chinese buffets in BC make me wonder why Mandarin doesn't open up a franchise here.

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICSH!!!!!!!!

The food is AMAZING! It's the best.

the negative reviews on this restaurant are obviously done by one hateful hater. i just went for the buffet tonight and it was a wonderful experience. although it is rather pricey compared to the other chinese restaurants in town, it offers the best choices and best dining experience unlike those typical cheap chinese restaurants that are just plain bad.

Food - 4/5
Price - 3.5/5
Service - 4/5
Location - 5/5

As a Chinese, I like dinning out, basically 3-4 times per week. I have been tasting all Chinese Restaurants in Victoria, except those I did not find when I drive around Great Victoria area everyday. I don't know why there are so many critisms on this restraurant. Basically, I agreed most of these comments are not real, because I don't think these apparently 'English' named persons even don't have some basic writing ability.

I personally think Crystal Jade serves the best Chinese buffet in Victoria. I go over there almost once or twice every week for buffet. I have not tried the menu dishes, for I bascailly go to other two Chinese Restanrants for dim sum and menu dinning.

I came back to give Chrystal Jade another try. I came here when it first opened and the food was good. Then it went down hill. I heard change of owners or something. Anyways, food was just disgusting !! I am appaled they can serve this CRAP !!Come on, greasey, sloppy, food drenched in sauces with no meats or veggies. How can they serve this ??
Don't waste your money here. Purple Garden and Szechaun on Burnside is truly the best.
I hope the owners read this, get your act together. Maria Jackson- Victoria

All the negative comments on this posting are wacked, Crystal Jade has not shut down by VIHA, but since obviously these comments are posted by the Crystal Jade's competition go to this website http//www.healthspace.ca/viha, and check out the Crystal Jade, Don MEE, Mings, Raymond's, Szechuan City, etc. Judge for yourself. It's a shame that the posers are out in force on this site but hey when you have good food, good service and at good prices I guess your competitors get mad. We eat there all the time and I recommend it to anyone. I wonder why the Jade is always busy? MMMMMMMMMMMMM

My wife and I had lunch on the 16 July, has the Ides of March date been changed. This is the poorest excuse for a restaurant, greasy half warmed left overs, over cooked fish scraps, all laden down with handfuls of MSG. Please have this slop house closed down !!!

Wayne Renney
Saanich

I was there for dinner Tuesday. Terrible food and service. The buffet looked like GARBAGE !! All the fried stuff was all greasy and sopping with oil. They have rice kripies for dessert. Uhhmm a $20 buffet !! What a rip off. Not much seafood, lots of empty trays and when I asked if they will bring more food they said its not very busy tonight I will see what we can get you. I waited 15 minuts nothing came out. So don't waste your time here.Go to Szechuan palace on Burnside. GReat food great price of $9.95 for lunch buffet. The other good buffet is Purple Garden $9.95 and for a REALLY treat go to Don Mees in Chinatown. Fantastic !!!

were actually shut down by VIHA for unsanitary conditions for a day or two at the end of December... You have been warned..

if you're looking for help in assisted suicide then this is you're place. The food served here isn't even close to what they get in jail. I can't believe they haven't been shut down. I will never ever go back what a waste of money. The food is completley gross and the owner's should be ashamed of themselves.

yummmy. good food. good price. good service.

total package for $15

The worst chinese food in Victoria. The buffet was unedible. Ice cream was literally bad. I thought since I wouldn't be able to eat the food I would at least have icecream but was I ever wrong. After one bite I had to spit it out because it was sour. Waste of money.

I've visited 3 times so far - two Sunday dinners (630-8pm ish) and one Thursday dinner (same time).

Like any buffet, its important to arrive when its busy, as this is when the food is being replaced the fastest (which was when I was there).

I was very impressed - best Chinese Buffet I've been to by a long shot. Lots of food to choose from, and some high end choices, like Peking Duck, and Crab. The Peking Duck was as good as I've ever tasted. The crab was extremely popular - seemed the whole tray was empty within about 3-5 min. Then as soon as they could cook another tray full, it would be replaced (probably 10 min ish).

Friday/Sat/Sun are a couple of dollars more expensive than Thursday (dinners), and I was interested to see the difference. The only difference I could see was an absence of table covers on Thursday, and no crab - the rest of the selection seemed the same. There was not at many people on Thursday, and as such, the food did not turn over as fast.

