 This entry refers to a departed business that has closed or left town. All information here is for historical reference only. |
New Paint Job 
| Location |
| 223 F Street (in E Street Plaza, near Baskin Robbins) |
| Hours of Operation |
| Sun-Thurs: 11:00AM - 9:30PM |
| Fri-Sat: 11:00AM - 10:00PM |
| Lunch, Daily: 11:00AM - 3:00PM |
| Lunch Buffet Prices |
| Adult: $9.95 |
| Senior (age 65+): $7.95 |
| Kids (under 10): $5.75 |
| Kids (under 6): $3.75 |
| Kids (under 3): FREE |
| Payment Methods |
| Cash and all major credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, Discover, AMEX) |
| Phone |
| (530) 753-9203, (530) 753-4364 |
| Online Menu |
| Online Menu (Prices current as of May 24, 2011) |
| Closed |
| August 2012 |
The Great Wall of China II was a Chinese restaurant in downtown Davis. They had arguably the best Chinese Buffet in Davis. The main reason for this is that as of 2005, it was the only one to offer General Tso's chicken (also spelled Tsao). Now, a Chinese buffet isn't a Chinese buffet without the General Tso's chicken. An American creation (1972) named after Chinese General Tso Tsungtang, it's a deep-fried battered, sweet ginger-garlic spiced chicken dish.
They offered a number of other items, most of which are very good. Their lunch buffet was $9.95 ($8.95 with coupon in the Little Green Coupon Machine). You could get a to-go box which, if you didn't waste room on rice, would fit copious amounts of whatever sort of meaty stuff you wanted to put into it. If you wanted meat, that is. They also were one of a few places that offer lo mein.
For dinner, their special was suggested, assuming you paid the upgrade to get general chicken instead of King Pao or whatever.
Dine-in dinner after 3PM was 10% off with Student ID. Local delivery was available for purchases over $25 for $5, compared to the $2 of most restaurants in Davis.
Change in ownership: This restaurant had changed ownership since October 2010. The new owners brought new menu choices including new traditional Chinese dishes to its list of options in the nearest future. The new owners also sold frozen dumplings (Chinese: 水饺) on a to-go basis. It was priced at $6.95 for 18pc, and you got one (18pc) free when you bought three (18pc).
In addition, the restaurant allowed most substitutions/customizations at no additional cost. Here's what they did for free:
- No MSG
- Less oil
- Steamed (v.s. fried, for some menu items)
- More spicy / less spicy
- Brown rice (v.s. white rice, for lunch and combination items)
- Sauce / veggies substitutions
Lunch Buffet yum! 
Snow pea chicken lunch plate with black bean sauce & brown rice customization
Drew recommends the chow mein, the fried rice, the spring rolls, and the pot stickers. I made the mistake of not reading this before I went, and I can definitely attest to the fact that the wontons are terrible. The orange (?) chicken was pretty good too. Great deal, I stuffed myself. —Drew
They have a good take-out option, I believe, with a discount. There's a family dinner with several decent dishes for between $30 and $35 (I think it includes a deep-fried flounder, soup, a vegetable dish, and a beef dish) that will easily feed 4 people if you get rice as well. I'm not sure if it's on the regular menu, though, so you may have to ask for it over the phone. —CynthiaHe
I ordered the "special dinner for one" and it was a freaking ridiculous amount of food for one person for 10 bucks. I really hate it when people post good deals at shitty places, but that's what I'm going to do now. Two people can eat easily. —JoeConte
I ate here for lunch recently, and the waiter said that you don't get a to-go box with the buffet. I noticed someone come in and order a to-go box and he filled it with whatever was left of the s&s pork, so I'm assuming you only get the to-go box if you get a regular meal and not the buffet. —DaiNguyen
"And don't forget the plastic bags." —TaylorClark
2007-01-27 15:13:48 The food here isn't the greatest, but it's the best buffet in Davis hands down. If you want to stuff your face cheaply, this is the place to do it. —ChrisMay
2007-01-31 08:50:31 Anyone want to figure out the TOGOBOX trick!? o.O —FrankYoung
2007-03-21 12:01:48 I think the To-Go box deal is that you pay for the buffet but you are not staying to eat in restaurant so get as much as you can fit in the box for the price of the buffet. I've seen people try to cheap by dumping food in the bag and was stopped by the wait staff. —HuyTran
2007-03-23 21:44:45 Pretty tasty for Davis. Of course, can't hold a candle to what you can find in SF. The folks are rude, no surprise. —KeithJose
2007-03-28 10:25:45 The food here is okay... seems like they use MSG though... but overall, it's okay. I get food delivered since I live in West Davis and the driver is always nice to me. If you're looking for largely more authentic Chinese food, go somewhere else! Most of their food is very americanized. —CalvinCheng
