As one reviewer said, nothing beats a freshly cooked meal, but there are times when something quick with a lot of variety can't be beat. Totally agree. If you want the finest meal in town with the freshest ingredients, go to Hsing's Garden. (I'm writing this during the Covid-19 pandemic and I believe both restaurants are closed temporarily.) If you can't decide what you want and have a family of different ages and tastes, as well as a smaller budget, the China Garden buffet is ideal. (They do have a menu you can order from, but we never have.) Offerings include sushi (Japanese), Chinese and Continental cuisine, and dessert. Parking is lousy - mainly because of an awkward layout - they take all major credit cards and stay open pretty late. They get tremendously busy in the summer when tourists hit the town.
As someone who has had "real" Asian food of all kinds, this food is about as Americanized as it gets. If you don't like Asian food because it's too exotic, you will be happy here. Everything is tailored to an American customer, not just the continental fare like french fries and fried chicken. Their pork ribs aren't the traditional style spareribs with the sweet, red sauce - it's more of a Memphis style bbq sauce. They have stuffed mushrooms and crab salad, fried shrimp, many other dishes that could easily please a simple palate. If you're trying to eat healthier, there is always a nicely steamed whole salmon fillet. Pair that with sushi or steamed white rice and their fresh, sauteed green beans that are brightly colored and crisp, and you're good to go.
If you find something you like on the buffet you can expect it to be there forever - they don't change the offerings often. But, that's good if you have favorites you rely on. Each dish tastes the same every single time, which we really appreciate. It's hard to find consistency in restaurants here.
The sushi is freshly prepared right there, but it isn't like an authentic Japanese sushi bar. Those sushi chefs train for years and the ingredients are impeccable, but, the price of that sushi is much higher. With the buffet, the sushi is all included. To go, it's 50 cents each piece plus the to-go price for the buffet. This is perfectly adequate if you're craving sushi - there's nowhere else in town to get it. They have a small variety at any given time, but you can ask if they don't have what you want or are running out. The rice isn't seasoned at all, which is a real down downside. (Normally sushi rice has rice wine vinegar and sugar in it.)
The quality of the ingredients is fine, just not exceptional. The food is all prepared well, just not as authentic as we like. The dumplings are full of meat, the ribs are big and fairly lean, nothing is skimpy - there is plenty of food at the buffet. For this town, it's perfect and their business model is smart as can be.
Now. Regarding the reviewer who said the staff speak to each other in their native language loudly and only speak English to you when they bring you the bill. Disgusting comment. Pure racism. They speak to you as needed - English is their second language, big deal. It's not easy for some to learn a second language and some people are embarrassed or shy because they think they can't speak it well enough. Of course they speak to each other in Chinese. Loudly?? Utter nonsense. The staff is highly efficient and always busy. They refill soft drinks quickly without being asked and keep everything on your table clean. They will do anything to make you happy and they take great pride in what they do. My husband and I were seated for the buffet and he asked the server if they ever had fried fish on the buffet. She brought the manager who said if he wanted fish he would have it made right away. He came back minutes later with a large plate piled high with piping hot, lightly battered, crispy chunks of fish. We couldn't believe it. The manager said anytime we wanted fish to just ask for it and they'd make it. No extra charge ever, and we got that delicious fish many, many times - all we had to do was ask. read more
