UMI豪華海鮮自助餐龍蝦鮑魚任食，佛跳牆一盅接一盅 UMI Buffet in Tempe: All You Can Eat Lobster, Seafood, Sushi & More

【今天吃什麼？】

去吃自助餐，我總有個習慣：先不急著拿食物，繞一圈看看有甚麼，再決定從哪裡開始。不過，這次來到位於 Tempe 的 Umi Hot Pot Sushi & Seafood Buffet，看著滿眼的海鮮、壽司和熱食，倒有點拿不定主意，想吃的實在太多了。

UMI 晚餐有超過200款食材與佳餚，龍蝦、鮑魚、帶子、羊扒、佛跳墙炖汤都能任吃，還有火鍋、拉麵和鐵板燒。但要說我最喜歡哪一道，還真不是龍蝦，而是那一盅盅佛跳牆。

佛跳牆裡有鮑魚、瑤柱、雞腳、杏鮑菇、香菇、瘦肉和蹄筋，加入高湯用文火慢慢煨製。湯喝起來鮮美，食材也燉得軟嫩柔潤，尤其是蹄筋和雞腳，慢慢吃很有滋味。比起自助餐裡那些一眼就吸引人的大菜，這盅湯看著不張揚，卻是我吃完還想再拿的。

而且，在這裡不用捨不得。喝完一盅，喜歡就再拿一盅。平常吃飯未必會特意點佛跳牆，來這裡倒可以好好過一下癮。

海鮮當中，我想特別提一提蛏子。這裡的蛏子個頭很大，有做好的熟食，也有生的，可以拿來涮火鍋。現場有顧客吃得很滿意，說是自己吃過最好吃的蛏子，還提到在洛杉磯見過賣27美元一磅的，覺得這裡任吃很划算。價錢是客人的分享，不過這蛏子確實值得試試，別只顧著拿龍蝦和蟹腿而錯過了。

蒜蓉蒸鮑魚和蒜蓉蒸帶子也是我推薦的。海鮮配蒜蓉，吃的就是那份鮮香，不需要太複雜，已經很討喜。

另一道讓我有點意外的是羊排。原本衝著海鮮而來，沒想到自助餐裡還有羊排可吃。外面烤得帶點香脆，裡面的肉仍然嫩滑。吃了幾輪海鮮，換換口味，拿一塊羊排慢慢吃，也很滿足。

喜歡壽司的朋友，大概會在壽司區停留好一陣子。四大個自助餐台擺滿各式壽司、壽司卷和刺身，款式多，還有現場製作的壽司。我的建議是先每款拿一點，試過喜歡再添，不然光是壽司，可能已經吃飽了。

想吃熱騰騰的，還有現做的日本拉麵和鐵板燒。拉麵有豚骨（Tonkotsu）、味噌（Miso）、UMIMystery和海鮮（Seafood）四款口味。

小火鍋有菌菇、金湯、番茄、麻辣四款湯底，涮料也選得很齊：肉片、丸子、海鮮、蔬菜、麵食，幾十種選擇，想怎麼配都可以。

吃到差不多，記得留點位置給葡撻。這個是我很想推薦的甜點。外面的酥皮一層層，咬下去鬆脆，裡面的蛋餡帶著奶油香，滑滑嫩嫩，最合我心意的是不會太 甜。即使前面已經吃了不少，看到這樣的葡撻，還是會想拿一個。

