I have a love/hate relationship with Chinese food, well at least the version of it that is served in the United States. Most places do not serve the traditional Chinese food, so I’m stuck eating what we have here in this country. That all being said, I still love Chinese food. Now I’ve always been gunshy when it comes to buffet style restaurants. They are generally poorly run and not kept that neat.
Atmosphere:
The building Kingdom Buffet has been home to other buffet style restaurants in the past and all Kingdom Buffet has really done is stick up a few Chinese themed posters in the place. The paint on the walls is old and the carpet is worn. The table arrangements are constricted as well. Constricted table arrangements are a terrible thing to have in a buffet style restaurant where you have to keep getting up and down. This leads to the feeling of an overcrowded atmosphere more akin to a soup kitchen than someplace for a casual night out.
Service:
Unfortunately, most of the staff at Kingdom Buffet know very little English beyond what their drink menu offers and even then one struggles to get them to understand “iced tea, unsweet.” Also, the staff doesn’t feel it at all awkward to have vocal disagreements amongst themselves in front of the diners. What would be a question by a waiter in another restaurant is a demand by the staff at Kingdom Buffet. None of the staff ever really smiles and if you ask them questions, and this may be due to them not understanding English well, they will not answer.
Food:
The food is traditonal Chinese-American cooking with some odd placements in the buffet trays. The pork is always a no-go at Kingdom Buffet because it is often overcooked and stringy. The steamed vegetables, noodles and rice is always a good dish as well as their peanut-butter chicken. The seafood is better left untouched, unless they have snowcrab legs, which is must-grab, that’s if you can get to them in time. The soups are good as well, but the dessert is non-creative at chocolate or vanilla ice cream scooped with a scooper that is kept in dirty water.
Price:
The price is about the only great thing at the Kingdom Buffet. Five adults can eat for under fifty dollars. That being said, the wait staff makes sure you pay more through the tip. The last time I was at the Kingdom Buffet, I got into a little exchange with one of the waitresses who waited for her tip right at the table and this is at a restaurant where a tip is not required.
Overall:
With the general cleanliness of the place, I’m surprised there haven’t been complaints against Kingdom Buffet. I’m not thrilled when I go there and if I’m not that hungry to begin with, I will opt out of going there when everyone else is going. I cannot really recommend this restaurant to anyone. There are a couple of oriental style eateries in the same area as Kingdom Buffet that I will review at a later time.
