They forgot the flames. (Flaming Dragon (Sheffield))

Member Name: FairyG

Product:	Flaming Dragon (Sheffield)
Date:	04/02/09 (989 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good price and decent service.

Disadvantages: Wide range of food, but quality could be better.

A new branch of Flaming Dragon unlimited Chinese buffet restaurant has recently opened at Sheffield Centertainment. The nearby Cineworld was giving discount vouchers printed on the back of their tickets, offering the lunchtime menu at Flaming Dragon for £3.99. As this is valid up to 6pm Monday to Friday, it means it's possible to get an early evening meal at a very good price, so I had to give it a try.

The décor in Flaming Dragon is brightly lit, with contemporary red and white theme. It's pleasant and clean, although not the kind of atmosphere that would encourage a long leisurely meal with a party of friends. Tables are comfortably well spaced, although in rows, giving it a canteenish atmosphere. However, after trying other Chinese buffets, this seems to be standard, and I would say overall it's quite pleasant. It's okay for a family meal or a dinner before a movie, where you don't want to wait ages for waiter service.

I arrived with my husband at 5pm and we were instantly shown to a table for two and asked for our drinks order. This was a weekday, so not too busy. The waiter was polite, but I felt a bit rushed as I wanted to look at the drinks menu, so just ordered a glass of water initially. It was nice to see they offer a glass of filtered water at 50p for a large glass, which means if you don't want to spent a lot on drinks you don't have to. It can be annoying sometimes when you really just want a meal and find you're spending a fortune on drinks at inflated prices.

After looking at the drinks choice, I ordered a small glass of Chilean Merlot at £2.80, which is about what I'd expect to pay at other restaurants in the area. We noticed two young men trying to order beer but they weren't allowed as they couldn't offer proof of age, so there's quite a stringent application of drinking laws! Waiters were prompt with service such as clearing away plates and bringing drinks, but didn't harass us, and just asked once more if we'd like more drinks while taking away plates.

The buffet area was towards the back of the restaurant. This consists of a long hot food counter, where you first help yourself to bowls, plates and cutlery at one end. The first section has starters, with wontons, samosas, crispy pancakes, crispy fried seaweed, ribs, dips, soup, prawn crackers, soup etc. I tried the wontons and samosas and found the samosas weren't quite as spicy as I've had at other buffets and also they weren't very warm and went cold very quickly on my plate. The wontons didn't seem to have very much in them at all, so no particular flavor. I also tried the seaweed, which I've never had before. It was quite crispy and there was a salty-fishy kind of flavor to it. It wasn't horrible, but I don't think I'd have it again.

For main courses they had a good range of dishes including ribs, salt and pepper beef, beef in black bean sauce, kung po meats, chicken curry, various vegetarian dishes and a mix of different rices, dips and vermicelli. A lot of the dishes seemed to be ribs, chicken wings, pork and beef, but not a good choice of chicken dishes, which I would have preferred. There were also chips, handy if you're taking children who aren't keen on spicy food. I tried the kung po meats which had a mild flavour, but not enough chicken and not spicy enough for me, in spite of the fact there were whole chillies in it. The chicken curry was also quite mild. I also tried the Singapore vermicelli, again not very spicy. My husband was unimpressed there were no prawns in it, which he would usually expect in Singapore Vermicelli.

Along the side wall there was a salad bar, which I didn't try, and a dessert bar. Overall I wasn't very impressed with the dessert choice. There were little pots of jelly, cornflake buns, egg custard, apple wedges, plums, orange wedges, jelly beans, and ice cream. There was also a fridge with gateau, which only had two wafer thin slices left, so I had one of those. I suspect there would be a wider choice after 6pm, as other Chinese buffets tend to extend their menu for the evening.

Overall it was a reasonable enough meal for the price we paid. You couldn't get a takeaway with all the extras for that price. It's not the best Chinese buffet I've been to in Sheffield, but they do vary their menu, so I'd maybe give it one more go and try other dishes. It might be worth trying in an evening when they have a more extensive menu. On the plus side, I've no complaints about the service, and it looked clean. It's also conveniently placed near our favourite cinema, with plenty of free parking, which is much easier than the city centre restaurants. For those without a car, it's easily reachable by tram.

UPDATE!!
After having just been back to Flaming Dragon a few weeks later, I'm happy to report a better experience. They had more of the foods I like such as Lemon Chicken which was delicious, and aromatic crispy duck with hoi sin sauce and pancakes, also delicious. They also had a lot more gateau this time. There was also sushi - not something I've tried yet! Another good thing was, we turned up around 5.20, then around 5.30 they started to serve the evening menu, which is supposed to start at 6pm. This meant waiters were bringing around barbecue pork, chicken kebabs, barbecue prawns, garlic bread, and barbecued pineapple to everyone's table. Lovely! The hot pineapple was fantastic with my ice cream.

Altogether it was delicious meal and I've no complaints. Again the staff were very courteous. It was much busier this time though, so I think it's gaining popularity. Nando's next door was almost empty!

I'm increasing my rating from 3 stars to 4 because I enjoyed it much better second time around. I'd give it 5 stars, except that it really seems to be hit and miss whether all food displays are full, or whether they've got the foods I'd like. Overall I really recommend this restaurant, and I'll be going back again soon!

There's a fairly complex pricing structure:
Mon-Thurs
12-6pm: Children £2.50, Adults £4.90.
6-11pm, Children £4.00, Adults £9.90

Fri-Sat/Sunday/BH Monday
12-6pm: Children £2.50, Adults £5.90
6-12pm/11pm: Children £4.00, Adults £9.90

Summary: Okay for quick meal out if you don't want to spend a lot.