Mandarin celebrates Canada Day with free buffet in Ontario

ABOVE: You won’t believe how long the lineups were for free food at Mandarin on Canada Day

TORONTO – To commemorate its 35th anniversary, Mandarin is offering its famous Chinese buffet for free to all Canadian citizens in Ontario this Canada Day.

The only catch is that you need to prove you’re a Canadian citizen by showing your passport, citizenship card or birth certificate.

“We, at Mandarin, are so proud to be Canadian and Canada Day serves as the perfect opportunity to express our gratitude to both our country and our customers. When we arrived in Canada, we had big ambitions and we hope that our story inspires others to follow their dreams,” James Chiu, President, Mandarin Restaurants, said in a press release.

James founded Mandarin in 1979 along with George and Diana Chiu and K.C Chang after they immigrated to Canada from Taiwan and China. Their first location in Brampton, Ont. was a small à-la-carte restaurant. They now employ over 2,000 people at their restaurants across Ontario.

The free Canada Day buffet runs until 8:30 p.m. at all 22 Mandarin locations.

Expect to wait in line for a few hours if you are planning to catch this deal as there are reports of lines around the block at most locations.

In 2009, police had to be called to control crowds at a location in Rexdale, Ont. when Mandarin offered this same deal.

Mandarin is also launching a special Canadian menu on July 2, featuring Canadian favourites like poutine, blueberry pie, bannock, and maple-glazed salmon. The special menu will be available at all locations until July 31.