Great Wall has a decent buffet with the obligatory ice cream machine. I was last here a few years ago and it seems the quality isn't as good as I remember or the buffet itself is smaller but I was still happy with my meal. I came in for dinner on a Tuesday night with my aunt and uncle. Â We all enjoyed our food and left very full.
Great Wall has the best crab rangoon I have ever had; it is not overly fried! They offer a decent amount of veggie choices mmmm barbecue tofu and rice noodles with veggies. Â The highlight of my meal was the coconut shrimp; I think I got thirds or fourths.
Also, my dad loves the attached market and when he needs certain cuisine specific items this is his go to spot.
Extensive buffet - however the food was cold. Lukewarm is the best I could find and I tried several things. Â The flavor was promising, but not the temperature. Â When we reported this to the waiter, he just ignored us. Â We told another person and they brought the manager. Â She went and touched the steam tables to make sure they were on, but didn't check the food temperature with a thermometer to make sure the food was being kept at the proper temperature.
I was extremely disappointed, Â I can not recommend.
I like that they put a mirror on  the wall next to the clean plates. That way you can see how fat you already are before you start eating.
Standard American style "Chinese" food.... all you can hold down for about $10 a person with drink and tip.
There are rumors that this place also has a "regular" menu, presumably with normal human-sized portions of food available.
The attached "Asian" store is neat-o.
Might have given a 3- or 4-star review in the past but after a recent experience I might not be back. In general, the buffet is a good deal even if the bulk of the food is greasy or loaded in sugary sauces. It's an American Chinese buffet, after all, what do you expect? The selection of maki is OK. The crab rangoon are good. I like the Mongolian Beef. (The fried rice is blah.)
All of that said, I was disappointed that the weekly lunch buffet appears to have halted for the summer, which kind of sucks. On the other hand, the lunch specials they offer in its place are reasonable and include full access to a soup/salad/ice cream bar.
Most upsetting during my most recent visit was watching one of the servers (an older woman who's never been anything but attentive and polite to me) get loudly berated and criticized several times by a 20-something co-worker in pigtails and a hot pink shirt (a manager? a child of the owner? both? I don't know). I don't care what this woman had done, admonishing her loudly in the presence of customers is uncalled for.
This is an Asian market/ korean-chinese restaurant. For most of my studying years in Bloomington, I did my Asian grocery shopping here, they have an overall cheaper and more options grocery stuff here compared to OBO and Saraga. However, their location isn't very transportation friendly for those who doesn't have a car. I'm not sure whether the buses even pass this place.
I've tried their food before, chinese buffet is okay, but one thing that sticks out and inspired me to google online recipe is the Jiajiang noodles (Black Bean noodles). Very tasty!!
This is also a family owned business where the people there could speak Korean, Chinese and English fluently. The owner is extremely friendly and helpful, always asking whether he could help us find anything when we were there and from time to time, they'd give us free snacks or drinks when we check out.
One downside bout this place today was, the garlic we bought weren't fresh and most of them were either softened or colored (black). But I'm sure if you'd voice it to them, they'll be more than happy to exchange or refund it to you. But you'll have to make another trip there.
Oh well, it's still the place I frequent to get my Asian grocery done.
Fantastic Vegan Dinner
We told the waiter we were vegans and he offered to bring out the owner and chef, Mr. Li, to talk with us right away. Mr. Li was most cordial and planned a complete vegan menu for us on the spot, none of the items was on the menu. It was one of the best complete vegan dinners we ever had. The cost was very reasonable.
Listen, I really don't know a lot about authentic Asian cuisine. But I do know a lot about eating the hell out of some buffet grindage, so hear this: Great Wall will do you right.
My ability to destroy a buffet is what has stopped me from reviewing Great Wall sooner. Such a superhuman skill makes me pretty much a mutant, kind of like a member of the X-men. No surprise here: possessing freaky deaky scarfing abilities causes me a great deal of shame -- like Mystique, except I'm not as hot as her, on account  of the all the guzzling I got going on in my muzzle area. Also, I am not blue (as long as I commit to chewing). Fortunately, shame and eating love to hang out and not play basketball, so the end result is that I can tell you that GREAT WALL HAS THE BEST CRAB RANGOON IN TOWN.
