A friend of mine invited me to have dinner at the China Wall Buffet. Located in Lake Drive Plaza at 989 Hardy Rd in Vinton, Virginia, This buffet Chinese food restaurant is one of the most popular Chinese restaurants in the area. It is well known for its all you can eat, large selection of Chinese food, in a relaxed environment, at affordable prices. When we arrived the building housing this restaurant looked very clean and modern both on the outside front as well as in the interior of the restaurant. As we entered, the first thing we saw was a giant size fish tank with small fishes swimming around. Then there was a take out station where customers had the option of grabbing a to go container, fill it up, pay for it, and take it home, to enjoy eating there. Then there was the cashier counter behind which an older Chinese lady was seated, concentrated on looking at a computer screen, and ignoring everything around her, including the customers who had just walked in the restaurant. No welcome, no greeting, no eye contact, no smile. I'm not sure if she was the owner, or what role did she play in the restaurant. As we waited there for someone to take us to our table, a Hispanic young lady server came out, greeted us with a smile, asked us what we wanted to drink, and took us to our table. The dining area and the area where the buffet was placed was very clean, and most of the great variety of the items there looked fresh and were warm and ready to enjoy. We both got a plate and filled them up with the items we wanted from the buffet. It was nice that every item was labeled as to what it was. We sat down and comfortably enjoyed our meal. Everything tasted delicious. Our server came by with refills of our drinks which were iced Dr. Pepper drinks. We then went to the Dessert station and had some desserts and I made sure to also take a fortune cookie. We then tipped our server and my friend went to pay the bill at the counter. As we were leaving, I made sure to day Thank you in Chinese to the lady behind the counter and got her to smile.

Not a bad place, the closest Chinese restaurant near where I live. I like it better than my husband, who usually only gets the General Tso's and complained that the sauce was too sweet and overpowering and the chunks of chicken too big. I do have to agree with him that they are very saucy, but just tell them "light sauce" and they do comply. I usually go there for lunch and order off the menu. Yes, you can get the buffet by the pound to go but that would cost a lot, I would think, and ordering off the menu is fresher, pretty fast and made to order. The prices are good, $5 total will get you a big plate of wonderfulness. The Roast Pork in Garlic sauce is good, if a bit too saucy (again, need to remember to ask them to lighten that up next time) and loaded with vegetables. A plus for them on their roast pork -- it's sliced right off the tenderloin in chunks and not thin strips like most Chinese restaurants. Their buffet seems very popular but again, they are the closest thing around. Asian Buffet (see my other review) has closed -- again. Don't know what is up with those people. Ordering from the menu for takeout is better, cheaper, made-to-order, but this is how I always order, I've eaten the buffet once and I'm not a fan of them, so you'd have to try it yourself. Lunch Buffet is $5.49, Dinner $8.49 as of this writing. To go is $3.50/lb for lunch, $4.50/lb for dinner.