Buffet 168, Brierley Hill

For a Chinese feast, you'd be just prawn crackers to ignore this all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant,

With fish and chips costing the best part of a fiver in many shops, a veritable feast of starters, main courses, salads and sweets - including a chocolate fountain - all for under £12 in the evening, or £5.99 at lunchtime, is certainly supreme value.

Almost everything edible under the Chinese sun is up for grabs at Buffet 168, in the old Millennium nightclub in Level Street, opposite Sainsbury's at Merry Hill, Dudley.

And it's all accompanied by sauces to dress up the dishes to suit your personal taste. From the outside it is a rather unprepossessing barn of a building, brightened by scarlet doors and two large gold ornamental lions.

But step inside and the foyer is smart and modern, with large comfortable sofas in the lounge bar to one side and the massive restaurant, laid out cafeteria-style, at the other.

A warm welcome from smiling and efficient staff beckons you further towards the inviting smells of the all-you-can-eat buffet.

And then it's time to tuck in - filling plate after plate with whatever takes your fancy.

I adore Chinese starters and all my favourites were there, from prawn crackers, the crispiest, greenest seaweed, spare ribs, chicken wings, spring rolls, yuk sung, chicken and sweetcorn soup, to crispy duck pancakes.

A little of each just had to find its way on to my plate and my dining companion - a vegetarian/pescetarian because she will eat fish - found plenty to go at too. In fact, we went back to try different starters three times, with attentive staff promptly taking away used plates.

My friend, Sue, sampled the prawns and squid - selected raw from a chilled display to be cooked fresh with noodles and spices to taste on the pan grill, or char grill by a Japanese Teppanyaki chef.

Her biggest delight was to come across a vegetarian version of yuk sung. She said: "I've never seen that at a Chinese restaurant before and it was in the crispiest of lettuce leaves."

All very 'moreish'. But not so the battered crab sticks from the buffet trays.

"It sounds as though they should be from Glasgow because they batter everything up there," my friend exclaimed. "Anyway, they were just bland and I won't bother with them again."

After the delicious starters, we loosened a notch on our belts and stepped back up to the buffet for the main courses.

In fairness, we had gorged ourselves so much on those favourite starters that our taste buds were rather saturated.

But it seemed that the mains were not quite as fabulous as they looked. I tried the lemon chicken, some crispy beef and Singapore noodles - all pleasant enough but not the best versions I've tasted.

Other dishes on display included duck in plum sauce, chicken in cashew nuts Szechuan seafood and beef in black bean sauce.

Sue judged the vegetarian main dishes to be 'disappointing', although the smile crept back on her face when she popped up to smother them in some curry sauce.

Another notch loosened on the belts, and we were back up to try some desserts.

Again, plenty to choose from, with that chocolate fountain, a chill box filled with various confections, a freezer packed with ice cream and, back on the hot counter, the traditional Chinese banana and pineapple fritters.

We were a little more restrained by this stage of the evening and chose mainly from a platter of exotic fruits - although we did sample a dip into the chocolate fountain, which was very tasty.

The restaurant was a lot like some of the larger, refectory-type eateries we had come across during a holiday together in Malaysia earlier this year.

It would be a great place for a large party - it will seat around 300 and there is capacity to join many tables together.

All in all, our evening was very pleasant on the palate - and not bad on the wallet, with a total bill, including two gin and tonics and two fruit juices, of £35.

From Monday to Saturday, lunches cost £5.99, and on Sunday £6.99. Children under 1.4-metres tall pay, £3.90 Monday to Saturday, and £4.90 on a Sunday.

Sunday to Thursday nights are £11.90 for adults and £6.90 for children. On Friday and Saturday the price is £12.90 and £7.90.

ADDRESS

Buffet 168, Level Street, Brierley Hill, Dudley, DY5 1UA

Tel: 01384 881710

Web: www.buffet168.com