Forbidden City
Topic: Restaurants
Posted: Mon, Nov 7, 2005 
I hate Chinese buffets. Actually, I don't really like any buffet. It's that whole "quantity vs. quality" issue. I'm all about variety, but the point of most buffets seems to be to encourage you to undo you belt a few notches and shovel in as much food as quickly as possible, quality be damned.
Chinese worse because you don't have a really clear cut picture of what a dish is supposed to look like in its pristine state, vs. what it might have turned into after four hours under a heat lamp. It's all hidden under a viscous sea of brown cornstarch-thickened primordial goo. And is that really chicken? If you can't tell, then why are you eating it?
So, it was with much bitching and eye rolling that I first joined my colleagues at Forbidden City for lunch. And you know what? It wasn't half bad.
For the price of eight bucks and change, you're led to a table where a server quickly takes your drink order and then sets you loose on the buffet, a four-sided extravaganza with two added side tables with even more food. There must be at least fifty choices with a lot of variety in texture and color. There are lots of veggie dishes, which is perfect when you have vegetarians in tow.
It would be impossible to list everything here, but some of our favorites are peanut pork, Buddha's delight (veggies in a white sauce) mu shu vegetables (with the pancakes!), General Tso's chicken, baked salmon, garlic-ginger green beans, pineapple cream cheese dumplings, candied yams, three different soups, and steamed pork dumplings, to name a few. They also have a table full of desserts, including carrot cake, flan, and soft serve ice cream (and fortune cookies, of course). Note that a lot of these entrees aren't what one might call traditional Chinese restaurant fare--there's plenty here for people who say they don't like Chinese food.
Forbidden City draws a good-sized lunch crowd, so the runners are constantly replenishing the trays (no four-hour-old primordial ooze). The buffet area is kept nearly spotless.
The dining area is pretty basic--there's little in the way of Chinese restaurant knick knacks--but it's clean and the big windows let plenty of natural light in. Our drinks were refilled frequently. And because you pay up front, you can dine and then leave at your leisure.
Directions
3938 East 82nd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46240
Phone: 317-845-8989
Ratings
Food/Beverages: 
Service: 
Atmosphere: 
Price: $
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Comments
1. Feb 5, 06 02:23 AM | Weekend Night Owl said:
I still cannot stand to eat here. It is too loud and generic.
If I want good chinese food I head to House of Cheung's at 71st street and Keystone. The buffet is about a fourth of the size of many of the buffets around town but this one makes up for it with higher quality. Everything is freshly made by the owner in the kitchen when he is not out in the dinning room shaking hands and making sure everything is alright. The biggest reason is this lovely buffet doesn't hit the wallet too hard at only $5.25 including tax!
2. Mar 16, 07 12:40 PM | John Stewart said:
This is my favorite restaurant in Indianapolis. The food is the best quality with the best selection.
3. Feb 14, 08 06:07 PM | Janet DelPrince said:
This is our favorite restaurant in all of Indianapolis. We visited there today and found it was closed indefinetly. What a disapointment! Can someone please let us know what happened to this wonderful, enjoyable restaurant that was so favored by so many. Thank you for your many years of fine service.
4. Jun 3, 08 11:52 AM | Jonathan said:
They closed to "retire". I am heartbroken. During the week the buffet was "normal" but Saturdays and Sundays the place EXPLODED with traditional ethnic offerings.
Anyone out there know where to go now?
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