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China King Super Buffet (Closed)

310 N. Washington St.
Weatherford, OK

China King in Weatherford


Note: Information on the Internet indicates that the restaurant has now moved to Woodward, OK, but I have not confirmed this.


China King Super Buffet took over the former Kim Son restaurant, even keeping the same phone number. The change seems to be more than a superficial name change, however, with new owners and a different style of food.

Kim Son may have had trouble competing with the high quality buffet at Young China restaurant in downtown Weatherford. The buffet at China King seems to have been upgraded from the one I remember at Kim Son by offering a larger selection, MSG-free food, and some authentic dishes from the city of Fuzhou, China. Some of the Fuzhou specialties include the egg drop soup, house special soup with bok choy, and spring rolls.

Wonton soup
Wonton soup

One of the Fuzhou style specialties is the Wonton Soup made with a thick broth instead of the rather clear brown colored stock found in most Chinese restaurants (see photo). While I found the soup to be salty, it had a very rich flavor and thus supported my theory that it is always desirable to seek out regional specialties at Chinese restaurants when they are offered rather than the generic Americanized dishes.

The Hot and Sour Soup was the generic American variety, but I ordered it before I knew about the regional specialties that were available. It is hard to find a bad hot and sour soup, and I thought the one here was good.

The Home Style Bean Curd was notable in the improvement it offered over the food that was formerly served at Kim Son. In China King's conversion to MSG-free food (including everything in the buffet) they also seem to have switched to lighter and better tasting oils used in the food. The tofu was good, and the only part of the dish that was less than impressive was the vegetables. Having family roots in the Weatherford area I can appreciate the fact that it is not always easy to obtain fresh vegetables in western Oklahoma, nor has this traditionally been a strong point of the region's cuisine.

The buffet at China King
The buffet at China King

It is gratifying, though, to see that Weatherford seems to have the good taste to support two very good Chinese restaurants, in fact I would say better Chinese restaurants than I have found in just about any town in Oklahoma outside the metropolitan areas.

RESTAURANT DETAILS

RATING: 19

Cuisine: Chinese
Cost: $
Tea: Jasmine (bags)
MSG: No
Smoking: No Smoking
Buffet: Yes

Most Recent Visit
Dec. 25, 2006

Number of Visits: 1

Best Item
Home Style Bean Curd, Won Ton Soup

Special Ratings
Home Style Bean Curd:
Won Ton Soup:
Hot and Sour Soup:



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