If you're in the mood to stuff your face with bland but plentiful Chinese dishes, the China King Buffet is the place to be. Otherwise, just call up your buddy Yuan Ho.
Located in the shopping center across from Fashion Square Mall, the China King Buffet features a rotating selection that offers 120 different items. Although take-out is available, chances are you're going to stay for the buffet.
In fact, the wait staff doesn't even bother to give you a menu. The buffet costs $8.99 Monday to Thursday, $10.99 Friday and Saturday, and $9.99 on Sunday.
Granted, the China King Buffet isn't just a place to eat until you explode. It's surprisingly classy for an all-you-can-eat place. An entire side of one wall is simply a mirror, providing the illusion that the restaurant is much larger than it actually is.
The lighting is good and the seating is comfortable, but the nicest touch is the portrayal of the night sky on the ceiling. A huge blue circle takes up most of the ceiling above the dining area, and embedded in it are hundreds of tiny white lights. The effect of the d
cor is that you don't realize you're eating in a place right next to a shoe store. That's a good thing.
Service at this place isn't an issue. The wait staff's only duties are to refill your drink and bus away your used plates; fortunately, the staff is quite responsive. We were never in danger of being thirsty or being crushed by a falling tower of flatware.
Now, as a service to our readers, we feel it necessary to set some ground rules for eating at a buffet.
First, the purpose of going to a buffet is not to eat a meal. Instead, you're trying to eat three meals for the price of one. That makes the buffet perfect for a college student -- limited food budgets require desperate measures.
We recommend that you not eat for an extended period of time beforehand. This way you'll get the maximum bang for your buck. Another related strategy is to go for the lunch buffet ($5.99 every day but Sunday, when it's $8.99) and have it count as both lunch and dinner.
Second, don't try to eat every item on the buffet. The staff will not be offended if you're still able to walk out under your own power. That being said, just because you're full doesn't mean you're done. Wait a bit for your second wind.
A nice thing about China King is that you're going to find something you like. But don't just go for the staples of Chinese cuisine; get something that you wouldn't have ordered over the phone. We found that the more mainstream items like General Tso's Chicken and the Sweet and Sour Chicken/Pork/Shrimp were all pretty weak and tasteless anyway.
There are a couple of dishes that you should definitely try. The Mussels in Ginger Sauce are great. The Mei Fun is composed of angel hair and tasty seasonings. The crab legs are good, but we found cracking them open to be too much effort to justify eating more.
The Bourbon Chicken is definitely the best chicken entr
e; we urge you to give it a shot. The competition for worst chicken entr
e was pretty fierce, but the chicken with broccoli managed to beat out the chicken nuggets. The chicken broccoli tasted like a sponge, while the nuggets could have very well come straight from the McDonald's dumpster.
Another appealing feature of the China King is the Mongolian Bar. You can pick from an assortment of pre-sliced raw meat, shrimp and vegetables; arrange your choices on a plate; and have them cooked right in front of you. This service is included in the price of the buffet.
This buffet also offers access to a sushi bar with a limited selection. There's not much to choose from, but the sushi rolls are worth a taste.
The China King Buffet may not have the best food in the world. Luckily, it's not the worst food either, and there's plenty to go around. For less than $15 after a drink, you're good to go for the next few days.
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