China King — Restaurant in Tyler

This is the experience I had on Feb. 25th. So first let me say that my husband and I have eaten here a time or two before and I can't say what my experience was then (don't remember). Must've been a decent experience since it's not etched in my brain. I always remember the places that are great and the ones that are horrible. I don't expect 5-Star restaurants and I'm not to proud to eat in dives, etc. But I do think that we all have some sort of a standard when you go out to eat. Unfortunately, the standard at China King was very poor. I've worked at many restaurants as a waitress in my younger years so I'm not a fan of writing negative reviews. It's not about how the place looks - for me its the service and the FOOD. So where do I start? I do like their Covid protocols that they are doing. You can't get your food at the buffet line. You stand in line and one of the employees will fill your plate with the things you say you want. They don't know what portion control is; so if you want a little you need to say "A little Lo Mein". If you say Lo Mein and then little, too late your plate is covered. The service is great but what I experienced in regards to the food was awful. Bar none the worst food I've had in a very long time. To disgusting to take a photo. I told the young lady at the buffet line I wanted a little Lo Mein, Fried Rice, Steamed Green Beans, Beef & Broccoli, Teriyaki Chicken on a stick, and Sweet & Sour Chicken. I absolutely love Asian food (Thai is my favorite - highly recommend Chiangmai Thai Kitchen). Anywho, back to what I think was food. The Lo Mein was just day old spaghetti noodles. Lo Mein is supposed to have vegetables in it, typically onions. This was not Chinese egg noodles it was thick spaghetti noodles sauteed in something. The fried rice was cold, mushy and wasn't fried rice like I've ever had. Fried rice is stir-fried and is usually mixed with other ingredients. It only had diced carrots. One of my favorite side dishes is Steamed Green Beans. These looked great however, they were cold and tasted like it was from lunch not fresh - no crunch. OMG here we go: The Beef and Broccoli was indescribable -plain nasty. Chef Ramsey would say alot of choice words about this. The beef was pale. I ate 1 piece and it had a weird flavor. Went to eat another and the meat was slimy (that went into a napkin). The broccoli was cold and no crunch. Again, I think this was from their lunch. The Teriyaki Chicken on a skewer was yesterday's meal. It was smelly and when you tore into it was slimy and yellow. Do not ask for water. I think they got if from the faucet, it tasted like rusty pipes and was opaque. I don't like having a full plate of food left on a table at a buffet, just doesn't seem right; but I did. My husband ate what he could of his food. Got our ticket and stale fortune cookie, left and went to Taco Bell. We will never be back! If anyone wants real good Chinese Food, head to Lindale to the Eastern Buffet. Every time we go we are never...

So let me write a review since I finally was able to enjoy a meal here at the restaurant. I've ordered food here many times ago and it's always been absolutely delicious. There is a slight problem once and when I brought that to their attention they immediately fixed it. Talk about great customer service.

So now on to our actual visit to the restaurant. We went in just after lunch about 1:00 p.m. And the place was about half full. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They kept the buffet clean and stocked fresh food throughout the time we were there. Our waitress was very attentive. She came by regularly to clear our plates and offer us refills on our drinks.

Talk to the food buffet. Food is not my thing. That's why I usually order to go. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty this food was. It was all very fresh. As I stated above they refilled the buffet constantly. All the foods were served parking lot. My 4-year-old grandson had two plates of beef and broccoli without the beef lol. My teenage daughter really enjoyed the Chow mein. My husband definitely got his money's worth as he enjoyed the seafood and a number of other items at the buffet.

That day on the menu they had the standard Chinese items, beef and broccoli, chicken and broccoli, spicy pork, green beans, hot and sour soup, egg drop soup, chow mein, jalapeno chicken, orange chicken and chicken on a stick plus a number of other items. They also had a small salad bar area and a small dessert area as well. They also had somebody making fresh juicy when I try to ask a question. She just rudely pointed me into the direction of some sushi without actually explaining to me or letting me know that it was what I needed. I have a food allergy so I definitely needed to make sure. What I was eating was safe and the staff member didn't really seem to care.

The biggest negative for me was that the food was not labeled correctly or at all. Somebody like me having a food allergy I need to know what I'm eating will be safe for me and if your food isn't properly labeled then your staff should be kind enough to explain what an item is.

Price wise standard pricing for a buffet. One thing I did notice is that they use extremely tiny plates at this buffet. I get it. I understand it. It's still extremely annoying!!!

In conclusion, this is a really great place to grab a quick meal. Don't let the tidy place discourage you just grab two or three and...

Ever since they remodeled the quality of food & service have gone down hill...plates sat on the table getting stacked while tea glasses sat getting unfilled...also if you want jalapenos in all of your sushi then they are your place, otherwise be prepared to pick out jalapenos in every piece...the guy was making it there & I asked why jalapenos were in every roll he made & he argued with me that it wasn't...news flash buddy but when I have a plate full of jalapenos after getting a plate with one if everything then yes it is & that's a problem...my daughter who is 5 loves to get sushi, but I didn't specifically get any on her plate due to the jalapenos, I looked over a piece I had & couldn't see any like the rest of the it so I gave it to her & she spit it out crying because it was hot due to the jalapenos there was a little piece cut up hiding in it that you couldn't see until it was opened up & my daughter wats chips & hot sauce like it's going out of style whenever we eat at a Mexican restaurant, so it's not like she can't handle spicy food...my biggest issue is for someone like my dad who is allergic to jalapenos who wouldn't have even thought about there being jalapenos in the sushi, because he gets some everytime we go to buffet & never did once had an issue

Take the jalapenos out if...