 "Photo: TJ JERKE, THE VOLANTE, 2009")
Chinese food buffet is usually a phrase that induces goose bumps and triggers my gag reflex.
Previous experiences with Chinese buffets have left me with memories of food poisoning and bland dining experiences.
Yet, my aversion to Chinese cuisine couldn’t keep my curiosity at bay when I heard of the King Buffet and Mongolian Grill on Yankton’s Broadway Avenue.
My friend and I ventured to Yankton for dinner at around 6:00 p.m., which is typically a good time to visit a buffet. The food will most likely be fresher when dinner time approaches and while people are there, because the food will be replaced faster.
Upon walking into the restaurant, the aroma of Chinese food enveloped me, and the site of four buffet stations filled with a large variety of fresh-looking food teased my appetite.
I already needed to remind myself that my eyes are bigger than my stomach, and that I will have a difficult time deciding what I want.
The waitress seated us in a very clean room that was nearly vacant of people and decorated in the typical Chinese wall hangings.
When walking back into the buffet area, the excitement returned. Not only were the colors and variety of dishes a feast for my eyes but the aroma was absolutely enticing, making me want to try everything.
I began walking through the buffet to find all of the staples of American Chinese dining such as egg rolls, sweet and sour dishes, spicy sour and egg drop soup, fried rice and beef broccoli.
The buffet doesn’t exclusively offer the typical dishes, though. During dinner, crab legs are also offered and the salad and dessert station also offers sushi.
Though buffets in the Midwest rarely do seafood well, the King Buffet is an exception. All of the food is kept fresh and it seemed as though anything with seafood was replaced fairly regularly.
The sushi selection was limited to maki rolls, which are hand rolled rolls with nori (dried seaweed), sushi rice and a variety of different ingredients.
There was no raw fish sitting out and everything tasted quite fresh. The different rolls included cucumber, crab salad mixtures, avocado, tofu and flying fish roe (fish eggs).
The crab legs on buffets are almost never up to par. They may be fresh, but they’re usually prepared without preserving much flavor.
The common problem I find at buffets serving crab legs was present at King Buffet as well.
The crab legs sat in a tub of clear warm water and so I knew what they would taste like before I even tried them.
The meat in the claws were the only flavorful pieces because they had a higher concentration of meat when cooked and the sweetness of the meat was preserved in the larger piece than the thin legs.
One of the main selling points of the establishment is the Mongolian-style grill prominently displayed in the buffet area. Imagine a mini Hu-Hot station with fresher ingredients.
Though I was too full to try the grill, I could see it was extremely popular. Many people came back to the dining area with bowl after bowl of their customized creation.
My friend and I discussed how surprised we were to find a Chinese buffet that served such delicious and fresh food. I was impressed with the rate of replacement of the food and though none of the staple dishes deviated from the norm, it wasn’t boring either.
For about $9.00, one can access a buffet with a very large variety of great Chinese food and a grill that features fine and fresh food at King Buffet.
For all Chinese food fanatics, Yankton offers this little surprise for a slick bargain.
Reach reviewer Ngoc Thach at Ngoc.Thach@usd.edu.
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