Thursday, July 17, 2014

Korshi Buffet Brings All-You-Can-Eat Sushi, So Stretch That Stomach And Don't Be Surprised

I admit it:  My plate is the full one in back.
The new Korshi buffet has opened in Columbia, and I will leave it to other people to debate whether you get your money's worth with all-you-can eat sushi and Korean food.

I got my money's worth at a weekday lunch.  We took out a friend out to celebrate his new job, and I ate three plates of food -- two more than anyone actually needs at noon.

Korshi is fun for about $13.  You need to know what you're getting.  One line of sushi with thin-sliced fish, and one line of Korean dishes.  We liked a few tastes of spicy tofu, and I splurged on chicken wings.  But the sushi was clearly the draw.

Some rolls.  Some pieces.  I thought the quality matched the lunch joint near my office, and I love being able to try one thin slice of a half-dozen different rolls, chased by thin slices of a half-dozen different fish.  Each time that we walked through, the chefs were offering a full array of salmon, tuna, eel, octopus and more.  Plus, I assume there are more options at dinner when the price jumps to $23.

Until they get a liquor license, you can bring your own alcohol without a corkage fee.  I grabbed a six-pack of Hite beer at the liquor store just north of Korshi's shopping center.  I actually walked there by jumping up a low retaining wall off the parking lot.

Again, please don't be surprised at an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Sushi Sono sells single rolls for more than we paid for lunch.  Shin Chon Garden and Honey Pig specialize in grilled meats.  Don't be surprised if Korshi's offerings don't match those flavors.

Korshi replaced Nichi Bei Kei, a Japanese restaurant whose Web site says that they were relocating to a spot near the Columbia Mall.  I think those plans were from 2013.  Does anyone know if or when Nichi Bei Kei will open there?

The Columbia Korshi is apparently a spin-off of a Virginia restaurant with the same name.  They have different management, folks said on the phone when I called Virginia to try to get the hours of the Maryland store.  On Yelp, someone noted that the Virginia restaurant has table-top barbecue, but charges $40 for dinner.  If you know the Virginia place, don't expect an exact copy.

Korshi
9400 Snowden River Pkwy
Columbia, MD 21045
410-309-9991

NEAR:  Korshi replaced Nichi Bei Kei in the corner of a shopping center on Snowden River Parkway.  This is the same center with Pars Market, the new Chutney restaurant, and Azul 17.  This is south of Oakland Park Boulevard and north of Broken Land Parkway.

Korshi on Urbanspoon


9 comments:

The Unmanly Chef said...

If it competes with Niko's I'm already sold.

Do they have any pork bellies?

All you can eat sushi is in a realm in of itself, a tasty slightly cheaper realm.

Anonymous said...

The VA (centreville) with the ayce korean bbq with tableside grilling is not $40. Its actually only a few dollars more expensive. $15-$17 for lunch and $25-$28 for dinner.

Unknown said...

It's okay. Opted to try it over original plans of pho dat thanh. No regrets but not sure I'd go back again. As someone who has frequented plenty of Korean and Japanese buffets, my opinion is that the offerings were a bit lacking in flavor and texture. There were a few standouts like a bacon wrapped rice thing that oddly tasted exactly like french toast; mandoo, the tofu panchan, and the Korean style fried chicken. Much of everything else was a bit homogenous due to a lot of it being made with the same filler. Value is ok, though I feel like they'd do well providing some of the sauces and accompaniments you get at Korean bbq joints, and providing more seafood options for dinners and weekends. Sushi was ok, but not particularly special or memorable.

For sushi, I'd pick Niko over Korshi any day of the week.

2 Dudes Who Love Food said...

30Two days ago, we ate at Pho Dat Thanh and noticed Korshi Buffet approximately two stores away. If we weren't meeting people at Pho Dat, we would have eaten at Korshi buffet - it looked great. Thanks for the review. We can't wait to try it.

Anonymous said...

The two and three star reviews on Yelp are pretty accurate. Just got back from the Saturday lunch buffet, and I have got to say the food quality is on the disappointing side. As HowChow has described, there's two sections: sushi and Korean food. In the Korean section, there's rice, noodles, tofu, ribs, a whole assortment of fried chicken dishes, dumplings, and a few other things I'm forgetting. Only a handful of items had labels on them, and those labels were just hand-written yellow sticky notes. None of the dishes really stood out to me. All of the fried foods almost tasted the same to me. Unfortunately, some of it was cold on my first go. On my second go, I made sure to check if there was steam coming off of the food warmers, and those foods were nice and warm. So there's a bit of inconsistency in quality control.

In the sushi section, you have a decent assortment, but not a huge assortment of rolls. The section is also shared with fruits and vegetables, so it's a smaller section relative to the Korean section.

Compared to the former Chen Hibachi, this place is pretty disappointing, weak on the assortment, and weak on quality. It has a nice interior, and it is almost too spacious. I think they have a lot of work to do personally. Don't think I'd visit again.

dzoey said...

In addition to Niko, there's Kimco (Kimko?) that has a decent sushi and Korean buffet. I almost stopped at Korshi last night but saw these reviews and decided to skip it. Thanks for the heads up HowChowers.

Anonymous said...

I'm curious. What's the lunch joint near your office you speak of?

Anonymous said...

I had the opportunity to try Korshi last night....I travel to Columbia on business frequently and am always trying new places. My go to place is Pho Dat and when I saw the sushi buffet was opening I opted to try it. The sushi choices were abundant, more than 30 different choices. They were good and the Korean choices were great for someone who has not had much Korean food (live in small town and no chance of that happening there). I paid $19 for dinner, and the food was worth it.

Anonymous said...

I love all you can eat sushi as I can eat to my hearts content. All I did was to find the nearest AYCE restaurant at https://easynearme.com/locations/all-you-can-eat-sushi-near-me/. My family and I enjoyed our sushi buffet a lot.