All in all, my Sunday dinner experience was better than Thursday, and in my view, worth the extra couple of dollars.

In terms of the price, its just high enough to notice - but again, in my view, its worth paying a bit more, for a much better meal. Moreover, if you go to any other Chinese restaurant, and order the regular fried rice/chow mein, and then start adding the higher end dishes, like deep fried shrimp, Peking Duck, Salt and Pepper Crab, Calamarie, etc etc, the overall cost is going to be far higher than this buffet.

I have no hesitation in recommending the place.

As for the owners, if you read this, please consider changing the salt and pepper crab, to crab in black bean sauce (I know, its more messy to eat, but its so good!).

Please keep up the good work, and I hope you stay in business for a long time to come.

Absolutely Gross. The whole buffet was cold and old looking. The service was bad as well. After eating one bite and deciding I should try to fill up on ice cream instead, considering we paid top dollar to eat here and I wasn't going to be able to stomach any more in fear of food poisoning. Surprise Surprise the ice cream was off and sour. YUK! I told the staff and they started to clean the machine. I would not recommend wasting your money here.

I was very impressed with this buffet style Chinese restaurant. It is much higher class than Uncle Willie's was. There is a large selection and I found most of the items very well done. Out of 5 I'd give them a solid 3.

Well I have yet to try the other buffets in Victoria but after eating here at least a dozen times over the last 7 months, my only disappointment was that the dinner buffet is almost the same as the lunch. Other than that, the food was good, and I love how you are just let alone to do what you wish. And I rarely use the one fork on the table, as I much prefer chopsticks. There is all the cutlery you need and is placed nicely after you get your food...unlike some places where you have to go back to the beginning because you forgot something. I don't see why people are complaining about $12.55 after Tax being too much, but then again I eat about three plates of food so it's like $4 a plate. I admit the food is a little greasy at times, but this is vegetable oil, not bacon fat, and the body needs a little grease now and then. The food are always hot and chances are if is was getting low the first time around, by the time you come back it's full and fresh. And I have yet to find a plate on my table waiting for me when I get back. The lovely staff are excellent about keeping the place clean and tidy and always greet you with a smile.
Maybe I just catch them on good days....now I have worked up an appetite, I think I'll head over there now.

When this place first opened, it was sensational. Lots of seafood, big shrimp, nothing greasy. A real find. BUT what a change since then! The food is downright inedible. And this was not just one bad night, as I thought perhaps was the case. Another visit showed that bad food was now the norm.

I guess after they got good word-of-mouth, they felt they could drop their standards. I would never go back and would not recommend it to anyone.

I went on a friday couple weeks ago, service was excellent! (Especially the young spiked-up hair guy)but the food was not that special. For the pricing of 17.95 on the weekend and the variety of food, i don't think it's worth it.

My sister-in-law found a large curly metal shaving in one of her dishes. The employees acted shocked and surprised but had a ready explanation for it. No apology was received, no discount was received, and they did not even replace the chafing dish at the buffet of that item. I live within walking distance but refuse to return. Not a good value either compared to other Chinese buffets...

good

The only way I'd ever go to this restaurant again is if someone dared me to and if I did the dare, I'd win a million dollars. We went to the restaurant around 230 on a Wednesday. The first thing I noticed is that a few cosmetic changes had been made to the place but other than that, it was like being in Uncle Willy's again which was fine by me. We had the same experience as others, go take a table and after you're finished eating you pay. To that I say

overall well and nicely priced.

I went there today for lunch. I was dissapointed to see the limited selection of food for the high price they charge, $10.95. There is no service at all, just someone a host who takes you to a table and to make it worse, I had to request for a full set of utensils, only a fork was on the table and no napkin!. No one was there to pick up the plates. Like someone mentioned, it is disgusting to see staff cleaning plates next to the food. It seems that they dont know anything about food safe. Not recommended, there are better place around for less and better quality.

its okay but too expensive. $15 bucks!!

