Indulge in an authentic Chinese feast: Gourmet City’s Buffet Delights in Frankfurt

Many Chinese restaurants in Germany adapt their menus to local tastes and preferences. This often means oversized portions of meat, very few exotic spices, a lack of clear culinary direction (mixing different Asian cuisines), and, above all, an abundant use of MSG. This trend is particularly evident in a classic Chinese-Asian restaurant concept in Germany – the buffet.

We were thrilled to discover a buffet restaurant in Frankfurt that not only offers a diverse array of Chinese specialties but also emphasizes authenticity. China Restaurant Gourmet City provides fresh ingredients for the grill, and every Friday, they prepare Peking duck in the traditional manner (be sure to check out our favorite Peking duck restaurant in Frankfurt too). Additionally, you’ll find a wide selection of authentic Chinese dishes featuring plenty of healthy vegetables, along with some traditional Chinese desserts.

Tucked away in a shopping center in an industrial area in the west of Frankfurt, Gourmet City unfolds into a vast culinary scene as soon as you enter. With dozens of food stations and counters, the aroma of countless delicious ingredients and dishes fills the air. There’s a section where fresh ingredients are displayed and later cooked on a Mongolian grill, various stations with authentic (and less authentic) boiled and fried starters and main courses, a picturesque counter with fresh, delicious fruit, a huge room decorated with kitschy, grandiose Chinese landscape paintings, a huge stage with a piano (often used for karaoke evenings, which can also be booked here) and much more.

Prices for the all-you-can-eat-and-drink buffet vary depending on the day of the week, whether it is a lunch or dinner buffet, and whether a hot pot is included, ranging from €11.90 to €18.90 for children and €19.90 to €37.90 for adults. As you are likely to be full even without the hot pot, we recommend not ordering it. For those seeking an authentic hot pot experience in Frankfurt, there are other excellent options.

The buffet includes all dishes, non-alcoholic beverages, hot drinks, and two glasses of wine or beer. Spirits and cocktails must be ordered separately. Officially, the maximum stay is limited to 2.5 hours, but it’s no problem to extend your stay a little – at least it wasn’t for us. Payment is made at the door and you’ll be given a wristband in different colors, depending on your choice.

For a better orientation, or to get a sneak peek, there’s a visual tour of the restaurant: https://gourmetcity-ffm.de/#p360

Let’s start with our personal favorite – Chinese barbecue. Grab a plate and choose from a variety of fresh fish and seafood, meat, and vegetables. Hand your plate to the grill master who will prepare your feast. You’ll be given a kitchen timer that will vibrate when your plate is ready. While you wait, why not check out the sauce counter and make your own barbecue sauce? There are also some authentic cold dishes to try to get your stomach ready for the main courses. But don’t overdo it, or there won’t be much room left for the main courses 😊

When it comes to drinks, we keep it simple: there’s a wide choice, but to save space for the delicious buffet, we stick to water or, at most, a Bionade 😉

The choice is overwhelming and we sample everything in small portions – from squid, octopus, mussels, prawns, salmon, sea bream, and other fish, to chicken, beef or lamb kebabs, pork belly, and lamb chops, to crispy mushrooms or broccoli. There’s really something for everyone, and in abundance!

It doesn’t take long for the timer to go off. With anticipation, we rush to the barbecue to get our plates full of treats. Biting into the little barbecue bites reveals a slightly smoky flavor that pairs beautifully with the savory barbecue sauces and spicy seasonings added during the grilling process.

As we enjoy our barbecue plates, we gradually indulge in the delicious home-cooked dishes. Steaming pots serve classic Chinese dishes like mapo tofu or kung pao chicken. But there are also dumplings, of course. If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of dumplings and can’t resist them. So I tried some of the baozi, jiaozi and dim dum. In Gourmet City, the possibilities are endless, but unfortunately our stomachs are not 😂

We also highly recommend the steamed salmon, which is wonderfully tender and succulent. And for the gourmets among you, don’t miss the crabs. The salty, slightly sweet flavor of the tender crab meat is a real delicacy.

To complement the protein-packed barbecue, we also enjoy some additional vegetarian dishes. One of our favorites is the delicious mushroom pan with crispy pak choi.

Basically, it’s not difficult: don’t be intimidated by the abundance of choice, experiment and try different foods, be creative and look for fresh ingredients or freshly prepared dishes (they are often described or named). As with any buffet experience, there are no strict rules – feel free to indulge in whatever pleases your palate without any pressure to conform.

However, we would advise against the sushi and fried food on offer at Gourmet City. These are not really authentic and do not compare in taste to the other culinary offerings. If you are a big fan of sushi, we suggest you visit a sushi restaurant instead.

As they say, there’s always room for dessert, isn’t there? Although it’s obviously nonsense, I usually can’t resist indulging in something sweet, even when I’m already full.

There’s a selection of fresh fruit and other sweet temptations such as cakes and ice cream. But what I’m most interested in are the typical Chinese dessert specialties such as warm sesame balls (which I’ve featured in another article) or tangyuan (汤圆), a traditional Chinese sweet made from a sticky rice flour dough filled with various sweet fillings such as bean paste or sesame paste. Tangyuan balls are served in a sweet syrup and symbolize unity (tang 汤 means soup and yuan 圆 means round, but tangyuan is also a homophone for unity – Tanyuan (团圆)), making it a popular dish for weddings or family celebrations.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable buffet experience. Authentic, tasty, and affordable. A little tip: don’t plan any big meals before or after your visit to Gourmet City – you’ll definitely get your money’s worth here! 😊