I mean it's an affordable Chinese buffet so you can't expect Sichuan dishes and whatnot from a Michelin star place lol. I've posted photos before of the good food. When something is empty, just ask the workers to refill it. I've done that with their chow mein many times. And they're more than obliging. Dishes I love there: chow mein, string beans, salt and pepper shrimp, and fried fish. My spouse likes their chow mein, BBQ chicken on skewers, and string beans. You get more for your money's worth than Panda Express. read more

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It was cold out all day and I was very hungry. Went in the restaurant and it was clean and cozy. They had nice music playing and it was very busy. I went for dinner and it was great. The food was fresh and hot and they had shrimp at least 5 ways and I like that the fish was salmon. I tried a small bit of many things and everything was good. They gave me a pot of hot tea and that was good too. The service is very friendly and they want to make sure that you enjoy your meal. They have a salad bar and also small sushi selection which is fine as all their hot Chinese food is really good. I am not a dessert person but I tried their mango jello, real ice cream and hot apple strudel. They were all tasty. I was impressed with the quality of meat. They have orange chicken, chicken teriyaki skewers, broccoli beef, kung pao chicken, and my favorite was the BBQ pork ribs. I enjoyed my visit. Going back soon. read more

$59 dollars for 3 adults for average, bland cuisine is kind of a rip off. The only thing I got out of this experience was quenching my curiosity because I thought this place was dead and closed by the looks of the exterior. Welp. It's open and there is food inside. They just don't care to make the façade look inviting. Service was depressing. Like, are you OK? Food is not horrible and I didn't get sick but there is absolutely no reason to come again. read more

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The worst!!!!!! I left feeling like I got drugged and poisoned!!! We went for dinner and there was like no food and it tasted old!!!!! I love buffets but this was just the worst!! But I'll probably go back!!! read more

The food was delicious & the ambiance was relaxing & chill. Very attentive staff & friendly.

I was surprised! I ate at this buffet over three years ago; and swore I'd never eat there again because the food was that bad. Today, I broke the boycott and was expecting bad food again. Things have changed for the better. Their food was good. Their sushi ain't there yet, but the rest was good. Servive was good as well as they kept refilling our drinks. I will eat there again. read more

Food is terrible and looks old. Opted to take food to go because I had no time to dine in. HUGE MISTAKE. A half full container of food cost me $19. Absurd cost for quality and quantity of food. Service at the counter was as they noticed. (Waited 5 min. at the counter for the container pre fill and waited another 5 min. To pay.) there were 6 employees loitering but nobody to run the counter? Dark and dingy inside and everything is sticky. Huge lesson learned. Never again. Lol read more

I stopped here twice for takeout. Not a huge selection of options to choose from but it gets the job done when you're hungry, wanting a bit of variety and don't feel like cooking. read more

China Lake Buffet - Macaroni salad, Mongolian beef, eggroll, lo mein - Chinese Near Me - Ridgecrest, California

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Good food. The food is always fresh. The owners are sweet, polite , service is fast and friendly.

Good place to eat, self serve, The place did smelled like pasta tho and they don't have pasta.... Service was amazing tho....

Food was warm, tasty, and delicious. It was clean and spacey. Ladies were really nice and decisive. Great value for the money!

Many options for Pescatarians! Coconut shrimp is yummy and wontons too! Really good customer service very friendly and I like the lighting

the food was either cold and or tasted and looked old. My stomach was hurting when eating so I had to leave early with my family because we all felt the same way. Plus they over charged us for someone reason it was 2 adults and one 6 year old, and out her as 10-12 for some reason and changed us a little over 50 dollars for that ??? I'm not gonna lie the waiter wasn't too bad or anything and it was pretty quiet because how little people were there. Usually I hate Karan's and ppl that care so much to give bad reviews but that place truly was bad and I've had bad food before I just hope I'm not gonna get sick or anything because my stomach is still qeezy hours later read more

The best Chinese food out here hands down. I just moved out here. So I was expecting the buffet with the crab legs etc. but I spoke to one the ladies and she explained that since Covid it's been hard. But over all she had great customer service and was very helpful. I will go back and order some more food. I know their on break right now but I can't wait because all of the other Chinese food I've tasted out here is not it.... I think what they need to do to improve their buffet as far as getting more clientele is deals maybe have kids eat free at a certain time (school hours) idk but the food is amazing read more

Worst Chinese food I've ever had. There was nothing worth the expense. Refused to even have dessert there as they had 3 types of almost empty self serve ice cream that you know hands had been in. read more

I have tried all the Chinese places in Ridgecrest and this is the best one out of the rest. Each dish actually tasted different from the others (China Express and other Dragon restaurant food taste the same, quite disappointed). This place has a lot of varieties dish for you to choose at the buffet and the price is decent.They also have Hawaii BBQ food. The macaroni salad is soooo creamy and smell very good, garlicky. read more

China Lake Buffet provided hot lucky food items (spring rolls, dumplings, and noodles) for a Chinese/Lunar New Year program. The food was still hot when it was delivered to us. More than 30 people ate the food and everyone commented that it was delicious. read more

The all you can eat buffet is the bomb. The food tastes great and the staff is friendly.

