I'm OP. Thank you for your replies. PP, I had in fact been thinking of dim sum as a fall-back. Usually for dim sum we go to New Fortune, but if Hong Kong Pearl is better, I'd be willing to drive.

PP again, the place is Hong Kong Pearl Seafood Restaurant. We went again last night. It is Falls Church- on your right off 50W. The Dim Sum was great, DH loves this place. They are open Xmas.

Since Xmas is a Sunday, OP, maybe you could do dim sum instead? New Fortune, Hollywood East, Oriental East would be the likely suspects in MoCo I think.

Anonymous wrote:Peking Gourmet on rte 7 in alexandria/annandale. Not sure if they have a buffet but excellent chinese food! Make reservations!

IMO, this place has gone downhill over the past few years, but it is always MOBBED on Christmas. We got take out from there a couple of years ago and could not even move in the vestibule area because there were so many people waiting for take out/tables. No buffet and it is on the pricier side for Chinese food.

Great restaurants and buffets do go together: Saravana in Fairfax, Indique Heights in Chevy Chase, but those are Indian. I would think a lot of restaurants would have buffets on Christmas, because it allows them to have less staff on duty.

OP again. May I add, PP, that I did not ask for recommendations of "great restaurants." That was your term. I will agree with you that buffet restaurants are not the "great restaurants" one usually thinks of. I just wnat good Chinese food at a buffet, like my family used to have.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: . . . .

However, I'm not sure you are going to find "great" anything at a buffet.

I knew someone would have to say that.

because it is true. Great restaurants and buffet do not go together.

OP here. My family, Chinese-American immigrants, were of a different opinion. De gustibus disputandum non est. Why did you even post on this thread?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: . . . .

However, I'm not sure you are going to find "great" anything at a buffet.

I knew someone would have to say that.

because it is true. Great restaurants and buffet do not go together.

Anonymous wrote: . . . .

However, I'm not sure you are going to find "great" anything at a buffet.

I knew someone would have to say that.

There is a new place hong kong pearl seafood or something like that. It is near Eden center in plaza across from home depot. It is near fitness first. Not sure if they have a buffet but my abc husband loves it. We went there for dim sum last Saturday and I was one of two white people, about 100 people there. I think that is fall church, va.

China Star in the Fair City Mall (Fairfax VA) meets all of your requirements except for the buffet part.
http://www.chinastarfood.com/default.html

Chk out the posts under " whats open for christmas dinner". They have a link to a post article and list chinese options

Peking Gourmet on rte 7 in alexandria/annandale. Not sure if they have a buffet but excellent chinese food! Make reservations!

What about that place on Route 7 in Bailey's Crossroads? I was always under the impression that it was the best chinese in all of DC metro.

However, I'm not sure you are going to find "great" anything at a buffet.

It was my family's tradition, ever since I was a child, to have Xmas dinner at a Chinese buffet. We had an excellent one we went to in another city in another state, where I grew up. My parents died last year, and this year my DH and kids and I are home in DC for the first time for the holidays. Fortune Star on Nicholson Lane in Rockville was our go-to Chinese restaurant until it closed last year. Everything bad happened to my family last year. Where do you recommend we go? To qualify as a seriously good Chinese buffet, it has, at least, to have a clientele of at least 50% Chinese in the restaurant at mealtme. It also has to have authentically Chinese dishes, like chicken feet, tripe, taro dumplings, etc. Tysons Buffet and Blue Pearl just do not make the cut. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. My family's Xmas depends on your help!