China Lights - Eagle River, Alaska


I have a mixed history with China Lights that goes back a long time. I first became aware of the Eagle River China Lights when I moved into the area about 1995. A fan of Chinese food, I was quick to spot it and mentally mark it for later. Sometime later I had that urge for some fried rice, one of my favorite foods, and went to China Lights for takeout.  It was excellent! I really loved it; very flavorful with a great seasoning combination I wished I could emulate. I was very happy to have some tasty Chinese food close at hand.
It was a busy time for me then. There was work and the extracurricular activities such as dog mushing that kept me busy and it was a long while before I was in town, at the right time, to get some more fried rice takeout. It was, to put it plainly, terrible. The rice was almost crunchy. It wasn’t seasoned at all except for a splash of soy sauce and there was only a pittance of vegetables and chicken thrown in. Even steaming it a bit at home I was unable to revive it and, sadly, most of that order ended up in the compost pile. After that encounter I pretty much erased the mental note and never again considered the China Lights as an asset. Over the ensuing years I have driven past the China Lights many, many times but never had any inkling to try it again.

During this 2016 trip to Alaska I noticed some TV ads for the China Lights. They mostly featured the Anchorage store, especially the interior shots showing the buffet, but the ad did tell of the two locations, Anchorage and Eagle River. That got me to thinking… (Sometimes that is a dangerous thing to do.) So, if the China Lights has been there all this time without going under they must be doing something right and not chasing away customers like they did me. Also, if they have made enough profit to open or take over another facility they must have a fairly large and satisfied customer base. Perhaps, I thought, it was time to give China Lights another try.
I called good buddy Larry Tower and asked if he would like to go to lunch one day soon. On the appointed day we made the fifteen minute drive to China Lights. Apparently the buffet is popular and the hostess/waitress assumed we were there for the buffet and when she seated us she didn’t offer the menu as an option. I thought for a moment and then decided, “Why not?” We would try the buffet today and I could come back later for a “lunch special” take home meal rather than eat in. She took our beverage order and bade us to go and select from the buffet.

As I mentioned, the store is of modest size. It is well decorated in the Asian theme with bas-relief paneling depicting Chinese scenes. The ceiling is embossed tiles in a copper color. Various wall hangings and objects d’art round out the décor. There are several booths along the front window wall and the main dining area features tables and chair that can be arranged as needed to accommodate different sized groups. There is no room for free standing serving bars as you would normally find in a Chinese buffet. In the addition of the buffet to the more traditional sit down and dine in and take out there was little room for adding the serving bars. There is a salad bar and steam table combination, serve from one side only and about 16 to 18 feet long, against the back wall. That leaves little room for a large number of selections one would normally associate with a Chinese buffet. As I remember the selections (and memory can be spotty) the selections, with some of my initial impressions, were as follows.
Soups – Egg flower and  - one other: Egg flower soup good, didn’t try the other















Larry, my dining companion, said that he was satisfied with the meal and if he were in the neighborhood when it was time to eat he wouldn’t mind eating at China Lights again. He pretty much echoed my feelings. Aside from the negatives I noted above, China Lights is on a par with just about any other Chinese, all you can eat, buffet.

It should be noted that there is a certificate proudly displayed on the entranceway wall of China Lights:  Top 100 Chinese Restaurants:  Exterior 100%, Service 100%, Food 97.06%

Labels: Alaska, all you can eat, Asian, China, Chinese, Eagle River, egg flower soup, food, lights China Lights, Top 100 Chinese Restaurants

