We try to stay away from buffets… They
just aren’t good for our waistline or our health! Laurie doesn’t have a problem but I tend to
regard any buffet as a challenge…eating enough food that I come out financially
ahead in the bargain!
Nevertheless, a couple of times a year we
will go for an ‘all-you-can-eat’ buffet meal.
In East Tennessee these forays have been limited to Chinese buffets and
the Dinner Bell Restaurant with its country cooking over in Sweetwater
Tennessee.
China King Buffet and Grill is the
surviving Chinese buffet operation in Lenoir City Tennessee. It had a competitor just up the street on US
321, (Panda Buffet), that we had visited about 3 times since we moved
here. However, it has closed and the
property is being converted to a Chick-fil-A. Yippee!
China King Buffet is located at one end
of the Wal-Mart strip mall and we had never eaten here before…
The first piece of good news was that the
restaurant was busy. If you’ve eaten at
many buffets, you know that ‘busy’ or ‘popular’ is a good thing. It means that the food doesn’t have much of a
chance to sit and it’s replenished frequently.
The various buffet tables/steam tables
offered a wide variety of choices. China
King advertises their offerings as being Chinese, Japanese and American.
Here are 2 more steam tables loaded with
a plethora of dining decisions… The
staff at China King was continuously refilling the trays of food. The restaurant claims to offer over 150 items…but
we didn’t count them.
The buffet price also includes a number
of basic sushi items such as California Rolls, Spicy Tuna Rolls and Spicy Avocado
Rolls. In addition, hibachi and
Mongolian grill items are available.
Adult beverages are available including
beer and mixed drinks. Lunch specials
(from the menu) are served Monday – Friday for the very reasonable price of
$4.75. Luncheons include fried or
steamed rice and an egg roll or soup.
Laurie really goes for variety and, as
you will note, her plate(s) of food look lighter and perhaps healthier than
mine.
China King offers an extensive menu in addition
to the buffet. It includes appetizers,
soup, chow mein, fried rice, lo mein, mei fun, sweet and sour, vegetable, egg
foo young, seafood, pork, beef, poultry, combination platters, family meals, specials
and sushi as well as hibachi and Mongolian combinations. Other than the family
meals, the most expensive entrée that I could find on the menu was the Seafood
Combination. ($10.95) It includes lobster meat, jumbo shrimp, crab meat, fresh
scallops, bok choy, broccoli, snow peas, celery, fresh mushrooms, bamboo shoots
and carrots.
This was plate #1 for me. I love stir fried green beans and you will
note the hot peppers sauce that I used with just about everything. Note: That fried chicken wing was pretty
tasty!
Plate #2 for me… More stir fried green
beans with some broccoli, coconut shrimp (too sweet for me), and a couple of
chicken offerings.
Laurie ate her veggies too…plus she
picked up on some mushrooms, something that she rarely has at home…because I
won’t eat them. The little Chinese ‘donut’
at the top was a real winner!
I just had to go back for a little dessert! After all this is an all-you-can-eat buffet…
The ice cream was good but I agreed with Laurie that the donut was the real
champ! To be polite I had brought back 2
teaspoons…but Laurie was done eating. I
had to polish this off by myself!
The food at China King Buffet and Grill
is solid, satisfying and plentiful.
Gourmet it isn’t, but one doesn’t really expect that for 99.9% of
buffets. Pricing is very
reasonable. The dinner buffet (Sunday - Wednesday)
is $9.19 for adults. Thursday – Saturday
the price is $10.39. Seniors over 60
years of age get 10% off…although I didn’t claim that discount. We will be back…
China King Buffet and Grill is located at
925 Highway 321 North in Lenoir City Tennessee.
It’s not really on the highway…just look for the Wal-Mart and keep your
eyes open. Phone: 865-988-5988. I couldn’t locate a website for this
restaurant.
Just click on any of the photos to
enlarge them…
Thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
I agree that a busy restaurant is a good indication of its quality. We rarely visit buffets because it's too easy to overeat and often the food isn't that good. This looks like a great place you've found. In our neck of the woods, the best Chinese food is at our house :)
ReplyDeleteHope you and Laurie have a nice weekend.
Sam
Looks like you both got your money's worth, which is also why I avoid buffets.
ReplyDeleteA delightful and fairly-priced buffet is worth adding a few more servings, if you ask me. Looks like you’ve found a good one, seeing how delectable those foods are. Have you gone back there since the last time?
ReplyDeleteJames Moore @ Lin's Grand Buffet