I Tried China’s Cheapest vs Most Expensive Buffet

0:00 We got full service crab and shrimp peeling here.

0:03 That is so beautiful.

0:04 Look at all that seafood.

0:06 In this video, I'm in Chongqing, China,

0:08 and I'm taking you to see the difference between a two and a $200 buffet.

0:12 Let's go check it out.

0:13 Today, I'm on a mission putting two extremes headto head.

0:16 The cheapest $2 street food heaven in Chongqing

0:18 versus one which costs a h 100red times more.

0:21 And I want to find out,

0:22 does paying more actually get you more in this viral city of Chongqing?

0:25 Or is the $2 one good enough despite it being so cheap?

0:31 Oh, there's an odor in there.

0:34 Oh, I think we need to pallet cleanse now.

0:36 So, let's discover.

0:36 Is spending $200 on a buffet worth it in China?

0:39 And you're going to want to watch

0:40 this whole video cuz we're getting into the kitchen

0:42 to see the making of some very unique

0:44 Chinese delicacies you're not going to want to miss.

0:47 Oh, here comes the chilies.

0:49 Look at all those chilies going.

0:50 Oh, let's eat.

0:53 Okay, guys.

0:54 And first up, we are at the $2 buffet here in a residential area of Chongqing.

0:57 Just look at this.

0:58 There's dumpling and wantton shops on the ground level.

1:01 And we're going to go upstairs to the $2

1:03 buffet for Sichuan spicy lunch to start the video.

1:05 Let's go check it out.

1:06 And as I entered this affordable little Sichuan food heaven,

1:09 little did I know that this joint would bring back

1:11 some memories of one of my least favorite dishes in Sichuan.

1:14 And if you've been following for a while,

1:15 you know that one of the lowest food ranger

1:17 ratings happened in 2017 on the Teahorse Road in Sichuan.

1:21 I don't know if I like that.

1:22 Well, today we're revisiting this dish.

1:24 And luckily, we're having some incredibly tasty Sichuan food, too.

1:28 Look at the action here, guys.

1:29 Non-stop.

1:30 Each dish here, oh, is like a little miniature Sichuan dish.

1:35 Look at this, guys.

1:36 Look at the menu.

1:37 Each dish is about 7 R&B or less, which is under a dollar.

1:41 And you can see this whole restaurant is just packed.

1:43 Look at this $2 buffet.

1:44 Oh, that's pork here.

1:54 Oh, radish slices

2:01 and pork ear slices and tofu slices and they all go in the chili.

2:05 Look at this.

2:06 What?

2:08 So, we're going to get the pork ear.

2:14 Oh, pork intestine.

2:15 Okay.

2:23 We're going to get the sentry egg.

2:24 We got tofu slices.

2:29 Yeah.

2:29 Eggplant.

2:30 Look at that eggplant.

2:32 Wow.

2:33 It's all here.

2:33 Look at this guys.

2:34 This is the dha silken tofu pudding.

2:37 Wow.

2:38 That is incredible.

2:39 Hen henme.

2:40 It's so beautiful.

2:42 And look at the steamer.

2:43 We got steamed pork.

2:45 Oh, mateo.

2:46 Steamed pork with mustard vegetables there.

2:48 Oh.

2:50 Oh, and steamed pork with pumpkin.

2:52 Wow.

2:53 Extra chili.

2:55 Look at the beautiful dishes here.

3:00 Look at that, guys.

3:02 Beautiful.

3:02 $2 buffet.

3:03 I think we might have gone a little above $2.

3:05 This might be like $45 for this meal.

3:07 But Okay, here it is, guys.

3:22 You got this giant basket of rice.

3:24 You just take it.

3:26 And this is an amazing $2 buffet before the $200 one.

3:31 I love this joint.

3:32 Look at this.

3:33 Just love the action here.

3:35 And there it is, guys.

3:36 $2 buffet in China.

3:38 Most of these veggie dishes are like 2530 cents each.

3:42 The meat dishes are under a dollar.

