Posted : March 25, 2014
Our blog is chock full of great ideas for fun things to see and do in York Durham and Headwaters. We are always adding new content and updating old posts, but sometimes you might stumble upon something from our vault. If this article has inspired you to hit the road, be sure to double-check that the featured stops in this post are still welcoming visitors.
All You Can Eat restaurants are always hit or miss. With the exception of Las Vegas and on cruises, buffets are generally not my family’s first choice when eating out. Dragon Legend is breaking this stereotype.
Having driven past the all black building many times, we did not realize this was the sister restaurant to Dragon Pearl in North York. We thought maybe it was a night club.
Red Chandeliers, dark wood furniture, large statues, and a mosaic tile wall greet you as you enter the main doors. The high end look matches the type of food found at the serving stations.
Our family’s first visit to Dragon Legend in Markham had us singing a different tune about all you can eat establishments near home.
Here’s 5 Reasons to Head to Dragon Legend:
1. Hand Pulled Noodles
Watching the chefs pull a single noodle strand without it breaking and throwing miles of it into a boiling pot of water is not something you see normally at Chinese buffets.
The chef was moving so quickly you can barely see the noodle in this photo.
With several soup bases to choose from (chicken, spicy szechuan or fish broth) along with various toppings (cilantro, green onion, barbecue pork, or Peking duck) this is one of the more popular stations at Dragon Legend and my husband’s absolute favourite. He probably had 5 bowls of noodle soup that night!
Noodles were perfectly cooked – al dente and the broths were rich and flavourful.
2. Grill Station Surprises
In the grill section, there’s the standard prime rib and traditional sides of mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and corn.
The few stand out dishes that we kept returning to were Peking Duck, grilled pineapple, pacific saury fish, grilled whole squid and seafood pancakes.
3. Above Average Sushi
For an all you can eat establishment, the sushi at Dragon Legend is above average.
I wouldn’t recommend coming here just for this but knowing that the sushi and sashimi selection is more than California rolls and salmon sashimi is an added bonus. High quality Japanese cuisine is always worth the trip.
4. Unique Dishes
From deep fried spicy frog legs, pumpkin shark fin soup, seaweed salad, steamed ginger milk pudding and black sesame ice cream there’s many dishes for the adventurous foodie.
5. Something for Everyone
Having said that, there’s a huge variety of foods to choose from which makes Dragon Legend great for picky eaters like our toddler.
Chicken wings, fries, salmon fried rice, vegetable stir fry and dim sum were some of the foods that were frequently on his plate.
Yes there were many foods you’d expect to find at an East Meets West type buffet – crab legs, chow mein, spring rolls, wonton soup, chicken wings and a salad bar.
Dragon Legend will surprise you though with their unique and above average offerings.
We left full, satisfied and with a new outlook on all you can eat restaurants in the Toronto area.
Know Before You Go
Dragon Legend, 25 Lanark Rd, Markham Ontario, (905) 940-1811
Reservations are strongly recommended.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights are extremely busy starting at about 7PM and onwards.
An earlier dining time guarantees a parking spot.
The lot is fairly small and some guests ended up parking their vehicles on neighbouring side streets the night we visited.
*****
Cheryl is founder of Kids On A Plane – a blog dedicated to family travel in North America and the Caribbean.
When she’s not on a plane, you can find her exploring the GTA with her two young children and husband.
