ottawa foodies

My SO and I were intending to stay at home for supper but we were near the market and decided to try the AYCE pay per plate.

We were the only people dining at first, but there were a few more tables by the time we were finished.

Service was excellent (very friendly waiters, quick to check on us, fill water etc.).

There was a special on ($1 off dinner AYCE) but I don't know if the special was because of the time of dining or for other reasons.

The food was super fresh and so far my favourite Canadian-Style Chinese food since coming to Ottawa. Each dish was made to order which is a great take on buffet-dining. Nothing is spicy (contrary to the menu stars) but the portion sizes are great for sampling.

Dishes we ordered:

Hot & Sour Soup- mild but tasty
fried wontons - with homemade sweet & sour sauce
spring roll - meaty, crispy, fresh
fried spinach - unique: deep fried leaves with sugar
general tao chicken - tender chicken morsels with a more savoury than spicy/sweet sauce. but really good
sesame beef - tender & saucy
szechwan shrimps - sweet and sour sauce coated
fried rice - dry and not much flavour
General Tao chicken
Kung Bao chicken

I really regret not having my camera on me. I would definetely go back.

Seems like most people pan this place. But I love it! It's great fake chinese food. Lotsa meat and shrimp. Mostly sweet and sour tastes. I went on a Fri for the $19.95 all you can eat that they bring to your table. I think it's a pretty good deal and great for a get together with friends who like sharing food. The food tasted fresh and well prepared. If you like this type of Chinese food, then this is a great place. (Nothing was very spicy though so not really Szechwan.)

I particularly like this place for groups larger than 10 where you would get split up and lost in better quality restaurants like Yang Tze.

Yeah I'm not considering a repeat performance anytime soon. Honestly, I went and got more into the company and almost forgot about the food. Getting together for a meal should marry both good food and good friends. Oh well.

The food shown in the photo are very artificial. If the food dishes are like the photos, I won't bother going to this restaurant since they look very like the fast food chain type of Chinese food.

The "gelatinous looking beef" dish might have been "Sliced Tender Beef in something (can't remember) Sauce." ;-)

I've had a similar dish at the Yangtze and it looks scary but tastes really good (even though it's sweetish and I don't normally like sweet food). The gelatinous property is likely the result of the tenderizing process.

And plump shrimp are the best!

Finally we had Lychee Chicken and Grand Marnier Pork (which I believe is the same S&S sauce topped w/Grand Marnier)

All in all, it was an OK meal. We came right when it opened Saturday so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. I was happy because we tried a new place.

The most memorable thing: plumpest, juiciest shrimp I've had in a while. We had the aforementioned Blackbean Shrimp and two other kinds (not pictured) and the shrimp were cooked just right and I ate shell-on for the most part.

Most disappointing thing: I didn't find the "Szechwan" here, any of the "hot" things, just weren't.

Next we have...a gelatinous looking beef picture in the top left corner, it looked and tasted better than my camera suggests here. It was crunchy and sweet served with fried vermicelli. Next to that we have mixed veggies, on the bottom left we have Beef, Mushrooms & Bamboo shoots and finally the ubiquitous fried rice.

Next up come the mains:
(T-B, L-R)
Lemon chicken, then we have Caveau Chicken (light almost tempura likebreaded and pan fried as far as I could tell, in a soysauce/lemon mixture. Then Vegetable Lo Mein, and finally Blackbean Shrimp

On a friend's recommendation we went to check out their AYCE lunch deal ($19.95). Price was a bit steep but I felt better b/c there were no steam tables, you order and they cook it and bring it out, repeat to your heart's content. It was not blow my socks off spectacular, it wasn't horrible. It was just good Chinese food, which is hard to come by, downtown anyway. ;)

First up appetizers:
Fried wontons in a sweet & sour sauce (which was curiously on a lot of things)
and
Fried Spinach...Cool because they dissolved in your mouth but covered in sugar, it was this wierd combo, that half of us couldn't figure out if we liked or hated.

The only thing I can remember about this place was they've got some kick-ass General Tsao's Chicken, replete with spice and a satisfying chewiness.