Mandarin – Markham East

Been to this location maybe 3 times already. Once you enter the restaurant, almost every single employee says Hi and welcomes you to Mandarin, once you walk by them.
Food was ok, but there were a few items I tried that I didn’t really like. They had dim sum for Chinese New Year. I tried the Haw Gao (Shrimp Dumpling) and Siu Mai (Pork Dumpling), I liked the siu mai better, the haw gao shrimp was mushy. The honey garlic ribs were way too sweet for my taste.
I loved the potato shred salad, it had a slight crunch to it, which made an interesting texture. The prime rib was also very moist and tasty. The fried chicken wings were crispy & moist, which were yummy. I also like the crème brûlée it was nice crisp topping & very cream in the centre.
Will come back to try other stuff for sure.

Wonderful service. Everyone and I do mean EVERYONE greets and welcomes you. The food is good too. Just not as much as a variety as the location I had gone to in Vaughan last month. But I enjoyed this location just as much. A VERY friendly and comfortable atmosphere!

The décor and plates were certainly a blast from the past.
Food was mediocre at best.

I came here tonight with my family and this Mandarin confused me a great deal.
First off, it was weird seeing a Mandarin not packed with long lines outside during a holiday weekend. In fact, the place was half empty.
The food here split into 2 categories:
Crab legs … and then everything else.
The good:
1. The crab legs were surprisingly small.
2. The sashimi/​sushi here are starting to be passably authentic.
3. I loved the peking duck and turkey dish for Thanksgiving.
4. The pineapples (for the first time in forever was sweet) at the salad bar
The bad:
1. HOW WAS THERE NO BREAD AT THE BREAD STATION?! I walked by here several times and there were your usual rolls but the sliced bread was demolished.
2. The dessert place was falling behind as it got later and later into the night. Everything started becoming half empty: especially the waffles): and the cook was too busy to use both griddles at once.
Everything else was your usual «Chinese» (westernized) food as per the Mandarin quality — not bad but not brag worthy.
My service was excellent. We got Joe as our server and there was never a time we couldn’t find him when we needed him. He refilled drinks and napkins constantly without being asked.
I loved how the manager came out to greet the tables and inquired about satisfaction.
I think the only other thing I have against this table is that the servers that come out to refill the pans in the buffet tend to walk backwards and talk to others who are still on the floor. Almost caused me spill everything on their heads a couple of times.
I’ll be back when I’m craving crab legs again.

Just came back from lunch and was extremely satisfied and culturally confused at the same time.
The food was typical Mandarin. Canadian-​Chinese food of middling to above-​average quality. No complaints there (WYSIWYG). But the most amusing thing was that they were having their (frankly quite awesome) Canadian celebration month, so they had very very Canadiana-​style dishes.
So for the first time in my life, I had bannock. Ditto with bison cabbage roll. Ditto again with chocolate-​covered bacon. Somewhere up in the heavens, my Chinese ancestors are shaking their head with shame, disbelief, and (most likely) confusion. My first taste of all these «Canadian» dishes was at… Mandarin.
But I loved it. I love how, despite its kitschy interior (despite this being a brand new location) and outdated ambience, along with its inflated prices, Mandarin continues to try to do something different. This celebration of Canadian-​inspired dishes was definitely corny as hell, but was a lot of fun if you embrace it (semi-)ironically.
All the above dishes were quite tasty, and I also liked the delicious teriyaki meatballs. The BBQ pork was substandard and the lack of a proper Chinese hot sauce grated a little, but outside of that it was good fun.
We were also the only Chinese couple in the entire dining room, and I told my wife that «You know that we’re THAT couple that everyone in this dining area will point to and use as evidence that actual Chinese people eat at Mandarin, right?» She was amused. I have a great wife.
Anyway, the service here was super excellent, from the friendly hostess who introduced herself to us to the personable server who always checked in on us and made some recommendations. If you need a Mandarin fix, go to this location, you’ll be satisfied big time.

Woah, a revolving door. This place is fancy.
OMG the decorations look amazing, bonus points.
The food, I’m sorry, but it really doesn’t work for Chinese people. Mandarin literally made Chinese food Westernized. It’s not worth paying about $ 30 for all you can eat food that I can cook better at home myself for less than $ 10. I mean the variety is good, and awesome if you like Westernized Chinese food. Typical AYCE food, quantity over quality.

I’m not a big fan of buffets because the quality of foods being served is questionable. However for the most part, Mandarin has always kept its presentation spot-​on for being clean. Out of all the Mandarins I’ve been to, this location seems less busy than some of the other locations that are crowded due the area.
In terms of food selections, they’ve got Chinese, Japanese, and a few choices for western foods. Most of all the food area is always kept clean regularly, and presentable!
Their service is generic across the table (aka locations) calm, courteous, and always willing to go above and beyond your expectations.
overall experience was good. I was impressed. :) Solid 4!

