During Covid, buffets pretty much vanished. Or, when they didn’t vanish, the notion of going to one vanished. Heck, even the notion of going out to eat vanished. Takeout — whether it was Chinese food, pizza or something else — became the dining indulgence of choice.
Though, for those of us with grit, the numerous boulevards around town that gave up street parking for the joy of outdoor dining — which made us feel joyfully Parisian — became our dining destinations. But buffets … were not on the menu.
While Covid is far from gone, it’s become considerably less nightmarish — as we wait for the next pandemic to rattle our health and well-being. Looking in one of my medical storage drawers, I found a half-dozen unopened Covid tests, all of which expired in 2023. They may still be good; they probably aren’t. Either way, I didn’t feel the need to replace them. For most of us, Covid has turned into the flu — a bother, but usually not fatal. (We hope.)
But still, it’s been a long time since I’ve set foot in a buffet. Which is why returning to Hokkaido Seafood Buffet, a landmark right off the 405 at the Cherry Avenue offramp, was a quasi-momentous occasion. Aside from a 50 percent boost in the cost of lunch (from $11.99 to $17.99), and a one-third increase for dinner (from $18.99 to $23.99) from when I was last there a decade ago, it seemed unchanged — the same largely loony abundance of … all you can eat. Which for me is sushi.
But for those around me, Hokkaido is all about the meat — the sign over the grill display asks diners to specify “rare, medium rare, medium, medium well done or well done.” My only issue was “fresh.” Which shouldn’t have to be specified.
The adoration of meat at Hokkaido has a certain … quirkiness — since the name of the place isn’t “Hokkaido Beef Buffet.” It’s “Hokkaido Seafood Buffet.” Which seems to be a generic name for a number of all-you-can-eats around the country — there are Hokkaido seafood buffets in St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Tuscaloosa and Swansea, Illinois. None of which are connected.
I’m told that “Hokkaido seafood” refers to the prefecture at the north of the Japanese island, where fishing dominates. I guess it’s a bit like calling a restaurant “All-You-Can-Eat Texas Beef Burgers” or “Big Maine Lobster House.” I guess.
There’s a history of massive Asian buffets here in Southern California, going back to the once-ubiquitous Todai chain, which did much to lower the bar for quality — followed by the exceptional Onami chain, which moved the bar back up again.
There are sprawling, Las Vegas-esque Asian buffets to be found throughout the South Bay and the San Gabriel Valley, where the local Asian population flocks to steam tables filled with long-cooked orders of teriyaki chicken, beef and salmon — and sweet-and-sour just about everything.
You’d think that with all the ultra-authentic regional Chinese restaurants in Monterey Park, Alhambra and so forth, the buffets wouldn’t stand a chance. And you’d be wrong; they’re jammed for lunch and dinner, seven days a week, with large Asian families who don’t seem bothered that the lo mein has been cooking over a low heat for a long time.
Here in America, unlimited food at a reasonable price is pretty powerful bait. And, as Hokkaido in Long Beach (3030 Cherry Ave., Long Beach; 562-989-1898; www.hokkaidoseafoodbuffet.com) reminded me, choose well and you will eat well — and even with an edge of healthiness.
This isn’t a Golden Corral, after all, where calorie density is a way of life. At Hokkaido, along with the steam tables, there’s plenty of sushi to choose from. And the turnover is fast enough that the sushi can be impressively good. Not Nobu or Katsuya good. But good enough.
Nigiri sushi at Hokkaido Seafood Buffet in Long Beach (Photo by Merrill Shindler)
Hokkaido Seafood Buffet is a Las Vegas-worthy buffet just off the 405 in Long Beach, offering an all-you-can-eat buffet of sushi, teppanyaki, salads and many hot dishes, says restaurant critic Merrill Shindler. There’s also a chocolate fountain for dessert. (Photo by Merrill Shindler)
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Nigiri sushi at Hokkaido Seafood Buffet in Long Beach (Photo by Merrill Shindler)
And so, I tend to pass on the steamed fish, the baked stuff crab, the coconut shrimp, the baked cheese mussels, the beef with broccoli, the short ribs, the honey sesame chicken, the orange chicken and the mango chicken; I’ve never much liked sweet dishes anyway.
Instead, I check out the sushi area. The selection seems to vary a bit from day to day, but not much. And the speed with which exhausted platters are refilled is impressive. This is a buffet where the turnover of dishes pretty much guarantees freshness. And a decent level of quality of preparation as well.
To be able to eat unlimited amounts of tuna sushi is, for an aficionado, to die happy. And, really, faced with the option of eating all the salmon skin rolls you want, well, why not? The spicy tuna roll was just fine; the spice was moderate, rather than overwhelming as it often is. This was a spicy tuna roll that tasted like tuna first, and spice second, rather than the other way around.
There are a sundry of house specialty rolls, with names like the Hokkaido Roll, the Crazy Roll, the Dancing Salmon Roll. Honestly, when in a feeding frenzy, what’s in them doesn’t matter much. I covered my plate with rolls, and dug in.
Some were made with crab (surimi?), some with more spicy tuna, some with crispies. The way of the buffet is that you don’t really spend a lot of time considering the meaning of each dish. You just keep on eating, before your brain tells you it’s time to stop. And then, if you’re like most of us, you eat some more. Maybe the crab legs; how to resist the crab legs? (Even though they taste a bit watery, like they were frozen too long.) Or the chocolate fountain? Lots of folks hitting the chocolate fountain.
I suspect there are diners who begin their meal with the chocolate fountain, just to make sure they can squeeze it in. Makes sense to me — at least in the world of the AYCE buffet it does.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
Hokkaido Seafood Buffet
Rating: 2 stars
Address: 3030 Cherry Ave., Long Beach
Phone: 562-989-1898; www.hokkaidoseafoodbuffet.com
Cuisine: A Las Vegas-worthy buffet just off the 405 in Long Beach, near Long Beach Airport, offering an all-you-can-eat buffet of sushi, teppanyaki, salads, many hot dishes — and a chocolate fountain for dessert.
Hours: Lunch and dinner, every day
Details: Beer and wine; reservations usually not needed
Prices: Lunch, $17.99; dinner and all day weekends, $23.99
Credit cards: MC, V
What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.)