Listen — Review by Strictly Dumpling
Seoul, South Korea — Korean, Chinese, Seafood, All-you-can-eat Buffet
Mike Chen discovers an exceptional all-you-can-eat hotel buffet in Seoul featuring premium ingredients like freshly grilled lobster, king crab, and lamb chops. The buffet impresses with its high-quality proteins, live cooking stations, and outstanding bakery desserts, making it potentially the best all-you-can-eat buffet in all of Korea.
What was great: Freshly grilled lobster and king crab, perfectly cooked lamb chops with cumin and chilies, tender steaks and oxtail, exceptional dessert section with matcha tiramisu and strawberry cake, freshly made dim sum and sushi, high-quality ingredients throughout
What could improve: Tenderloin steak was a bit dry from sitting, some dim sum items dried out slightly, deep fried pork slightly soggy
The Dishes
This buffet showcases an impressive array of premium proteins cooked to order. The freshly grilled lobster stands out as exceptional, arriving tender, juicy, and buttery with a light smoky char from the grill - a significant upgrade from typical cold buffet lobster. The king crab legs are incredibly sweet and succulent, requiring no butter accompaniment despite its traditional pairing. Lamb chops, grilled fresh and covered in cumin and chilies, arrive juicy and perfectly cooked, disappearing rapidly from the station. The top round steak is remarkably tender, arguably among the best buffet steak cuts experienced, while the tenderloin suffers slightly from sitting out too long. The oxtail is fall-apart tender with a sweet and savory sauce that pairs beautifully with fried rice.
Beyond the grilled items, the buffet delivers impressive variety. The jajamyeon noodles feature good meat portions and solid sauce, though slightly soggy. Dim sum items, particularly the overstuffed Korean dumplings, are generously filled with quality shrimp, though some pieces show signs of drying out. The sushi station creates fresh pieces to order, featuring premium ingredients like fatty bluefin tuna, sweet shrimp, and seabream with impressive fish-to-rice ratios. Sides include deep-fried eggplant with savory-sweet sauce, stingray with potatoes and shrimp underneath, and various traditional Korean and Chinese dishes. The pizza represents solid buffet quality, while soups like the mushroom soup and crab soup are earthy, rich, and elevated by guests adding fresh crab chunks for customization.
The Experience
The buffet maintains an exciting, high-energy atmosphere with mostly local clientele. Multiple live cooking stations keep items fresh - lamb chops are grilled continuously, sushi is made to order, and dim sum is prepared fresh. The casual elegance of the space accommodates the premium experience without pretension. Service staff proactively anticipate needs, offering hot butter when they notice guests not using cold butter with crabs. The bakery section displays beautiful cakes visible upon entry, building anticipation for dessert.
Value and Pricing
While specific buffet pricing isn't mentioned, the experience delivers remarkable value given the premium ingredients and quality. Context clues suggest hotel buffet pricing, likely in the higher range for Korean buffets, but justified by the consistently high-quality offerings and abundance of luxury proteins like king crab and lobster. The included dessert items, which the staff notes sell for significant prices in their bakery (the strawberry cake costs 150,000 won or over 100 dollars individually), add substantial value. All drinks including soft drinks, teas, and coffee are included.
Notable Moments
I don't know why I never came to this buffet before. That they all of a sudden level up and I didn't know it, but hard to believe I missed out on this thing.
This is one of those things that is always going to be good. This might be one of the only buffets in the world where I almost want to breeze past everything to get to the dessert.
That is one of the greatest things on a buffet in the dessert section. That is the lightest, most heavenly matcha tiramisu.
The matcha tiramisu generates genuine excitement, with Mike expressing he would pay 100 dollars for the entire cake. The strawberry cake, priced at 150,000 won, slightly disappoints despite its quality, losing out to the lighter matcha tiramisu in his preference. A creative local dining hack emerges when Mike observes a fellow diner adding fresh king crab chunks to crab soup for enhanced flavor and abundance.
The Verdict
This hotel buffet emerges as potentially the finest all-you-can-eat establishment not just in Seoul but throughout all of Korea. The combination of premium proteins like king crab and lobster prepared fresh to order, high-quality cuts of meat including tender lamb chops and steaks, and an exceptional bakery-quality dessert section elevates it far beyond typical buffet experiences. The buffet serves both casual diners seeking endless premium proteins and dessert enthusiasts alike. It's best visited during peak service hours when items like lamb chops are continuously replenished from the grill, and guests should prioritize fresh items while avoiding those that have sat under heat lamps. This is a must-visit for serious food enthusiasts and buffet explorers in Seoul seeking the ultimate indulgence experience.