Ichiban Buffet

FOOD

Ichiban’s Chinese hot dishes give the buffet its comfort-food character, while sushi, seafood and a hibachi grill broaden the spread. The hot line includes orange chicken, General Chicken, ribs, rice and noodles with vegetables. Soup, salad and a cold dessert round out the meal. It is a broad Asian buffet, with enough substance on the Chinese side to make that part of the restaurant more than a supporting act.

Orange chicken brings the sweet, citrus-sauced side of the selection, with General Chicken among the other familiar hot dishes. Ribs add a substantial, bone-in meat offering beside rice. Together, these foods give Ichiban a recognizable American Chinese personality: sauced chicken, ribs and the starches that belong alongside them. The ribs also bring a welcome hands-on moment to the meal. Other sauteed comfort dishes can also generally be found: General Tso’s chicken, chicken with broccoli, pepper steak, salt & pepper chicken, and both fried dumplings and dim sum.

The sushi counter includes California roll, imitation-crab fillings and cream-cheese rolls, with slices of fish presented over ice alongside them. Many varieties of approachable sushi are offered, and the high volume of the sushi counter keeps a very fresh selection.

At the hibachi station, chicken, pork, beef and shrimp are the headliners of the grilled-to-order section. Diners assemble proteins and vegetables for a plate cooked to order on the flat-top; egg also appears in the grill cooking. This is the part of the meal where the food comes from the cook’s surface rather than a buffet pan. The attraction is practical and immediate: a customized cooked plate, with the grill work happening at the station while the rest of Ichiban’s spread remains within the same meal.

Shrimp carries the seafood offering beyond the sushi counter. The wider repertoire has included salt-and-pepper shrimp, Cajun boil shrimp, crabs and seafood boil, with availability and inclusion varying by service. Salt-and-pepper shrimp leans into a peppery preparation, while Cajun boil shrimp brings another seasoned seafood style to the spread. That mix gives the seafood side a distinctly hands-on appeal: shellfish and boil dishes belong to a different sort of eating than a tidy California roll. Ichiban’s seafood character reaches across both the cold fish presentation and the cooked selection, rather than resting entirely on sushi.

Egg drop soup and hot and sour soup give the Chinese selection two familiar starting points. The gentler bowl and the tangier one sit naturally within a spread of chicken, rice and ribs. Noodles with vegetables are another named dish, and salads occupy the cold side. The hot and sour soup’s sharper character makes an appealing foil to orange chicken’s sweetness; egg drop keeps the pairing gentler.

Ice cream and fruit bring the meal to its sweet finish. A scoop suits Ichiban’s informal character particularly well: the same straightforward pleasure as the familiar Chinese dishes that opened the meal. After ribs, rolls or a hibachi plate, there is something rather agreeable about ending with a cold dessert and a spoon.