ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 28, 1996 TAG: 9602280034
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Dining Out
TYPE: RESTAURANT REVIEW
THEIR QUALITY runs the gamut, but all of the area's Chinese lunch buffets are bargains.
If any kind of restaurant lunch has blossomed over the past several years, it is the Chinese buffet. With a huge assortment of food, it fulfills all the expectations and requirements for a great, inexpensive midday meal.
In fact, the Chinese lunch buffet is a wonder-of-wonders bargain with rock bottom prices ranging from $4.25 to $5.95. This gives families and groups of friends the opportunity to make delicious discoveries while feasting on a budget.
Chinese buffets have a logic and appeal of their own. Mainly because several dishes are variations on the same theme and cooking is usually quick, an expansive array of offerings can be presented. To make everybody happy, the American-style salad bar has be.*come a permanent addition to the lineup of Oriental specialties.
Accompanied by groups of tasters over a period of three months, I sampled the fare of 10 Chinese lunch buffets. My evaluations yielded three groupings: outstanding, good and disappointing.
"Outstanding" buffets present a magnificent selection of first-rate offerings in well-kept settings. "Good" indicates agreeable food and service in a maintained environment. "Disappointing" reflects inadequate culinary efforts and inattentiveness to maintenance in a deteriorating physical facility.
The restaurants are listed in ascending order of preference, so that the best come last. The sampling represents the majority of the valley's Chinese buffets, but is not a definitive listing of them all.
DISAPPOINTING
SZECHUAN II CHINESE RESTAURANT
(Not affiliated with the Szechuan Restaurant on Bernard Drive.)
7650 Williamson Road, near Hollins college, 362-2239
HOURS: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
BEVERAGES: Full bar
LUNCH BUFFET: $4.25 Monday-Saturday; $4.95 Sunday
CREDIT CARDS: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
RESERVATIONS? Available
NON-SMOKING SECTION? Yes
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? No
This 20-item buffet needs an overhaul. Inadequate quantities of woefully cool food make meals a painful exercise. Sauce-flooded combination dishes contain threads of meat that are all but impossible to identify. Avoid both the tough, dry General Tso's chicken, which is drenched with a sweet coating, and the spring roll filled with cabbage and mysterious pink dots. On the plus side, I made a meal of the fried sweet potatoes, fried chicken wings and sugared doughnuts. Don't expect too much attention with only two frenzied, yet charming, service persons scooting around the dining room.
CHINA GARDEN GOURMET RESTAURANT
2050 Electric Road S.W., in Southwest Plaza, 989-45l9
HOURS: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
BEVERAGES: Full bar
LUNCH BUFFET: $4.50.
CREDIT CARDS: Visa, MasterCard, Discover
RESERVATIONS? Available
NONSMOKING SECTION? Yes
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? Yes
A selection of 22 items, in abundant quantities and on a closely monitored, clean buffet table spans the scale from average to low-grade, especially considering what passes for fried rice: a soy sauce-tinged rice with no hint of other ingredients.
Except for the chubby egg rolls and unusually sweet, oil-oozing eggplant slices, fried foods are fried to dryness. On the positive side, there are tasty beef, pork and vegetable dishes; sprightly seasoned green beans; sweet and sour chicken; lo mein; spicy cucumber salad; plus fresh and canned fruits, fresh tomatoes and raw broccoli florets for your salad.
FIJI ISLAND RESTAURANT
627 Townside Road S.W., 343-2552
HOURS: 11:30-3 p.m. Sunday only
BEVERAGES: Full bar
LUNCH BUFFET: $5.25
CREDIT CARDS: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED? No
NON-SMOKING SECTION? Yes
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? No
A weary island theme predominates in both decor and food. The 13-item main buffet contains neither appealing nor good-tasting food: thick slices of boiled ham with pineapple in an icky sauce, greasy chicken, old-tasting egg rolls, darkly sauced shredded meats with limp vegetables, and bite-sized desserts. I cannot understand how the owners, pioneers of island Oriental cuisine in the area, expect us to be satisfied with these offerings. We have come to expect more.
GOOD
SZECHUAN CHINESE RESTAURANT
5207 Bernard Drive S.W., 989-7947
HOURS: 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
BEVERAGES: Wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages
LUNCH BUFFET: $4.95. Monday through Friday; $5.45 Sunday
CREDIT CARDS : Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED? Yes
NON-SMOKING SECTION? Yes
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? Yes
The immaculate dining room, attentive staff and dependable food make this one of my favorites. Highlights of the 22-item buffet are the fresh fruits, including melon, orange, and apple slices; cabbage and twice-cooked pork; beef and broccoli; shrimp with vegetables and pork; and the perfectly seasoned, slim and straight green beans. Steam table maintenance is exemplary: The food keeps its heat, trays are constantly filled and cleaning of dropped particles is frequent.
CHINATOWN RESTAURANT
Orange Ave. N.E., 345-6000
HOURS: 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
BEVERAGES: Full bar
LUNCH BUFFET $4.25
CREDIT CARDS: All major credit cards
RESERVATIONS? Available
NON-SMOKING SECTION? Yes
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? Yes
It's easy to miss this restaurant on a knoll near the juncture of Williamson Road and Orange Avenue. Cast your fork into some of the dishes from the constantly maintained 20- to 24-item buffet: well-seasoned egg drop and sweet and sour soups, chunky sections of roasted chicken, wedges of garlic potatoes, crisp fried chicken, and plump pot stickers. The vegetable lo mein contains an abundance of slender vegetables that weave in and out of noodle strands in a perky sauce. Other pluses include a salad bar with fresh fruit; efficient, pleasant service; clean tables; and a bright dining room.
