Most people yelping about Mandarin seem to have one major complaint - that this place is not genuine Chinese food. I see this as a case of misinformation and over expectation. 90% of "Chinese" buffets in North America serve an eclectic collection of Chinese, Japanese and North American food. This is also the reason for their major success - you get almost anything you want to eat, for incredibly low prices.
So lets get this out of the way first....YES. Mandarin is just a typical North American Chinese buffet. If you want authentic chinese fare, you are reading about the wrong restaurant. But that being said, Mandarin is also one of the better buffet places you'll find in Toronto.
The location on Eglington-Birchmount is quite convenient for East Torontonians (is that what we are called?) and people in Scarborough. The parking space is decently big, and Mandarin customers get free parking for 3 hours. (which should be more than enough, and if it's not, I worship thy eating capabilites.) TTC buses stop right at the door too.
The interior is pleasant and the waiters look sweet in their bright green beach themed shirts. The service was quite good, considering how packed the place was when we arrived. First timers also get a tour of the entire spread.
The salad bar is pretty extensive, and the surimi salad is to die for. There are enough fried things to keep the calorie lover busy. Most people don't trust the sushi at buffets, but I noticed these guys didn't have any raw ones. The fried chicken teriyaki sushi was edible, and die hard sushi fans won't mind filling themselves with that. Apart from a lot regular chinese dishes, you will also find roast beef, pizza and grilled sausages!
The desserts are good too, and definitely worth saving enough space. The blueberry cheesecake was a bit stiff, but the caramel custard and the lemon meringue pie were just delicious. You can also give those almond cookies a try. To end it all, there are 7 or 8 different ice creams to choose from. (including low cal sherbets, although somehow coming to a buffet and looking for low cal food doesn't add up!).
I took away one star because of the noisy children running around and the slightly disappointing blueberry cheesecake.
The bottom line? Definitely a must try place for people who love a lot of food, of decent quality, for a fair price. Food snobs who are looking for "authentic chinese" can stay away.
P.S: Like most buffet places, the lunch is cheaper on weekdays, and the dinners on weekends are the most expensive. But you also get shrimp cocktail and crab legs on weekends!