im assuming you are talking white food buffets? in vancouver its pretty slim pickings
not sure why all the bashing of river rock. for lunch its not terribly priced, 12 or 13 bucks. the food may not be great, but there's usually a good selection of meat available.
uncle willy's is always there for 8-9 bucks at lunch. you can't go wrong for a cheap buffet there. not nearly the selection of old country buffet, but its the canadian equivalent.
in hope there's a good buffet, cheap too. all of the food is homestyle (even the lasagna!) so its great. they even made french fries fresh when you wanted them (not that i'd waste my precious stomach space on them!)
the best i've been to within a reasonable driving distance is the eagles buffet at the tulalip casino. its about an hour past bellingham, but seattle premium outlets and the biggest walmart you'll ever see is beside it
i took a peek at skagit casino (15 mins past bellingham) and it was pretty small for the same price as eagles (about 11 or 12 bucks)
if you don't want to drive farther than bellingham there's always old country buffet in belis fair. just went last week, its great, for about 8 bucks (lunch)
its big, obviously not the best quality food, but its cheap and there's alot of it
ive heard good things about the langley casino, never been though
for brown food, i like the new india buffet on broadway near oak, theyve got cheap beer too
for chinese, i recommend two:
grand buffet in burnaby near gilley and kingsway and there's a really good one at royal and columbia. i think 8 dollar lunch and 9 dollars dinner if you get in before 6. lots of seafood at both for dinner and cost around 12-13 regular price