  ¶ 12:35 PM 0 Comments

  Oriental Cuisine - Maryville, Tennessee

Oriental Cuisine

622 Condry Lane

Maryville, TN 37803

865-984-0810 

I would have never known the Oriental Cuisine Restaurant was there except for one thing. Several times a week my wife and I would go to the local gym. When leaving, while waiting for traffic, we would be looking across the street down a very small alley like street that has a name. In fact its name denotes its diminutive stature, Condry Lane. A lane; it is so much less that a boulevard, an avenue or even a street. It serves as the back entrance to a muffler shop and a bank parking lot as well as access for some industrial metal buildings on the left. Way down at the end of the street where it appears to dead end is one small sign; Oriental Cuisine shares sign space with a rug and tile company. From our vantage point we cannot see that building because it is set back to allow for customer parking in front. I was intrigued by this almost hidden restaurant and I thought that it must have something going for it as it would not garner any drive-by traffic.
Many months went by before I finally decided to see what it was all about. I did some internet research and found their website which is basically their menu. They offer a mix of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese foods. I was on my own for lunch one day and stopped by for a takeout meal of sweet and sour chicken ($9.00 Breaded white chicken chunks deep fried to a golden brown and served with diced tomato, green pepper and pineapple in our sweet and sour sauce. Served with fried or steamed rice). At $9.00 dollars it seemed a bit on the expensive side but this was an exploratory visit to see what they offered and on that day I did have a “hankering” for some Chinese food. I also asked for a spring roll to compliment the meal ($1.75 A delicious mixture of jicama, carrots, onions, rice thread and pork wrapped in a crunchy spring roll wrapper) .

My order soon arrived. It was a large brown paper bag, neatly folded and stapled. I was quite surprised when I picked it up. Thinking back to my thoughts about the rather high cost I now, at least, considered it a very good deal on a price per pound basis. There was a lot of food inside that bag. I could hardly wait to get it home and check out the contents. The fact that it smelled so good made me even more eager.

(I just have to add this in as a parenthetical comment: Over the years I have noticed that sweet and sour chicken or pork have become cheapened and degraded under the banner of “New York style” and the pineapple, sweet peppers and other vegetables that helped to define the dish in Chinatown settings have been eliminated and all you get is breaded chicken and sauce usually served separate. That rendition of sweet and sour chicken is travesty and defames the sweet and savory combination that is also beautiful to the eye. A pox on New York style.)

Taking myself at my word, I divided the food into two portions and cut the spring roll in half. I would have half now and the remainder at a later time. I plated the food for a photo before eating; nothing fancy, just so it wasn’t a picture looking down into the bottom of a box. It was only half of my order but the food literally filled the plate. The sweet and sour chicken was delicious. The breading was fried crispy and the chicken inside was moist and juicy. It occurred to me while I was eating it that the extra  effort in separate packaging made for a crisp chicken in the sauce whereas if it had been all packaged together the chicken in all likelihood would have been soggy and unpalatable. The sweet and sour sauce was very good with a bit of tang from perhaps vinegar and sweetness but not just from sugar. I enjoyed the snap and flavor of the slightly crispy pepper and loved the fruity sweetness of the pineapple. An excellent sweet and sour dish I will definitely try again.

The spring roll was crispy fried and the filling was tasty. A bit of hot Chinese mustard would have been beneficial but not necessary. Although I prefer the thicker, less crispy egg roll skins, I did enjoy the spring roll. It seems that egg or spring rolls are always an appetizer on Chinese food menus. I like them well enough that they should be a main course item. I will certainly add these spring rolls to my next order.

Second Visit A Month Or So Later  – Eat In Luncheon Special

My drink was delivered with a bowl of fried wontons, I sat back to await my meal. As I mentioned, it was a miserably hot day outside and the cool interior of the restaurant was a relief. The shades were drawn and the lighting subdued but you could still see images of the out-of-doors through the slats in the shade. I looked around. It was as I described before. It was oriental in motif, black lacquer chairs, a mural but not much else to give it that Asian look, certainly not gaudy. A quick count found about 50 seats. There were two tradesmen at the table next to me and a solo elderly gentleman across the aisle. There was a party of about 6 or 8 in the alcove. About 8 people came in to pick up their take-out orders; all must have called in and each order was ready on their arrival. Towards the end of my meal several people arrive and must have been regulars from the greetings. Apparently Sabrina, the server, saw one of them parking his car and had his preferred beverage ready for him when he entered the store. My observations answered the fundamental question I had harbored. How does this almost hidden restaurant manage to survive? It requires returning customers and word of mouth advertising. It certainly has returning customers and I will be providing some word of mouth. It is not an ornate place nor does it have an elegant ambiance but it is comfortable and it does have the feeling  like in the old Cheers theme song, “…where everybody knows your name.”

My entrée soon arrived. Oh, my God! The expected meager portions were huge. I must admit that I ate the whole thing with relish but I would have been much better of eating half and taking the rest home for later (something I saw others in the restaurant do). Two people could have shared the meal and felt satisfied.

