Friendly Restaurant is located at 8 Kent Street West in Lindsay, very close to QQ Sushi which we reviewed years ago. Friendly is an old-school steam-tray Chinese/Canadian buffet, and is much larger inside than it appears outside, as it's quite long and has a seating area at the back behind the kitchen that's as large as the front one. There were quite a few customers for such a small town, but it was a Saturday night. AYCD pop is available for $2.75.
Wonton soup was good but a little oily. Hot and sour soup was missing something and was too tomatoey, but not bad. Pork siu mai was good though it did have a slightly strange aftertaste. Seafood delight was good and well seasoned. Beef with broccoli was good. Chicken chow mein was delicious and mildly flavored. Friendly's Meatballs were good and mildly seasoned. Barbecue pork lo mein was very good. Spicy szechuan beef was good but needed more savour. Friendly chicken skewers were good but needed a little more seasoning. General Tso chicken wasn't really traditional, but was still delicious. Garlic chicken was delicious and well seasoned. Lemon chicken wasn't bad, but Mishy didn't like it.
Breaded shrimps were good even without anything on them, but were improved by the nearby seafood sauce. Jar do chicken wings were all right but needed a little more seasoning in the breading. Spring rolls were okay, but definitely from frozen. Egg rolls were good with a classic tea-like flavor. Chicken balls were very good with a large chunk of chicken and less breading, and the sauce was not overly sweet. Pork wontons were good, although I think they are supposed to be put into the soup! Honey garlic wings were good, although they could have used a little more flavor. Sweet and sour pork chops were delicious.
For dessert, Jell-O is in cute fish molds and was good. Cotton candy ice cream was fantastic and have never had it before, also S'mores and oranges'n'cream ice creams were very good and unique. Banana fudge ice cream I have had before, but it was also fantastic… the ice creams here were some of the best I've had. Chocolate brownie strawberry "sidewalk", Chinese almond cookies and and coconut macaroons were good, also cream puffs although were a little dry. Dinner is $15.95, including on weekends. This isn't bad at all, as nothing here was inedible and some items were quite good, although the AYCD pop is a little excessive. I enjoyed dinner at Friendly Restaurant and would recommend it for a casual dinner with family and friends.Rating: 7-7.5/10
