China Cafeteria is located at 511 Market St. Click to enlarge.
photo by Janet Wilson
Wayne and I recently enjoyed lunch at the China Cafeteria located at 511 Market Street in downtown Chattanooga.
As with any cafeteria, you go through the line and make your selections. They do have a printed menu, but only prepare a set number of items each day, so everything on the menu is not offered every day.
On the day we had lunch, the China Cafeteria was serving Egg Drop Soup ($1.25), while there are two others on the menu (Wonton and Hot & Sour) served on other days. I found the soup to be quite tasty, not the thick (sickly) congealed type a lot of restaurants serve. It was also piping hot and served with a wax paper bag of crispy noodles.
I selected the Chicken and Broccoli ($4.95) with fried rice and was pleased with the rice since a lot of the Chinese restaurants seem to serve theirs terribly dry, while this had a bit of moisture left.
I was very surprised at the amount of food we were given for $4.95. I was full when we left, yet there was plenty left to fill my to-go box and enjoy later.
Wayne ordered the Szechuan Chicken (spicy) and felt it would be worth ordering again on a future visit.
Also offered are Egg Rolls ($1.75), a variety of appetizers ($3.75 to $4.75), such as Chicken Wings and Fried Wonton. Entrees consist of three vegetarian items, plus House Specials, Beef, Lo Mein, and Chicken. Meals you might find on future visits could be Garlic Beef, Happy Family, Shrimp Lo Mein or possibly Moo Goo Gai Pan.
This is a very small restaurant that has recently been taken over by new ownership. Hopefully they will continue with the hot, fresh food at reasonable prices. Entrée prices range from $4.50 to $6.25.
China Cafetera is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. and closed on Saturday and Sunday.
If you’re tired of the many Chinese buffets, why not check out the locally owned and operated China Cafeteria for a change of pace?
cdojanet@ChattanoogaDineOut.com
http://www.Janet-Wilson.com