The chicken, mostly dark meat I believe, was cook just about right, the meat cooked through, the breading still slightly crispy under the sauce. Good chicken flavor in the meat and their version of the sesame sauce is very tasty although perhaps a bit thin compared to others. In this case that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The sauce that pools under the chicken provides a nice condiment for the otherwise slightly bland fried rice. It was a very enjoyable meal, one where I did really eat too much.

Labels: broccoli, chicken, Chinese, cuisine, fried rice, Maryville, oriental, pork, sesame, soup, steamed, sweet and sour, Tennessee, Thai, Vietnamese, won ton, wonton

  ¶ 12:51 PM 0 Comments

  Teppanyaki Grill and Supreme Buffet - St Petersburg, Florida
391 34^th St North
St Petersburg, FL 33713

 727 327-8886 

Labels: Chinese, Florida, fried rice, grill, Japanese, St Petersburg, sushi, sweet and sour, teppanyaki

  ¶ 3:54 PM 0 Comments

  Product Review - Tai Pei General Tso's Chicken

Tai Pei General Tso's Chicken Carton



Serving 1 - The yellow rice in the back is the fried rice.

Serving 2 - 1/2 of the  carton. The yellow rice in the background is fried rice

Read the label before you buy.

Labels: broccoli, chicken, Chinese, General, spicy, take-out, Tso's

  ¶ 9:36 AM 4 Comments

  Golden Corral, Largo, Florida Golden Corral - 10050 Ulmerton Rd, Largo Florida (727) 501-0885

Labels: all you can eat, buffet, Chinese, ethnic, Florida, Golden Corral, Italian

  ¶ 5:30 PM 0 Comments

  Super Buffet - Seminole, Florida Super Buffet – Seminole, Florida
11227 Park Blvd. North Seminole, Florida 33772
(727) 320-9888
The wife’s and my birthday are quite close. In fact they are just separated by just one week by day and month although the years are quite a bit farther apart. It does make it easy for friends who like to take you out to eat on your birthday. It is sort of like getting two for the price of one. As our birthdays for this year approached, family friend called us and asked to take us out to dinner. A date and time was set and all that remained was where.
We do what married couples do and refrain from voicing a preference to allow the other the choice. As the date grew closer Martha suggested a Chinese place she knew and liked. Neither of us knew about it so it would be a new and novel experience, a broadening of our horizons. Janis and I drove over to pick up Martha just as a Florida thunderstorm began to unleash its fury. By the time we arrived at Martha’s house the squall line was sending gusting winds and rippling waves of rain racing across the streets. After picking up Martha I was the last one back in the car and as a result became sopping wet from the rain. I hoped that would dry before reaching the restaurant.
The Super Buffet is but one store in the massive Seminole Mall. Except for the sign there is little to tell what lies within the particular storefront. By the time we pulled up in front of the restaurant, the rain had subsided to a light sprinkle. I was only half dry. We entered through double doors trimmed with brass. The foyer in subdued lighting features the cashier, the hostess and a decorative fountain. Off to the sides are two dining areas. In brighter lights ahead was the food service area. There were several serving bars featuring cold foods on ice and hot foods in steam trays. Just a note in passing, at most other restaurants of this type, self serve, all you can eat, customers pay first and then are seated. Here you are seated, you have your meal and you are presented the check. For the buffet, lunch (11:00AM to 3:30PM) is $7.39 per person. For dinner (3:30PM to 11:00PM) and all day on holidays the cost is $12.99 per person. There is a reduced rate for seniors and children
We were seated in less than a minute. The waitress took our beverage orders and bid us to begin making our selections for dinner. One serving bar is labeled Italian. There are is eclectic mixture of dishes there including some that appear to be Italian inspired, even a small pepperoni pizza. However, I am afraid that much was lost in the translation. Other serving bars are labeled salad, seafood, Chinese, and dessert. Of note, not found in most other oriental buffets, there is at the end of the food service area a grill station for Mongolian barbecue. We started off together but wended our individual ways through the aisles between the food service bars.
I started down the Chinese/Oriental aisle. There were a few signs missing but most offerings are labeled. To sample as much as possible, I took a bit of as many items as my plate would hold. There was teriyaki chicken, General Tso’s chicken, a mushroom and seafood delight, fried rice, yakitori chicken, sweet and sour chicken, an egg roll and some tempura. On the way back to the table I passed the sushi section and stopped for a few pieces as well. And lastly, the salad bar beckoned with some stuffed green olives.
I did notice that there was copious ice under the cold foods and the sushi. All of the hot foods were indeed hot and to touch the surface of the table was painfully hot. I also noted that the presentation trays were shallow and did not hold a lot of food. They had to be replenished often. During dinner I noted that the staff members were frequently busy stocking and replenishing the food items. The food would appear to be fresh from the food preparation area.
I will preface my critique with this: The food served at the Super Buffet is certainly on a par with the other local restaurants of this type. None of the foods are spectacular but on the other hand none of the foods are really bad. I think many of the items are mass prepared outside and then heated or cooked to completion before serving. As such they suffer the same ailment as other mass produced foods – designed to offend as few people as possible, they truly please even fewer.
The chicken selections were tasty but I really had to look close to see rather than taste if it were chicken teriyaki, General Tso’s chicken or chicken yakitori. The sweet and sour chicken is what is called the New York style, I believe. It is breaded and fried chicken morsels. Alongside is a container of red sauce that you ladle over your chicken morsels. This presentation certainly pales in comparison to the traditional Chinatown version with peppers, onions and pineapple. The New York style, although done well as far as it goes, really suffers in comparison because of the lack of the traditional accoutrements. The egg rolls are the smaller variety and nicely crispy fried. The filling is basically cabbage and they benefit from a dunk in hot mustard or chili sauce. The tempura selection was limited to slices of zucchini and sweet potato. They were very good, the batter fried light and crisp and the vegetables tender but not soggy. Enjoyment would have been enhanced if there were some additional tempura selections. The fried rice was more a saffron-style yellow rice and didn’t have any particular significant taste. Personally, fried rice is one of my favorite oriental-style comfort foods but I found the Super Buffet example lacking in breadth of ingredients and seasoning.
Personally I don’t care for sashimi. Therefore, my selections from any sushi bar are very limited. On this visit I selected some California rolls and avocado rolls. They were both the inside-out makizushi rolls. Each selection had a rolled coating of tobiko. They were well made, the avocado still a lustrous green without any darkening from air exposure. They tasted good and seemed quite fresh. If I eat a California or avocado roll and taste fish I know there is a problem in the kitchen. In this case there was no taste of raw fish, just the taste of the ingredients. I did notice the service area was well iced and there was not a lot of product on display. There is more than adequate portions wasabi and gari awaiting the diner.


