How a buffet restaurant adapted admirably in the times of COVID-19
Mandarin is known amongst Toronto residents for their all-you-can-eat buffet, with vaguely Chinese dishes and mishmash of dishes like sushi and pizza. Long-time Torontonians still bemoan the loss of crab legs from the line-up. Despite online criticisms, food quality is decent and is perhaps the best place to try Canadian-Chinese food. People don’t go there just for the food. Nostalgia plays a factor too. Mandarin prides itself as a family restaurant and surely many a celebratory meal went down at its restaurants.
I was curious about how Mandarin was doing at a time when buffets are not allowed to operate. They held back during the initial months of the pandemic but quickly pivoted to takeout. Is there still a reason to patronize Mandarin when they have lost their main value proposition? Thankfully, the answer is yes.
For this review, I went to the closest Mandarin downtown, at Yonge and Eglinton.
The food
The menu is extensive but is a shadow of its enormous buffet. It doesn’t make sense to offer things like sushi and ice cream for takeout/delivery. International offerings are trimmed off, focusing sharply on westernized Chinese dishes like chow mein (fried noodles) and broccoli beef. Ordering from their website was a breeze.
For value seekers, the combo platters and family dinners are the best bet. Three à la carte dishes can cost as much as the regular buffet. Although prices are still cheaper than other mid-range restaurants, there is always the nagging thought that one could have gotten greater variety and quantity, pre-COVID. If you think like that, then you should definitely go for the combos. They come with a decent variety of foods and are excellent value. 10% off pickup.
Combo A (for one person) comes with sweet and sour pork, chicken chow mein, chicken fried rice, egg roll, dessert, and two fortune cookies. The free dessert was a limited time promotion and it was four almond cookies on that day.
The egg roll was very deep-fried. I couldn’t taste any egg but it was a classic Canadian-Chinese deep-fried snack. Crisp and slightly greasy. Dough was thin enough.
I was happy with the large size of the roll. It was stuffed with bean sprouts, cabbage, and other vegetable fillers. It could do with some bright herbs like bell peppers or celery. Or a homemade dipping sauce. 7/10.
The mains were a mixed bag. The best was the sweet and sour pork. Textbook re-creation of radioactive red sauce, thickened with corn starch. The boneless, breaded pork pieces were still crisp and moist. Oily as expected. 7/10.
The chicken fried rice was ok but doesn’t hold up well after a few hours. The rice dries out easily. There was distinct wok hei (whiffs of char). Pieces of chicken breast were added at the final minutes of cooking and did not have to time to meld with the rest of the dish. Using dark meat and chicken fat would have boosted the umami factor. Still, it’s better than food court offerings. 7/10.
Maybe they ran out of noodles that day but the chicken chow mein did not have any chow mein. I got lots of bean sprouts instead. It was a bland dish with white meat and few herbs. On the upside, the vegetables were not overcooked. 4.5/10.
The almond cookies were fragrant, crumbly, and had the perfect amount of sweetness. I liked how they topped the cookies with a sliver of almond. The cookies could have used a little less fat. They left oil stains on the paper box. 7/10.
Personally, I preferred combo B. The difference is in two mains. It has sweet and sour chicken balls, beef with almonds and diced vegetables, chicken fried rice, egg roll, dessert, and two fortune cookies. The dessert of the day was three honey twists.
The beef with almonds was as advertised. It was all right. The vegetables were the regular Canadian-Chinese medley of bell peppers, onions, button mushrooms, baby corn, and celery. The flavours of individual components remained distinct, so it ended up like an oily beef salad. The crunch from the nuts and corn added textural interest. 7/10.
Mandarin probably makes the best chicken balls in Toronto. Chicken balls are a Canadian/American-Chinese invention. A chunk of boneless chicken ensconced in a deep-fried dough ball. I have only been to a handful of Canadian-Chinese restaurants, so take my recommendation with a pinch of salt. Of the places I’ve tried, Mandarin was the most generous with chicken meat. The dough was neither too dense nor thick. The exterior was golden and lightly crisped. If it had a little bit more seasoning, it would be perfect. The downside was the pedestrian sauce. It tasted like a mass-produced factory sauce. 7.5/10.
The honey twists were a strange hybrid of savoury and sweet. It’s an interpretation of a Cantonese snack, dan san (蛋散). I haven’t seen it drizzled with syrup before. My taste buds couldn’t decide if it was a snack or dessert. The deep-fried cracker with saccharine syrup was rich. It felt like an incomplete dish, as if I was eating a dumpling wrapper without a filling. I would have liked the dough to be thinner and the syrup used as a dip. Or make the crackers savoury with sesame seeds and green onion. 6/10.
The finishing touch was a thank you note that came with the meal. I appreciate these small gestures. That’s what differentiates a good restaurant from an excellent one. When I visited in December, I even received a complimentary calendar. And I would be remiss not to mention the design of their takeout boxes. The cheerful, green design was consistent with their branding. Even though their main buffet business is cut off, they telegraphed the original experience the best they could. Their hard efforts in these trying times came through to me.
The place
The Yonge and Eglinton branch is right outside the subway station and in the heart of bustling midtown. It’s super convenient considering that other branches are in the boonies. The restaurant is tucked inside the drab and brutalist Canada Square building.
Since indoor dining is prohibited, they set up a counter by the door for takeout orders.
Verdict
Takeout experience captures the essence of the Mandarin buffet. 7/10.
Practical information
- Name
- Mandarin
- Rating
- 7/10
- Recommended dishes
- Chicken balls
- Prices (including tax)
- Combo A: $13.21 (after 10% pickup discount)
Combo B: $13.21 (after 10% pickup discount) - Address
- 2200 Yonge Street
- Hours
- Monday to Thursday 1130h – 2130h
Friday to Saturday 1130h – 2200h
Sunday 1130h – 2130h - Date of visit
- October 2020, December 2020