1. When you consider eating at a hotel buffet dining room, there are a number of considerations to take into account, among them the quantity, the quality and the price. Some buffets weigh in more heavily on the quality than the quantity and others vice versa. Price is relative to the overall enjoyment of the experience and can vary widely. The constant variable is always between how much food is there and how good it is. Obviously, one would always like to encounter a buffet with an enormous selection of top quality food and a large number of cooked to order entries. In reality, that is not usually the case. Chefs are forced to choose between one direction or another, while, of course always striving to put out the best food possible under any circumstances. The best restaurants do a balancing act between the two, providing a large variety that changes regularly, keeping the quality high and also offering a certain number of freshcooked items as well. The Century Park Hotel's Cafe At The Park offers the type of buffet that is currently engaged in just such a balancing act. You'll find a good selection of Thai and international cuisine, a fine cooked-to-order selection of grilled and steamed seafood on Friday and Saturday nights and a level of quality that should satisfy anyone. And lunches feature a noodle station preparing fresh noodle dishes. So all of the elements are in place to make the Cafe At The Park a great buffet dining experience. And the verdict? The verdict is that the restaurant succeeds in providing a great dining experience that most people will find quite satisfying. Taste being as subjective as it is, we can't guarantee everyone will be as pleased with the offerings as we are, however one would be hard pressed to find fault with the quality, presentation and overall service in the restaurant. And if freshly cooked seafood is your favorite, then the weekend night seafood buffet is the perfect place for you. Fish, crab, lobster, shrimp, clams and mussels are included and its your choice as to how you want them cooked: steamed or grilled. In addition to the seafood buffet, on any given night there are between 30 and 40 salads, snacks and entrees and another 10 or 12 dessert selections. The dishes are predominantly Thai and run the gamut from chicken to beef to pork and vegetarian specialties. The dozen or so hot dishes included shrimp fried rice, fried noodles with hot basil leaves, beef and pork satays, mussel souffle, fried blue crab with curry powder and assorted vegetables in oyster sauce to name a few. The salad buffet is equally well-rounded, containing such Thai delicacies as spicy pomelo salad, spicy tuna fish salad, spicy squid salad, spicy Thai sausage salad and spicy beef salad with basil, a particular favorite of ours. You can make a great meal from the salad and snack stations alone as there's another dozen entries in the snack section. We sampled as much of everything as was possible, of course, even hitting the dessert table fairly heavily, eschewing the healthy-looking fruits and lighter desserts in favor of a delicious custard, chocolate cake and a tart. With the aforementioned factors under consideration, the buffet at Cafe AtThe Park scores quite high in all areas. It's worth a trip and will provide a rather enjoyable experience whatever your type of buffet dining you're looking for.
