Forbidden City provides guests with a comfortable environment for dining, where they can enjoy more than 100 different recipes from the buffet, hibachi grill and sushi bar. "We are a high-end buffet - a clean comfortable place," says manager Ken Phuong. "The atmosphere here is different from other buffet restaurants."
For Valentine's Day there will be a special celebration at Forbidden City. Couples who are 21 and over and choose to dine in at Forbidden City on Valentine's Day will each receive a free glass of champagne with their meal.
The buffet offers a variety of global cuisine including several Thai food favorites like Pad Thai and Thai chicken. Chinese entrées include favorites like Szechuan, Hunan and General Tso's chicken. A dessert buffet features eight flavors of ice cream along with fruits and traditional pastries and cakes.
"We change our food around all the time to give variety," Phuong says. "We rotate the dishes all the time so they are fresh. We have mussels with black bean sauce that is new and fried frog legs are available most of the time."
Forbidden City features a hibachi grill where guests can pick out their favorite meats and vegetables along with one of the restaurant's in-house sauces. All the fresh ingredients are combined and prepared by professional hibachi chefs when ordered.
The restaurant's sushi bar is often staffed by up to three sushi chefs, who are responsible for preparing more than 30 different sushi recipes every day. During dinner, the selection at the sushi bar includes more expensive varieties such as fresh salmon, tuna and eel. This spring, the restaurant will release a new menu so guests who don't like buffet dining can order their favorite entrée in an individual portion.
Happy hour is available every day from 3-5 p.m. with buy one, get one free select house wines.
"Our bar is convenient and close to the buffet," Phuong says. "People who want to watch the ball game can sit there and watch football or whatever they want to watch.
" Forbidden City is designed openly, so diners can see into the kitchen to the food preparation for the buffet. The granitetopped buffet stations and tables have a generous amount of space in between, so nobody is rubbing shoulders from one entrée to the next. The 10,000-square-foot restaurant is separated into dining nooks that can also be reserved for large groups and special events.
"If you have a reception, we don't charge for the room if there are over 20 people," Phuong says. "You can also request special food and we can make it and bring it out just for them."
ADDRESS: 2273 Gunbarrel Road
PHONE: 305-1087
HOURS: Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
NICE TO KNOW: Guests celebrating their birthday who dine in with six additional guests or more can choose between receiving a free meal or, if they are over 21, a bottle of champagne.