I found myself in Wayne (rarely) and craving Chinese (always).



I was in luck when I saw China King Buffet. Despite the name, I went with a takeout order so I could get back on the road. 



Simple order: sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, egg roll, crab cheese rangoons. 



These were OK - more hard-fried than I appreciate and a bit on the oily side. But, I won't ever be too mad at a crab rangoon. 



The chicken here was fine - larger pieces than normal. Fried rice was fine too - just the taste of oil dominated most of the flavor here. The eggroll was similar, but I appreciate the harder fry here. 



Grade: B

A food court is not typically where you go for a delicious meal. Typically, it’s more of a matter of convenience and proximity - at least for me.



That’s not to say there isn’t good food court food; I’m just saying it’s important to manage expectations. Recently, I was at the mall in Bridgeport - arguably one of the best in the state - with a grumbling tummy, So, I stopped by Eastern Wok and ordered General Tso’s with lo mein. And it was right on par with my expectations. The chicken was a bit chewy, the sauce sticky sweet, and the lo mein a bit overcooked. As a whole, it was average. Catching a meal here earlier in the day may solve a few of those issues.



Grade: C

Are you still weird about buffets since COVID started? Or is it just me?



If I just think about buffets too much in general, I get a little grossed out. Not due to the fault of the restaurant, but just the other people touching things and bleh. However, if I can there when they're putting out fresh pans (and spoons), that's perfect. Because I really do enjoy the concept of having a little bit of a lot of different things. 



The Peking Buffet in Mason is a fairly small buffet but still features the main items I'd expect at a standard Chinese buffet - general tso, fried rice, beef and broccoli, etc. "



I got a to-go box and went around looking for what I wanted to add. A lot of people don't know this "hack." Just about every buffet I've ever gone to lets you do a take-out box -- now, not as leftovers -- but as your whole meal. Sometimes there's a standard price, and sometimes they weigh it. Either way, if you want the variety without having to wait or eat there, it's the best way to go.



So I tried the honey chicken, some mushrooms, some general tsos, cheese rangoons and eggrolls. Quality wasn't bad, but the main concern was that things were a bit cold. It wasn't a super busy time at the restaurant, so I suppose they weren't refreshing all of the items as often as they could. 



But, I liked the flavors and the kind of chicken that was used. What's your favorite dish here?



Grade: B

Merry Land Express in Beckley is a Chinese restaurant that serves up standard Chinese-American fare.



The menu does have some interesting items that you might not see everywhere like fried bananas sesame balls and even curry chicken.



They do have a buffet available but I opted for some takeout options.



The first thing that we started out with was the fried cheese wontons which are always go to for me because they are delicious and each place does them just a little bit differently. I think that I'm the only person who doesn't love the actual fried portion of the wonton so I really appreciate the foldover style as opposed to pinched style because I feel like you get more filling. These were good but I do miss the crab that is often found in other wontons. The egg rolls were standard and had a lot of cabbage filling.



I also ordered the sesame shrimp, which is shrimp, breaded and fried, covered in a spicy, sweet sauce with sesame seeds on top. I have been avoiding chicken that tends to be stringy or chewy because it's just not sitting well with me lately. But shrimp kind of avoids those issues. I do wish that there was a little bit less breading. because that can overtake the flavor. But otherwise, I still enjoyed this dish. I liked the sauce. And I really like the little bit of texture that the sesame seeds add.

Grade: B

The best thing about a buffet? Trying a little of everything. The worst part? Aside from people's germs, it's the fact that there are no leftovers.



Those are the buffet rules. Though, most buffets let you do a takeout box only and charge by the ounce. But one local place was making up its own rules during COVID-19. I really liked what New China Garden Buffet was doing in Huntington. 



They offered some "combos" so you can still get a small serving of a few different items from the buffet to go - not just one whole dish. I ordered white rice, general tso's chicken, baked crabmeat, potato with onion, pork eggroll and cheese wontons. The chicken was stringy and chewy, but that's to be expected. The potato was literally just potato wedges - I was hoping it had cheese or some other deliciousness. The wontons, eggroll and baked crabmeat were all satisfactory. No huge surprises - but I'm curious to know if there's a dish here that is a crowd favorite?



Grade: B

I used to LOVE love General Tso's chicken. And maybe it's a change in my preference or a change in quality over the years, but I just cannot deal with the chewy, stringy chicken that is so often found in the dish. 