3:43 So, you can have a full meal here for like $2 or $3.

3:46 It's an amazing deal.

3:48 Okay, let's take a look.

3:49 We got silken tofu dhqua served with this amazing local chili oil.

3:53 Then we've got a spicy pork intestine with these yellow soybeans.

3:57 We've got a pig's ear salad with chili oil.

3:59 We've got dfu gas sliced tofu strips and chili oil.

4:02 Eggplant in chili oil.

4:04 We've got some green beans in chili oil.

4:07 We've got some fenjang row,

4:08 which is this butternut squash pumpkin in a sliced fatty pork.

4:12 And then look at this.

4:12 We've got century egg.

4:13 That's going to be a pedan.

4:15 century egg and chili oil, seaweed pork bone soup, and a mate coro,

4:19 which is sliced fatty pork and these fermented pickled mustard greens.

4:23 And I think that's going to be the one I try first.

4:25 A classic favorite amongst foreigners in China.

4:27 Mai coro.

4:28 Look at all that fatty pork.

4:29 It's like upgraded bacon.

4:33 M.

4:34 Oh wow.

4:37 You got the umami from the pickled mustard greens

4:39 and the fattiness and juiciness of the upgraded bacon.

4:42 It's incredible.

4:43 Next up, one of the dishes you need to try

4:45 if you come to Sichuan Chongqing area is dha.

4:48 This is a silken tofu.

4:50 And you can just cover it in this local chili oil.

4:52 And this isn't just any chili oil, guys.

4:54 This is chili oil upgraded with dough bananjang, fermented broad bean paste,

4:59 because they ferment these broad beans in these giant vats for years.

5:03 So, it has so much umami and spice.

5:08 Wow.

5:08 You can get full for a few dollars here.

5:10 This is only 7 R&B for this dha, which is like 80 cents.

5:12 Next up, look at this, guys.

5:14 This is fermented century egg.

5:15 Oh, and it's in a local chili oil soy sauce mix.

5:18 Let's try it out.

5:22 Oh, it's like a jelly salted sentry egg.

5:24 It's very sulfurous, but with the soy sauce,

5:26 it's salty and spicy with the chili in there.

5:28 Okay, guys.

5:29 And if you remember on this channel about 10 years ago, deep in Sichuan,

5:33 10 years ago, we filmed a intestine dish, which was exactly this dish.

5:38 And I gave it a zero because it wasn't cleaned very well, I think.

5:42 So, let's give it another go 10 years later.

5:44 Let's try it out.

5:55 Oh, I think I'm I think 10 years I think I'm still not ready.

6:05 I think it's still still not my favorite dish.

6:09 Oh my.

6:10 I think this place is clean.

6:11 Maybe that's just how they taste.

6:13 There's an odor in there.

6:15 Oh, I think we need to pallet cleanse now.

6:17 This is fatty pork belly with pumpkin and a rice meal flour.

6:21 The fenzang not for me.

6:23 It still has an odor 10 years later.

6:31 Oh, that is nice.

6:32 It's like a sweet squash pumpkin with this rice meal,

6:35 fatty pork belly, little spicy, little smooth.

6:37 Oh, 40 years history here.

6:47 Wow.

6:51 Wow.

6:53 Of course, it's that delicious.

6:54 Wow.

7:02 Yeah.

7:03 Cheap, he says.

7:03 Yeah.

7:05 And delicious.

7:10 And people are so friendly here, guys.

7:20 Amazing.

7:20 Let's keep going, guys.

7:21 Going to go to the next buffet, guys.

7:23 $200 buffet.

7:24 See how it compares.

7:25 This $2 buffet was actually pretty good.

7:28 To be honest, I was fairly convinced at the time that it might be hard to beat.

7:31 But that was until we walked into the $200 buffet and got

7:34 invited into the kitchen and saw just exactly what they offer.

7:37 Just watch.

7:38 You're going to be blown away.

7:39 Okay, guys.

7:40 And next up, we are at the $200 buffet in this luxury area of Chongqeng.

