Orient Buffet & Grill, 16314 County Road 30, Maple Grove

I was thinking Chinese for lunch one day last week, and I was open to a buffet or sit-down service. Through a search I learned about the Orient Buffet & Grill in Maple Grove, near I-94. It seemed like a reasonably straight shot from my Osseo office, and so I went.

A Mongolian grill option helps to set any Asian buffet restaurant above the rest, and that was my first station stop at this restaurant after ordering iced tea from a server. I piled raw beef, chicken, broccoli, carrot and pea pods with some noodles on a plate. A worker was ready to grill my creation, and asked how much spice I wanted. I said medium, and she added garlic, ginger, chile, oyster sauce and one or two other condiments to my meats and vegetables. Though my past preference for hot foods has led people such as my own parents to question my Scandinavian heritage, I found my prepared plate of Mongolian stir-fry to be plenty hot for me -- maybe even too much. If I go back, I may go mild.

It was, however, the highlight of my lunch. When a person's favorite offerings from an Asian buffet include cooked green beans and sliced raw cucumber, there's really nothing special there. With a $1 tip for the stir-fry chef, you can leave the Orient Buffet & Grill for less than $10 ... but for a better overall experience for the same amount of money, my next Asian buffet lunch will be at my more usual spot of the Panda Garden Buffet, 8089 Brooklyn Blvd., Brooklyn Park.