Thursday, February 16, 2012

Mandarin

 Thursday February 16, 4:36 p.m.

Well, the saying goes that you get what you pay for. Just kinda wished that The Mandarin had followed that rule. Back on Sunday, my family took out Dad for his birthday dinner. And the Mandarin is not exactly the default choice, but over the years, they've taken him out to one of Toronto's culinary institutions (yes, I realize I'm saying this somewhat tongue-in-cheek). This was my first time taking him out in almost 2 decades.
 Maybe I've just gotten spoiled on the really good stuff that The Anime King has introduced me to during our periodic dim sum runs, but I just found most of the fare at The Mandarin a bit off in taste. Not sure what it was, but I wasn't particularly satisfied. I did two rounds of the buffet tables, and I actually cried Uncle after that; these days, I do two rounds just so that my stomach doesn't end up an Alien launching pad but I still get that desire to go a third round. Not this time...2 rounds was plenty for me; after that, I just went up to get a slice of apple pie, which was the only thing that tasted good.
 Mind you, the wonton soup wasn't too bad.
Thanks, Mandarin, but shucking out $40 to you (I was chipping for Dad's portion) was a bit of a shame. Then again, my parents were just chomping down on the crab legs big time. Jerusalem is still the buffet to beat for me.