Golden China Restaurant — Restaurant in Harrisonburg

By far one of, if not the best Chinese Restaurant in the Shenandoah Valley, and it shows. They offer both Carry Out orders and Dine in Buffet service. Their buffet is smaller than most competitors, but not once has that stopped the variety of items they do have at any given time. They also do not skimp out on replenishing empty items on the buffet, even for the items that have higher market cost, such as the Shrimp, Chicken, and Beef. This alone makes them better off than the rest in my opinion, as most will neglect the higher market items to save money. The staff also are very professional and do attend to your tables well as well. The Buffet is at a more cost-effective price than the immediate competition, perfect for those with lower incomes or bigger families. You can also come in there and get a takeout plate from the buffet, like most Chinese buffets as well if you so want, but I recommend ordering takeout fresh, as I will explain below

Before partaking in the buffet, I also have ordered via takeout, and again it is not once been disappointing. The food is hot, freshly prepared when an order is placed, and they give you a good quantity of food for the takeout prices as well. Not once have I ever had a problem with the quantity or quality of food via takeout, and it is just as good, if not better, than the buffet versions.

Overall, there is a good reason why they are still in business, and are the original Chinese buffet in town, and pretty much in the immediate area. If you are a passerby, or a frequent buffet goer, especially with Chinese food, I recommend Golden China over all others. You won't be...

There are only two types of Chinese buffets, with little in between: good and bad. This is a good one...although there are some major caveats.

The worst aspect of this buffet is the fact that they pre-cut the lo mien noodles. This is sacrilege (and also annoying to try to eat). We're not children who need our food cut up.

The criticism that I personally think is worse, but is somewhat a matter of opinion, is that their sushi is drenched in mayo and mayo-based sauces. Like Anthony Bourdain used to say "Keep mayo the hell away from good sushi".

It's one thing to just say "then don't eat it!"--but it's gross to even look at and smell. Not to mention the serving tongs are covered in mayo, so you can't avoid it. Also, I bit into a tempura-covered roll and it gushed with mayo-y nastiness. Put the mayo away, guys, it doesn't belong on quality sushi/sashimi.

My last issue is something that would be hard for them to change--the walking space around the buffets is very tight, with very little room between the edge of the buffets and the walls/railings. It's hard to avoid bumping into people, or getting stuck behind slower patrons.

Everything else about this place is top-notch, however, and they do a great job at keeping everything fresh. They also tend to cram a lot of variety into small amount of space, sometimes by putting multiple offerings into one tray to make it happen (e.g., chicken on a stick...

While staying in the Harrisonburg, VA area we went in search of a good Chinese buffet on 04 Oct, 2022 and after considering reviews & ratings we found ourselves at the 'Golden China Restaurant'. They offer an all you care to eat buffet that in addition to all the regular Chinese dishes you'd expect, includes a small sushi bar. Now I'm not a sushi fan, so I can not personally speak to the quality of their offerings. However I can speak to the quality of many of the offerings on the remaining part of their buffet.

Their Broccoli Beef & Green Pepper Steak are made with some of the tenderest beef that I've ever found on a Chinese buffet. The Kung Pao Chicken was also among the best I've encountered on a buffet as well. In addition to those dishes, I found the Crab Meat Rangoons, Egg Rolls, Shrimp, and Bourbon Chicken to be exactly what you'd expect them to be and rather tasty. The singular disappointing dish was the General Tso's Chicken, it should've been labeled "Sweet Chicken" because there was zero likeness to any General Tso's sauce that I've ever had and was simply chicken in a sweet sauce. The cold section of the bar contained several fresh fruit options as well as some "sweets" for dessert. They also offer a variety of individually packaged ice cream which I applaud them for.

The 'Golden China Restaurant' will be my "go to" Chinese buffet on future visits...