China Lights

Just On Time

 

Tony and his wife took over the original China Lights Oriental Cuisine in Eagle River around 1996, and they have continued to maintain the restaurant’s good reputation in the community ever since. Recently, he expanded the legacy of China Lights Oriental Cuisine to the city of Anchorage, Alaska.

 

The second China Lights Oriental Cuisine opened to immediate critical acclaims in mid 2007 with rave reviews for its exterior design and uniquely diverse menu offerings. This refined, and inventive establishment is one of the most spacious buffet restaurants in Alaska, with over 110 varieties of food selections. The superb super buffet offers vibrant and vivid flavors of all you can eat Chinese, Thai, Japanese and other oriental cuisines.

 

Start off your wonderful dining experience with appetizer delights such as Fried dumplings, cream cheese wonton, and tender chicken on the stick. Patrons will surely enjoy extremely delicious soups such as the hot and sour, egg flour, San Shan, and wonton soup. Satisfy your seafood cravings with delectable offerings of oysters, mussels, fishes, baby scallops, king crabs, snow crabs, and baby lobsters.

This tremendously innovative eatery provides the community of Anchorage with the largest salad and sushi bar in Alaska. Sushi favorites such as California Rolls, Shrimp Tempura and Caterpillar Rolls are prepare by highly trained sushi chefs, each with more than 10 years of experience in the business. China Lights Oriental Cuisine is also unique in the sense that it provides a rare offering of Dim Sum. Chefs use the freshest ingredients to make dim sum classics such as sticky tea leaf, crystal dumplings and sweet buns, all of which are prepare fresh for the buffet line.

 

Tony remodeled the buffet restaurant with brand-new Chinese-inspired paintings, glass windows with bamboo-engraved art, marble floors, terracotta statues and tables with designs that include cranes, crawfish and exotic birds. The restaurant has a capacity of over 250 seats and has over 110 different buffet options, including sushi, salad, soup and appetizer bars.

 

As an effort to outreach to Anchorage’s Asian community, China Lights Oriental Cuisine has included a bounty of cold selections such as kim chi, garlic marinated seaweed, papaya salads, reddish, and fish cakes. It also features a wide variety of American dishes such as home made pizzas, steaks and chickens for those seeking more of a western flavor.

 

To ensure customers of a safe and healthy dining experience, Tony strictly instructs his chefs to prepare meals using the least amount of oil and no MSG, and to use a lot of fresh vegetables. Tony reasoned that high quality food should not require the use of any chemicals. China Lights Oriental Cuisine is distinctive in a sense that it purchase the freshest vegetables and seafood products on a daily bases. It sticks to its freshness philosophy by constantly changing buffet items to ensure the best quality. The restaurant also has an abundance of tofu selections with mixed chinese vegetables dishes for customers seeking a healthy balance to their meals.

 

This glorious buffet has been the talk of the town. It gets incredibly packed during dinnertime and weekends. Customers in the Anchorage area appreciate the fact that the new China Lights Oriental Cuisine is extremely family-friendly, with menus for both adults and kids.

 

The second coming of China Lights Oriental Cuisine in Anchorage is perfect for birthday parties, wedding banquets, and Christmas parties with an extremely elegant party room that accommodates approximately 110 people. In addition, the eatery offers a stylish VIP room that is ideal for business meetings. It is wonderfully furnished with precious antiques with hand made silver ware, and holds up to a party of 20. They also have an extensive catering service that often caters for local school events and inhouse parties. The entire China Lights Oriental Cuisine family shows its appreciation to the community by giving frequent donations throughout the years. They usually donate to the Alaska Shriners, kids programs, hospitals and have sponsored many police fundraisers.

Both China Lights Oriental Cuisine locations are distinctive for their cleanliness and customer service attributes. Staff members place tremendous weight on the importance of maintaining a clean working environment. They are extremely friendly towards customers and are capable of resolving problems in a quick manner. All waiters and waitresses at the new China Lights are bilingual in English and Chinese and are very well-mannered.

 

Whether you are ordering take-out at the first China Lights Oriental Cuisine, or dining at the second one, you will see a striking similarity in its family-oriented, fun atmosphere. Staff members are constantly have fun while interacting with each other and customers. They all get along and treat each other like family members. Their sincere customer hospitality has won them many acclaims and has attributed to their abundance of repeat customers.

 

Managing a business operation in Alaska is a tough task. Tony faced many obstacles along the way, including shortages of employees interested in job openings, and horrible weather conditions during the winter. It was difficult, but Tony was able to accommodate for the lack of labor force by hiring employees from out of state. Weather conditions are of high concern because China Lights Oriental Cuisine receives almost 70 percent of its business from deliveries during the winter.

 

“I want to make customers feel comfortable when they walk into my restaurant. I want them to fee like they are walking into their own kitchen.” Tony said.

 

Their success throughout the years could be traced back to their underlying business principle. Tony strongly believes in the notion that patrons should have an opportunity to enjoy a pleasant dining atmosphere, with great food and at an affordable price. Tony constantly strives to please his customers by paying extra attention to detail. If a problem arises, he will try to get to the bottom of it to ensure that it never occurs again.

 

“I just want customers to be happy. I have always been dedicated in providing the freshest and highest quality of food here at China Lights Oriental Cuisine,” Tony said. The original China Lights Oriental Cuisine still provides excellent take-out and delivery services for the people in Eagle River, while the new China Lights is currently the largest and classiest dine-in restaurant in Anchorage. Tony surely has a win-win situation on his hands.

 

China Lights 1

 

12110 Business Blvd. Eagle River AK 99577

Tel: (907) 694-8080

 

China Lights 2

 

9220 Old Seward Highway Anchorage, AK 99515

Tel: 907-522-5888