7:44 Look at this.

7:45 We've got a luxury mall here.

7:46 I think it's in the mall.

7:47 And we're going to go see what a nice $200 buffet gets you in China.

7:51 Let's go take a look.

7:52 Yeah.

7:54 Wow.

7:55 This is luxury, guys.

7:56 Luxury mall.

7:57 Look at this, guys.

7:58 Aquarium in the mall.

8:00 That's luxury.

8:01 I have a feeling this is going to be good.

8:04 Let's see.

8:04 We're going to decide at the end of the video which one is better,

8:06 the $2 or the $200 buffet.

8:08 Wow.

8:09 Here it is, guys.

8:10 Full all you can eat luxury seafood buffet in Chongqing, China.

8:19 Here we are, guys.

8:20 Oh.

8:22 Oh.

8:23 Oh.

8:25 Okay, we're going fishing.

8:28 Look at all this seafood.

8:29 Oh, we got dash.

8:30 These are the hairy mitten crabs from the lakes around Shanghai.

8:33 Super luxury, super expensive.

8:35 The row on the inside is a delicacy.

8:38 It's called the hang the eggs.

8:39 Let's just take a few of these hairy mitten crabs.

8:41 Oh, that's a pure delicacy.

8:43 These are expensive.

8:44 And look at this, guys.

8:45 Unlimited giant crabs.

8:46 These must be Alaskan king crabs.

8:48 This was absolutely insane.

8:50 As soon as you walk in, you're overwhelmed with selection.

8:53 unlimited lobster, starfish, oysters, abalone, sashimi, and more.

8:59 And the kitchen went a little overboard for us,

9:00 inviting us in to see the making when they saw

9:02 us filming and brought way too much food to our table.

9:05 So, we had to ask them to share with other guests.

9:07 But just watch and you'll see just how much value you get.

9:09 And it was actually only $100.

9:11 $200 for two people.

9:13 Okay, we're going into the kitchen next to see the stir fry of Oh, look at this.

9:18 Mala spicy naming crab.

9:22 Ooh, Tai Shangla.

9:24 So, look at that.

9:24 You bring your seafood and then they fry it in the walk for you.

9:27 Okay, we're going in, guys, to see the kitchen, the walk station.

9:35 Oh, okay.

9:38 We're going to make a bang mud crab.

9:40 Bang style, which is fried garlic.

9:42 Let's see how it's done.

9:43 Here we go.

9:44 Oh, he's just adding a little chili,

9:46 little pepperc corn, and then he's just reaching.

9:48 Oh, he's just reaching in.

9:49 These must be some like bread crumbs.

9:51 Shashama.

9:54 Yeah.

9:54 Breadcrumbs.

9:55 Just adding in some MSG chicken essence into the walk.

9:59 Oh, little green onion.

10:03 Oh, and then here comes the seafood.

10:04 Look at that prawns and mud crab.

10:07 Oh, look at the skill.

10:09 That is amazing, guys, to see in the kitchen.

10:11 A beef hung style crab and prawns.

10:14 Look at this.

10:15 Then here's served.

10:16 Wow.

10:17 Looks good.

10:18 Oh, and he's just covering it in the breadcrumbs after.

10:21 Look at that.

10:22 Next up is the mala version, guys.

10:24 Spicy and numbing crabs.

10:25 Oh, a little oil going in.

10:30 Oh, here comes the chilies.

10:33 Look at all those chilies going.

10:34 Oh, and a tons of chilies in there.

10:37 And he's just getting that aroma into the oil here.

10:40 High heat oil.

10:42 Okay.

10:42 And then here comes Look, tons of garlic.

10:45 Oh, a little bit of timma.

10:49 Oh yeah.

10:49 A little bit of seafood sauce and garlic going in there.

10:52 Oh.

10:55 Oh, and loading in hot pot spice into there.

10:58 And chili oil.

10:59 Look at that.

11:00 A little cucumber, onion.

11:03 Oh my goodness.

