Golden Coin Chinese Buffet — Restaurant in Phoenix

This place was horrible. The lo mein and rice were the only things I had that weren't that bad. From the moment you drive up you'd think by the amount of cars pulling in the place must have pretty good food but as soon as you open the door you can tell you may have made mistake because you can see it's not a true buffet because the only have 8 dishes and of those seven suppose to be Chinese dishes and the last being French fries?? As we walked closer to the cashier we noticed a man drowning his meal in hot sauce which is always a bad sign. When we had paid the waitress got our drinks and walked them to a booth with either of us there and walked over and told us were our drinks were. So anyone could have came and taken our drinks and since they weren't covered bugs could have easily flown into our drinks. But then we thought even though there wasn't a big selection maybe the food they did make was great but oh were we wrong. The chicken labeled food was obviously pork. The egg rolls had no vegetables inside and was very plain the sweet and sour pork was hard and felt burnt and you think they couldn't mess up a fountain drink which by the way aren't free refills.. But yes they messed that up too the cup I got was cleaned alright but not rinsed I could taste soap through my orange crush. Overall I wasn't impressed and I strongly urge you not to go here I didn't read the reviews till after but...

First of all, something for the haters... Yup, this place is a hole and the selection is sparse. The food is mostly forgettable and probably a little over-cooked. You're not wrong about that. BUT, this place isn't about ambiance, culinary masterpieces and culturally accurate decor. It's about providing the least expensive Chinese buffet on the planet ($7-8). They do that by going cash-only, providing a small selection and and watering down sauces a little.

I've been eating at Mike Kwan's Golden Coin since as early as I can remember - at least 40 years. Early visits were at the restaurant on Apache in Tempe (until it closed), then later at the one in Chandler (until it closed) and now, exclusively at the one in Phoenix on E.Thomas Road. I can happily say for this place, they have always stayed consistent. It's comfort food for me now, and staying consistent is the most important thing they can do.

I ate at PF Chang's a week ago. Their food and experience is way better than the Golden Coin. BUT ... it also cost me 4X as much. I went to Chang's to appease a girl. I go to Kwan's to appease my own psyche and satisfy my occasional cravings for tasty, cheap, comfort food.

Don't hate this place. See it for the treasure it has always been and...

About 10$ per all-you-can-eat buffet. About 12 options of food( fried rice, possibly white rice, low mein, veggies: just broccoli, egg roll, orange chicken, fried chicken, fried squash, French fries, sweet and sour pork I think, on the buffet. Which you're not allowed to serve yourself. They serve it on paper plates, and comes with a drink, but no refills. Refills are 2.50 each. Wouldn't allow us a bag to take the food we had paid for home. Which was still the first plates they loaded, of our choice, for us. Looked like the inside of a Federico but drabbier. I didn't come close to even trying "all" the options I chose to eat..The other people ate until they were full. Which wasn't the whole plate either but said it was good. Veggies- crispy, fried chicken-good, the other chicken in sauces were saucy... i rated it a 3 out of 5 but it'd really be a 2-2.5 to be honest. It was just ok. It wasn't completely disgusting but it wasn't anything fantastic either. The people I was with talked all great about it then we walked in and it was very glummy and almost draining feeling. The atmosphere drained the appetite out of me if that makes any...