Mandarin Restaurant
Encyclopedia
Mandarin Restaurants is a chain of all-you-can-eat Chinese-Canadian buffet
s found in the Canadian
province of Ontario
. Mandarin Restaurants was founded in 1979 by James Chiu, George Chiu, Diana Chiu and K.C. Chang of Taiwan
. There are currently 21 locations in Ontario. The restaurants offer à la carte
, take-out
and delivery
items such as chow mein
, noodle dishes, stir fry, and prime rib, as well as a salad bar
, grill
counter, sushi
table, and ice cream bar desserts. The first restaurant was a small à-la-carte restaurant in Brampton
, Ontario
. The buffet concept was introduced in 1987 with the opening of their first franchise location in Missisauga. The headquarters, in Brampton
, includes a corporate restaurant, a banquet facility, a warehouse, and the corporate head office.
. They had done so on several previous Canada Days as well. The requirement is that the patron must have proof of Canadian citizenship. Due to the large turnout in each of the 21 locations, police were hired to control crowds, with some locations having excessively long lineups that some patrons had to be turned away. As many as 30,000 spring roll
s were served during the event in all locations. In addition, due to the high costs of offering free meals in one day, Chiu stated that this event would occur once every approximately five years.
Buffet
A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events...
s found in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Mandarin Restaurants was founded in 1979 by James Chiu, George Chiu, Diana Chiu and K.C. Chang of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. There are currently 21 locations in Ontario. The restaurants offer à la carte
À la carte
À la carte is a French language loan phrase meaning "according to the menu", and used in* A reference to a menu of items priced and ordered separately, i.e. the usual operation of restaurants * To order an item from the menu on its own, e.g...
, take-out
Take-out
Take-out or takeout , carry-out , take-away , parcel , or tapau , is food purchased at a...
and delivery
Delivery
Delivery may refer to:*Delivery, in childbirth*Delivery , of goods*Delivery *Delivery , in cricket, a single action of bowling a cricket ball towards the batsman*Delivery , of a joke...
items such as chow mein
Chow mein
Chow mein is a Chinese term for a dish of stir-fried noodles, of which there are many varieties.-Etymology:...
, noodle dishes, stir fry, and prime rib, as well as a salad bar
Salad bar
A salad bar is a buffet-style table or counter at a restaurant or food market on which salad components are provided for customers to assemble their own salad plates...
, grill
Grilling
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...
counter, sushi
Sushi
is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
table, and ice cream bar desserts. The first restaurant was a small à-la-carte restaurant in Brampton
Brampton
Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The buffet concept was introduced in 1987 with the opening of their first franchise location in Missisauga. The headquarters, in Brampton
Brampton
Brampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...
, includes a corporate restaurant, a banquet facility, a warehouse, and the corporate head office.
Canada Day event
On July 1, 2009, Mandarin had a day-long free buffet to any Canadian Citizen as part of their 30th anniversary celebration and to commemorate Canada DayCanada Day
Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...
. They had done so on several previous Canada Days as well. The requirement is that the patron must have proof of Canadian citizenship. Due to the large turnout in each of the 21 locations, police were hired to control crowds, with some locations having excessively long lineups that some patrons had to be turned away. As many as 30,000 spring roll
Spring roll
Spring rolls is an umbrella term used in some Western cultures to describe disparate varieties of filled, rolled appetizers similar to the Chinese chūn juǎn , from which the term was derived...
s were served during the event in all locations. In addition, due to the high costs of offering free meals in one day, Chiu stated that this event would occur once every approximately five years.