And the best hot & sour soup in town helps those pastry pillows full of cream cheese and imitation crab meat slide on down to the dumpster that is your gut. Because I don't eat much red- or white- meat, I can't speak to those dishes, but there are a couple of different shrimp dishes. Also, if you show up at 5 p.m. you can be there to greet the addition of sushi to the buffet.
What really makes this place stand out to me are all of the (apparently) vegetarian options, including a green vegetable curry (put it over the rice noodles and throw some Szechuan barbecued tofu on that b). There's a salad bar too, so if you wanna squeeze some whole foods onto your plate the opportunity is present. So is the opportunity to pass up the salad bar for its neighbor, the dessert bar. Make it rain sprinkles on some soft-serve ice cream, or coat a cookie with some of that  ever-present Oreo cookie and whipped cream moussey-pudding stuff.
On the occasions that I'm not looking at my plate, I like to check out the decor. I've been in many a restaurant where the atmosphere and style of the place was comparable to a laundromat. Not so at Great Wall; there are bona fide cultural effects here, as well as some thoughtful lighting arrangements. And as other reviewers have mentioned, there are enclosed party rooms with booths and televisions (ostensibly for karaoke, but I've only witnessed people watching TV while they're eating -- Â a power up for the big fat fatty buffet experience). The restaurant has always appeared clean to me, and though the bathrooms are a little sketchy, there are working toilets and sinks and doors that sometimes lock.
The wonderful grand finale for dining at Great Wall is getting to waddle through the attached market after your meal. I always gravitate toward the candy section, followed by the housewares. I've found reason to purchase, among other things, soup spoons, a chocolate Crunky bar (see photo), metal chopsticks, gel candies that came in a tub shaped like a child, a soy sauce dispenser like the ones they have in the restaurant, Srichacha/assorted sauces, and a jar of kimchi (that unfortunately turned out to be unsealed; this was discovered during the car ride home when my passengers and I realized that none of us were responsible for the egg fart smell tainting the air -- it was the open, leaking container of kimchi. Breathe deeply before you buy.). My boyfriend likes to buy a different type of third string international energy drink upon each visit; he considers himself somewhat of a connoisseur. Whereas I would argue that he's actually just  a consumer of awful beverages, as well as a potential contributor to congenital malformation, but hey! To each their own at the colorful Asian market attached to the all-you-can-eat buffet/karaoke bar.
P.S. -- Here are some tips, so you don't barf from eating too much:
Use chopsticks to eat, instead of your hands and/or a shovel.
Drink water with your meal, instead soft-serve ice cream.
Allow yourself to experience gluttony-related guilt.
Wear restrictive clothing, and shoes that require you to bend over in order to remove them.
Go to the bathroom and look long and hard at yourself in the mirror before every new plate of food.
Imagine how horrifying your monstrous appetite must seem to the servers.
And If they speak a language that you don't, imagine that the servers are ridiculing you and your monstrous appetite.
Best quality Chinese Buffet food in Bloomington. It has quality, variety, and something for everyone, including vegetarians, pescetarians, and vegans. There is sushi in variety, and while not stellar, it's better than average and even imaginative (read spicy and creative). Otherwise, there are fairly standard Chinglish dishes, a few Korean items (ex: kimchi) and a plentiful salad bar and dessert area. Next door is an Asian grocery market and their selections aren't bad either. Prices are fair, and importantly, selection is wide while maintaining quality. I'd go higher on the ratings, but there are better restaurants in larger cities. This one won't disappoint, and has reasonably good value.
Review Source:I probably should go back to this place. Â I hear it's excellent, and I've been to their other location down in Jasper which was awesome, but the food quality was mediocre to poor this visit. Â At the same time it was the 4th of July and it was pretty dead, and in hindsight maybe I shouldn't have got the buffet since low turnover is death for buffet food. Â I will say that the selection was pretty good, and the service staff was great.
Review Source:The Great Wall is a traditional Chinese buffet, but with a generally higher quality level. Â It seems to have had a change in ownership or management recently, as what was once a 3-star has consistently deserved 4-stars on the last few visits.