Mandarin is in a nutshell a nicely decorated canadianized Chinese buffet with many options to offer. The service is okay, though sometimes it’s slightly hard to catch the staffs attention to clear plates. Buffets are always quantity over quality– but Mandarin has many options to offer for appetizers, mains and desserts. The food isn’t bad, but that doesn’t make it good. I’ve tasted much better for a reasonable price. For those health conscious readers, healthy options here are harder to come by. So make sure you do that extra work out.
Good for groups — pricing is meh … Can be cheaper.
The décor has this nice appeal to it– Asian themed.
Somehow — I will make a trip here every year during Christmas time :)

The place was nice and clean. Price was high for a buffet. About $ 27. There is a large variety. Most of the food is fried. The fruits were fresh and dweet. Service was very good.. Desserts were good. Chow me in and fried rice were both blan. Disappointed

Impressed from beginning to end.
Made reservations for 7:45pm during the weekend for Mothers Day. We got there a bit early and there was a massive line up. Right when the clock struck 7:45 we got our table. Excellent timing. The lady that greeted us and directed us to our table was all smiles and super polite informing us its not usually this busy and apologized that we had to wait even though we were early.
The food is excellent for an AYCE. In the appetizer section I liked the shrimp cocktails the best. They were large shelled shrimps and tasted very good with the cocktail sauce. Some other items that stood out for me were the crab legs and the salmon sashimi. The crab legs were quite large and pre-​cracked for you so it was surprisingly easy to get at the meat. I must have eaten 8 crab legs myself. The salmon sashimi were fresh and thickly sliced and were always available. You can actually grab the sashimi yourself unlike other places where a server gives them to you.
In the dessert section my favourites were the crème brule and the chocolate covered strawberries. I went back for more strawberries but they were all gone. They tasted that good.
In the ice cream section there was the yogurt ice cream which comes out of a machine and your standard bucket ice creams. I liked how there was melted chocolate syrup as an added topping.
Another thing that impressed me was the service. Whenever I came back with a new plate of food, my old dirty plate was already gone.
The place is also kept very clean in the food section and I saw a worker replacing all the tongs in the middle of the night to keep things extra clean.
I have been to Mandarin before but never at this level of quality. There must have been some change in ownership or something because its much better than before.
Price was a bit high for $ 28.99 a person but worth it in my opinion.

Just got back from a fairly mediocre experience. I have never quite liked the food that the Mandarin franchise serves. Everything is either sweet and sour, or deep fried with sweet and sour, or some variant, thereof. After reading some good reviews about this location, I thought it might be different, so gave it a go.
Nope, food was just as bad. Roast beef tough as shoe leather; shrimp overcooked; canned salmon tastes better than their; sushi is ridiculous (peanut butter??; strawberry avacado???); chicken was all deep fried in some form or another, in some sour sauce or sweet and sour sauce; pork was the same as chicken; wonton soup just salted water; etc. Desserts are poor. Supermarket quality, if even that.
I understand that this is not supposed to be Chinese food, but Asian influenced food. But then it is just bad, even based on that view. The quality is just not there. At $ 27 a head, all in, I would have enjoyed myself more at any of the Indian or Hakka Indian takeout in the area. Higher quality food at a fraction of the cost.
The only redeeming note was that the service was very attentive and kind. Else, it would have been a very upsetting experience.
My advice: stay clear of this place, unless you are only in it for the service. But who eats out only to experience service if the food is no good?

It was a long wait time, but that was expected on a holiday afternoon.
Some of my favourite choices are: torpedo shrimp, the BBQ ribs and the bread pudding.
None of the other dishes really fancy my taste buds. I have a hard time enjoying buffets but Mandarin does a good job at make their dishes flavourful. The staff are also accommodating and friendly.

I had a little run in with this location but they made it up to me. They acknowledged my issue and handled it very well.

Mandarin Buffet is NOT a Chinese buffet regardless of what they call it. There is Asian influence, but other than some traditional «Chinese food» such as chicken balls, and wonton soup, a small (cooked) Sushi bar, a few Asian inspired veggie dishes and some seasonal «special menu items» — it is mostly north American cuisine.
The food there is excellent regardless of what inspires the chefs though — and that is what is important !
Clam Chowder, Roasted Salmon, baked mussles, Prime Rib for dinner, with mashed potatoes, corn and Yorkshire pudding, with brown gravy and au jus. (does that sound Chinese to you?!)
A full salad selection, hot and cold seafood selections, a massive dessert bar and 8 flavours of ice cream — its amazing — and versatile.
Having a romantic night out with your loved one? They can provide the ambiance needed. A 60^th birthday party? They can seat you! Team get together? Yup — they have room for you too!
In all this location has 6 separate dining areas all with beautiful decorations. And the staff, are always super friendly and attentive — I have never reached the bottom of my soda glass!
The owners of this location also make it a point to travel the dining area and introducing themselves to the diners and asking for feedback so they can improve on any shortcomings.
Bottom line is – it’s a great place to eat and it’s affordable. Food is fresh and hot, and the lines move quickly.
(Special note — if you are there for dinner, you can ask the Sushi counter for a custom Sashimi platter!)

Very clean, courteous and professional. The staff have this odd way of appearing and disappearing like a ripple in a pond.
Atmosphere is very calm and the food is very good.