2007-04-08 22:51:13 It's not bad for Davis. We always order the same thing which I think is their best stuff: seven-ingredients soup, orange chicken (best OC I've had), and hot braised tofu w/ vegetables. The best deal is their lunch buffet, though. —noahsark
2007-07-16 13:31:50 Food here is good except I agree that MSG is used quite a bit which makes it taste the same at times. Most dishes are "Americanized" but I doubt many eat pure Chinese food. —BrandonToo
2007-07-17 19:10:09 I like the general chicken the way it was cooked about 2 years ago i like smaller crunchier pieces , i must say they have made improvements, for example the cheese won ton has more cheese finally awesome they do listen to customers. Also the sweet & sour chicken is good easy dish but very good and crunchy. Great other vegetable dishes also the beef broccoli is great and tender beef, they really made this place way better check it out!! —dickjones
2007-08-20 23:13:36 I took out some lo fun and the spicy garlic broccoli a few nights ago. Service was friendly and the food was good. Nothing to write home about, but tasty. It's interesting to hear comments about MSG because you can totally taste it. I will definitely ask them not to use it next time. —HopeMirlis
2007-10-06 10:27:24 I really enjoyed several of their dishes; its way better than back home in Placerville! I highly recommend it for someone on a tight budget like me, and wants variety. *Service was prompt, kind and friendly *Lots of different kinds of great food *No free refills on sodas *Great Teriyaki Chicken for a (Chinese buffet) *Sushi not so good (tightly packed, very limited varieties) *Plenty of fried yummies
2007-10-06 11:44:45 Not the best chinese food in town, I usually go to silver dragon if I'm downtown. —AlexJohnson
2007-10-07 22:38:24 I went there for the lunch buffet today with some friends, and I'd have to say that Great Wall pretty much meets the expectations for any Chinese food buffet. Heaps and heaps of mediocre, but filling food for a reasonable price. Tons of grease and fried food = a good time for a hungry college student with limited funds. I must say, however, that towards the end of my meal, my roommate found a fly, charred black and wingless, in his fried rice after he finished about half of it. For some reason, I can't say that I didn't expect something like this to happen. That being said, I'll probably come back here in the future and just hope the flies avoid the wok next time. —BrianMac
2007-10-08 13:48:05 I went here at the beginning of the quarter with my friend five minutes before they closed. The owner was so nice and served us our small appetizer. They stayed open late and did not pressure us to leave at all. They also gave us more then the 10% discount. They're dumplings are AMAZING and I highly recommend them. —dirtyblondebear
2007-11-05 08:32:00 Me and my friends often hit the lunch buffet for a chinese binge... —WillJobe
2007-12-25 17:30:25 One would expect the quality of food at a buffet to be lackluster, but not here. The trick is just to know what to get. For me, it's egg flower soup, steamed rice, general chicken, some fruit, and their tofu dish. Maybe even some jello if I feel like it. —thelonepiper555
2008-01-07 13:47:11 Got two take out items here for the first time last night. Vegetable Fried Rice was amazing. And Kung Pao Tofu was very tasty. Three meals worth for 11 bucks. —desiree
2008-06-06 00:46:35 The lunch buffet is now $8.35/ person
funny thing is... the price was at $7.55 fall 07/08. In winter, price went up to $8.10.. Now (spring 08), the price soared to $8.35
one of the workers told me items were getting expensive; seems awkward since the price went up nearly a dollar less than a year. Well, I went to Raj's indian restaurant and the price remained the same.. woodstocks also —xcutioners
2008-06-06 01:39:26 $8.35 for their lunch buffet? That's starting to get a bit steep considering their buffet food is just OK. Honestly though, it doesn't surprise me that they are having to raise prices. Several times when I've been in there for the lunch buffet, groups of junior high or high-school kids have come in, chowed down, and then run out before the check comes. Perhaps they should re-format the buffet to pay before you eat. —RyanCoates
2008-06-07 14:24:46 To put my two cents in on the price raise, there IS a shortage of rice... and i suppose that has driven up the material price of things! Though i haven't visited them in awhile, i still crawl this page sometimes in case i want delivery... —CalvinCheng
