Recently, I ate at a buffet called Dragon Pearl located at North York. So here's my review, and I hope to teach you some strategies on how to make the most of your visit.

Start Light: Soup or Sushi

A rookie buffet mistake is to feed your eyes instead of your stomach. You want to gracefully start your course with something light and easy on the pallate, like a starter or an appetizer. Many people opt for soup (I didn't) as a starter to get the taste buds and the stomach going. I chose to start off with some sushi.

They had a nice selection of sushi, from California Rolls, Shrimp Tempura sushi, Spicy Salmon, Cucumber, and more. I always go for the cucumber and California sushi, but hey the Shrimp Tempura Sushi ended being my favourite out of the my selection.

It was so good I had to get seconds, focusing more on the Shrimp Tempura and the Cucumber.

The Main Course: Fried or Grilled

Their grilled section had quite a selection on the grilled menu. (Unfortunately my phone had low battery and I was only to get a picture of my plate). I opted for the grilled squid, which was dry, and the grilled pork, which is your typical Chinese style you'd find in any Chinese restaurant.

The Fried Shrimp Tempura was pretty greasy and bland, as was the fried rice. I didn't have any of the fried rice, as it was to gingery for my taste. The Spring Rolls were crispy but the vegatables weren't crunchy or fresh, though I could have just had a batch that sat too long in the warmer.

The Deep Fried Squid was pretty good and wow the fries was top quality. It was crispy and just the right amount of salt. It's easily one of my favourite food from the fried section.

The Cheese Pizza was decent and nothing noteable. Not to knock it, I did go for seconds.

On this plate I focused more on Noodles since the rice tasted wierd and bland. The Fried Vegetable Chowmein and the Spicy Shanghai Noodles were good.

Pallete Cleanser

Apart from water, I had some fresh fruits to cleanse my pallate and counteract all of those greasy foods. Nothing to review here, the fruits were fresh, filled with juices, and most of all, sweet and ripe.

The Honey Twisters were good as was the Jello cube.

End it off with Deserts

I went easy on the dessert. They had a decent selection. In my picture I mixed up, Vanilla, Chocolate, Green Tea and Mango. They also had a pastry section with cream puffs, honey twisters, cookies but I just opted for an ice cream cone.k

Final Thoughts

The ambiance was good. The restaurant provides quite a separation from outside, as it was raining out, and inside was warm and inviting. The servers were attentive though they occasionally took plates people were still eating. I went during the Lunch Hour so there wasn't any entertainment. I heard they host Magic Shows, maybe it was only during dinner. Overall, the experience was good and the food was okay. I will come back again... and If I had a choice, I would pick Dragon Pearl over Mandarin anyday.