Chinese Restaurant

I think the real name of this place is something like Hua Yung Buffet. My receipt got wet, but that’s what it looks like.
We ended up going here at 8:45 on a weeknight in hopes of finding something that a) wasn’t fried, and b) had vegetables. We figured if it looked scary (which ANY buffet can be that late on a weeknight in any small town), we’d just leave and find something else.
It’s not fair to rate this place against the Chinese food I’ve had in large cities that have the population base to support authentic Asian foods, so I’m rating it in comparison to other food we had in the Clarinda area and on its own merits. Even so, it’s better than some Chinese buffets I’ve had in much larger towns.
The place is time-​worn, and it’s not very promising from the outside. That said, the service is warm and friendly, and the buffet is well maintained — clean, at proper temps, and with a wide variety of foods. There are some selections that made me wonder why they were on a Chinese buffet, but I figured that was a concession to being one of the few «ethnic» restaurants in a small town.
The egg drop soup was very nice, as good as any I’ve had. Eggrolls were a tad mushy, but not bad. (The mustard had a weird flavor and wasn’t very hot, though.) The crab ragoon were fresh and had a good amount of filling. There were plenty of dishes to choose from, even at that late hour, and the host graciously offered to have more made if we ran out of anything. And, yes, there were vegetables in the dishes, which made me very happy. There is a dessert area with a surprisingly good rice pudding (I assume that’s one of the concessions to the local population), fresh fruits, some canned fruits, and small individual pastries and cakes. I didn’t try any of the baked goods, being more interested in the fresh melon and whatever that addictive pudding was. I was a little surprised they didn’t have green tea, but the hot tea they serve has a nice flavor and was freshly prepared.
In spite of the late hour, we never felt rushed or as if they were waiting for us to leave. There were two or three other tables eating when we arrived, and I think one other couple came in while we were there.
Dinner for two came in at just under $ 20. We thought that was very fair and reasonable, and we’d go back again. I thought it was a far better experience than the «trendy» place we’d eaten at the night before.