Nanking Chinese

Reviews 4

RO

Rodney S

Is there a better lunch buffet in Little India? I got Nanking for you, man! $7.95 lunch buffet Im the buffet boss, especially when it comes to Little India. Nanking Chinese restaurant recently opened up in Little India Village, occupying the former home of Tangy Tomato. The cuisine consists of Indian, Chinese & Nepalese dishes. First thing I wanted to try? The Chinese food. Haka noodles & fried rice- Surprisingly well done, the noodles & rice werent oily or salty. Neither were they spicy. These were light & excellent tasting. Hot & sour and sweet corn soup- I found these absolutely delicious! Both were thick & hearty, moreso than the ones Im accustomed to from Chinese restaurants. Rich in flavor, I favored the hot & sour soup because of the savory over the sweet from the sweet corn, but both are fortifying and warming to the soul. Manchurian veggie balls- Looking just like meatballs, the Manchurian veggie balls were mealy in texture, but the sauce contributed a spicy tanginess. Close your eyes, and youll think youre eating meat. Nepalese & Indian food. Bagara baingan- I love me some eggplant, and these were terrific. Fork tender & bright, the bagara baingan were one of the highlights for me. Chicken pakora- Think boneless wings. The chicken pakora were succulent & juicy, with a light, crunchy coating. I can put away about a ton of these watching Walking Dead or Ancient Aliens. Know what Im sayin? Other favorites included daal, paneer, chicken biryani, goat curry & samosas. Unfortunately, no momos (dumplings) are offered during the lunch buffet. Dessert- The buffets dessert section was comprised of fresh fruit (cantaloupe & pineapple), jello & the sinfully addictive mango soufflé- Reminding me of the mango pie filling I make using cans of mango pulp & Knox unflavored gelatin, this was akin to whipped mango pudding. Sweet, but not too sweet. Slightly ethereal, but enough substance to coat the tastebuds with the flavor profile of sweet Indian mango. I demonstrated the utmost restraint & kept myself from taking the entire tray of mango souffle for myself. Service was good. My plates were cleared in a timely manner & my soda water w/lime filled. Plenty of table seating inside, hospitable to large groups & gatherings. Several flatscreen TVs with Indian music videos & the BBC for your viewing pleasure. Parking is in a private lot at Little India Village. Be mindful that parking is strictly enforced. Your car may be towed if you leave to walk down Pioneer Blvd. Nanking Chinese is on the second floor of the South Wing of the shopping center. Feel like a king for a paupers price! Nanking Chinese offers up delicious Indian/Chinese/Nepalese cuisine at a bargain basement price. I immensely enjoyed helping myself to the lunch buffet, the highlights being the chicken pakora, bagara baingan, the samosas, the soup. Pretty much the entire buffet. Nanking Chinese is a welcome addition to the competitive Little India market & Ill be a frequent visitor whenever my tummy hankers for Himalayan food once more. Highly recommend! NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM

PE

Pete Shieh

For the lunch Buffet if you check do the Yelp check- in, its $7.99. I however, did the Groupon. Its the $10 for $20 but the voucher states its only from Tuesday-Friday. On the 2nd floor of the plaza (parking plenty free in the lot), this I believe is a difficult location in the past due to low visibility. Its a semi-circle, full of windows with red drapes, reminiscent of Chinese dining. The buffet is located on the wall next to the kitchen. Before I talk about what is good and what I didnt like on the food, I want to let you know the flavors were all there but quality could be better. I guess for a $8 buffet (Or $5 in my case), they werent really going to make much money. The Garlic Naan Bread-ask for it. However, ours came out crispy. More like a quesadilla with flavorings. The Saag Paneer. The cheese tasted super soft. Good flavoring, didnt taste fresh but I would get it again. Chicken Tikka -Probably the best dish here. Tasted fresh and flavorful but doesnt taste like it has Ghee on it. There are sides of onions and lemons further down the station. Chicken Biryani-This came out a little later after we came in. It was a full try of it and actually quite good. Yes, there are a couple of curries, both were decent but not much meat. Theres not really any Chinese dish here. No dumplings (Momos) for the lunch buffet. There was a Jalapeno dish that tasted like a the Chinese Eggplant dish. And service here is quite good. The younger gentleman always asked if we needed anything. Also the lady comes around and asks if we wanted beer. For some of the bad, not every dish had a name on it. Most of the dishes Ive had at one time or another (theres really not that many for the buffet). The ones that looks like it was deep fried or with a lot of sauce, I skipped. Our table was wobbly, some eating wasnt really enjoyable until we moved to the other side of the table. The mango pudding tasted like mango lassi with more condensed milk and chilled. A bit too sweet for me. Overall, this is not a bad buffet if you want something different. Its cheap, fast, and friendly. Selections could be better, but you are getting what you paid for here. Oh and my stomach didnt quite agree with the food that I ate here, so I had to take off for that making this place just okay. Otherwise, it wouldve been 4 stars.

AR

Arvind Ramraj

This place has literally changed so many names over so many years, its kind of a nostalgic landmark for me given the fact that its been more than 4 years having moved away from LA after spending my entire school life over there. So basically for me n my buddy it was a home coming scenario. Actually we were craving biryani and went over to mezban but they had so many menu item unavailable so hoped over to Nanking. Started with some Hayward 5000 they give you some complimentary namkeen to go with the beer, then we got a chicken 65 and chicken lolipop both were crazy awesome, perfectly spiced, nicely cooked and portions were good for two people. They were also accompanied with sauce which were different than the regular mint and tamarind ones. Then we went on to order some Chicken momos, those were something that i have never tasted before. Same like dumplings but the fillings were purely desi, spicy minced chicken with herbs served with a kind of korma tasting curry. Not to forget the complimentary papad. The appetizers in itself was so good and enough to satisfy two very hungry guys so we skipped the main course. Service was amazing and being from Bay area where Indian food prices are jacked up the overall Bill seemed as if we were given some kind of discount. Definitely a place to come back during my next visit, since the main course were left untried thats the reason going with 4 stars for now.

YE

Yena Choi

If there was an option to give 0 stars, I would. This is NOT a Chinese restaurant. My husband and I had a terrible experience here and we are never going back. Right as we walked in, we didnt know it was a buffet--it would have been great if there was a sign! The restaurant was severely understaffed, the quality and variety of the food they served was horrendous and laughable, and the "cleanliness" of the establishment was deplorable (our table was not clean). I asked for a highchair 4 times and I never got one for my child. We had to use our stroller as the highchair (what the heck?) and when the server walked past us, he didnt even apologize nor acknowledge that we didnt have a highchair. What sort of a business is this? Our glasses were not refilled promptly and thus my husband had to walk up to the back counter with both our glasses to get it refilled. Also, the waiter came by to tell us they were closing in 10 minutes when we just got there. Dont seat anyone if the restaurant is to be closed so soon! Wow, poor service. After quickly eating the nasty food, my husband had to track down one of the three waiters to get a check, so we could leave as soon as possible. Service, food, everything about this place needs to be improved. $12.99 is asking way too much for this atrocious "buffet" restaurant. We are never coming here. This restaurant is a huge disappointment.