2008-06-18 00:52:22 I found this place kind of not that great. Maybe because I had super high expectations for it, but I was pretty disappointed with the service. For chinese food that was extra greasy and just like packaged foods thrown together. Shrimp, canned mushrooms, packaged artificial crab..etc in everything. Super salty chicken..too. =/ Yikes! —MissAmyQ
2008-08-03 16:57:02 The last time I came here, I paid 10 dollars for the buffet. Hardly not worth it. —AvidSpots
2008-08-03 18:21:47 If I want Chinese (food), I'll go over to Woodland and have arguably the best Chinese Buffet in YOYO county for only $7.50. —shawn650
- but would you be spending at least that much just on gas..? AnthonyLam
2008-09-06 13:19:28 I got a ton of food here for a very small price. I stuffed myself, and the food was good. —ran123456
2008-10-31 16:54:51 it's cheap for a reason. —vchow
2008-11-21 14:05:05 pretty good food. The lunch special is unbeatable for 5 bucks. —manu
2009-02-20 20:03:31 Cold buffet food. Not very tasty. However, I have not had anything but the buffet, so maybe the freshly prepared items are better. —EricaMacGregor
2009-09-20 00:23:12 Ate here on a Monday night with my family and although the restaurant was empty, they sat us at a table right next to the only other people that were there... which we found strange. The table was sticky and the food was pretty terrible. But it was cheap, and they were really nice, so all I can say is that you get what you pay for. —JesBisagno
2009-12-04 10:58:48 I ate here with my family last night. while we were sitting a german cockroach ran behind me on the seat, my wife went to use the bathroom and they had NO working toilets, not even in the mens room. Our dinner came with a cup of hot and sour soup that was WAY too spicy (I have had hot and sour soup many times and this just had way too much pepper). I asked our server about it and he said if they dont make it spicy people wont order it, because it was obviously the soup of the day I was not going to demand they make a whole pot just so I could have another cup. Call me bold but I ate here despite the roach, the food was very good. Mu shu chicken was very flavorfull but I was annoyed by the service and facilities. —DagonJones
2010-05-11 12:33:17 Ordered here for delivery.... TERRIBLE idea
The mushu pork was so salty it was basically inedible, and the lo mein just seemed cheap and crappy
Better places to go in town, and house of chang does better delivery —JamesM
"2010-11-21 1:36:18" I went to this restaurant for the dinner last week with my friends. The owners are very nice couple and they told us that they took over this restaurant a month ago. The dishes are very delicious and service is so good and in addition as an grant opening bonus, we received a complementary dish having special traditional dumplings, which is one of their highlights as the owner mentioned, and they are really the best ones I have ever tried in Sacramento area. One of my friend said he will definitely come here every week to feed his big stomach while I am looking forward to trying their house-special bbq lamb next time. —FionaLee
2010-11-23 12:13:57 They now have some very nice lamb food. If you like lamb, please try there. —Guanyao
2011-01-12 21:41:34 If you want real authentic Chinese food, I would high recommend this place. (go for the dinner, especially the lamb dishes) If you want your old school Americanized Chinese food, go for the lunch. Last time we had 11 people and each paid about $8 for dinner and we ate so much that can't walk to our cars. —YuHou
2011-01-23 3:-7:43 I really enjoyed this place. I got the special dinner for one, the serving was HUGE for something that was about ten dollars. Fried rice was kinda 'meh' in my opinion, but probably goes well with whatever sauce is on the rest of the dish you order. The spring roll was nothing special. I had the pineapple chicken, my friends had the sesame chicken and general tso chicken. Sesame chicken and general tso tasted pretty similar (though that's pretty common in chinese restaurants from my experience). All the chicken was cooked well and tasted good. Service was good, though it wasn't a busy night when I went so I don't know what it's like when the server(s) are stretched out. I also ordered an egg fu young (big mistake, did not realize how much food this would be, could not even come close to eating all of it). The egg fu young was alright, I've had better but it was far from inedible. I will probably go back again whenever I'm craving chinese, unless I find someplace better for the price. My friends and I didn't have any of the more authentic stuff so we don't know what those are like, but it seems they've got americanized chinese food down pat. —AndrewJacobs
