The Scene:

After spending half a year and traveling half of American, Hong Kong Buffet’s owner, Mr. Shan, finally found the good location for his restaurant. The restaurant is located in a very busy, high-traffic area near many clothing boutiques and a large-scale Wal-Mart. “The flow of customers is really amazing. We are blessed with this location,” comments Mr. Shan. To accommodate this large flow of customers, the restaurant can hold an unbelievable 400 people, with a separate room for private parties of up to eighty people. The private room is equipped with a big TK, Kala OK, and other upscale features.

Despite the restaurant’s very busy location, Hong Kong Buffet’s goal is to create a traditional Asian atmosphere for customers to visit to enjoy the culture and relax. The walls are decorated beautifully with large Chinese paintings depicting natural Chinese scenes and traditional Chinese palaces.  A variety of American and Chinese music is played to represent both cultures, but the music is always soft to maintain the relaxing ambience. The lighting is also kept soft for this reason; there are pendant lamps, radiating different, subtle colors that weave together giving the restaurant a warm appearance. However, the main attraction of the interior décor is the large rockery and fish tanks in the center and front hall of the restaurant. There are large Japanese Koi fish in one of the tanks and a big Arowana fish in the other. Children love to watch the fish and play around the tanks.  

Fact Sheet:

• Name: Hong Kong Buffet


• Location: 1188 N Yarbrough Drive, Ste F1, EI Paso, TX 79925-7926


• Cuisine: Americanized Chinese Food, Asian fusion, Sushi, Mexican food, Italian food, Cantonese dim sum, Chinese Food


• Restaurant Concept : upscale


• Capacity: About 400


• Offers: Buffet, Take-out, Party Order


• Signature Dish: Steamed Tilapia Fish, Coconut Shrimp, and Seafood Delight Soup, Milky Rice Pudding


• Drinks: Beverage, Beer, Sake, Tea, Coffee, Sodas, Lemonades, Milk, Juices


• Desserts: Cake, Pudding, Pie, doughnut, Cookies, Chinese Dim sum, Ice Cream and more


• Year of establishment: 2001


• Phone: (915) 595-8883


• Owner: Mr. Shan

The Food:

There are a number of dishes offered at the Hong Kong Buffet, 150 items in total. Variety seems to be the key element here as the buffet offers a mix of Americanized Chinese food, Asian fusion, Sushi, Mexican food, Italian food, and Cantonese dim sum. The restaurant staffs eight to nine chefs per evening, to make sure these specialties are covered. This was Shan’s strategy to ensure no customer leaves his restaurant unsatisfied. The main flavors throughout the buffet are spicy and sour, as 70% of the customers are Mexican, and they have reported this is what they prefer at Hong Kong Buffet.

The top three dishes on the buffet are the Steamed Tilapia (prepared with the restaurant’s homemade special sauce), the Coconut Shrimp (dish with toasted shrimp), and the Seafood Delight Soup (sour and spicy seafood soup). While taste is definitely important when preparing dishes for the buffet, health is another important factor. “We are aware of the importance of health for our customers,” says Shan. “Customers needn’t worry about whether or not the food at Hong Kong Buffet is healthy.” All of the items in the buffet are cooked with little oil sand salt and no MSG.

The kitchen at Hong Kong Buffet is also top-notch when it comes to the freshness of food and ingredients. The kitchen makes sure that all of the ingredients are used within a short period of time. If anything in the kitchen expires, it is thrown away immediately. They will often have a serving of many of the buffet items to be sure everything is fresh and up to par for the customers.

The Service:

“The reason I like my career is because I have a platform to communicate with a lot of friends,” says Mr. Shan. He loves to make friends with his customers and tends to maintain nice friendships with the regular customers. He often receives letters of thanks and is invited to his customers’ parties. And it’s because of this model that Shan sets; friendly service is the staff’s main priority at Hong Kong Buffet. The staff members always greet each customer and introduce themselves. Shan and his staff are very passionate about what they do, and this passion is always apparent to the customers. Shan also keeps very good relationships with his staff members. “We are just like friends, we respect each other very much,” says Shan. The staff is very happy at Hong Kong Buffet and without complaints.

Hygiene is also important to Shan and his staff. Shan believes that good hygiene is the building block for providing overall good service. The restaurant is kept spotless at all times; the floor is swept constantly, the restrooms are cleaned every one hour, and the staff spends approximately one and a half hours cleaning the kitchen each night.

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The Owner:

Longing for a beautiful life, Shan came to the United States in 1995. However, his new way of life was not what he expected. Life in the United States was much more tough than he imagined it to be at first; he was emerged into a different culture, with different customs, living habits, and he had no choice but to learn to adapt. He attended school daily and worked at his uncle’s restaurant in the afternoons. After two years in high school, Shan ventured to New York City to begin his own restaurant career, opening a small take-out restaurant. His parents and sister joined him soon after to lend their hands. After several years of developing, Shan decided to expand his business, thus the opening of Hong Kong Buffet in 2001.

It is obvious that Shan loves his career, and his happy to devote as much time as needed to it. However, his career never overshadows his family. He cherishes his family and he thinks the key to doing well in life is to successfully balance a career and family. Shan is most happy to have accomplished this.