Fantastic food! I am not a chinese food person, but this place was great. The chicken was cooked to perfection and the coconut shrimp was superb I would give 5 stars but there was no labels on the food. read more

Highly disappointed. The staff are nice but the food is quite disgusting. I usually just eat average food at random Chinese buffets when I'm on a road trip, and this one has been the worst one yet. For one the entire sushi bar was empty when I got there, it wasn't filled until I was paying to leave. The hot foods that they did have was clearly sitting there for the whole day. When you eat it, there are parts of the SAUCE that was CRUNCHY, and that is because it was sitting there drying up the entire time. The fruit is the best thing to eat here. I had to get McDonald's afterwards cause I couldn't even stomach the food. If I could give them a negative review I would. read more

Even though it looks very sketchy from the outside, the inside decor is beautiful and the food is good! I came during lunch and was surprised by the selection. While it is smaller than a lot of other buffets I've been to, they quality of the sushi and food were good. Unlike some reviews, the food was fresh and didn't have me scurrying to a bathroom in a hurry! I think that if you come around lunch time, the food is fresher because they have to accommodate for the influx of folks. Also, the price was right about where I thought it would be so no complaints there! Overall, I'd eat here again for lunch because the decor was nice, the food was tasty and the price is just right! read more

I'm not sure why some people are having stomach issues, each time I've eaten here the food is great. I've been a customer since they've first open for business. The restaurant is always spotless, the management and staff are always very very nice and courtesies. As far as I'm concern there should be a sign that states " don't take more than you can eat" not everyone is thoughtful enough to only consume what's on your plate. Trust me the person that wrote that review would be the first to scream if they were cooking and people just PILED there Plates high and then left it. Newsflash for you who don't understand! Buffet means eat what you want, try everything in small quantities, you can always get more. Keep up the great work and great food D read more

China Lake Buffet - Dad and his Grandson - Chinese Near Me - Ridgecrest, California

i got food poisoning from it. thought it would be alright to eat, but apparently not. i ate sushi, oysters, and beef and broccoli. it hit me as i was in the restaurant and i felt like i had to vomit. i didnt even eat that much, not even finishing my plate. the food was semi cold, and the meat for the beef and broccoli tasted rotten. the meal was also 17.99, and not worth it. i would give 0/5 but i dont have that option read more

Love this place. Came in for dinner. They had raw oysters, so many shrimp dishes and much more. You pay only 13.99 which is great because you can pay that for breakfast at one of the diners here. Well worth it I have no idea why the stars are so low. Never dissapointed. read more

great food love this place !!!!!!! great staff I give it 5 stars !!!!! always a great and clean place to eat !!!!!

It was all delicious and the staff was nice. There was a good variety of different foods.

My family and I went here on a Thursday around 6:30 p.m. literally every dish was room temperature or cold. Old and flavorless. No new items on the menu and you can tell the importance of the food was not a concern. I gave this place a couple of chances I've always been disappointed. The biggest deal for me was the prices and how I was overcharged but they corrected it I'll never go here again and spend 70 bucks on mediocre food again. read more

Food was okay. It wasn't the best. If you're hungry and craving Chinese food, then this is your place... ONLY because its probably just about the only one in town. The hostess gave a little attitude when I asked for a straw. read more

Ok... So they have a sign asking you not to take more than you will eat. They don't want you to waste "food" aka their money. The sign just made me feel angry... Don't sell buffet style food and then get upset that your patrons may try food... Not like it... And leave it... Because they want to try something else they may like. Buffet costs more than an average meal. Don't like what people do... Stop selling buffet foods. Because the sign made me feel like they were cheap... The food ended up tasting cheap and soggy. I wanted to like this place a lot more than I did. It was gross. The veggies were gross. The meat was overcooked. The sauces tasted old. The water had floaters in it. Much better options if you happen to be in Ridgecrest. read more

An ok place to eat, not like the china buffets in los angeles but decent, I was waiting for crab legs that never came lol they don't serve it there. not to mention being rushed out the 3 times we did go. read more

In route to Death Valley, this is a nice midway point. China Lake has that funky High Desert charm of retired folk, meth addicts and people who engineer military stuff that blows up in the middle of the night. With that said, there was some truly tasty stuff on this buffet, like the fried rice, kung pao chicken and cheese wontons. Hey this is Ridgecrest, and this is probably 50% better than the fast food restaurants that line the main drag. read more

