Ling’s Café

REVIEWS ARE MISLEADING!!! Yeah I’m not really sure where all these good reviews are coming from, maybe people who work there or know the owner. I agree with the persons review who said the food was «congealed and he had to spit it out». I went there Christmas Day, around 3 for a late lunch. You would think they would have a decent buffet. Awful selection. No beef options. the rice looked more like Spanish rice then fried rice, and wasn’t even on the buffet, but put aside in a crockpot… Weird. The food had no flavor. My husband had some stuffed clam looking thing on his plate and it looked like it had mushy cheese in it, he had to spit it out. Needless to say, I had indigestion the rest of the day after eating there. Just AVOID THIS PLACE!!!

Not just a Chinese Restaurant and all you can eat buffet, Ling’s Café offers food for every taste. The buffet includes appetizers, two soups, a large variety of fried rice and noodles, a larger variety of entrees, salad bar and dessert bar. The menu selections include a diet menu as well as dinner combination platters, sushi bar and chef specialties. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. The night we visited, there was a steaming pot of crawfish as one of the selections, several varieties of egg rolls and spring rolls, and twice baked potatoes.
I’m not a big buffet fan. I usually find buffet food to be just above warm, but the temperature of the food on the buffet tables is good. Prices range from $ 6 for lunch on the buffet to $ 10 for some of the Chef’s Specials from the menu. Price for dinner buffet is $ 8.99.
The restaurant was very clean. Lots of booths or tables. Areas are separated for privacy, so that you don’t feel like you are in a big room. There is a separate large room for meetings.
Wait staff was prompt for beverages, refills, and clearing the tables. Food was replenished quickly on the buffet tables.

Limited selection and items w congealed, concentrated sauces that i literally had to spit out. Never seen crab ragoons w no cream cheese in them. The cucumber salad was amazing though.
Also, while they do have many items, they are for the mongolian bbq or desserts or american fanfare. I went there for classic Chinese. They had no beef and broccoli, no moo goo gai pan, no cashew chicken. So i will not be going back.

Very good buffet for all the Chinese food lovers! Employees are very nice but could refill your cup more often and give you more than one napkin.

Lings is another treasure North Topeka has! There food is always hot and fresh. The owner and staff are very pleasant friendly people! Lings is the #1 place for Chinese food in town. They were open on Christmas and Thanksgiving and it was awesome! A very nice break from traditional food at that time of year and one could not avoid thinking about the scene in Christmas Story when that is where they ended up eating Christmas dinner :):)
Keep up the good work Lings and thanks for being consistently great!!!

It was a sad day in Topeka when Sun’s Chinese closed. However, Ling’s is filling the vacuum nicely and has shot to my #1 favorite Chinese restaurant in Topeka. The food is fantastic, it’s plated beautifully and served by a great wait staff who really cares. The dining room is teeny and almost always full but it’s decorated tastefully and lends to a pleasant dining experience. And the prices are great — lunch specials under $ 5 and dinner under $ 7. This is definitely a hidden jewel in North Topeka.
UPDATE: After being closed for months on end (and scaring us that they were not going to reopen) Lings has come out of the cocoon, bigger and better. We visited the Monday after they opened and were very pleased with the changes. There is now a buffet selection with at least 40 items to choose from, along with a Mongolian Grill to give HuHot a run for their money, AND a Sushi selection. They also have a giant dessert «boat» and ice cream in cute little pre-​packaged containers in a freezer near the restrooms.
There was genuinely a great selection. I’ve never seen Egg Foo Young on a buffet. They had it along with many other tasty dishes. And, the price was just $ 6.29 for lunch and $ 8.59 for dinner — plus, they have their old menu to choose from as well.
I still love them and hope Ling, the owner, can maintain the quality she’s served up so far. Can’t wait to go back!