The true gourmand can’t go to an all you can eat restaurant and eat but one serving. For my next foray I decided to try the Mongolian grill. There is a nice selection of ingredients including vegetables, (such as sprouts, green peppers, onions, broccoli florets, etc) meats (chicken, beef and pork) and seafood (white fish, shrimp). The ice table is cold. They stock small amounts of food in the trays which I guess would help to insure freshness. I made my selections of some bean sprouts, mushrooms, green peppers, broccoli, chicken and shrimp. They use flat plates instead of bowls that I have encountered elsewhere. I handed my selection to the chef and he went to work. The grill is not the round Mongolian grill of myth. It is a rectangular flat grill with an attached open flame grill that any short-order cook would instantly recognize. I would miss the flourish of the serving, a swish off the edge of the grill into the awaiting bowl. The grill was hot; I could feel the heat even through the sneeze guard. But I noticed the chef used a spritz of water and a dome for much of the cooking – steaming more than frying. The food is cooked with less caramelization than is done on the traditional Mongolian grill and the presentation is more colorful. There is a list of four sauces available and I chose the teriyaki. It was a tasty dish, the vegetables cooked to tender with just a bite. It was an enjoyable conclusion to the main courses.
I tried some samplings of the desert bar. They had a nice selection of melons, strawberries and lots of petit fours style cookies and cakes. The fruit was firm and fresh and refreshing after the heavier fare of the main courses. It was a nice sweet ending to a dinner with loved ones and friends.
Their take home menu features a list of combination plates and traditional Chinese food choices in small and large containers much like a traditional Chinese take-out shop. As well, the menu lists the majority of the buffet items for take home at $3.75 per pound lunch and $4.95 per pound dinner. Sushi and sea food have a different pricing schedule. You can have it your way; eat in or take out.

