King Star — Restaurant in Houston

We came thinking this was China Star that someone in our group had previously been to and liked. When we arrived, the sign outside had been changed to King Star, but we were willing to give it a chance because we were starving. WORST.MISTAKE.EVER. I made this mistake so you won’t have to! The food was absolutely HORRIBLE and the place was not clean (more later-first food). Many of the items on the food selection buffet seemed undercooked (chicken on a stick/pepper shrimp/ wings) The seafood was old and stale (fried calamari/fried shrimp). The crab puff tasted like the cheese filling was spoiled- instead of a cream cheese filling, whatever was in there was SOUR and had a spoiled milk taste. Everyone at the table immediately had to spit it out due to taste and fear of food poisoning. The wasabi paste was oddly sweet and tasted like ground sweet peas had been mixed in to help it feed more people. The walnut shrimp was made with a mayonnaise and honey sauce 😩- I asked the server. (To be fair, a person in our group said they had seen this Dish made that way before, but I’ve never had walnut Shrimp made with mayonnaise only a honey sauce).

The worst part: The cook/serving staff at the habachi section was eating/drinking while he prepared the food and also handled his cell phone several times without gloves, wipes his hands on his dirty apron and continued to cook. The other habachi staff wiped his nose with a napkin and continued to wear the same gloves he had on when he wiped his nose when he returned to cooking. The ice cream seemed like it was allowed to melt and was then refrozen several times and tasted odd. Additionally, as we were standing and scooping ice cream, a fly landed onto the cones that were out in the open. To top off this culinary adventure the staff who cleans the extra food from tables would periodically roll huge buckets caked with old food through the buffet area. I am not sure why this was happening...perhaps they were using these to gather uneaten food from all of the diners, but it looked like live stock slop was splattered into the buckets....this should not be wheeled back and forth through the area with the buffet food.

Also, food DOES NOT seem like it is being kept at correct temperatures.

Appearance of the place: The carpets are very stained and the walls look like they painted over dirt and dust in some areas. The restrooms were in disgusting conditions. I genuinely hope I don’t get sick after attempting to eat here. Don’t waste your money; don’t risk your health. No Stars. Someone should call the health department. There is NO WAY this place would pass....NONE.

The good: Our first waitress was attentive friendly (at first) but then she disappeared and another lady who took forever had to bring us a check.

... I found the rest of the staff to be (rude isn’t the word)...Example: standing in the buffet area staff would bump into you (more than once) and not say excuse me...other staff was inattentive, unengaged, careless, and working in an industry not...

We usually have been coming here to get a break away from cooking and albeit the food being slightly mediocre it has always been filling, however what has recently caught my attention is the sanitation of the staff, our waiter went to the restroom and did not take her apron off and leave it out the counter and her apron was full of straws and other things to give guests walking in through the door, I tried to look past it until I got up to get more food and a small Hispanic lady was using a rag to wipe surfaces was using it to also sweep the food back into the containers...... I told her it was getting in the food and she didn't "understand" me I just stopped talking and told the lady who takes payment at the front she stopped me mid sentence already knowing what I was talking about, I appreciate the haste but it made me wonder how many times this has happened with their food I have consumed 🤢🤢🤢 the only thing I really liked here was the drinks, waiter acts like serving me a drink is the last thing she would do to escape being in hell, I will not be returning and will take my money to silver palace on w bellfort, and they did "correct" the Hispanic lady even had someone come out to instruct her on how to do things (as if its not common knowledge) and they replaced all food she touched that I knew of. And after that the lady was constantly staring at me watching...

Dont let the location fool you. This place is the best by far! China Star has been my absolutely favorite restaurant for years....since they opened! Great amazing food everytime. Seafood is wonderful. Haven't tried the Hibachi Grill stir fry (where they cook it for you in front of you) but Im sure its delicious! Sushi is great, grilled fish is wonderful. And the Chinese style meat dishes are perfect every single time. Give it a try! I guarantee you wont be disappointed!

They also have food for younger kids. They serve Chicken nuggets, Pizza, French Fries, Tator tots etc. Also they have the most amazing ice creams. You have to scoop it out and serve yourself but it's totally worth the effort!

Updating this entry. Food was sub par. Now you have to pay before you eat, and let me ask you guys, how are you supposed to know how much to tip before you even sit down? No. Just no. The restrooms were worse than most gas stations and the porcelain in the women's toilets were stained brown. I would skip this place. It's really gone down the drain in the past few years. I miss the old food they had. It tastes like they microwave it and threw in a pan to grill. The general was the best thing and even then it's not as good as it used to be. Find another place to eat your...