最後再吃點水果，這餐才算圓滿。這裡有火龍果、紅毛丹、奇異果，都是我喜歡、但平時買起來不算便宜的水果。吃過肉和海鮮，再來幾口清甜水果，剛剛好。

還有一點要提：堂食飲品也是任喝的。除了冰紅茶、綠茶、王老吉、牛奶和罐裝汽水，還有奶茶、果茶，選擇比想像中多。同行的人口味不同，也容易找到自己喜歡喝的。

這頓飯吃下來，我最記得的，是佛跳牆的鮮、羊排的香，還有葡撻那口鬆脆。龍蝦鮑魚任吃固然吸引，但能在一大堆選擇裡，找到幾道吃完還惦記的，才是我覺得這餐值得的地方。

Umi Hot Pot Sushi & Seafood Buffet

地址：7810 S Priest Dr #101, Tempe, AZ 85284

Whenever I go to a buffet, I like to walk around before filling my plate. I want to see what’s there first, then decide where to start. But at Umi Hot Pot Sushi & Seafood Buffet in Tempe, that didn’t make the decision any easier. Between the seafood, sushi, and hot dishes, there was just so much I wanted to try.

UMI’s dinner buffet offers more than 200 items, including all you can eat lobster, abalone, scallops, lamb chops, and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup, along with hot pot, ramen, and teppanyaki. But if you ask me what I enjoyed most, it wasn’t the lobster. It was those little bowls of soup.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a slow simmered Chinese soup made here with abalone, dried scallops, chicken feet, king oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, lean pork, and tendon in a rich broth. The broth is full of flavor, and the ingredients are cooked until tender, especially the tendon and chicken feet. It may not catch your eye the way a big seafood platter does, but it’s something I wanted to go back for.

And here, you can. Finish one bowl and feel like another? Just get one more. It’s not a soup I’d order every time I eat out, so being able to enjoy as much as I liked was a real treat.

Among the seafood, the razor clams deserve a mention. These are big, and you can try them cooked or pick up raw ones to cook in your hot pot. One guest loved them so much that they called them the best razor clams they’d ever had. They also mentioned seeing razor clams selling for $27 a pound in Los Angeles, which made the unlimited servings here feel like a great deal. That price was their personal comparison, but these clams are certainly worth trying. Don’t overlook them while heading for the lobster and crab legs.

The steamed abalone and scallops with garlic are also on my recommended list. Garlic and seafood are such a good match. Nothing too complicated, just plenty of savory flavor.

Another pleasant surprise was the lamb chops. I came for the seafood, so I wasn’t expecting to find these at the buffet too. They had a slightly crisp exterior while staying tender inside. After a few rounds of seafood, a lamb chop made a delicious change of pace.

Sushi fans will probably spend quite a bit of time browsing. Four large buffet stations are filled with sushi, rolls, and sashimi, with sushi also being made on site. My advice is to try a little at a time, then go back for your favorites. Otherwise, you could easily fill up on sushi alone.

If you’re in the mood for something hot, there’s freshly made ramen and teppanyaki. The ramen comes in four flavors: Tonkotsu, Miso, UMI Mystery, and Seafood.

For hot pot, you can choose from four broths: Mushroom, Golden Broth, Tomato, and Mala, the spicy, numbing option. There are also dozens of ingredients to mix and match, including sliced meats, meatballs and fish balls, seafood, vegetables, and noodles. You can put together your pot just the way you like it.

When you’re almost full, save a little room for a Portuguese egg tart. This is one dessert I’d definitely recommend. The pastry has crisp, flaky layers, and the custard inside is smooth and creamy. What I liked most was that it wasn’t too sweet. Even after all that food, I still wanted one.

I always like to finish with fruit, and the selection here includes dragon fruit, rambutan, and kiwi, some of my favorites that can be a little pricey to buy regularly. After all the meat and seafood, a few bites of refreshing fruit were just right.

One more thing worth mentioning: drinks are unlimited when you dine in, too. There’s iced black tea, green tea, Wang Lao Ji herbal tea, milk, canned sodas, milk tea, and fruit tea. There were more choices than I expected, making it easy for everyone at the table to find something they liked.

What stayed with me after this meal was the savory soup, the lamb chops, and that flaky egg tart. Unlimited lobster and abalone certainly get your attention, but finding a few dishes you’re still thinking about afterward is what makes a buffet worth coming back to.

Umi Hot Pot Sushi & Seafood Buffet

Address: 7810 S Priest Dr #101, Tempe, AZ 85284

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