Three Chinese Buffets in North Raleigh
In the last month a new Chinese buffet restaurant opened in Celebration at Six Forks a popular shopping center in the heart of North Raleigh. So I took my wife with me and we tried it out, just to see if newer is really better.
The restaurant open in a free standing building that used to be the Roc-Cola restaurant. The new owners put a lot of effort into retrofitting the building to create a suitable environment for a Chinese restaurant.
In Celebration there is a lot of parking close to the restaurant’s door, which is located on the Six Forks Road side of the building. The restaurant is a reasonably large restaurant and is well laid out. Our general impression of the restaurant was that it has a pleasant atmosphere and a friendly, if young, staff.
The prices are very reasonable. The buffet is $6.15 for the daytime meals. (A bit more evenings) With a drink, tip and taxes expect to pay about $7-8.50 per person.
Because my wife is a vegetarian and I am not; we have a different take on food. They claim about 150 items including some Dim Sum. I only judge this by do they have more or less choices that I like. In this regards they have a reasonable display of choices for the meat eater in the family. They have a slightly lower number of choices than we would expect for those who eat veggies, fish and tofu.
Some of the items were not cooked like I like them. The chicken seemed a bit under cooked and some of the mixed dishes were either very bland or well over spiced. The deserts were pretty much the standard fare.
They are new and it may take them awhile to have the combinations that prove most popular with their customers. Overall the food was good and the choices while a little less than the other buffet restaurants was reasonable.
Newer turned out to be a good basic buffet restaurant. But newer was not better. If you have kids they advertise that kids eat free Monday and Tuesday. Call the restaurant for details.
The Grand Asia can be found at:
Grand Asia Buffet
7371 Six Forks Road
Raleigh, NC 27615
(919)866-0488
The premiere Chinese buffet in the neighborhood is one of my wife and daughters favorites. Royal China Buffet on the corner of Millbrook and Atlantic Ave lives up to its name on most occasions. It is a favorite of local Chinese residents in North Raleigh. It has a huge selection of Dim Sum, Sushi bar and Chinese favorites.
They always have a number of selections that allow various types of vegetarians to enjoy a wide variety of choices. In addition to meat free selections they have egg and fish selections for those who just avoid the animal products.
For meat lovers they have a wide selection of standard Chinese dishes and an occasional American dish like ribs and beef with potato. (Excellent tender beef)
The physical location is a large free standing building with a large easy to enter parking lot. They have handicap parking near the door, which makes it easy when we bring Mom.
For the local Chinese population this is one location where they can pick up a copy of the China Star. A Chinese language weekly that keeps the native readers informed. There is another Asian language paper that is available here, but not knowing the language I can only guess it might be Vietnamese.
The large numbers of local Chinese who frequent this restaurant give it a very special flavor. In addition to enjoying very good food it has a special ambiance. They have a gentle fish pond in the front of the restaurant that allows the fish to pass under a small bridge from one side of the pond to the other.
The price is about $8.10 with the buffet, a drink and taxes.
The restaurant can be found at:
Royal China Buffet
2105 E Millbrook Rd
Raleigh, NC 27604
(919) 850-9522
My personal favorite is the Eastern Buffet at the beside the Lowe’s Grocery at the intersection of Six Forks and Strickland Roads. This is the oldest of the three restaurants and has evolved over time.
It does not offer quite as many choices as Royal China; it appears to offer more than the new Grand Asia. I find, perhaps through familiarity, the food here to be more to my personal liking. My wife prefers Royal China, due to the larger selection of vegetarian dishes.
The owners have made improvements each year that have increased the authentic nature of the restaurant. Recently they added a new feature. They now have a chef to make sushi and real soups cooked as you wait.
The selections on the buffet include most standard fare and some occasional surprises. If you like calamari (tiny squid); they offer in several forms from deep fried to slices in a salad.
They recently also added Dim Sum to the food options available to the customers. An additional item is a good selection of American style foods for those with no desire for Chinese food. (Small children may prefer pizza or fries)
The food is generally well cooked and hot. They have, in my opinion, the best hot chicken dish around. I don’t know if jalapeÃ?±o peppers come from China, but they certainly come in this dish.
For desert they offer a wide arrangement of fruits, puddings and pastries. In addition they have a selection of hard ice cream available for those who prefer something cooler.
At lunch times this restaurant has become a very popular place for the working crowd. Truck loads of men in work clothes descend on the restaurant every day. Professionals with their Id tags hanging off their belts show up in twos and threes. It gets crowded very quickly at the lunch hour. It may be the hot dishes or the good prices.
The serving staff is very courteous and efficient. This is the least expensive of the three buffets in this part of North Raleigh by a few cents.
Eastern Buffet
9650-101 Strickland Rd.
Raleigh, NC 27615
(919) 848-6670
All three of these restaurants can provide an excellent value for the money. The real choice comes down to how you like your food prepared which only you can decide. The staffs in the Eastern Buffet and Royal China have been in the area for a few years and have developed a good feel for their customers. Grand Asia is just starting out and it may take it a little time to figure out how their customers prefer their food or for that matter which segment of the market they draw their customers from.
If it is price you seek, Eastern Buffet has the best price; if it is selection you prefer Royal China has the most extensive; if it is focus on children Grand Asia appears to have that with their kids eat free deals on Monday and Tuesday.
