Mekong

This establishment finally closed down after 21 years in the business. On behalf of my family, I want to say thank you to all the customers who came in to support a local business family. It’s sad to say it’s time to retire my parents from the restaurant life as we can not keep up with the demands of customers’ opinions (which you are entitled to) and to enjoy their lives. Goodbye Stockton! What a great run and a great way to go out in 2014!

I go to a restaurant to eat somewhat decent quality food. This buffet failed.
I don’t like writing negative reviews for small mom-​and-​pop places but hey it’s my money.
The place is relatively clean, although not elegant. The lady proprietor was friendly.
The assortment of food on the buffet, although small, was adequate and if fresh would’ve been good.
There in is the key to a decent buffet… turn-​over of the food. This place evidently doesn’t have enough business to keep the food fresh. At least today they didn’t.
Most things were either crusted over or soggy. The rice had hard kernels in it.
Maybe things would be fresher on a weekday at lunchtime or when they first open.
I won’t go back. Gong’s is only half a block away if I want cheap buffet.

I liked it it was more than what I expected from a quick to go place or a tiny buffet! I don’t like to eat trash and trust me this was made with love!

So, I stopped in for takeout lunch before I had the chance to check Unilocal.I knew the $ 4.25 for 3 item special was too good to be true. I ordered chicken chow mein, pork spare ribs, and sweet and sour pork. My companion ordered fried rice, beef stew, and something the woman described as «hot plate chicken.» We also got 2 egg rolls. The chow mein was borderline stale; the pork spare ribs were dried out and WAY too sweet; and the sweet and sour pork tasted frozen. Surprisingly, the friend rice was the best thing we tried (and I usually dislike it). The beef stew was just bizarre and tasted like it came from a can and the hot plate chicken had a ginger flavor that my companion liked for the first bite. I didn’t care for the egg rolls because the wrapping tasted of sugar, but my companion thought it was okay.
The woman serving was very nice, but the food just is not up to par. In addition, I saw signs all over for a buffet, but it looks as though she constantly serves the food so I don’t see how that is much of a buffet set-​up. All in all, neither of us finished our meal and we were both left hungry… so, it was the most expensive set of plastic cutlery we have ever paid for.

The food tastes old, looks old, and is over priced and always empty and not appealing at all! If you like dirt flavor in your food, go here!

dine in buffet $ 6.75 and to go plate with 3 items $ 4.25 lunch special. I will mos def return for the egg plant stir fry and soon to be coming is PIZZA wow chinese food & PIZZa you really cant go wrong… looking forward to the pizza selections.

This is bargain pricing for food. Being a buffet, it’s probably the cheapest food in America. That being said, it’s pretty good food.
I’ve been to Hong Kong many times and this place reminds me of many of the hole in the wall restaurants in the back streets of Kowloon. You might call it cheap, not particularly «fresh» but it’s definitely an authentic experience.
I came here every couple weeks for awhile when myself and friends/​family were exceptionally broke (thank you recession). I must admit, now that I can afford better buffets I’ve only come back a couple times.

cheap and decent food
think its like $ 6.75 All-​day buffet
and i think they charge refills if you
ask for soda (I just get water)

this place sucks. They only give you one plate, i even found a roach in the rice i’m not playing… You will be better off going to taco bell across the street…

I’ve been frequenting this place ever since it opened which has been at least 15 years cuz my parents loved this place. I stopped coming when I moved away but when I moved back to Stockton 3 years ago I was so surprised that the price of their buffet has only gone up maybe $ 3 at the most! It’s still $ 6!?! Serious?
The quality of the food has gone down a bit but I believe it’s due to not as many customers so the food is left out. I usually go on the weekends when they first open and the same friendly face is there — although aged — a little Asian lady who’s as friendly as can be. Sometimes she also has her cute toddler granddaughters there smiling and laughing behind the counter. (and playing peek-​a-​boo lol.)
Anyways, my favorite dishes are the braised chicken — tender with a crispy exterior, mushroom chicken –hello, shitakes, fried shrimp — can’t beat that on a lunch menu, beef stew — beef chunks with fresh carrots, potatoes, and other veggies. Oh and let’s not forget the flan. Fresh, creamy and not too sweet.
Hey it’s less than $ 6 for lunch. You can’t beat that. Oh well if you have to pay for a refill. If you don’t have 75 cents for a refill after paying only $ 5.95 for lunch then you’re a brokea$$ anyways.

You would think a restaurant named Mekong would be Vietnamese, or at least Cambodian, since the Mekong River flows through both countries?
No Viet food here though!
It’s a no frills, cheap and dirty all you can eat buffet, serving some approximation of Chinese Americanized food. Everything has a brownish color, good thing they have labels on the food!
But this place is dirt cheap, so it has its following of, well, people who can appreciate really cheap approximation of Americanized Chinese food.
The best part of my meal here was my conversation with the owner, who is Vietnamese and from Vung Tau, a city in the south, not too far from the old Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh city).
Expecting Viet food and seeing a Chinese buffet, I thought maybe I could talk to the owner and she could whip something up from the back just for us. So I asked and it went like this:
«Do you have any Vietnamese food you can make?»
«Like what?»
«Phở?»
“No, no Phở” (chuckles)
(This makes sense, because Phở broth takes a very long time)
«Hu Tieu, Bun Bo Hue, Bun Rieu?»
«No» (chuckle chuckle).
«Canh Chua Ca Bong Lau?»
«Oh, Canh Chua Ca Bong Lau, oh I like that! But we don’t have it!»
«Cha Gio, Goi Cuon, anything?»
Then she gets into the act! «Nem Nuong, Banh Xeo!»
I am like, «yeah, Yeah, like that!» (licking my chops!)
«You know a lot of Vietnamese food!
But we only have the buffet!»
Lunch buffet, AYCE, including drink and dessert for $ 5.95.
Dinner buffet, $ 6.45.
Fill ‘er up!

an ok place to fill up for cheap eats! i work close by to Mekong, and have had the opportunity of eating here on several occasions. as far as oriental buffet restaurants go, it ranks somewhere near the bottom of my list in terms of quality. my ranking would have been much higher if they offered free drink refills. yah, i kinda admit that their selections is almost devoid of anything healthy, but then again if you came here to eat we’re gonna automatically assume healthy wasn’t on your palate to begin with. most of their food is fried, oily, breaded and stale– and it was during lunch time i ate there, so wouldn’t it have made sense that they have something freshly made for the lunch time crowd? well, enough of my bellyaching (no pun intended), if you’re in the area and want a cheap fill up for lunch, its kinda hard to beat Mekong– except they don’t offer free soda refills…

I wanted to respond to Ben R.‘s response that’s dated back years ago. First of all… I don’t think this restaurant sucks hard. I wonder have you ever ate there before? Obviously… for the last 19 years there I have never seen you or your family come eat at this restaurant. The food is not greasy. This restaurant is a mom and pop restaurant. I stand by with this restaurant because it’s my family. I do respect people’s opinion and this makes me strive harder for this restaurant that my parents took over in 1993. I just find your review a little harsh. But yet again, it’s downtown Stockton… seems like it’s part of the ghetto side of town to me for my beloved parents to work there for so many years to put up with dumb people’s crap all the time.

Mekong, I’m sorry. I grew up next door to you, and my parents still live there. But every time I walk by you I think to myself, «You are so damn convenient, why do you suck so hard?» Yes, really convenient, but that never seems to be enough for me to go inside and order a greasy plate of fried «meat». It is all you can eat, but why bother. When you opened you were mediocre, but since then, you’ve dropped a few levels below «not very good». Maybe if I were homeless.