Susan-
The China Buffet at the Kanawha Mall in Charleston is my favorite Chinese joint. Well, I also like Taste of Asia, and they serve Chinese food as well as Thai and Japanese cuisine, but that is another review altogether. Back to China Buffet. Oh how I love their Mongolian Chicken. They are sweet and spicy little chicken nuggets from heaven. One of the spiciest items on the buffet, especilly if you get a hold of one of those little green peppers. Wowza! I also particularly like the garlicky green beans and the crab rangoons. In fact, their crab rangoons are my favorite crab rangoons of all time.
If I had my way about it, I would eat at China Buffet once a week, every week, rain or shine. That’s right folks, it’s even worth walking to my car, which is parked a full half-mile away from the building, in the rain.
Another great thing about the China Buffet is that it stays busy so the items on the buffet are turned over frequently during the lunch service period. While I was there today I got super-fresh crab rangoons, green beans, chicken with broccoli and mongolian chicken. I also sampled the sweet & spicy shrimp, which even though it’s not actually spicy, it is very tasty. The curry chicken was good, too.
The lunch buffet is $5.99 and the drinks are $1.29. (It really burns me that a lot of restaurants are now charging around $2 for a soda, by the way.) I think it’s a great value, plus they have a “punch card” whereby you get a free one every ten visits.
I rate China Buffet FIVE FORKS!
Dan-
The China Buffet is the Kanawha Mall’s most consistent lunch spot in the eastern part of Charleston. Most days it has a full dining room filled with people from all walks of life. This must explain the presence of chinese macaroni and cheese on the hot bar.
I like many of the same dishes that Susan enjoys plus the wide array of dim sum (I think I’m using this term correctly). They have fried pork dumplings, spring rolls, egg rolls, crab ragoon, and a selection of sushi. The sushi is one step below grocery store sushi. My favorite main dishes are the spicy shrimp and the curry chicken. The curry chicken is a little different than most Chinese curries in that the sauce is thicker. It cooks down on the buffet and the flavor actually intensifies.
Service is…well it is a buffet. They fill drinks and take the plates. What else do you need? I am not going devalue this blog’s rating system by being as genrous as Susan. I rate the China Buffet with Three Forks.
Current Average – Four forks.
158 Kanawha Mall
Charleston, WV 25387
5 responses so far ↓
Chris James // April 29, 2008 at 1:01 pm |
Is it the case with Chinese restaurants in Charleston that the best takeout and the best buffet are not found in the same joint?
In Huntington, the best take-out place has a crappy buffet and the places that do great buffet are kinda slow on takeout and delivery.
Susan // April 30, 2008 at 9:25 pm |
Chris-
Yes, in my opinion that is true in Charleston also. I believe the best take-out Chinese is from Main Kwong on Washington Street East. The best sit-down and order from a menu is from Taste of Asia (South Charleston and Teays Valley) and the best buffet is China Buffet at the Kanawha Mall. But that’s just what I think.
Thanks for the suggestion about the good fish sandwich in Huntington. I will try it out.
wvsam // May 7, 2008 at 4:10 pm |
I love China Buffet! If I were rating it with forks, it would be 5. Excellent food, many tasty choices, all you can eat, little money. I like that some of the dishes are actually spicy, and not just prepared for the boring masses. You can not beat their Crab Rangoons, and the egg rolls are crisp but not too greasy. What more can you ask for.
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