Disclaimer: Â Again, the rating scale reminder. . . this isn't 4-stars as in 'you're getting a tasty filet mignon but the service was just a bit slow" - this is 4 stars within the category of Chinese buffet - I'm a fan of this Chinese buffet among other Chinese buffets. Â Don't get confused and expect an all-you-can-eat PF Chang's!
New management, great selection, they don't cook too much and leave it to sit, and you can order several items fresh/custom as well. Â Great place, best of its kind in Bloomington.
Stopped by with a group of eight on a Friday night. We were seated in one of those party rooms where one can connect iPods and do karaoke.
The waitress didn't bring us menus, assuming that we'd all come for the buffet. I think they have a regular menu, but we didn't see it during this visit.
Food is typical Chinese buffet, but since the owners are actually Korean, you can find a few Korean dishes sneaking their way into the huge trays of food.
The service was speedy, almost imposingly so. The waitress bumped into me a few times while cleaning up my friends and the manager (chef?) was shouting orders to his cook staff in the middle of the buffet.
I'll go back, but let it be known that there's not a truly good Chinese restaurant in this town.
Not bad, for a Chinese buffet in the mid-west... Â There is a good variety and the price isn't bad. Â My husband put down five plates of food here as I watched in amazement. Â I did my usual hunt and peck the first round and then went back and got what I really liked. Â I'd recommend this to people, though I must warn that this is by no means MSG free...and if it is, something didn't agree with me afterward.
Review Source:LOVE this place! Â I'm sorry but you CANNOT beat their buffet! Â No other place has this great of a buffet with all that food and what not at that price. Â Oh my goodness its great!!!! Â Fantastic selection and the staff is really really nice. Â WE got there at the end of their lunch buffet I think, they apologized for not having quite the selection, the chef went back and cooked up more food just for the slew of people that randomly came in at the end, and they still took some money off our final bill for the inconvenience. Â Awesome place!
Review Source:I really like Great Wall! The buffet is delicious and offers a huge selection - though it's more expensive than New China Buffet (my other favorite Chinese buffet) on 3rd street by a couple dollars. Still a pretty good deal, though. But the more upscale atmosphere and pretty decorations make Great Wall a perfect date restaurant.
Review Source:The only "Chinese"/ pan-asian food in Bloomington I really like. I get the buffet once every 28 days or so (ahem). Regarding the sushi bar: the way I see it, you're not going to get really great sashimi in Indiana anyway, so if you can dig the fried/ cooked/ slathered in mayonnaise-mixed-with-sriracha rolls the midwest has to offer, you might as well complete the experience and make it an all-you-can-eat affair. I love the fried scallops with water chestnuts and black pepper chicken, and all of the regulars are there, too, including those incredibly salty stir-fried green beans with garlic. Don't forget to top it all off with a self-loathing serving of generic oreos crushed and mixed with generic cool whip. God help us all.
Best consumed at an inappropriate time of day and alone, save for a book you're ashamed to be reading-- I recommend Harry Potter.
The buffet is ideal at Great Wall, and the lunch price is a fairly good deal. Carry out is a nice feature, in that you can go grab it within 10 minutes of ordering generally, and the staff seems very nice. I will however mention that the eggs rolls are less than stellar. They are VERY small, I was disappointed ordering two for carry out, only to get home and realize I barely had two bites of food. Everything else on the other hand is really good.
Review Source:Have to agree with the other two posts. The place itself is pretty cool, a lot of loud and colorful Chinese decorations adorn every square inch of the typical Chinese food buffet. I will say, however, that the options here are extensive. There's a ton of food to try, including sushi, which is probably the only healthy thing in the place. Even the salad bar only bosts thick, gooey dressings that have to be at least as caloric as the over-sweetened sauce goo most of the food is swimming in.
Review Source:I am not really a fan of the typical Chinese buffet joints, but this is one of the better ones I have been to. Â The selection is pretty vast and the food is decent. Â I'd still rather eat at a sit down joints since buffets give me germ creeps, but that's just me. Â If you don't mind kids sneezing on your food, eat at Great Wall. Â Es bien!
Review Source:
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