Asian Dragon Buffet is located at 2900 Warden Avenue at Finch Avenue East in the Bridlewood Mall. It has a cavernous interior, one of the largest AYCEs we have been to, possibly as big as Wok of Fame in Brampton. It would probably need two or even more visits to try everything. AYCD pop is $2 which is pretty reasonable.
Chinese-style sausage slices were very good and similar to the ones found at barbecue houses. Beef skewers were very good to excellent, but watch out as they are quite spicy. Sausage skewers were good. Red Filipino sausages were excellent and had a nice flavour. Mandarin baked fish was very good. We both did not enjoy the spring rolls much as they seem to be freezer burned or something similar.
Mishy did not care for the beef brisket, but I thought it was quite good especially the savoury seasoning. Torpedo shrimp were very good even though there was no sauce. Fries with nearby poutine gravy, although there was no cheese curds, were quite good and not dried out. Onion rings were a bit dried out but were still tasty. Very authentic dish Lotus root with Cloud Ear mushroom was delicious and mildly flavoured; didn't have any odd flavours and was quite savoury. Stir-fried bean sprouts with sliced meat had a slightly odd flavour although it wasn't bad. Unfortunately I neglected to try the Peking duck.
Asian Dragon has a sushi station so we were able to enjoy sushi on our lunch as well. Ginger is not dyed pink and the soy sauce was quite good and not too salty and fresh. Crab aka surimi sashimi was quite good and fresh. Tamago/egg sashimi was very good and also fresh as was tofu nigiri. Red snapper aka tilapia nigiri had an interesting plant-like flavour which remind me of fresh corn. Shrimp tempura and spicy crab rolls were both excellent. Mishy loved the sweet buns. Unfortunately the deep-fried bun that Mishy got was as hard as a rock on the outside, and also the breaded scallops that I got were dry. I had a deep-fried bun and it was fine and actually quite good.
For dessert, a nice touch is unlimited frozen treats on a stick, unlike the barbecue places where only one Melona is permitted. The milk one was delicious and creamy. The banana one was crunchy as it had no dairy but it was even tastier than banana Popsicle. Sesame peanut bar was delicious. Little square strawberry cakes were excellent and had a wonderful flavour. Even the orange Jell-O was something special, as it had a mandarin orange or similar extra flavour which was so much better than the standard Jell-o. However beware that the mixed fruit ice jelly is a traditional Chinese gelatin which is not sweet but instead herbally flavoured and tastes a little more like herbal tea without sugar. Other than this the desserts here were excellent. Weekend lunch is ($26 for seniors 60+) which is pretty much standard. There were a few mild shortcomings but enough on the good side to compensate, and we certainly enjoyed our lunch.
Rating: 8 / 10
