UPDATE 2021-Apr-21: Scarborough Buffet has permanently closed, another major buffet victim of the pandemic closures, with plenty more expected by the time that this is over.
NEW UPDATE (2019-Jan.-29):
This is a rewrite as our previous review (located below) needed more details and it's been many years since we were last there, during which AYCEs all over the GTA gentrified, increased their prices and otherwise changed, so was in need of updating.
Scarborough Buffet is located at 1221 Markham Road in Scarborough, just north of Ellesmere. This restaurant has been through at least two name changes, starting as one of numerous members of the now-defunct Chi-Chi's chain of Mexican restaurants, then was known as Super Buffet, to which some of the signage still attests. It has a large open interior and a wok station. AYCD pop is available for $1.75, as well as free Wi-Fi. I went for weekday lunch. There were plenty of other customers.
Chicken wonton soup was quite good, with a rich broth with white pepper notes. Chicken corn soup was good and tasty. Hot and sour soup was quite good, authentically spiced and was not stale even though the tureen was only half full. Scarborough Buffet has a small sushi bar, although unfortunately with disposable chopsticks, so I brought my own. Soy sauce was not too salty and quite tasty. Only rolls are available. Futo maki, salmon maki, mango roll, shrimp tempura roll, spicy salmon roll, and California roll were all good and reasonably fresh.
Sweet and sour pork was good, about par with good takeout. General Tso's chicken had plenty of sauce, and although sweet was excellent. Beef with bitter melon was also good but beware that this is not a dish for the uninitiated or the standard Western palate. Bean sprouts (not called Chop Suey) had a barely noticeable hint of burnt peanut oil but were otherwise quite good. Onion rings were all right, though a bit bland, but I wasn't expecting much from them. BBQ pork is good but watch out for the large pieces of fat masquerading as meat. Stir-fry green beans were well-done and delicious. Dim sum custard bun was excellent, with a very tasty selling, although I would have thought of it as a dessert item. Fried udon with beef in black pepper sauce was good and had a little heat, but again it had a very slight burnt peanut oil flavor.
Spring rolls were all right but slightly stale. Chicken balls for a bit dry but had a nice size chunk of chicken in them. Deep fried tofu and vegetables needed more seasoning, and it was right back to that slight flavor of burnt peanut oil. Barbecue chicken was good but could have used a little more seasoning as well. Young Chow fried rice with shrimps was very good, and even better with a touch of soy sauce added. Dim sum pork shiu mai was good to very good even without sauce. Shrimp dumplings weren't bad but could have used a little more flavor. Bean curd jelly was as good as plain warm tofu can be. From the barbecue area, potato pancake was tasty although chewy. Chicken dumplings were alright, but there was that off burnt peanut oil back again. Grilled pineapple was wonderful as it always is. BBQ chicken was excellent with a unique, well-balanced spice combination. Pork chop was also quite good and well-spiced. Fried egg was... a fried egg, hard to mess that up.
For dessert, green tea ice cream was good although needed to be a little cooler. Strawberry ice cream was delicious. Chocolate ice cream is okay but was freezer burned, as was vanilla. The mango ice cream was excellent and very fresh. Sesame ball was good, as was coconut macaroon. Coconut milk jelly was alright but didn't have as much coconut flavor as I expected. Gougi jelly aka goji was good, authentic and unique. White unnamed coconut cake was very dry. Egg custard was good, but mango custard was very good. Green tea cake was excellent, and I have had green tea cake elsewhere that was not. Tiramisu cake was also very good, as well as lemon cake. Lunch is $14.99 weekdays, and is only $11.49 on Mondays if Monday is not a holiday, and dinner is only $23.99 on Friday if Friday is not a holiday. Aside from several dishes being haunted by the burnt peanut oil flavour, lunch was otherwise good and was quite a good value… hoping that this was an anomaly.
Rating: 7-7.5/10
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The earlier review:
The Scarborough Buffet is located at 1221 Markham Rd/Ellesmere displays a wide variety of food from Chinese chicken balls, fried wings, rice, pork, beef, and crab legs. They also have lots of shrimp, oysters and a few plates of Japanese sushi as well.
Some old familiars are included such as pizza, french fries, vegetarian salads and macn'cheese. There is a section where you can gather up your choice of raw vegetables and/or meat, fish or poultry and they will stir fry it for you.
There
are several party rooms and dining areas to choose from that can hold
up to 400 guests at a time, so it's a fairly large area. I also found a
unique collection of costume jewellery to buy at reasonable prices as
well.
Okay, now for the critique and the good news as well.
First the good news:
Overall rating: 7.5/10 but on Tuesdays an 8.5! :)
This is a rewrite as our previous review (located below) needed more details and it's been many years since we were last there, during which AYCEs all over the GTA gentrified, increased their prices and otherwise changed, so was in need of updating.
