Like communism, I guess all you can eat buffets are fine in theory but are actually quite disgusting and I don't want to have any part of it. Further, despite being perfectly repulsed by them, I find both of these things strangely intriguing. As such, I have a morbid interest in the opening of Todai, "The Mother of All Seafood Buffets, in a downtown mall (also, I believe I'm philosophically opposed to restaurants in enclosed malls).
So I was interested to see what people had thought of other Todai locations and I came across this review at we8there section for the Daly City location, though this review seems to concern the Hong Kong location:
When I complaint with my boyfriend about this "LATE" reservation, Dorothy said ,"ALL HK PEOPLE IS VERY IMPOLITE. DO YOU WANT TO HAVE A DINNER YET? SHUTUP! BE WAITING. DON'T ARGUE!! IF YOU HAVE A CHILD IN FUTURE, THE CHILD MUST BE POOR AND SO IMPOLITE!! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO TEACH YOUR CHILD."For lack of anything better to do, some entertaining Todai reviews:
LA Weekly: "Like Las Vegas on a budget, Todai quickly becomes a depressing experience, from the miniature desserts whose flavors all seem to be �sugar,� to the dogged diners making sure they get their money�s worth."
The World-Wide Sushi Restaurant Reference: "This type of food should not be served in a buffet venue."
An Epinions review: - "Todai is a Japanese seafood buffet." That sentence alone should be sufficient in encapsulating the entire eating experience at this place; the long wait, gobs of people, bratty kids running around, greasy sub-par food... it doesn�t matter how long the buffet table is or how many types of sushi there are � the food is simply bad... Todai is a lot like Las Vegas at 3 a.m. � you realize the glitzy and flashy veneer just covers up the real odds of winning, and you realize you�re developing a hangover. Disappointment city."
The Stranger: "The throb of speedy pop music, combined with nausea-inducing blue neon lighting, and the Tokyo airport/cafeteria ambience brought bile into my throat."
Also, This Stranger review of breakup restaurants features a nice description of everything I've gathered about Earth & Ocean: "The great thing about Earth & Ocean is that you will know no one there--and if you can fight through the urge to burst into laughter at the establishment's blatant pretense..." and this from a different review was great: "Some dishes are bathed in a thick, intense red-pepper sauce that may shut up your date."