Labels: barbecue, buffet, Chinese, eat in, fried rice, grill, Mongolian, Seminole, super, sushi, take out

  ¶ 5:30 PM 0 Comments

  Product Evaluation - Wanchai Ferry Cashew Chicken
Product Evaluation
Wanchai Ferry Cashew Chicken
A Chinese Dinner Kit in a box

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I like Chinese food. Anyone who has read my food critic blogs has probably noted a high percentage of Chinese food establishments critiqued. It was only a matter of time, apparently, before Wanchai Ferry would catch my attention. Actually, I have noted the television commercials for Wanchai Ferry Orange Chicken that have aired for quite some time. I already make a lemon lime chicken and an orange glazed chicken at home so there was no great interest in the orange chicken. While shopping the other day I came across this new offering from Wanchai Ferry, Cashew Chicken.


In reading the box I noted that it was a breaded chicken, coated with a spiced cornstarch mixture and served with a savory sauce. We frequently enjoy sweet and sour chicken, sesame chicken and kung pao chicken. The cashew chicken offering from Wanchai Ferry seemed to be similar but with one of our favorite nutmeats, cashews. I dropped a box in the shopping cart with the intent of trying it out soon. We are always looking for new items to stock the larder, both in the house and the RV.
On the box it says to add chicken. I put two skinless, boneless chicken breasts out to thaw. I opened the box to take inventory of the other ingredients. Half the weight of the box is the rice. The rice is cooked as white rice and serves as the serving bed for the chicken mixture. There is an envelope of spiced cornstarch to dredge the chicken pieces, a packet of cashew sauce concentrate, and a small bag of roasted cashews.


The directions on the back of the box are short, easy to follow. The rice takes the longest to cook and is started first. One and one-half cups of water and the rice are added to a 2-qurt sauce pan, heated to a boil, the heat reduced and the mixture simmered, covered, for 20 minutes. I did vary from the directions here. I used chicken broth instead of water and I added a bit of minced garlic and some dried ground ginger to give the rice some flavor.
The directions call for 1-inch pieces. Cut the chicken into the larger chunks and set aside. The directions offer two choices for coating the chicken. The classic cornstarch in a bowl and dredging, or the chicken pieces and the cornstarch mixture in a plastic bag and shake; I chose the plastic bag approach and I wisely followed the instructions to pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel. If the chicken is wet, the cornstarch and spice mixture will clump.
Heat a medium size frying pan and add oil. Carefully add the chicken pieces and fry, turning as needed until the chicken pieces are a nice golden brown, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the cashew sauce mix and ½ cup of water. Heat to a bare boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens. The package directions call for about 2 minutes but I needed about 5 minutes for the sauce to thicken nicely. Sprinkle in the cashews, stir to coat.


Serving suggestion is to make a bed of rice on a serving plate and ladle the chicken mixture over the top. You can also serve from the stove, ladling the chicken and sauce over a bowl of rice.
The Wanchai Cashew Chicken Dinner can comfortably be made in about 30 minutes. Made with two chicken breasts, the meal as served is sufficient for two and a snack for four. Paired with additional foods, such as fried rice and egg rolls, it can feed many more people.


Provided you have thawed chicken available, the Wanchai Ferry Cashew Chicken kit will make a tasty dinner for two in just a half hour. I certainly will keep a box in the pantry for that time I want something fairly quickly but don’t want to cook from scratch.
The chicken and sauce have good flavor. From the ingredients it looks like a bit of wine reduction, cashew butter, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce are the main flavor contributors. Although it is not listed n the ingredients, I think I taste a bit of sesame oil in the mix.
With the exception of the chicken broth in the rice, the rest of the directions were followed closely with good results except for a bit longer simmer to thicken the sauce. The box also makes several suggestions, “In place of chicken, try making with pork tenderloin or shrimp. You can also add 2 cups of cut-up vegetables, such as carrots, red or green Bell peppers, or snow peas…”
On the negative side, half of the weight of the kit is the rice and you are providing the chicken. That makes the cost per serving higher than you might expect. On the positive side it is a quick and easy meal to prepare. The completed dish looks good, has good flavor and compares very favorably with similar dishes from the store-front Chinese take-out shops.


How do think a home prepared meal compares with the serving suggestion on the box?

That Food Guy December 2010

Labels: cashew, chicken, Chinese, dinner, evaluation, ferry, kit, wanchai

  ¶ 4:05 PM 0 Comments