Our experience on my daughters birthday was more then pleasant. It was now to see so many smiles from the staff the cleanliness of the Buffett and rest rooms above par!
The owners are present and welcome you personally. They were very nice to my children and never experienced any discomfort allowing them to help themselves This is normally the case at buffets.
The price was what you’d expect from the franchise but our family (4) left full and happy and will be returning for $ 80 inc tip $ 64 before and we stuck with water. AFTER ALL ITS A BUFFET!
Joe and Lily never stopped smiling worked though problems and made us feel important even as our section got busier.
The only thing I could think about that was not perfect was the language barrier. We had a hard time understanding mostly everything that was said to our table.
From the moment you enter to the moment you leave enjoy the great tasting multiple flavour foods and endless desert buffet in style and comfort.
Thanks Jerry and staff for a wonderful time!

I would say, it should be 3.5 but I’m giving it a 4 because service was really good. The food is slightly above average. However, I think they really should have more people looking after the dessert area. I saw this little girl licked the ice-​cream scoop and then put it back in the water tray. I don’t blame her, she look as if she was 4 (not sure why the parents were not with her).
We came here for the lunch weekend buffet. The food was fresh & service was friendly. I would come back to this place.

This is the Mandarin of Mandarins. If you like Canadian-​Chinese buffet then you’ll love Mandarin. And if you love Mandarin you’ll love this location. I’d like to make my way back to this oen again.
But be warned, it’s a tad bit pricier.

C’est un Mandarin, que dire de plus? C’est du buffet qui sort largement du cadre de la cuisine asiatique. Un accueil chaleureux, presque trop d’ailleurs et à la limite de la caricature. Le buffet est toujours trompeur, devant la quantité présentée, on choisit toujours un peu de tout et de n’importe quoi pour au final payer cher ce qu’on aurait pu avoir ailleurs.

Love this all you can eat buffet. I have been here a few times and each time I was impressed by the wonderful service and super friendly staff (even better than the other Markham location on Woodbine Ave). This is in a newer area and therefore it is not crowded and very clean.
Mandarin is typically more expensive than other AYCE style buffets. But you get what you pay for. Quality is consistent with food matching the theme (eg. moon cake during mid-​autumn festival). However it doesn’t have as much authentic chinese food (eg. dim sum, soya beancurd pudding) and is more westernized with deep fried chicken wings, chow mein, corn and mash potatoes. Also not as big selection as other large AYCE buffets (eg. China Buffet King in Richmond Hill many years ago before they closed down).
Overall, this is my favourite Mandarin location so far. Beautiful décor. Service is always excellent. Food is fresh and well presented. Definitely a wonderful buffet to bring your friends/​coworkers.

Sure, we survived 2012 — but I’m going doing something here that might be a sign of the apocalypse: 3-​stars for Chinese buffet… from a Chinese guy that hates Chinese buffets.
Okay — maybe I’m being soft. But just say ‘all-​you-​can-​eat Chinese buffet’ to most Chinese people and you will most likely receive a look of disgust. Beyond just being ‘inauthentic’ (more on that later), it simply just sucks. It’s not like a western buffet, where you can have a salad bar and things like mashed potatoes or roasted chicken that keep well in heated trays (… barbarians…). Most Chinese food translates poorly in this format. So, even during my youth — when buffets were the greatest thing in the world to me — I avoid Chinese buffets. I’ve been been to one that didn’t suck.
Well — Mandarin doesn’t suck. It’s more like a western buffet with a focus on Chinese food. We were here for Christmas Day lunch and they had a lot of items with high turnover. We had reservations (it being Christmas Day and all) and we were immediately seated ahead of the big lineup of people that didn’t think ahead.
You have your typical western buffet items (salad bar, dessert bar, roast beef, chicken, pasta, steak, torpedo shrimp, etc) with a Chinese food section, sushi stand and some dim sum. Overall, most of the items were pretty good.
As expected, there are a lot of faux-​Cantonese items like egg foo yung, egg rolls and sweet & sour chicken balls (it was my first time having the latter two). It wasn’t bad. Definitely inauthentic — but that in itself doesn’t make it bad. For what it’s worth, the other Chinese items (i.e. har gow, siu mai, stir fried beans) are pretty close to the ‘real’ thing and pretty good.
It’s comparable to a mid-​level Vegas buffet. Selection is good, turnover is high and food was inoffensive. This might sound bad, but ‘inoffensive’ is probably the highest compliment you can give to a buffet. Out of all the food I tried, nothing really sucked. And that’s all you’re looking for when you’re just having foodstuff at a buffet.
The only downside was the pricing. On regular days, it’s $ 12.99 for lunch — which is a fair price. On weekends and holidays, they add another $ 5 to the price.
Sure, I understand supply and demand — but for a near 40% price increase, I believe turkey (which was dry) was the only thing they added to their holiday menu.
So as a buffet, this is actually a 4-​star since Mandarin is pretty high in those terms — especially if you come here during the weekday. But for $ 18/​person on any other day than X-​Mas, I rather order up a storm at an actual Chinese restaurant and leave equally stuffed. However, Mandarin is pretty good for what it is.