BILL’S: China King Buffet, Gainesville, TX

Went to Gainesville today to do some shopping. On the way, we stopped at the China King Buffet right off of Highway 82 to grab something to eat. So, I decided to try something new, and write a small review.

This location has been the home of many restaurants, none of which have succeeded. China King is the newest reincarnation of this location. It has always shocked me that restaurants at this location don't make it, just due to the location. It is on the corner to the entrance to the Wal-Mart and Sack-n-Save. Right across from the town's two major shopping strip malls and the Home Depot.

When pulling in, I was a little shocked that the parking lot was packed, and was almost reluctant to go inside. But upon entering, the restaurant is deceptively large. There was no wait, and plenty of open seats. There are obviously more seats than there is parking.

The atmosphere inside is nice and peaceful with a beautiful water sculpture just inside the front entrance.
The buffet has a great selection. The entrees were wonderful. This is the first restaurant I have been to outside of South Carolina that offered both General Tso's Chicken and Sesame Chicken on the buffet. Usually only one or the other is offered. Both here are very nice dishes. The Pepper Beef and Beef with Broccoli almost melt in your mouth. The Chicken with Broccoli had a wonderful flavor, but the chicken had a texture that I personally did not care for. The Egg Foo Yung was the best I have had in years. It was extremely fresh, with all all fresh ingredients.

While the entrees were wonderful, the sides were a little to be desired. Onion is a huge ingredient at this restaurant, and it is reflected in all dishes. One of the more unique is the Onion Bake with onions, cheese, and crab meat. Not sure if I liked this one or not due to the extreme unique flavor. But it is more tasty than the Onion Balls on a stick. The Chicken on a stick was dry and chewy, but just before I finished, they brought out a fresh batch that looked much better. They also had bar-b-que boneless spareribs, but the sauce was extremely acidic and had a strong orange taste. While the bbq chicken had no sauce and was extremely jerky-like. The Egg Roll was had a very thick wonton wrapping and the insides didn't taste like they had been cooked down enough, which made it very tough and the cabbage taste overtook the entire thing. Pot Stickers were overfried, as were the Fried Donuts.

This store had no notion of Crab Rangoons, but had an identical item called a fried cheese wonton. The only problem was that the cream cheese used was more like a cheesecake than anything.

Other options included a minimal salad bar, deviled eggs, hot wings, and frog legs for dinner. A fresh cut fruit bar which was outstanding. Like most buffets they used canned puddings, which leaves a strong metallic taste, but for the first time, the pineapple chunks didn't have the metallic taste.

The pastries and cookies were excellent. One thing that was good and bad at the same time was the ice cream. With seven different Blue Bell flavors, it gave a great alternative to the two flavor soft serves most places have, but the "dip it yourself" option had me a little freaked out. I could only hope everyone before me had washed their hands before dipping as well.

So, while some items were outstanding, some were still needing attention. Overall, for $5.75 lunch price, it was extremely worth it.