AlbertC said:
Didn't Boston Pizza fail when they were a tenant inside Metropolis? IMO, their appeal here would also be limited, I've always seen them as a suburban chain.

Cheesecake Factory would be nice. Shake Shack would also be very popular at this location, better food and more attractive branding than Five Guys.
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LOL What's the difference? They are all suburban chains.
 
Actually Swiss Chalet or Harvey's would be kind of interesting to tourists because it has a local kitsch factor. It's like how can you not go to Mos burger in Japan etc.? By the way how can the tenants here not be local or international chains or celebrity branded? The rent will be astronomical. One-off high quality food restaurants (which Toronto is already saturated with) cannot make it here, nor is it an appropriate space for them.
 
TrickyRicky said:
Actually Swiss Chalet or Harvey's would be kind of interesting to tourists because it has a local kitsch factor. It's like how can you not go to Mos burger in Japan etc.? By the way how can the tenants here not be local or international chains or celebrity branded? The rent will be astronomical. One-off high quality food restaurants (which Toronto is already saturated with) cannot make it here, nor is it an appropriate space for them.
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Swiss Chalet and Harveys are already within a 1 minute walk in either direction from this development.
 
ksun said:
do people really think Mandarin is a Chinese restaurant?
Mandarin is as Chinese as Pizza Hut is Italian.
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If Mandarin is so bad, why is it always filled with around 50% Chinese people, every time I go to the one in Scarborough? (and in North York too) I've heard many people say that the way to find a good Chinese restaurant, is to go where the Chinese eat. Well, if that's the case, I guess Mandarin is pretty good by that standard or else a lot of Chinese must like Canadianized Chinese food.

I don't mind Mandarin and I think the downtown core could use more moderate priced buffets, so I'm down with one here.
 
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The one in Scarborough is filled with half chinese because the demographics of people living around there are half chinese. (at least if it is northern Scarborough) Go to the one in Pickering, and its all white people.
 
innsertnamehere said:
The one in Scarborough is filled with half chinese because the demographics of people living around there are half chinese. (at least if it is northern Scarborough) Go to the one in Pickering, and its all white people.
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What about the one at Yonge and Eglinton or the one at Dufferin and Finch?
 
Yeah but the fact is, there are many other Chinese restaurants and even Chinese buffets in that area (and near by Markham) and yet, a lot of Chinese people still choose to go to Mandarin. In fact, it's a Chinese (Hong Kong) friend of mine who drives me up there when I go. He seems to like it for some reason, so I figure, how bad can it be? Next time you're in the area, watch how many Asians go in there. I actually like the Canadian style Chinese food I grew up on.
 
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Torontovibe said:
If Mandarin is so bad, why is it always filled with around 50% Chinese people, every time I go to the one in Scarborough? (and in North York too) I've heard many people say that the way to find a good Chinese restaurant, is to go where the Chinese eat. Well, if that's the case, I guess Mandarin is pretty good by that standard or else a lot of Chinese must like Canadianized Chinese food.

I don't mind Mandarin and I think the downtown core could use more moderate priced buffets, so I'm down with one here.
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Mandarin is not bad at all.
It is simply not Chinese food. I gather the Chinese go there for two reasons

1) they are going with non-Chinese friends.
2) they are Canadian Chinese to start with (maybe second, third generation), so their palate is just like white Canadians.

It is extremely unlikely that a bunch of mandarin speak Chinese would actually dine at Mandarin - that will be very odd.
The Chinese eat whole fish (with bones), and they never make shrimp balls. If a restaurant doesn't offer whole fish at least as one choice, it is probably not a Chinese restaurant.

Try restaurants at metro square (3636 Steeles Ave E). There is some real Chinese places without the "sweet and sour XX" or "lemon something".
 
modern™ said:
This type of ethnicity-themed rhetoric very quickly becomes uncomfortable...
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Agreed! You took the words right out of my mouth. Regardless of the intended use, I find it rather offensive to stereotype using racial demographics. Besides, what does race have to do with the quality of the food, there are thousands of "Chinese" born and raised here, who know as much about "authentic" Chinese food as the rest of us, to suggest otherwise is just ignorant.
 
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Torontovibe said:
If Mandarin is so bad, why is it always filled with around 50% Chinese people, every time I go to the one in Scarborough? (and in North York too) I've heard many people say that the way to find a good Chinese restaurant, is to go where the Chinese eat. Well, if that's the case, I guess Mandarin is pretty good by that standard or else a lot of Chinese must like Canadianized Chinese food.

I don't mind Mandarin and I think the downtown core could use more moderate priced buffets, so I'm down with one here.
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They could be Chinese-Canadians who are born & raised fully Canadian (Canadianized Chinese people) :).

There's good and bad food of every culture. There's Pizza Pizza, and good Italian. There's Taco Bell, and good Mexican. There's McDonald's burgers, and Holy Chuck or Bamburger.
 
Torontovibe said:
In fact, it's a Chinese (Hong Kong) friend of mine who drives me up there when I go. He seems to like it for some reason, so I figure, how bad can it be?
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Maybe he chose to take you there considering that you might not like the real Chinese Chinese food?

Hong Kong food has a lot of fish and seafood. Considering you are white Canadian, he probably won't take to somewhere to eat crabs (The Chinese usually eat the whole crab, taking meat from the shell as well as the eggs, unlike the just-the-meat-no-shell Canadian style) or eat whole steamed fish. Will you be willing to eat a whole fish with chopsticks?

You should know that there is A LOT of stuff white people don't eat - fish with bones (the Chinese eat their eyes too), chicken feet, duck tongue, pork intestines, beef stomach, lamb liver etc, or anything spicy. Even duck neck is a popular snack in China. But when it comes to meat, most Canadians ONLY eat the meat part and don't touch anything else of that animal.

Real Chinese will be very reluctant to take them to a real Chinese restaurant.
 
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^^ Could be but the friend I go with was born in Hong Kong and he especially likes all the sweet stuff like sweet & sour spare ribs, honey garlic spare ribs, sweet and sour chicken balls. So you really can't make any blanket statement. Maybe my friend just has really bad taste in food.

Anyway, all I'm saying is that a Mandarin downtown would be a good thing for ME because then I wouldn't have to go to the dreaded suburbs. I hate going to Scarborough and North York. My eyes just can't deal with that level of ugly and I have an allergy to strip malls/shopping centres with monster parking lots. Anything north of Lawrence is a no go zone for me, unless there is food involved. lol
 
Lol this convo reminds me of the 90s when Eaton Centre used to have a Chinese Buffet inside.

Anyways, they can be hit or miss in terms of popularity. Woo Buffet didn't last long inside Metropolis.
 
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