China Palace – Hopkins, MN

I got a message from Doughboy about going to lunch today with he and A-Wow. He was in the mood for Chinese, which was a hilarious coincidence, since the last time I went out for a Chi-Buf lunch with A-Wow, it was immediately after the doctor’s appointment where the nurse told me I had to quit eating like a savage. Today, I had a follow up meeting and the nurse told me the same thing. I then proceeded to hit up the China Palace with Doughboy and A-Wow. None of us had been there before and it was central to all of our employers – it’s pretty much fate at that point.

The place is in a strip mall, which is the first good sign. The inside is medium-sized with maybe 15 tables. Fortunately, the buffet is much larger than Wang’s Chinese Buffet, so again, more points.
I helped myself to the first plate of items and heaped it pretty well. There were plenty of things on the buffet – so many, in fact, that I wasn’t able to fit everything on the first plate. No worries, I’d be back for a second plate, surely.

There were the pretty standard dishes here at China Palace: Pork Lo Mein, Sesame Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork/Chicken, Broccoli Beef, Fried Rice, Pan-fried dumplings, Cream Cheese Wontons, Egg Rolls, Fried Spring Rolls, Egg Drop Soup, Hot and Sour Soup. They even have vegetable sushi – which I scored a piece of.I don’t think I can review each thing, but I can assure you the food here is edible. The appetizery things were quite good. The dumplings were probably the best, followed by the sushi made of vegetables, then wontons, and fried spring rolls. The egg rolls were a little cinnamon heavy for my taste. The egg drop soup was about halfway to the too-thick and snotty phase, so it was good, as long as I threw an ice cube or two in there to water it down a bit.

The sesame chicken was one of the better entrees, as were all of the pork dishes. There weren’t any stringy/gristly bits in the pork like sometimes happens. Even the beef was gristle-free, which again is rare. I don’t think there were any entrée dishes I wouldn’t have gone back for.

Oh wait, I DID go back for a second plate (and promptly forgot to take a second photo). It’s filling and, as it turns out, is also really cheap. The buffet is $7 per person. That’s really good, no matter where you’re at.

I know I’m not really doing comparing and contrasting at most Chinese Buffets, but I’d put it above Wang’s, but below Honey Garden and way below Tea House. I’ll likely go back though – it’s close to work and the staff were very friendly there.

Top 5 things about China Palace
1. Sesame Chicken
2. Pan-Fried Dumplings
3. Really cheap
4. Pork Lo Mein
5. The vegetable-only sushi was actually surprisingly tasty

Bottom 5 things
1. Egg rolls were cinnamon-y
2. Egg drop soup wasn’t the best
3. Fried Rice didn’t have a ton of flavor
4. I understand using saran wrap to keep things fresh, but it still works against the class factor
5.

China Palace
724 11th Avenue South
Hopkins, MN 55343