I have just finished eating dinner at this restaurant. We arrived at 530pm and were greeted with smiles and shown to a table. The buffet was full of hot food, greens, fresh fruit, and deserts. I chose a wide variety of items, all pretty good. One thing I do not like to have to do is peel shrimp after it has been cooked in a sauce. Other than that the food was fine.
It is exactly the same setup as Uncle Willys. There has been little in the way of renovating other than a couple of fish tanks, and perhaps the bar. I was surprised at the patching of the carpet, it was frayed and not the same color. The furniture is nice, good color and comfortable to sit on. The drinks section was very messy, the first cup I picked up was one someone had put back in the tray, half full of coffee. There was no ice and the plates being cleaned in the same area only served to make it look worse. If there had been a screen it would have helped. All in all the food was good, the staff were smiling, the floors were clean and the washrooms well maintained.

what is going on in here?

anyways, i thought the restaurant is affordable and great tasting. the best in the city or up there.

DID YOU ALL READ THE WRITE UPS FROM AUG.25 AND AUG.26. ALL OF THE 9 WRITE UPS ARE WRIITEN IN JUST ONE MINUTE. IT IS SAD THAT THE OWNERS OF THE RESTURANT NEEDS TO GIVE THEMSELVES A GOOD RATING. HOW GOOD CAN THE RESTAURANT BE IF THEY CAN'T RELY ON REAL CUSTOMERS LIKE US TO RATE THE RESTRANT!

I WENT THERE FOR LUNCH ON FRIDAY. YES I AM REAL, NOT LIKE THE OTHER WRITE UPS FROM AUG.25 AND 26. i GIVE IT A FAIR! IT DOES NEED IMPROVEMENT.
SPEND SOMETIME IMPROVING THE RESTRANT INSTEAD OF GIVING BOGUS REVIEWS. NOW I AM DISAPPOINTED!

Strange how Aug.25 and 26 write ups ( all 9 of them) are written in less then 1 minute.Must be written by one person ( maybe the owners). Anyways The Newsgroup rated Best in the City chinese restaurant as Ming's as # 1, Don Mees as #2 and Raymond's as #3 ( excellent buffet). Szechuan city should be # 4....another excellent buffet!

good chinese food at great pricing. good staff overall fantastic

good food!

great foooood!

greattt all around!

great fooood!

best!

chinese food! very good at good pricing too! amazing staff!

chinese food made good

the food is very well done, i loved most of the dishes. lots to choose from and the service was great. great people all around runned by great owners.

very good service. good food. the best in the city no doubt.

AFFORDABLE AND THE BEST CHINESE FOOD I EVER HAD. the place is runned by don mee core people and wow they made another identical best chinese food in the city.

- i feel bad for that one guy who's just hating on the forum. soo sad.

excellent!

good food!

yummy! chinese food at its best.

- seattle

5 star!

great place in town

good food!

greaat!

best food in town

from white rock. I have had better. need to work on service and quality of food.

I have been there twice. First when it was just opened. I was satified with my meal. I went there today. Food was gross. It was saltly and greasy. The food wasn't hot enough. I notice a lot of comments on food being cold or just warm. Hopefully they can get things better. I did tell the server.

VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED!

I was diappointed with the food. It was not hot. I guess it wasn't busy enough so they didn't bring anything new out. The chow mien was dry and some of the food has been sitting there for a while. I am from vancouver and I usually eat at raymonds. I think raymond is better. they have dim sum and great service!

I work in the plaza and we wanted to check it out. Service was okay. Staff was slow at clearing plates. They stood around talking too much. Food was okay. expensive for what you get. Definaely wouldn't be my first choice. I would reccomned Purple Garden if you want buffet.

best chinese food in the city! im from vancouver and expectations are high coming from big cities. sooo good, would go again!

im from seattle. heard it was grand opening. wow, turns out to be great food!

yummy!

good price and food! lots to choose from

excellent foood )

the place is nice & great food. lives up to the largest chinese restaurant in victoria hype.

good food and okay price.

I am confused, how could anyone have gotten in on the 27th if it was not even open. I know, cause i work in the plaza, i check everyday. They actually opened on the 31st. Anyhow, the food was great, service was alright.
the prices are $10.95 it is a pretty fair rate i must say. If it was to be compared, some say expensive, but they have variuos selections and they dont run out of food unlike some places. yum =)

buffet is $10.50 expensive!! raymonds and Purple Garden is only 8.95 much better deal. Options were okay. food was luke warm. There is so many better chioces in town.

food was average. expensive for what you get. Dishes are small. service was slow.

service was lousy!! Food was not even hot. I cansee why it wasn't very busy!!

Save your money. Try purple Garden or Don Mees!

Bad food! bad service!! Very disorganized. I got food poisining because the beef was sour ( gone bad!!)

Eat at your own risk!