. I finished my rounds with warn apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream and those yummy little coffee chocolate cake squares.
I was also excited to see that they’ve enclosed their chocolate fountain to prevent little hands from going where they shouldn’t. Even though I don’t partake in that, it still skeeved me out that it was so accessible. So good call on that one, Journey.
I’ll be back, I’m sure mostly because our kids love this place

I went here years ago and while I enjoyed the food and large selection of items, I didn’t love the food poisoning.
Fast forward to this afternoon, when my co-​workers invite me to lunch here. I decided to give it another chance. The food was so-​so: hard rice on the sushi but the fish was fresh, dumplings were delicious but the chicken items were burnt to a crisp. The chocolate fountain was pretty good… a bit chalky for chocolate but still chocolate none-​the-​less. Fast forward a few hours and I am feeling very sick (again). Food poising… again.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Never again, Journey. Never again.

I’m kind of surprised I haven’t reviewed the Journey considering how frequently we decide to go here since no restaurants seem to satisfy traditional tastes buds. I’m meaning, the Asian ‘rents and generations before me. It’s like a meeting place for a hungry crowd of Asians who want to feast upon a million choices under steam tables and eat upon the most valuable items to their desires while paying one price for an all inclusive meal. This is where the accounting begins, making sure all the items we devour are equivalent or surpass the $ 8ish worth we paid.
The Journey’s been here for a quite a number of years now and the food quality hasn’t declined like most all you can eat places. Plus, I don’t find them being super cheap and feeding you inedible items. I find they are a lot cleaner since they frequently wipe down the buffet table ledges when a piece of sushi rolls away or sauce just plops when you’re scooping (guilty as charged). I normally frequent the AYCE sushi bar. Ok, you really can’t compare it to an actual sit down Japanese restaurant where you order off a menu. I can get my share of raw tuna/​salmon rolls, and even nigiri mackerel/​cuttlefish at a fraction of the cost and they’re quite fresh. I haven’t had any stomach issues like at other Asian buffets. Some days you can get awesome Cantonese style cooked fish, fried saltwater crabs, grilled mackerel, lamb skewers, and fried salt and pepper tentacles. Yum!
I tend to overeat when I come here, but if I came here for a late lunch… I wouldn’t even have to think about what to eat for dinner since I’ll still be full. More bang for your bucks, again. It’s definitely not a place I would frequent since I’m pretty sure I’d get tired of eating the same things over and over. It’s great for pleasing a large get together since there’s so many options for everyone to pick from. You wouldn’t have to worry about someone complaining since they’re picky eaters.