New China — Restaurant in Searcy

First food: The food was better than it ever has been before, I don't know why, but it was actually quite pleasant. Nothing was stale, cold, or soggy. My favorite dish happened to be very fresh, and I enjoyed lots of soft, fluffy, sugar biscuits. We were there for dinner, so that's the most important part.

Second service: Our waitress was kind and got us everything we needed. Im not mad, but we were there at 6:30, they close at 9 or 10, but their cleaning was literally SO loud starting around 7. Everyone, except one child, was very quiet, and the restaurant was at a nice low murmur... then I couldn't hear my family members RIGHT beside me because of clattering, hi-speed cart rolling, and kitchen shouting, for a good 10 minutes at least, it finally stopped, but it really gave me a headache. I'm glad they clean and everything, but they weren't but 1/3 busy, the buffet stayed full, only saw them refill one or two dishes, I don't think the very disruptive clanging of hurried careless plates and hi-speed carts were needed.

Third atmosphere: It was quiet and calm for most of the time we were there, aside from that 10ish minutes of cleaning... mostly everyone was whispering to their table partners and being respectful with their volume. Not their fault, but there was a kid screaming for a while about her stuffed doll she kept dropping, I even got it for her once. She then stopped screaming but continued to play VERY loudly. Her parents were nice though, like I said, the REST of the restaurant was quiet, so I could hear their gentle "please be quiet" and "if you drop her again you'll lose her forever" (in an apologetic 'unfortunately consequences' kind of tone) quite...

I used to really like this buffet, but it has not aged well. They've cut the selection and the food quality has gone down. There's no sushi anymore. Some of the food didn't really look fresh. It's a passable bite to eat, but the price is quiet high for what it is. The atmosphere is really bad. This place desperately needs a renovation. You can see that it used to be quite a nice interior, but it hasn't aged well. There are is so much mold and mildew everywhere: in the ceiling tiles, in random less seen corners, in the bathroom. The bathroom is in bad repair; it hasn't gotten more than a basic clean in years and it shows. The high chairs and boosters are sticky. So are some of the tables and chairs. Near our table the waiter had a bucket of cloudy water with rags in it that was used to clean every table, so I'm not surprised that the tables didn't feel very clean. I don't know what the kitchen looks like, but the rest of the restaurant does not tell a good story. Especially when you consider the ants. I picked about half a dozen ants off the table during the meal. There should never be ants in...

Hallelujah!!! Chinese Buffets return

It seems like years since I've eaten at a great fill-your-plate Chinese Buffet. Driving by New China Restaurant the sign said, BUFFET. It was time to feed my inner greed for awesome Chinese food.

The restaurant requires masks going to the buffet and gives out a throwaway glove so no hands touch the serving implements. The restaurant crew, including our excellent server, were cleaning all surfaces thoroughly and often.

Oh, oh, oh, the food. There are five steam and cold tables to choose from. My favorites dishes included the spring rolls, hot and sour soup, peanut chicken and beef and broccoli. There were many more delicious, well seasoned dishes, but I can't remember them all and even greedy as I was for tastes of many Chinese and American treats I just couldn't try them all.

It is wonderful to have a return to normalcy in a crazy world.

We are going back to Searcy next week and will have another meal at my new...