CHINA HOUSE
2326 Grandin Road S.W., 772-2635
HOURS: 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Sunday through Friday
BEVERAGES: Full bar
LUNCH BUFFET: $4.55
CREDIT CARDS: None; cash or check only
RESERVATIONS? Available
NON-SMOKING SECTION? Yes
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? Yes
Courteous service and an exceptionally clean dining room make this a comfortable neighborhood restaurant. Except for the dry, pellet-sized meat in the General Tso's chicken, most of the dishes on the 14-item buffet are faintly seasoned but expertly rendered. They are especially good, also, because of the wholesomely cooked, absolutely fresh ingredients. Two noteworthy dishes are the cabbage with shrimp and pork with broccoli.
MAI TAI RESTAURANT
3944 Brambleton Ave. S.W., 772-0888
HOURS: 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
BEVERAGES: Full bar
LUNCH BUFFET: Monday-Friday: $4.50; Saturday-Sunday: $5 .95
CREDIT CARDS: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED? For 5 or more persons
NON-SMOKING SECTION'? Yes
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? Yes.
I relished most of the offerings from the 20-item buffet: mixed vegetables, chicken with broccoli, chicken with garlic sauce, beef pepper steak, seasoned fried eggplant, combination fried rice, lo mein, and sesame beef. Sweet, freshly fried doughnuts enrobed with sugar were so light that I couldn't help eating three of them.
OUTSTANDING
NANJING CHINESE RESTAURANT
2202 Orange Ave. N.E., 342-2352
HOURS: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday through Friday.
BEVERAGES: Wine, beer and non-alcoholic
LUNCH BUFFET: $4.95
CREDIT CARDS: Visa, Mastercard, Discover
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED? For large groups
NON-SMOKING SECTION? Yes
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? Yes
This place is always packed and for good reason - the food is excellent. The buffet offers 25 hot, ably prepared dishes. Even if you have to wait for a table, I guarantee you will be delighted when you leave.
Standout dishes encompass a tremendous variety: crispy fried fish halves, shrimp with vegetables, green beans, hefty pieces of General Tso's chicken, lo mein, lemon chicken, barbecued pork, chunky, homestyle spring rolls with shredded cabbage and minced pork, beef and broccoli, chicken teriyaki with carrots, succulent barbeuced pork, vegetables tempura, meatballs with zucchini, beef with onions, fried sweet potatoes. Of all the doughnuts I ate for this review, these melted in my mouth.
SHANGHAI RESTAURANT
1416 S. Colorado St., Salem, 389-4151
HOURS: 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday through Friday
BEVERAGES: Full bar
LUNCH BUFFET: $4.50
CREDIT CARDS : Visa, MasterCard, Discover
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED? For 5 or more
NON-SMOKING SECTION? Yes
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? Yes
Although the burners need to be turned up under the food, this is an organized, orderly, and well-stocked buffet with a multitude of distinctively flavored dishes. For satisfaction, count on the mountains of fresh green beans seasoned to a turn, zesty and crunchy cashew chicken, substantial pieces of General Tso's chicken, fresh beef and broccoli, and the first tofu dish any of us liked, because it was tender and moist without being dry or wet. Large pieces of roast pork, though tender, may be overly salted. The doughnuts are great and just what you need with the hot tea after this feast. The handsome dining room, with its beautiful chandelier and unexpected skylight, is spotless. Despite the lunchtime crush, cordial service, quickly cleaned tables and efficient check-out are hallmarks of the Shanghai.
DYNASTY INTERNATIONAL SUPER BUFFET
1927 Franklin Road S.W., in the Ramada Inn, 345-9618
HOURS: 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
BEVERAGES: Full bar
LUNCH BUFFET: $5.45
CREDIT CARDS: All major cards
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED? No
NON-SMOKING SECTION? Yes
HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? No
I counted more than 60 appealing, well-prepared items in this display of Chinese, Oriental and American foods. Even more surprising, all my samples were hot and good - so good that I brought along my world-traveling, particular-about-food husband and he, too, marveled at the high-quality preparations. The most alluring aspect of this gargantuan banquet is the Mongolian-style barbecue, an irresistible, healthful alternative that permits me to stay on a sensible eating regimen while still having the fun of tasting from a vast selection.
The barbecue goes like this: Choose from meticulously layered, transparently thin slices of beef, chicken, or pork; add whole raw shrimp, plus exotic and ordinary vegetables. Bring your plateful to a chef in the cooking island, and he'll ask you which of the four sauces (or a broth) you'd prefer. Then he'll quickly shovel your ingredients onto the massive hot griddle, ladle on the seasoned liquid and rapidly prepare your meal in front of you. You can't beat it for flavor or value, even if this is all you eat.
But there's more to this showboat of tempting foods: A half dozen soups, assorted tempura, lemon chicken, General Tso's chicken, chow meins, lo meins, twice cooked pork, Kung Pao, sauteed mushrooms, red-cooked beef, Chinese potatoes, green beans, a variety of rices and noodles, fresh fruit, puddings, cookies, fried savories and sweets, salad makings and adornments, soft-serve ice cream, and much more. Servers are attentive and courteous, there are no bottlenecks, and the room is sparkling clean.
- Handicapped accessibility is determined for the newspaper by the Blue Ridge Center for Independent Living.
LENGTH: Long : 250 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/Staff. At the Ramada Inn on Franklinby CNBRoad, the Dynasty's lunch buffet features a Mongolian barbecue.
Diners select ingredients, which they take to a waiting chef, like
Elioth Figuereo (above), for quick preparation. 2. The lunchtime
crowd (below) attests to the popularity of the Nanjing Chinese
Restaurant on Orange Avenue Northeast. 3. The price is $4.50 - plus
tax - for all you can eat (left) at the Shanghai Restaurant on South
Colorado Street in Salem. color.