Magical Taste of China·Barrie|西域食府·清真|Chinese Restaurant |Halal Cuisine — Restaurant in Barrie

First time at this location; we were really excited to try this new place because we usually go elsewhere. The lady who greeted us was polite at first. The server also seemed polite; his name was Mark. We ordered general Tao chicken, stir fried minced lamb and vegetable Chow mien. We chose the beef option and the waiter (mark) asked if we wanted it crispy or soft. We said crispy because I don't like when the beef is too soft. They bring the general Tao chicken and minced beef way before the noodles. The noodles finally arrive and the chicken has gotten cold at this point and half eaten. The noodles were rock hard and the beef was soft so we realized that the waiter meant the noodles will be crispy instead of the beef. Even though he did not specify initially. I was very unhappy with the crispy noodles and politely explained that this isn't what I had ordered. He then told the lady at the cashier. He said okay we will make you soft one. He came back after 3 minutes and took the crispy noodles... after 5 minutes he returned with the same dish he took and just added water/sauce to the crispy noodles which now tasted very bad and I felt very uncomfortable. The waiter and lady could both see how wrong it was but they didnt want to make what I had initially wanted. I tried to eat the crispy noodles that were soaked in water/sauce and I couldn't stomach it. I tried to get the attention of the waiter and when I finally did I felt very bad for telling them I can't eat this; they made us feel very pressured over a bowl of crispy noodles which would cost them less than a dollar and 5 minutes to prepare. By the time the noodles came in the meat was cold and I had to separate the meat from the old dish to the new one. I felt very embarrassed because they made it seem like it was our fault when in fact the waiter miscommunicated. To make matters worse; I went to pay and they charged me for the old batch that we did not touch. I said this is very unprofessional and not fair since that is not what I had ordered; she proceeded to tell me the waiter forced her to bill us for the mistake they made. I felt like they could have easily fixed the situation right away but instead penny pinched 🤌 Very...

I normally don't write reviews, but had to because I really want this restaurant to thrive and stick around! I've dined here two times and were so impressed by the taste and quality of the dishes both times. As someone who lived in the part of China with a large Muslim population, I find their menu is very authentic and have items that you probably can't find elsewhere in the city. However, they also do have some 'popular' Chinese dishes like sweet and sour dishes. For what you pay (very little), the portion size AND quality of ingredients will greatly exceed your expectations. The first time I was there I ordered a lunch special for $13 and ended up eating it for two meals; last night while dining I overheard the couple next to me exclaiming they weren't expecting the shrimp to be that large in their dumplings. You can taste that the food and ingredients are very fresh and made to order. What I appreciate the most is their food is not greasy or salty- it honestly feels like home-cooked food by my Chinese mom, but very elevated and flavourful. Cherry on top is their staff and owner are very friendly and attentive. In chatting with the waitress, I learned that their chefs have decades of experience cooking in upscale restaurants in China. Will definitely visit this gem of a...

Racist, dirty, unsafe… AVOID! We went in and first thing we are given is a dirty fork with dried up old food stuck to it. I also saw the guy touch someone’s dish with a spoon, take it out, put it back with the “clean” cutlery and replace with a fork. I put my hand on the bamboo in there and a nail was sticking out and cut my hand. Me and my girlfriend ordered food, several dishes. Not long after, a large Chinese family came in. At that point the person I assume to be the owner, also Chinese, must have gone to the back to tell them to stop our order and prioritize their order first. Because after the first dish came out (for my girlfriend) we got nothing. 20 minutes we waited, nothing. Yet the Chinese family got multiple large dishes coming out. Another Chinese family had also come in and when they too started to get their dishes I just told them to cancel the remaining items. There was a lady working who actually apologized and tried making an excuse as to why, but it wasn’t true. The owner was extremely rude, racist and doesn’t care about his...