I am not sure when or where I first got to enjoy a Chinese buffet.
It just might have been in Blacksburg, Virginia with my old friend
Butch in the late eighties or early nineties. It was a great way to
have a pressure free business lunch.
Later when I was a manager at Apple Computer, the local Chinese Buffet in Reston, Va became our favorite place for employee lunches. It was one of the few places that we could find a table that would seat eight without reservations. The food was also inexpensive. It was nice that people could pick whatever they liked even if was just tofu.
Later we were lucky to have Szechuan Restaurant move to close to our house in Roanoke, Virginia. They brought with them a buffet that turned out to be an excellent place to bring the kids for Sunday lunch.
My wife is not a big Chinese buffet fan so I have probably found more good buffets when traveling for business than when on family trips. I have eaten in Chinese buffets in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Mount Airy, North Carolina, and many places in between the two spots.
Recently I did convince my wife to try King Buffet in Morehead City, North Carolina. It turned out to be a great find. Glenda, my wife, even likes it. They have a great variety foods, and it is one of the most economical meals around. You even get hand dipped ice cream for dessert.
In November 2006, I was down in Wilmington, NC finishing my real estate courses. I had planned to eat at a local Internet Cafe so I could check my mail, but it was closed. I took a chance on Dragon Garden, which I had noticed the day before when grabbing a sandwich at Jersey Mike's.
I knew that I had lucked into a really good Chinese restaurant when I heard someone at another table say that they had been coming to Dragon Garden for Sunday lunch for years.
The buffet was definitely one of the best that I have tried. All the food was well cooked, very tasty, and a little different than some of the buffets. I especially liked the shrimp fried rice. My only complaint is that I wish the food had been labeled. I will certainly try Dragon Garden out again the next time I am in Wilmington.
