A great thing about dining out is the variety of restaurants available — from burger joints to carry-out places to family-style eateries. You also can break your own rules. When I started this blog I told readers that I wouldn’t review a chain restaurant and would avoid buffets. I have a long tradition of eating way too much at buffets. A couple of Saturdays ago, we decided Chinese sounded good and headed to a restaurant we had not tried, the Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant at 1835 N.W. Topeka Blvd.

When we were seated, we had every intention of ordering off the menu. The Hong Kong has an extensive menu, with over one hundred entrees and all were reasonably priced, with the most expensive dinner item costing $8.95. That places the Hong Kong in the $ category. I had just decided on Sa Cha Beef, when my dining companion noticed the buffet. After ogling the buffet, we decided it was just the ticket.

The buffet cost a princely $7.99, and was outstanding. While I have seen larger Chinese buffets, I have never experienced a tastier one. On my first trip through, I chose the traditional egg drop soup and a pork spring roll. I slurped down the soup and devoured the spring roll with plenty of hot mustard. While doing so, I studied the Hong Kong’s décor.

The Hong Kong is in a small strip mall on the west side of N. Topeka Boulevard. The décor is nothing fancy, but the place is clean and bright, has a few tasteful decorations and plays traditional music. The ambiance of the Hong Kong is not its strong suit, and I rate the décor at 2 and a half forks.

Our waitress was very pleasant, but we had some difficulty communicating. When we arrived, she didn’t understand we wanted to look at menus and I had to go to the front counter and pick one up. That, however, was a minor hiccup. Since we partook of the buffet, her tasks were to keep our drinks filled, and bus our table. Overall, the service at Hong Kong service deserves three forks.

On my second trip through the buffet, I chose noodles, white rice, Szechuan chicken, beef & broccoli and Kung Pao Chicken. I also took the last shrimp wrapped with smoked bacon. The vegetables were crisp, colorful and tasty. Each dish I tried was delicious, and tasted as though I had ordered it off the menu.

On my third trip through the buffet, I tried a cream puff and a pastry with apple filling. The apple-filled pastry was an enjoyably sweet treat that topped off the meal, but the real reason I went through the line again was to get a few more of the shrimp wrapped in bacon. Folks, those shrimp were a bit of heaven to these taste buds. I could have foregone all the other dishes and just made a complete meal out of them. For quality, I give Hong Kong three and a half forks.

You can’t get a better deal than dinner at the Hong Kong. I have paid more for a large burger, fries and a shake at a fast food chain then some of the dinner entrees cost at the Hong Kong. A shrimp dinner or an all-you-can-eat buffet for under $8 is a ridiculously low price, especially when the quality is so high. Bottom line: Hong Kong garners three a half forks for value.

I know that Topeka has a lot of oriental restaurants, but I would urge you to give the Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant a try. The décor is somewhat plain, and it is probably not the place to take someone for a romantic date, but if you want a high-quality Chinese meal at a low price, the Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant is the place to dine.

MYSTERY CULINARY CRITIC:
Reviewed using a “fork” rating system, with one
fork being the lowest and four forks the highest.

HONG KONG CHINESE RESTAURANT
SERVICE: 3 forks  AMBIANCE: 2 ½ forks
FOOD QUALITY: 3 ½ forks   VALUE: 3 ½ forks
OVERALL: 3 ½ forks