China Buffet

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Cuisine

Asian, Chinese

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Meal Periods

Dinner, Lunch



Dining Format

Buffet



Phone

(937) 223-3868



Address

816 East 5th Street
Dayton, OH 45402



Website



Cuisine

Asian, Chinese



Meal Periods

Dinner, Lunch



Dining Format

Buffet



Phone

(937) 223-3868



Address

816 East 5th Street
Dayton, OH 45402



Website

EXPERIENCE

China Buffet is a longstanding neighborhood restaurant at Fifth and Wayne in Dayton, close to the Oregon District. Its East Fifth Street presence goes back at least to 2015, with some current regulars counting their visits in decades. Chinese-American buffet lunches and dinners are part of its routine, alongside food to take home.

The low corner building has pale brick and long windows beneath a deep overhang. Red China Buffet lettering wraps around the frontage, which faces directly onto the sidewalk. It is a street-front restaurant in a varied food-and-drink neighborhood, with coffee shops, pubs and other restaurants nearby. The setting gives it a distinctly Dayton corner-store presence.

Longstanding neighborhood use is part of the restaurant’s identity. Repeat lunches, dinners and family meals have kept it in the area’s everyday dining routine over many years. Its role is that of a familiar local Chinese-American stop near the Oregon District.

The meal is a Chinese-American buffet with fried appetizers, chicken dishes, rice and vegetables, plus a few American additions. Lunch and dinner both belong to the restaurant’s regular format. Carryout is also part of the business, allowing the kitchen to serve the neighborhood beyond the dining room. Its appeal is an everyday Chinese meal in an established Fifth Street setting, with the food and the street corner closely tied to the restaurant’s identity.

FOOD

Large salt-and-pepper shrimp are a substantial seafood choice in China Buffet’s Chinese-American spread, alongside a separate fried-shrimp preparation. Chicken dishes, filled appetizers and several rice-and-noodle preparations are among its savory offerings. The selection changes, so these dishes describe the buffet’s repertoire rather than a fixed daily menu.

The salt-and-pepper style is conventionally a fried preparation with a seasoning finish, putting savory salt and pepper’s aromatic bite against shrimp’s naturally mild, slightly sweet character. The shrimp here are large. Fried shrimp is also offered, giving the seafood selection a second preparation alongside the salt-and-pepper dish.

Sweet-and-sour chicken is one of the established Chinese-American mainstays. In its familiar restaurant form, fried chicken comes with a sauce defined by sweetness and tartness. General Tso’s chicken brings another sauced fried-chicken style, classically associated with sweet-savory seasoning. Chicken with broccoli and chicken skewers also belong to the selection, alongside those sauced entrees.

Crab Rangoon, egg rolls and stuffed mushrooms are among the appetizers. Rangoon is the creamy filled-wonton preparation familiar from Chinese-American restaurants, with fried pastry around its center. The contrast between that creamy filling and the fried wrapper is central to the style. Egg rolls provide another filled, fried preparation, while stuffed mushrooms bring the mushroom’s earthy character into a prepared appetizer.

Lo mein and rice noodles are distinct offerings. Lo mein belongs to the soft, tossed-noodle style, conventionally made with wheat noodles; the separately named rice noodles have a rice base. Fried rice is also part of the meal, including a version with peas. These are three separate starch preparations within the buffet, alongside the chicken, shrimp and appetizers.

Fried zucchini is another cooked vegetable choice. Broccoli also appears as part of the chicken-and-broccoli entree. Pizza and macaroni remain American additions within the assortment, around the Chinese-American foods. They are part of the actual spread alongside the rice and noodle dishes. Small sweet cakes are among the desserts.

FOOD HIGHLIGHTS

♛ Sweet-and-Sour Chicken — a Chinese-American choice in the dinner buffet.

♛ Egg Rolls — small fried items alongside the main dishes.

♛ Shrimp — seafood within the dinner selection.

♛ Rice and Broccoli — savory accompaniments in the spread.

♛ Fried Zucchini — a vegetable choice in the buffet.

♛ Pizza and Macaroni — American-style additions to the Chinese buffet.

♛ Sweet Cakes — dessert choices at the counter.

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