So when I went to China One in Barboursville, I gravitated toward one of my new go-tos: garlic shrimp. I placed an order online and went inside to pick it up. 



Because the restaurant is located in a plaza, parking is easy. There was a little line at the window when I went inside, but it moved quickly. Everyone was there for takeout. 



The garlic shrimp was not bad - a little mushy, but that's not atypical. Lots of green pepper in the veg mix, but I loved when I got a crunchy bite of broccoli or mushroom. The crab rangoons (c'mon, these are a given) were a bit overly fried for me, but they are my preferred fold-over shape. The eggroll was average.



Overall, a fairly standard Chinese takeout meal.

Grade: C

One of my favorite ways to eat is to order a bunch of little snack size options and share so that everyone can try a little bit of everything (unless I'm really hungry, then I want my own dish because I am ready to throw down).



So, I kinda recreated a tapas concept at Panda Chinese Kitchen in Wheeling. 



The longtime Wheeling favorite is a pretty standard go-to for Chinese food in the downtown area. They were still primarily takeout when I went, but they made it a pretty simple process. 



I had called in an order for sweet & sour chicken, pineapple chicken, vegetable lo mein, and general tso chicken combination to go.



So I took this home to my parents' house and we had a little bit of everything. They don't do shellfish or pork, so our dinner was pretty chicken heavy. 



Sweet and sour chicken is always a crowd-pleaser. It's white chicken meat covered in a batter and dipped in a sweet sauce - it is universally beloved. That's an easy win in case the other selections weren't as favored.



The general tsos was not my favorite rendition. Pretty chewy and stringy - though, honestly, that seems to be the norm nowadays. Or maybe I'm more cognizant of it? I'm not sure. But I don't want to feel like I'm chewing on an old piece of chicken - even if dredged in a tasty sauce.



The pineapple chicken was the same quality of meat, but it does give me a faux sense of "health" when there's a fruit involved. It definitely makes it sweeter, but this sauce was almost soupy. The chicken breading got kinda soggy. Flavor of the sauce wasn't bad; just the texture wasn't my favorite.



And veggie lo mein - this was a hit. Simple, straight-forward and tasty. 

Grade: B

I always love Chinese food. As I get older, I'm starting to realize it doesn't always love me back. But, it will never stop me from trying a new-to-me spot.



China Kitchen in Parkersburg was along my route on a recent adventure so I called in an order and picked it up. They are still pretty locked up regarding COVID restrictions. There is a small little door they've built into their main door where they put the food through. No entry at all. But I called in my order, picked up my food through the tiny door and was on my way.



I ordered "Grandfather chicken," an eggroll and crab rangoons. Grandfather chicken is deep-fried white meat chicken in General Tso's sauce. It's kind of the perfect combination of flavors. I don't love the stringy, less-than-stellar chicken, so this puts together all the best pieces. This particular sauce didn't have as much "oomph" as I'd like, but it was sweet and sticky, which are really the main components anyway. 



The eggroll and crab rangoons were both good by any standard. It may not be my new favorite Chinese spot, but it's a solid option in the area.

Grade: A

There are two No. 1 Kitchens in the Huntington area serving Chinese food, which can make it a little confusing. I've been to the one along Route 60, so now we're trying the one along Washington Avenue. 



I had called in an order at this location and went to pick it up. I've been trying a lot of different Chinese restaurants during the pandemic because many were designed with takeout in mind, so it simplifies the whole process.  



They were really busy on this day, and I had to wait in line for a little while to make it to the counter. After a little bit of a wait, I took my order back to my car and made my way home. 



First up: I had a pint of sweet & sour chicken. It stood up fairly well for my drive, but it did get a touch soggy. Otherwise, standard breaded white chicken meat and a tub of red sweet and sour sauce. Does anyone local serve a different kind of sweet & sour sauce??



Next up was fried dumplings. I love these with a dumpling sauce, and I think mine was left out this visit, but they had a tasty, well-seasoned filling.



Shrimp fried rice can be hit or miss with me - and this was somewhere in the middle. It thankfully wasn't dry and overly saturated with oil... but it also didn't have much flavor at all? So, it was OK. 



And, one of my favorites: crab rangoons. I don't think I can order Chinese food without getting an order of crab cheese rangoons. Generously filled with a cream cheese mixture enveloped in a crispy wonton wrapper, it can't be bad. These were decent. A little too greasy, but thankful for a hefty amount of filling.


 
Grade: B