Xmas Even Dinner at Great King Buffet

My family has a long and wonderful tradition of pretending to be Jewish on Christmas Eve...



By which I mean we go out to eat at Chinese restaurants (and Indian, and Mexican, etc.) Given that Dan & I moved to possibly the most Jewish community in Seattle (how many synagogues are in YOUR neighborhood?) it seemed particularly poetic this year to be going to the Great King Buffet for Christmas Eve dinner.



Great King is up in Lynnwood, just off I-5 at the 44th/196th exit. And it's HUGE.



There were, I think, 4 rows of steam tables, each easily 12 feet long, plus a sushi stand and dessert stand. The variety was amazing and quite Pan-Asian, for example the kim chee was really great (and spicy), and the General Tsao's chicken was good too.



I tried to remain conservative and not gorge, but with so many options, it's hard not to want to try everything. So I stuck to getting one piece of each thing that caught my eye, so I could sample a lot of flavors. I ended up having two plates of food, but without getting stuffed.



As you can see, I tried some unagi sushi, a little octopus, walnut prawns, some broccoli, pineapple, and rice pudding, and a few other items in my first round.



Then I went for a dim sum themed plate, with a glutinous rice packet wrapped in leaves, a 'peach bun' filled with red bean paste, a shumai, a crab rangoon, an egg roll, and a couple pieces of General Tsao's chicken...



Plus one gyoza, since my new office mate said to have one for him.



And of course, we all got fortune cookies at the end of the meal, though some were a bit more ominous than your standard fare. Mine, however, said it was a good day for romance.



And our placemats reminded Dan & I that 2010 will be the year of the Tiger - which is the year we were born, so this should be a good one for us both.



(After Great King Buffet, we retired to my folks' place in Clearview to exchange gifts and let our dinner settle before tackling some apple struedel courtesy of my mom, gingerbread cupcakes made by my sister, and some candies Dan & I made. Among other great gifts, we got some new silicon baking mats and a handmade french rolling pin my mom turned from wood on her lathe.)