My mother-in-law and I were recently traveling back from Kentucky when we happened upon hunger when she spotted this Chinese restaurant on the side of the road. It seemed like any ordinary Chinese you would come across, so I(being me) checked the reviews and to my surprise and delight, the reviews were outstanding! So, we checked it out.

Now, full disclosure. I usually hate buffets. The food sits for too long, there’s usually flies, and they usually, while seemingly a good idea, are actually a money pit for restaurants. At Peking, I noticed everyone was eating from the buffet. I asked for a menu, and then, went to check out the buffet as well. I decided to risk it. I hadn’t eaten from a Chinese buffet in years, but this one looked fresh, and I noticed, to my great delight, that a lady was walking around tending to it almost every time I went up there – cleaning it, pulling out anything that looked subpar. I was impressed, so I ordered the buffet.

And I was blown away. The chicken cuts were excellent. I didn’t get a single piece of grizzled in the meat. Here are my notes on each dish:

– The ragoons were excellent. Both filling and texture were perfect, and the taste took me back to my childhood.

– Egg drop soup was disappointing to me. I’m not an expert in egg drop soup, but the texture threw me way off. It felt like the eggs weren’t cooked enough. So, that was a no from me.

– Lomein was good.

– Almond Chicken and Veggie were bland for my taste.

– Sesame chicken was my favorite. I went back for seconds.

Overall, the buffet was hot and fresh and lovely.

Would I recommend a rebrand?

This is a more complex question than you might think. If the restaurant would like to expand beyond Lebanon, TN OR if they are looking to create a distinguished brand, then I would say, “Yes!” They have the local audience on lock. They rank first when you search “Peking Lebanon” or “Chinese food in Lebanon” which is awesome and I bet they are doing pretty well with that one restaurant, but if they choose to grow their restaurant or create a chain, I would recommend renaming the restaurant. There are 10+ Chinese restaurants with the name Peking within a 2-hour radius of my area, and they would want a more unique authentic name and experience for their customers to latch onto if they are planning for growth.

Highly recommend check them out! You can visit them here.