11:04 That is one of the most aromatic things you'll ever smell here.

11:07 This walk here.

11:08 The oil is just being infused with all those spices.

11:11 Thai shangla.

11:11 Thai shangla.

11:12 So aromatic.

11:13 And then just adding in a little MSG, chicken essence, sugar.

11:18 Oh, and there it comes all the seafood.

11:22 Oh, prawns and crabs.

11:26 And then he's just adding in a little starch here.

11:28 Wangla.

11:29 Oh, that is so potently aromatic, guys.

11:32 Unlike anything you'll ever smell.

11:34 Here it comes.

11:35 This is the moment.

11:39 That is so beautiful.

11:40 Look at all that seafood.

11:41 Wow.

11:42 It's just glistening with chili oil.

11:44 Just going to add some crab heads on top there.

11:47 Thai pawangla.

11:49 That is so beautiful.

11:51 Oh, here's the sauce.

11:52 Look at all the chilies on top.

11:53 Taangla.

11:54 And there we are, guys.

11:54 Look at that.

11:55 We got one mala version here.

11:57 Spicy and numbing.

11:58 Oh, it's just glistening with the chili oil.

12:01 So beautiful.

12:02 And one beef tongue version here.

12:04 Let's go try it out, guys.

12:05 We got a lot of food now.

12:06 And uh just blown away here.

12:08 Let's keep going.

12:09 When we came back to the table, it was full.

12:11 The chefs went above and beyond.

12:12 So, we had to ask to give some of the food to the nearby tables.

12:15 But first, take a look at the selection.

12:20 Okay.

12:20 How look at all the stuff we got on the table here.

12:22 Giant Russian crab.

12:23 Oh, we got steamed oysters, lobster, tons of salmon,

12:27 sashimi, and uh this is still alive.

12:30 Wow.

12:30 And Okay.

12:34 This is a steamed technique.

12:41 Okay.

12:42 Okay.

12:42 Oh, and here's the Russian crab, guys.

12:45 Look at that.

12:46 They've been steaming for a while now.

12:48 This is just mind-blowing the amount of food you get here.

12:50 Just discovered $100 per person buffet.

12:54 Seafood buffet.

12:55 So, we've got the Russian crab.

12:56 We've got beef tongue style mud crabs and prawns.

12:59 Boston lobster.

13:01 Unlimited sashimi.

13:02 First step, I think she's going to cut this giant Russian crab for us here.

13:06 Oh, yeah.

13:06 Look at that giant Russian crab claws and legs.

13:10 Oh.

13:19 Okay.

13:21 So, she says first bite you got to try the Yaneway, the natural flavor.

13:24 We got the Russian crab claw here.

13:29 Oh, wow.

13:33 Wow.

13:33 I've never tasted a more juicy piece of crab flesh in my life.

13:38 The meat is just so tender.

13:40 Wow.

13:41 I've never tasted a more tender piece.

13:42 Oh, it's just melting.

13:44 I really want to try is this mala spicy numbing prawns and mud crabs.

13:52 And then she's just going to break it for us.

13:53 That's the juicy crayfish meat.

13:55 Oh, hendro timan.

13:57 Lots of meat on the inside.

13:59 Wow.

13:59 Namaha.

14:01 And look, guys, that's the flesh.

14:03 She just took it out for me.

14:04 I'm just going to make sure it gets coated in mala spicy

14:07 and numbing chili oil because that's what life's about, having good flavor.

14:10 Let's try it out.

14:13 M.

14:14 Wow.

14:20 Oh my.

14:21 That flavor guys is unreal.

14:23 Burning with the light.

14:27 That is worth coming to Chongqing China for.

14:29 Here comes the beef style mafila.

14:33 We got full service crab and shrimp peeling here.

14:36 Oh shi.

14:37 Look at that guys.

14:38 Fresh juicy prawn flesh.

14:40 Wow.

14:41 Covered in those breadcrumbs and garlic.

14:43 Sichuan pepper corn chili.

14:44 Let's try it out.

