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| - Love love love this place! Boyfriend has dragged me to the Mandarin one too many times...I always leave there feeling like money has been wasted. Not at the Dragon Pearl. I was perfectly content to pay for what we got.
Sushi - good. Usually Chinese buffet sushi is sad and dry and half-assed....not to mention rarely contains actual fish. The Dragon Pearl has a greAt (smallish) selection of sushi, including the essentials like salmon and white tuna. Sashimi was in surpisingly thick cuts.
Lobster - made me so happy. I got my (rather large) claw with the coupon, and later my boyfriend gave me his ticket too. This time, we got two pieces, I'm assuming because it was close to the buffet closing. It was slightly chewy, but the flavour was great, and it was actually warm (unlike the crab you get at the Mandarin).
They also offer a few dim dum choices (yay!) and a nice selection of chinese food, which isn't chewy and doesn't taste like MSG, like most buffet offerings. Meat dishes had large, identifiable pieces of meat. Nothing was overcooked, or cold.
Everything was good. Even items that are usually just space filler, like different salads and side dishes, were amazing (mmmm thai mango salad!)
Their dessert table was also different from most, in that it wasn't full of frozen, dried out selections. Perhaps the most important feature in their dessert table...CREME BRULE!
I loved that there were so many different options here, with little tastes of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai foods.
Something else I really liked was how the tea was served. It was brought over on a candle warmer, so it never got cold. They charge for tea, unlike most places, but I feel like the warmer coupled with how often they refilled it was well worth the couple extra bucks.
And the decor is really eye catching. I loved that there were tons of little details to find. It definitely gives a nice atmosphere. Everything is red, and dark wood, and large, detailed pieces, with dim lighting.
Not everyone is a buffet person, but if you're going to go to one, this should be it. This place puts the Mandarin to shame.
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