2011-03-04 21:23:48 I like this place and their food. They have good, if typical, prices for lunch specials, etc. Only complaint is this: They say they give 10% discount for to go orders, then charge the full amount. I picked up lunch there today and had the back and forth: "10% off for to go, 5.75." Isn't it already 5.75 on the menu? "Yes, but you get 10% off." Then he charged 5.75. Not that big a deal, but come on. —omgstarkitty
2011-03-11 23:43:20 Just so you go in with the right expectation, the food isn't that great. I had the Lunch Buffet, but NONE of it was craveable. None of the condiments were great, either. Eh. But if you're really hungry, go for it! —daviscatu8
2011-03-20 04:07:58 been here once before, didn't like it. Wanted to try it again just in case it was a fluke that the food wasn't good... I'm glad I tried again because I will never be coming back to this place again. The lunch buffet I tried makes Panada Express look like quality food and that's a feat all in itself. It's not like it's cheap either at 8.98 per person during buffet. The fried rice was pretty bad (how can a Chinese restaurant mess up friend freakin' rice). The brown rice was dry and extra chewy. Everything else you kinda want to just take a bite to try it and not return. I might sound like i'm too picky but if compared to Panda and this place is worse, then you've got problems. To each his own i guess... —C.Ling
2011-05-09 00:29:01 I haven't really tried their lunch buffet so I couldn't really comment although I really like their lunch specials. Usually they give you quite a bit of food and they do make the stuff fresh. They also give you a discount when you do take outs, but sometimes they just omit the tax in lieu of the discount, which is reasonable to me (maybe this is why some people have been complaining here?) So far so good I would say. Although they don't give you as much food as Jade Garden, the stuff here is less greasy and salty... :) —Wiiman
2011-05-09 11:09:51 Looking at the new menu uploaded today - does this mean they no longer have lunch specials and you can just order anything off the menu? Clarification would be helpful. Thanks! —Ravyn
2011-05-13 20:12:47 Sorry about that. They apparently are in the process of changing the menus and I am trying to grab the latest version of it. The latest version of it (with all of the pages) should be up now. —Wiiman
2011-05-13 23:40:45 I was writing a comment about their good food. But now I am really hungry cause of the pics... Damn it all. :( —Dozer
2011-05-18 13:38:43 I went there because I like the egg foo young 'pancakes' but they don't have them anymore. The menu is smaller and they have General Chicken but no General Tso's chicken. No lemon chicken either! The buffet price has gone up to 9.75 out the door, used to be only 6.00, so for that reason, I won't be going there again. The water they give you is heavily fluoridated and smells of chlorine. The food they did have was OK so if you like Chinese it's not a bad place. —cjsg
- In general (hehe), General Chicken is just another of many, many names for the dish also called General Tso's Chicken. It varies quite a bit as well. Is the General Chicken here not the same as what you'd expect? It's just a name for sweet and spicy chicken. ⁓ʝ⍵
2011-05-22 20:19:37 I had heard bad things about the food before, but my recent experience was good. I think the new management improved the food. —twblalock
2011-05-24 23:17:49 I can never decide if I like Great Wall of China or Hunan better (friendlier staff and larger portions at Great Wall, but I feel like the food at Hunan is usually slightly better). However, Great Wall of China has one great thing going for it- the lunch buffet. It's reasonably priced and there's a good variety of food. —KianaFreitas
2011-10-17 12:52:08 I have been there twice since the change of ownership, and will probably not head back. They have changed their hot and sour soup recipe to the point it seems to have no flavor, and getting three to four cups at a lunch visit used to be a main reason for going. —DCWine
2011-10-25 19:01:28 I continue to believe (and have for 15 years) that this is the best Chinese food in town. Generous portions and good service too~ —toriac
2012-08-15 21:37:32 I noticed that this place hasn't been open and the interior has been gutted recently. Is this restaurant departed? Hope it isn't; enjoyed the buffet —MikeFolf
2012-08-26 14:17:49 It's official. Great Wall of China II has closed. I dropped by in early August and they were closed for vacation for 10 days. Went by today (8/26/12) and it was gutted inside, with a sign indicating a Mexican restaurant is moving in. I'm so bummed. I loved their buffet. Lot of great memories. If the owners happen to read this, thanks for all the great food. You will be missed. —MichaelMacIntosh
Comments:
You must be logged in to comment on this page. Please log in.