14:46 M.

14:48 Oh wow.

14:51 Wow.

14:51 So tender.

14:52 Light garlic flavor.

14:53 Light chili.

14:54 I think I personally like the mala more.

14:56 It's more potent, more intense, more fragrant.

14:58 Really delicious.

14:59 Next up, we're going to steam a couple lobsters here.

15:02 Oh, and here they come.

15:03 Fresh Boston lobster.

15:05 Oh, going to steam those.

15:06 Oh, they're still alive.

15:07 I guess that's the best way to steam a lobster, isn't it?

15:10 Alive.

15:10 Then you know it's fresh.

15:12 Wow.

15:13 Thai.

15:14 So much sashimi here as well.

15:16 Time for the lobster.

15:18 The Boston lobster.

15:19 Look at that.

15:19 Wow.

15:20 Those look meaty.

15:21 Full meaty.

15:22 Look at the color on that.

15:24 Okay, here it comes.

15:25 Oh, wow.

15:28 This is beautiful.

15:29 Look at that.

15:29 Oh, wow.

15:33 There it is, guys.

15:34 Look at all that meat coming out.

15:35 Oh, hendo.

15:36 Hendlero.

15:38 Wow.

15:41 And there it is, guys.

15:42 Boston lobster flesh.

15:44 I think what I got to do here is dip it in delicious chili oil.

15:47 Let's just try it out.

15:51 M.

15:54 Oh, it doesn't get any better than that.

15:57 Oh, it's so tender, spicy, and numbing.

16:00 Oh, look at all the dips you get with it, guys.

16:05 Which one should I try?

16:09 Oh, this is their their signature seafood dip.

16:13 Looks like it's got soy sauce, maybe vinegar, chili, garlic, onion.

16:16 Let's try it out.

16:18 M.

16:20 Next up is the dajette, the Shanghai.

16:22 Around Shanghai, there's a lake where they have these famous hairy mitten crabs.

16:27 And the hang, the row on the inside is a delicacy.

16:29 It's like super creamy and umami.

16:32 And we're going to steam these.

16:38 15 minutes and then they're going to be ready to eat.

16:40 Oh, here's the dash.

16:43 Look at this guys.

16:44 Hairy mitten crabs from the lakes around Shanghai.

16:46 Oh, look at this.

16:47 That's the hang on the inside.

16:49 And I think what you do, it's been a while, but you pop off this back part.

16:52 Oh, look at the hang in there.

16:54 And then there it is, guys.

16:55 Look at that.

16:55 That's the hang.

16:56 That is the delicacy there.

16:58 The head butter, the hang, the egg, it's all in there.

17:00 And then you dip it in this vinegar.

17:02 Look at that.

17:03 Dip a little touch of vinegar.

17:06 M.

17:07 Oh.

17:08 Oh.

17:08 So creamy.

17:10 M.

17:10 With a touch of the sour vinegar.

17:12 Oh, actually that's really nice.

17:14 Oh, this is the fatty beef.

17:19 Oh, wagyu beef and fu fatty beef.

17:22 And then you just take, look at this, guys.

17:24 You got unlimited Wagyu beef as well.

17:26 And you got your own personal Chongqing spicy hot pot here.

17:29 You just boil that for about usually just 10 or 15 seconds.

17:33 And there it is, guys.

17:34 Wagyu beef.

17:35 Let's just try this in the spicy broth plane.

17:38 M.

17:44 Oh, spicy Chongqing hot pot.

17:48 Incredible flavor.

17:51 It was delicious.

17:55 Okay, thank you.

18:03 That was delicious.

18:07 Bye-bye.

18:08 Amazing, guys.

18:08 That was totally worth it.

18:10 Okay, guys.

18:10 Now, to choose between the $2 and the $200 buffet,

18:13 it's a hard choice because they were both delicious,

18:15 but I'm going to have to go with the $200

18:17 buffet because the amount of variety was just incredible.

18:20 The flavors were so good.

18:21 Thanks, guys.