China King Express

FOOD

China King Express’s buffet centers on familiar American-Chinese cooking, with chicken and beef entrées, a butter-style seafood preparation and the fried appetizers that are part of this style of restaurant’s appeal. Lo mein, vegetable fried rice and sautéed green beans round out the savory selection. The dishes can change, but the range is broader than a few chicken preparations served with rice.

Sweet-and-sour chicken supplies one of the recognizable sauced entrées, pairing chicken with the sweet, tangy flavor associated with the dish. Pepper steak offers a savory beef choice alongside it. In the Chinese-American tradition, this preparation combines sliced beef with peppers, making it a different direction from the sweet-and-sour chicken rather than another version of the same sauce.

Chicken on a stick and chicken wings broaden the poultry selection. The skewers offer chicken in individual portions, while wings provide a bone-in option. Together, they bring alternatives to the sauced entrées and give the buffet’s chicken choices more variety in form and preparation.

Seafood Delight adds a butter-style seafood dish to the hot selection. It occupies a different place in the spread from the beef and chicken preparations, with the richer butter-style treatment distinguishing it from the sweet-and-sour entrée.

Lo mein and vegetable fried rice provide two substantial accompaniments. The soft noodles offer a different texture from the rice, while vegetable fried rice carries seasoning and vegetables of its own rather than serving simply as a plain base for sauce. Sautéed green beans give the meal a separate vegetable preparation alongside both.

Egg rolls, crab Rangoon and dumplings make up a varied appetizer selection. Egg rolls bring a savory filling inside a fried wrapper, while Rangoon supplies a creamy filling in a crisp wonton shell. Dumplings add another filled preparation without making every appetizer a variation on the egg roll. These familiar starters are a meaningful part of the buffet, not just incidental additions beside the entrées.

Egg-drop soup brings a lighter course to the meal. Beaten egg forms delicate ribbons as it sets in hot broth, giving the soup its characteristic texture. It offers a contrast to the fried appetizers and richer hot dishes without introducing another heavy sauce.

Sugar doughnuts provide a simple sweet finish. The sugar-coated fried dough fits the buffet’s Chinese-American character, rounding out the meal after the entrées, noodles and appetizers.

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