Choice Buffet Offerings

By Jun Wang

Royal Buffet

Location: 3268 Inner Perimeter Rd Ste F, Valdosta, GA 31602
Phone: 229-219-9928
Offers: Buffet, Dine-in, Take-out, Party Tray, Sushi, Hibachi   
Cuisine: Chinese Cuisine, Japanese Cuisine
Signature Dishes: Mapo Tofu, Shrimp with Shanghai Bai Cai, Chicken with Cauliflower, Longevity Soup, Snowing Eggplant, Pepper Shrimp, Coconut Shrimp, blue shell crab, catfish, crab rangoon
Year of Establishment: 2005

The background to owners David and Monica Zhao’s long career in restaurant industry has a different origin. When Monica was a middle school student, she came up with the brilliant idea of selling homemade dishes, such as wonton, fried rice, Lo Mein and Lychee Pork as she found there was tremendous market. This early beginning endowed Monica with an important business and customer service foundation. David Zhao also has a culinary background. His father was a famous cook which allowed him to get familiar with the restaurant industry at an early age. Before opening Royal Buffet in 2005, owners David and Monica Zhao toiled in the industry for decades but finally got through the hardships by virtue of their unrelenting drive and passion for Asian cuisine.

David and Monica’s wisdom is reflected in their wise decision to choose Valdosta, Georgia as the base for establishing their business kingdom. They chose to take over Royal Buffet which is located in a residential area close to both a Wal-Mart and Moody Air Force Base. Explaining the reason behind choosing that area, Monica says, “If you want to be successful, you need to find a good location for your business.” Benefiting from the favorable location, business has grown steadily since the restaurant opened.

During the past five years, Royal Buffet has received a bundle of recognition, being named “Best of Chinese Restaurants” in 2006, and then awarded with “The Hottest Place to Eat Chinese Food” in 2008, and again the “Best Chinese Restaurant” in the 8th annual Best of South Georgia in 2009. How did this restaurant achieve so much in such a short period of time? In part, it is because of the location, but the main reason for all the recognition is the unbeatable food and service.

Royal Buffet is not your everyday Chinese American buffet bar. Here the confluence of Japanese and other Asian influences is flawless. Most diners will find themselves marveling at the unpretentious décor which is infused with an Oriental touch made ever more impressive with the presence of decorative paintings. Even with so many paintings, one still stands out. It is a gorgeous panoramic painting titled Along the Riverside during Qingming Festival, which many consider to be China’s Mona Lisa.

Second, a host of food offerings covers both Chinese classics and Japanese culinary delights.

Royal Buffet strives to display various entrées with vibrant and vivid flavors, ensuring customers a visually stimulating yet also palette-pleasing dining experience. The buffet bar has something for everyone including pizza, fruits, salad, Chinese style General Tso’s Chicken, Sesame Chicken, and even sushi.

Healthy and Tasty

As customers become more sophisticated in their dining habits, they are demanding ever more healthy meals. Royal Buffet guarantees healthy food items without sacrificing taste. The buffet line-up includes a vegetable section devoted to favorites such as broccoli and cauliflower. Its highly skilled and experienced chefs prepare savory dishes using as little oil, salt, and sugar as possible while also making sure to never use MSG. in any dish. 

Monica has some advice for health-conscious diners and those who are watching their calorie intake:

“Have a hearty bowl of soup first, as part of a nutritionally-balanced meal. That doesn’t mean completely avoiding meat. It aids digestion,” Monica says. However, the customers’ special requirements are catered to, and the chef is more than happy to customize dishes by either steaming or boiling them, or even cooking something that isn’t displayed in the buffet bar.

Some healthy dishes, such as Mapo Tofu, Shrimp with Shanghai Bai Cai, Chicken with Cauliflower, Longevity Soup, and Snowing Eggplant are highly recommended. After studying the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu in Chinese), a renowned masterpiece which covers the history of traditional Chinese medicine, the owners decided to introduce a series of nutritionally balanced dishes. Longevity Soup contains seaweed which helps lower blood pressure, Chicken with Cauliflower helps guard against the cold, and Shrimp w. Shanghai Bai Cai is loaded with vitamins and minerals.

Buffet restaurants sprang up like mushrooms, blanketing the whole country during the 1990s. But, once buffet restaurants became popular, problems began to arise. Owners were faced with the challenge of figuring out how to maintain food freshness while also seeking a balance between food waste and profit margins. As a business veteran, Monica knows how to maintain freshness. Without fresh produce, even a master chef can’t turn out tasty creations. So, when Monica and her staff receive shipments of vegetables, meat and seafood, they all look over the incoming items, eyeing their size and appearance then checking the meat and vegetables to make sure they are fresh. If they find that something isn’t fresh enough, they immediately return it.

“We cannot use these,” said Monica, “the flavor will change and people will know.”
  
Later, they follow the “first in, first out” rule when storing the food so that everything stays fresh. In addition, Monica assigns employees to keep an eye on the buffet in order to ensure that the buffet bar is replenished as soon as anything runs out.

“I never let the dishes sit out longer than two hours,” says Monica, “although it means that some food invariably gets thrown out. I care a lot about the customers; their satisfaction is our priority.”

Of course, food waste is minimal. The restaurant has a customer traffic analysis system embedded in its POS terminals, thus giving employees a good idea of what dishes should be prepared during each hour of the day.

According to Monica, 60 percent of her customers dine at the restaurant twice a week. To show her appreciation, she presents them with gifts on holidays, and also on the anniversary of the restaurant’s opening in March. Customers present on that day are all rewarded with a free gift certificate. Monica also gives customers scratch-off cards. The lucky winners win a variety of prizes including a Sony TV, laptop, iPhone, belt massager, and grill oven. The generous owner is also glad to help those in need, and frequently donates to the church, police, and schools.

“We treat customers like friends, and work to always keep them satisfied,” says Monica.

Their efforts have paid off. A lot of first time customers become regulars. With word of mouth recognition spreading, more and more people are finding out about Royal Buffet’s delicious offerings. 

Looking to the Future

Not ones to rest on their laurels, David and Monica have big plans: they plan to open up other Royal Buffet branches, and are already in the process of training experienced staff to take over a new location. “To start a new business, you have to hire some managers, but I can train myself. The staff is professional and knowledgeable, and some of them could be those potential managers.”

Monica also pays special attention to the cleanliness of the restaurant. She possesses a ServeSafe certification allowing her to train the staff in cleanliness related issues. The training covers but is not limited to handling food properly, and controlling food temperatures as stipulated by the local health bureau. Each week, they conduct a thorough cleaning, wiping every inch of the restaurant and making sure everything is kept in order. 

When you walk into Royal Buffet, you will feel that you are in a gourmet kingdom, immersed in exuberant Oriental touches. The soothing music flows through the restaurant, helping relax diners enjoying a meal after a long day’s work. With its tasty food options and attentive service, Royal Buffet has added another exciting dimension to Valdosta’s vibrant dining scene.

Message from the Owner

Running a restaurant calls for a detail-oriented attitude. We pay special attention to all the details by making sure to check the tables and kitchen appliances as often as possible. Doing that allows us to catch problems such as loose screws or power issues. Any problem is caught quickly and immediately repaired. In addition, the restroom is always kept as spotless as the dining room.