Jackson Heights Life

Despite my best intentions, I never made it to Top of the World Buffet.  But I also never heard anything good about it.  Did you like it?  Is the new place, Potala, also an everything goes/Tibetan/Chinese/Japanese buffet like Top of the World was?

(FYI, since you said you couldn't find it, the Himalayan restaurants thread is here.  But buffets of any cuisine are welcome here in this thread.)

That you responded in one thread to a post in another fascinates me. I want to try it. For the record, I did not write I could not find a Himalayan thread, but that I could not find an existing thread in which to discuss both subcontinent and Himalayan cuisine, as well as different restaurants with buffets, steam tables and table service, as I was doing. I chose the South Asian thread because the majority of the venues I mentioned served that cuisine.

I would not quite describe Top of the World’s offerings as “everything goes,” but perhaps that’s because of my great familiarity with the all-you-can-eat Chinese-American buffet concept from my overindulgence at numerous good venues in and around the northeast Bronx. East Manor in Elmhurst has a wider selection of items, but the quality did not at all impress me. TW had much of what the Bronx places had, including many Western items like pizza, but with a more limited selection and some additional Tibetan items like their incredible hot sauce. They stopped offering sushi months ago, so there was nothing Japanese remaining unless you include the chicken pieces on skewers in imitation of teriyaki chicken. Still, it was probably better than EM as well as closer and cheaper. On Monday, however, Potala was identical to TW with the exception of new management and staff who haven’t yet figured out how to do their jobs (exemplified by the signs on the buffet being in the old TW positions and thus bearing no relation to the food underneath them), an even more limited selection (no beef ribs, as a fellow customer pointed out), and an under-heated dining room so cold I was pulling my sleeves over my hands to keep warm and my food would become unacceptably cold before I could finish it. Perhaps as some sort of compensation, the manager was annoyingly friendly and intrusive. When I dropped a bag I was holding, he rushed to bend down and pick it up for me, and when I was at the buffet, he interrupted my flow of food acquisition to describe the different dumplings at length as if I’d never been there before. After an experience like that, I will probably try EM again before returning to Potala, or maybe even endure the hour-and-a-half trip up to Baychester.

I gave Mehfil’s buffet another try and found they had expanded it since last I had eaten there, including more low-carbohydrate (or so I interpreted them) foods. I really enjoyed it, especially the fish curry, quite a treat at a buffet. I also returned to Potala and found they too had improved to a point about the same as that at which Top of the World had been.

Planning to go to Delhi Palace for buffet, but noticed Delhi Heights started offering buffet.  I had been wanting to try this place.
The atmosphere, food presentation and quality beat Delhi Palace and Jackson Diner.  Even better it was a dollar cheaper then the other two.
It's more comfortable and has a nice bar.  Food selection varied a lot with good pakoras to start, tandoori chicken and biryani very tasty and a great selection of vegetarian dishes including a manchurian style cauliflower.  Will definitely go back.  Want to try Menfil as well...since it gets a lot of attention on JHL.      Tasty!!! 

yep, u can dip your naan bread into raita or you can just spoon it into your mouth (my way   ).  either way, cucumber with yogurt is delish and a great way to cool your palate from some of the spices in the other dishes.