A Chinese buffet serving the northernmost Nashville suburb of Gallatin, Happy Moon Buffet does a simple brand of Americanized Chinese cuisine, with a variety of seafood dishes as well as chicken, beef and pork dishes with a number of different iterations. This buffet is a place to get food in quantity, and it seems to pride itself on a higher level of quality than some of the other Chinese buffets around Music City. I’m not sold on that pitch, though.
As Chinese buffets go, this one has just about all of the same dishes as others do, ranging from the classic General Tso’s Chicken and various other takeout menu centerpieces. The chicken is crisp but the sauce is not. Same goes for too many of the other things, from the dried-out lo mein, the greasy fried rice, or the basic sushi. Of course, the meal is designed for affordability, but it’s also priced above some of the other Chinese buffets in the vicinity, but the quality is about on par with the rest of them. I liked the fried things, the chicken wings and the chicken on a stick, but in terms of the kind of food you go to a Chinese buffet to try – the sauces, the vegetables, the stir fry, it all just didn’t impress me.
Happy Moon Buffet has staying power – it’s remained in this community for several years and the return on investment here is still above average as restaurants go. But I didn’t find anything that sets it above other spots in this city. Nashville has a lot of good chefs preparing foods like these, and Happy Moon Buffet may get lost in the crowd.
Another Food Critic 