Scarborough Buffet is located at 1221 Markham Road in Scarborough, just north of Ellesmere. This restaurant has been through at least two name changes, starting as one of numerous members of the now-defunct Chi-Chi's chain of Mexican restaurants, then was known as Super Buffet, to which some of the signage still attests. It has a large open interior and a wok station. AYCD pop is available for $1.75, as well as free Wi-Fi. I went for weekday lunch. There were plenty of other customers.
Chicken wonton soup was quite good, with a rich broth with white pepper notes. Chicken corn soup was good and tasty. Hot and sour soup was quite good, authentically spiced and was not stale even though the tureen was only half full. Scarborough Buffet has a small sushi bar, although unfortunately with disposable chopsticks, so I brought my own. Soy sauce was not too salty and quite tasty. Only rolls are available. Futo maki, salmon maki, mango roll, shrimp tempura roll, spicy salmon roll, and California roll were all good and reasonably fresh.
Sweet and sour pork was good, about par with good takeout. General Tso's chicken had plenty of sauce, and although sweet was excellent. Beef with bitter melon was also good but beware that this is not a dish for the uninitiated or the standard Western palate. Bean sprouts (not called Chop Suey) had a barely noticeable hint of burnt peanut oil but were otherwise quite good. Onion rings were all right, though a bit bland, but I wasn't expecting much from them. BBQ pork is good but watch out for the large pieces of fat masquerading as meat. Stir-fry green beans were well-done and delicious. Dim sum custard bun was excellent, with a very tasty selling, although I would have thought of it as a dessert item. Fried udon with beef in black pepper sauce was good and had a little heat, but again it had a very slight burnt peanut oil flavor.
Spring rolls were all right but slightly stale. Chicken balls for a bit dry but had a nice size chunk of chicken in them. Deep fried tofu and vegetables needed more seasoning, and it was right back to that slight flavor of burnt peanut oil. Barbecue chicken was good but could have used a little more seasoning as well. Young Chow fried rice with shrimps was very good, and even better with a touch of soy sauce added. Dim sum pork shiu mai was good to very good even without sauce. Shrimp dumplings weren't bad but could have used a little more flavor. Bean curd jelly was as good as plain warm tofu can be. From the barbecue area, potato pancake was tasty although chewy. Chicken dumplings were alright, but there was that off burnt peanut oil back again. Grilled pineapple was wonderful as it always is. BBQ chicken was excellent with a unique, well-balanced spice combination. Pork chop was also quite good and well-spiced. Fried egg was... a fried egg, hard to mess that up.
For dessert, green tea ice cream was good although needed to be a little cooler. Strawberry ice cream was delicious. Chocolate ice cream is okay but was freezer burned, as was vanilla. The mango ice cream was excellent and very fresh. Sesame ball was good, as was coconut macaroon. Coconut milk jelly was alright but didn't have as much coconut flavor as I expected. Gougi jelly aka goji was good, authentic and unique. White unnamed coconut cake was very dry. Egg custard was good, but mango custard was very good. Green tea cake was excellent, and I have had green tea cake elsewhere that was not. Tiramisu cake was also very good, as well as lemon cake. Lunch is $14.99 weekdays, and is only $11.49 on Mondays if Monday is not a holiday, and dinner is only $23.99 on Friday if Friday is not a holiday. Aside from several dishes being haunted by the burnt peanut oil flavour, lunch was otherwise good and was quite a good value… hoping that this was an anomaly.Rating: 7-7.5/10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The earlier review:
The Scarborough Buffet is located at 1221 Markham Rd/Ellesmere displays a wide variety of food from Chinese chicken balls, fried wings, rice, pork, beef, and crab legs. They also have lots of shrimp, oysters and a few plates of Japanese sushi as well.
Some old familiars are included such as pizza, french fries, vegetarian salads and macn'cheese. There is a section where you can gather up your choice of raw vegetables and/or meat, fish or poultry and they will stir fry it for you.
There
are several party rooms and dining areas to choose from that can hold
up to 400 guests at a time, so it's a fairly large area. I also found a
unique collection of costume jewellery to buy at reasonable prices as
well.Okay, now for the critique and the good news as well.
First the good news:
- Tuesday prices seem to be slightly cheaper than the rest of the week.
- General Tao Curry dish is original and very good
- Breaded Chicken balls actually contained chicken in them (instead of balls of dough)
- Salmon Sushi (if you can get some) is fresh
- Chinese tea (loose jasmine) is authentic not bagged
- Roast chicken was awesome and chicken with citronella was excellent
- Ice cream was creamy and not freezer burned
- Chicken wings were dry (most likely under the heat lamp too long)
- Vegetarian sank-an rolls not bad, but not really that great either.
- Soups were not their forte
Overall rating: 7.5/10 but on Tuesdays an 8.5! :)
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