Peking Chinese Buffet

Quick take out service.  Friendly and always good.

My experience with the Peking Chinese Buffet which is not a buffet at all was very disappointing.  They have closed the eat in part of the restaurant completely so we are left with a Chinese Buffet that is take out and delivery only.  Now that the confusing part has been cleared up now for the actual review.

They have the same basic Chinese menu as most everyone else has except they have cut corners on the food to make it cheaper to produce.  They even offer to cook your food in Olive Oil for $1 extra.  The food was not cooked very well and was not very good.  Most of these type of restaurants serve the same food so you expect a certain level of taste and quality with what you ordered and the Peking was well below average.  I could overlook the confusing situation if the food was at least average or better but its just not.

When you walk in to pick up your food it looks like it is out of business and the lobby is being used for storage.  Obviously it has been in a downward spiral and I think its time to shut the doors!

This was supposed to be the highpoint of a ridiculous journey to find a replacement part for one of the tools in my shop. While running around town looking for it, all I could think about was Chinese. Seeing that I was on 18th st already, it felt like kismet when I saw this takeout menu on the floor of my car.

First off, realize that this is all the way the south side of town by Veteran's. What started as a short hop to some hot hunan beef took more than 20 minutes with all the lights.

Finally getting there though, hungrier than ever all seemed worth while when the kind looking Chinese woman smiled. For some reason most Chinese women who run takeout places look angry or they might just be angry to see me. Either way, the entire time I was driving back home with this heavy bag of rice and beef, I knew it was going to be delicious, that I had found this amazing hole in the wall. Not to mention, the quantity of food is definitely better than any other place in town.

Getting home and finally unboxing my food, I was in for sore disappointment made worse for how far it is from civilization. The pork fried rice underneath wasn't terrible, however the Hunan Beef that covered it was almost inedible (keep in mind, as a poor college student, and a starving one at that, I'll eat almost anything).  It was covered in this thick semitransparent black sauce with small, still fairly firm black beans in it. Incredible salty with no real taste otherwise. Beef was incredibly chewy and overcooked.

Deserves +1 for the smiling asian woman though.