I’ve been living in Cornwall for four years. We have a lot of restaurants here, which I am very grateful for. My tastes can be refined, but I am just as comfortable eating from a chip stand, and I knew that someday I’d have to try out the buffet at our Chinese-Canadian restaurant Jack Lee’s, located at 128 Pitt Street.
I got there at suppertime on a Saturday and the restaurant was pretty full already. Lots of people in line at the buffet. I ordered a beer and waited for the line to die down a bit. I saw many items being continually refreshed, and was looking forward to my first plate.
I really love fried rice. The rice here is very brown, with nothing chopped up in it. I was hoping for small pieces of bbq pork, because that stuff is addictive. I can’t get it here at an Asian market because there aren’t any, so I literally drive to Ottawa every once in a while to the T&T Supermarket, to get a couple of pounds to put in my freezer. It’s so good!
I certainly ate all of the rice, don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe in wasting food, and it was actually ok. The chicken chop suey got devoured, lots of fresh vegetables and crunchy bean sprouts. The egg rolls were fine, nothing fancy, about what I expected. That finishes my first plate.
The second plate I filled with sweet and sour chicken balls, fried noodles, sweet and sour pork, honey garlic spareribs and some more vegetables. You gotta eat your greens! The chicken balls were great, they didn’t skimp on the chicken. The noodles and vegetables were very plain, but that’s what soya sauce and sriracha is for. The pan of pork was almost gone so I got what was left. The crunchy bits. I have no problem with that. My favourite was the spareribs. Soaked in honey and garlic, they were fall off the bone. Just delicious.
Being an outsider, when I told people I was going to Jack Lee’s for supper, they weren’t necessarily approving, and I get that. Locals want foreigners to see the best of the best of their city, and for some reason Jack Lee’s is looked down upon. I don’t see why. It’s a classic old school Chinese Canadian buffet restaurant, and I got exactly what I expected. I look forward to going back and enjoying more meals there, and I hope you give them a try too!
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