It's pretty good considering it's in the middle of no where. Ate here a few times with my crew after working down at the plant in Trona. +1 staff is very friendly. Don't speak English very well. But they put up with us and kept the beer flowing. +2 the little Mongolian style area is Great! Love how they cook your custom dish for you. +1 the to-go option is great. If I've had a long day and just want to go in and get something. You pay by the pound and the pricing isn't too bad. -1 not too many choices and sometimes the food looks and tastes a little old. But they do have a few standouts: coconut shrimp, chicken skewers, chicken teriyaki, and their noodles. To quote a previous reviewer, the taste is "hit-and-miss" with these standouts and that's why they get 4 stars instead of five. read more

We visited the restraunt because Dennys was packed. Forget Dennys. This place is delicious. It's clean and the food is outstanding. Thank you! An hour drive from Onyx is worth it. read more

We've been to this place a few times and to date, this is our default Chinese buffet place when we don't have a whole lot of time. The decor is a little...um...1980's, but we don't keep coming back because we want to relive the glory days of our childhoods. The buffet itself isn't very big - 3 small stations in front of a larger one on the back wall. They have a teppenyaki station, but we haven't tried it. My 12 year old son LOVES this place. The dishes are hit and miss - the orange chicken is fantastic. The Kung pao chicken with a little shrimp is delicious although the shrimp is sparse and sometimes inedible. The chicken on the skewers is some of the best chicken ever. I don't know what they marinade it in, but it's unique and mouthwatering. The coconut shrimp is unlike any I've ever had (my boyfriend and son don't like it, but I do) - it's puffy and sweet instead of crispy and fried. I like the spring rolls but not the egg rolls (they're a little weird, chewy, bland. Plus, this last time, I tasted cinnamon for some reason. Bleh). Most of the sushi is good, as is the sweet and sour chicken. Stay away from the salmon in water. It resembles what I imagine would be dishwasher salmon. My son said the jello tastes like the way a bathroom smells. I also didn't care for the stuffed crab shells. There are several other dishes I haven't mentioned either because I haven't tried it or can't remember trying them. Like I said, it can be hit and miss, but so far it's better and cheaper than the other buffets we've tried. The staff is very nice and quick to refill drinks and clear dirty plates. They don't have the larger offerings that some bigger Chinese buffets in places like Los Angeles have - but dude, this is a hot, dusty desert town next to a naval base in the middle of nowhere. You can't come here expecting the high caliber food scene that larger populated areas have. The pricing is good (for 3 people plus drinks, just under $40 for dinner pricing), the food ranges from gross to edible to good, and the staff is great. I would totally recommend. We always leave stuffed and happy. read more

Been here a few times since my first review and it's like they lose a star every time. Lol. I really wanted to like this place, I really did! But, after eating the food here my family & I always get symptoms of food poisoning, I'm not gonna go into details but I've made up my mind that we won't be eating here anymore. Unfortunately. I really wish they were more sanitary & I wish the waitresses had better customer service skills. They hardly check to see if you need refills & they get an attitude if you ask for a refill after you've been waiting forever for them to come check. read more

Came here from San Diego ... food was better than I expected ! Great little place . Clean ..good service nice people .

Me and my co-worker came for lunch and we were not disappointed. I've ate at a handful of other Chinese buffets and this one set the bar high. Usually Chinese buffet food is dumbed down with mediocre ingredients, these guys however seemed to be using fresher food than the normal buffet . I got the chicken teriyaki and sushi and loved it! I would have rated it 5 stars but I thought the 12$ for the lunch buffet was a little pricey. read more

Two stars because it's pretty clean inside. And they keep it a comfortable temperature inside seeing as how it's 107 deg outside. The food however is not all that good. They were bringing out "fresh" cooked food, but it taste like they cooked old food. If you can imagine eating dry chewy chicken hot right out of the wok drenched in sauce, that'll give you some idea. The coconut shrimp was decent, by no means close to other similar places. They do have a salad bar if the Chinese food doesn't do it for you. Prices aren't that bad, but just a tad high for a buffet if your still thinking about trying it. $25.75 for two, including drinks. read more

The buffet was clean and looked nice, however the food is barely average. They offer a full buffet line of sushi that looks and tastes as if it were made by someone who heard about sushi thirdhand. Everything from the fried rice to the kung pao shrimp to the chicken skewers had hardly any sauce/seasoning. Soooooooooo bland. read more

The buffet is alright and has a few options that are pretty good, notably the chow mein. However it just absolutely can not compete with China Express and their wonderful buffet. The food here is usually pretty fresh...notice the use of the word "usually" instead of "always" and the word "pretty" instead of "very". read more