China Pantry, San Bernardino

Two Item Combo Orange Chicken & Mushroom Chicken $5.89

China Pantry
103 Inland Ctr
San Bernardino, CA 92408-1916
(909) 388-1877

China Pantry is located in the food court at Inland Center Mall. It is your typical Chinese fast food. All of the items are held on a heated table and served up on plastic plates.

I do not ordinarily order Orange Chicken but today they were offering samples. It was fresh out of the fryer and tasted pretty good. It was a little sweet and probably would not order again, but it was flavorful. The Mushroom Chicken was also tasty. The meal was served with fried rice and noodles. All the items were fresh, and the portions were generous. I remember in the past I had been disappointed with the portion sizes for the price. They seem to have remedied that problem. The food is not great but it beats most of the competition in the mall. I would return for another meal in the future.

Food **

Ambiance **

Service **

Cost $

Repeat - Yes

King Buffet, San Bernardino

Food Bar



Sat/Sun Buffet $10.99

King Buffet
204 East Hospitality Ln
San Bernardino, CA 92408

(909) 885-2338

King Buffet is located in Restaurant Row at Hospitality Lane. I had not visited this location in many years, if I recall correctly it was formally South China Seas Buffet. An acquaintance had recently visited for lunch and had recommended.
From the outside of the King Buffet, one would think it to be nothing more than a cheap buffet. But never judge a book by its cover. The buffet included various dishes ranging from sushi to pizza. There was a salad bar that included some other cold items like olives, eggs, and crab. There was also a large assortment of fruit in the fruit bar which included honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple, bananas, oranges, and other delightful tasting fruits. Along with the fruit was some tapioca and chocolate pudding. For the main dishes, there was excellent choices. I especially enjoyed the BBQ beef as well as the orange chicken. Unlike other Chinese restaurants, the meat was not a small piece dipped in a huge amount of bread. And for seafood lovers there was salmon, scallops, crab legs, shrimp, and sushi. I saw many tables with King Crab legs piled high. The King Buffet also offered a Mongolian BBQ, where you choose items to cook with chow mien. The Mongolian BBQ included shrimp as a meat choice, the beef was a little chewy. Leave room for dessert! Their desserts include the ever delicious apple pie, lemon tarts, cream puffs, almond cookies, and other sweets. The service was very good, our server immediately removed dirty plates and refilled drinks. There were a big mix of customers, many Asians. I saw the owner of a local Vietnamese Restaurant dining with his family. King Buffet has a Lunch Special Monday through Thursday for $5.99, which is a great deal.

Food ***

Ambiance **

Service **1/2

Value $$

Open Kitchen, Redlands

Hot & Sour Soup, Egg Rolls

Fried Jumbo Shrimp $5.58, Combo Cashew Chicken, Combo Pepper Steak, Combo Open Kitchen Chicken. Combos include soup, egg roll and rice for $5.98.

Open Kitchen

402 Orange St
Redlands, CA 92374-3206
(909) 307-8899

Open Kitchen is located in a strip mall on Orange Street near the 10 Freeway. It is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the East Valley. Good Chinese out here is hard to find. All of the good chefs are in LA or the SGV. They have a thriving takeout business along with set down service. Big sign outside and on the menu states "No MSG". The decor is very spartan, they do have interesting pictures hanging of Chinese life and characters from the 30's. The kitchen is open and you can see the chef preparing your food, no steamtable food here. The food is served family family style, sharing is enjoyable. The service is minimal, not rude, but the servers are in a hurry and seem to toss the food at the table. Service is on plastic plates and styrofoam bowls. The food is delicious, fresh and inexpensive, check Open Kitchen out if you are in the neighborhood.

Food ***

Ambiance *

Service *

Expense - $

Repeat Visit? One of my favorites

http://open-kitchen.net/index.html

Lotus Garden, San Bernardino

Crispy style noodles served with hot tea before meal

Orange Peel Beef, Spicy Chicken, Pork Lo Mein

Lotus Garden
111 E Hospitality Lane
San Bernardino, CA 92408

(909) 381-6171


Lotus Garden is located on restaurant row at Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino. It is a big restaurant with fountain in the lobby. I am a frequent visitor to San Gabriel Vally and finicky when it comes to quality Chinese food. I have been decidedly pleasantly surprised by the food quality at Lotus Garden. The restaurant is a mixture of old style American Chinese with SGV quality food. A good authentic style Chinese restaurant is very hard to find in the IE. They serve family style so everyone can share the delicious dishes ordered. The chicken dishes have an abundance of meat and vegetables, the orange peel beef was crispy. The have very reasonable lunch specials for under $10.00. Service is much better than typical, will return soon.

Food ****

Ambiance ****

Service ***

Expense - ***

Repeat Visit? Yes