A picture is worth a thousand words, but I’m wondering if this applies to buffets, since the picture can change every hour. The photos on the menu at China King Buffet in Glasgow depict fresh, abundant food and when we arrived for a late lunch, the picture was worth a thousand bites of fresh, appetizing edibles.

I started with a plate of chicken dishes – sweet and sour chicken, orange-flavored chicken, chicken with broccoli – and a large pile of sautéed green beans. Each dish was consistently fresh, balanced in flavor combinations, colorful and not overcooked.

The green beans snapped with flavor in each bite. The broccoli chicken included small water chestnuts the size of pearls that thoroughly enhanced the flavor of the dish. My experience with water chestnuts is that large chunks can overpower the flavor of the meat and vegetables. Not so here. They were so small I mistook them for cashews at first, but each time I ate one, I was pleasantly surprised.

I went back for a bowl of soup and settled on wonton soup. The wontons were some the biggest I’ve seen, and plumped full of a meat-and-vegetable filling. The chicken broth was mild – not too salty nor too watery, which can be the case sometimes.

China King Buffet is, like most Chinese buffets in the community, a combination of American, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. The buffet not only included Chinese dishes (which I love to eat with chopsticks), but dishes like ribs, roast beef, salmon, sushi, a salad bar and an extensive dessert bar. I would have eaten more, but I quickly ran out of room.

After an hour, I went back to get a plate of food to go. The food was still fresh, still flavorful, of course, but the selection and amount of food available had dwindled.

I wanted to focus on beef dishes this time, but could only find two that still had food in their bins. I decided on a few appetizers like beef on a stick and egg rolls, as well as egg foo young served with a sweet sauce, fried rice and vegetable lo mein.

Again, all flavorful, fresh and a pleasure to eat. The consistency was uncanny for a buffet. I wonder how they do it.

Now that I’ve lulled you into the calm, quiet, delectable, yet introspective experience I was having that day, I have to say the rest of the meal played out like a scene from a movie! A young boy who was placing flatware on each table befriended and jokingly entertained us. Our fortune cookies arrived and sat in front of us for a while as we talked and talked. Then a jolt of magic. When we opened them, one of them spoke right to our conversation.

The things turned dim. In the middle of the restaurant, two employees stood with a huge mound of Rangoon filling, stuffing it with their bare hands into triangular-shaped pastry. When customers needed to pay or the phone rang, one or the other would go to the counter to help, then come back to what they were doing without washing their hands, without putting on gloves and without covering the food when they left again.

I hate to burst the picturesque bubble, but that’s what happened. The food was enjoyable, the prices are reasonable (lunch buffet is $5.25 or $2.99 a pound to go and soft drinks are only 89 cents) and the staff is friendly, but I sincerely hope they read this review and make a change. I really would like to go back.

China King Buffet

106 Shane (Festival Plaza), Glasgow

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mon.-Thur.; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday

Cuisine: Chinese/Japanese/American

Libation situation: None

Smoking: Yes