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| - 2018-02-17. Mandarin is an AYCE franchise restaurant serving Chinese, Japanese, and Canadian dishes. The restaurants have the same Chinese themed decor with a pond filled with Poi near the entrance (a feng shui thing). The dining area is sectioned off, a system consistent at all locations to provide semi seclusion to accommodate larger party bookings, corporate functions, and the like. Linens line the tables, but the warm lighting adds little to the ambiance as it's crashed by the higher noise levels.
Servers clear tables and take care of drinks, otherwise, it's self service. Their buffet is extensive offering well over 100 items, covering appetizers to desserts. Weekends usually have premium offerings like crab or lobster, but prices are also adjusted for it. Prices for weekdays are the upper end of $$, weekends are on the lower end of $$$. Unlike the Korean and Japanese AYCE places, Mandarin doesn't hold you to a maximum 2-hour booking. They do accept reservations, and every location fills up during dinner hours, so it would be prudent to make one if you have a part of 5 or more.
While there are some mainstay dishes, it's difficult to rate the food as it changes. All the items are labelled and provide a calorie reference in case you're concerned about how much you're consuming. While I like this, I find irony in it. If you're concerned about caloric intake, you should not be dining at AYCE. If on the other hand, you came to pay the exorbitant prices because you want the variety vs the quantity, then you don't need or care for the info. Maybe it's all just a Jedi mind trick to plant some subliminal message in your sub-conscious that will trigger you to think you're full? Nah, I'm sure it's just FYI...
In general I'm not a fan of AYCE Chinese, but the place was designed to accommodate larger groups, and we had 18 in our party. If you want to know the type of dishes they serve, see my pics (there'll be a lot of them!). I only rated the things I've tried.
Overall, it's not a bad place. There's enough variety here to satisfy everyone. While I've not had anything spectacular, I've also experienced much worse at other restaurants. I will give them one thing though, they're the only place I know if that makes Chinese Choux Profiteroles, one of my favourite desserts of all time since childhood. Are they worth the 30 bucks for admission?... Sometimes ;-) ... 3,5 stars.
If you would like to experience more, come dine-with-me.yelp.com I'd love to have your company... Bon Appétit!
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