China Buffet in Fort Wayne, Indiana used to be a wonderful place to get a magnificent amount of great Chinese food. A patron would fill their plates with Beef and Broccoli, those little crab things, Kung Pow, and Chinese noodles, along with a little fried rice. Then the same hungry soul would be back for seconds and thirds throughout their stay. The China Buffet experience was second to none. People just loved it.
Now, years later, and after several changes in management, that great China Buffet experience is no more. This new management has added choices like tacos, pizza and Cajun chicken, but come on, we want Chinese!!
When my daughter said she wanted to take me to China Buffet on Mother’s Day, I went along with the plan. After all, several unhappy encounters may also lead to a new change in management, something new and wonderful. I went along, looking towards the positive.
As we arrived several new faces were apparent, but that doesn’t mean much in the restaurant industry. There could have also been a change in management, I thought. Or even better, the first owners had come back after a long sabbatical to find new and sumptuous Chinese recipes to entice our taste buds.
But, it was not to be.
As I roamed the buffet table, there it was; tacos, pizza, Cajun chicken. A large fish of some sort, and cookies that could have passed as vanilla wafers, or a communion wafer. I am not saying there weren’t any Chinese offerings at all. The tried and true broccoli and beef, Chinese noodles, and fried rice was sitting there in all its glory. And there was also a variety of other stuff I was too afraid to taste. The reality was the food wasn’t very good and the service was even worse.
Luckily, we were with my two grandsons, who are six and three. This turned into a mixed blessing, because after having a little bit of the food, they both began to act up. At another restaurant, where I would be swooning over the food, this would have upset me. Children are children, and many times taking them to a restaurant can turn into an adventure in cutting food, dirty looks, and visits to the little boys room.
This time a sly smile crossed my face, when I realized our stay at the China Buffet would not be a long and leisurely experience. No, it would be filled with hurry up and let’s get out of here, mom, I can’t believe these kids, kind of deal.
Too bad, so sad, maybe next time the management will be new and the food will be like it was in the beginning and life will be filled with clean water and gas that costs 25 cents a gallon.
