Daimaru Shabu Shabu (大丸 Markham) — Restaurant in Markham

The service at this location is significantly worse compared to the Scarborough store. First of all, regarding the Yelp wait times, the Scarborough location always notifies and leads customers to their seats in the shortest time within the wait range, while the Markham location often makes customers wait the longest and even after being notified that they can be seated, they still have to wait a long time to get their food.

Secondly, the staff is very unprofessional. The employees at the Scarborough store always notice when there is no meat left on the table and proactively ask if we need more order, and they are quick to clear empty plates. In contrast, the staff at the Markham location almost never asks unless it’s obvious that there are no dishes left on the table, and they often can’t be found to serve our table. The server Annie assigned to our table seemed like a person who wanted to engage with customers, but her communication was ineffective. She spent a lot of time explaining details that customers weren't interested in, even when we showed that we didn’t want to hear it. Instead of taking the time to attentively serve guests and check if they needed more dishes, she focused on unnecessary chatter and was only particularly enthusiastic when chatting and at the end when she wanted a Google review from us. This is a misplaced priorities. Customers don't want to chat; they just want attentive service, and good service will naturally result in positive reviews.

Lastly, the ice cream here is Chapman’s, not soft serve, and the taste difference is significant. Chapman’s is not creamy at all and has a strong artificial taste. The server also spent a lot of time explaining why there was no soft serve ice cream, but that’s not what customers want to know; they just want to enjoy good ice cream for...

As an avid hotpot fan, I absolutely had to check this place out. Came here on a Saturday night, so it was a bit busy (would recommend joining the waitlist before you get there) but once we were in, we didn't feel rushed, which is always nice.

We tried four bases. Unlike other hotpot places that I've been to, Daimaru only offers single or double base options, so we had to get two pots in order to have more variety. The spicy base wasn't too spicy, even though we had asked for it to be the spiciest level, but honestly I was ok with that because it was more enjoyable. The tom yum base was oddly sweet, but still had a little kick to it. I do wish it was more sour though. The tomato base was super sour and the sukiyaki was a lot sweeter than the other places I've tried it at. I definitely enjoyed the tom yum the most.

Despite being an AYCE, the meat quality was really good. It wasn't too thin and was very good. I would also recommend getting the chicken wings as an appetizer, because they're so so good.

The atmosphere is my absolute favourite thing about this place. It's so cozy and aesthetic, and it's not too loud so you can actually hear the people you're with XD.

Our server was Annie, and she was absolutely amazing. She was super kind, very patient with us as we were new to the place, and even when she came by to do the last call orders, she didn't make us feel rushed or pressured at all. She definitely enhanced the experience for us, and I will being going back...

Busy on Friday but luckily Yelp has a waitlist feature for this restaurant. While we were driving there, we reserved a spot on the waitlist and ended up being 33rd in line which was approx an hour to get seated, so we checked in when we arrived and walked around the plaza until they texted us.

Food: We got the AYCE Premium menu. The soup was not included, we ordered the 2 flavour soup base for $19, Szechuan soup (less spicy) and Sukiyaki. Sukiyaki was my favourite soup base and I would get it again Szechuan soup (less spicy) was still spicy for me and my gf personally, we even took out all the peppers Beef slices all tasted great Lamb slices were a bit too strong in lamb flavour so I probably wouldn't order it again Tofu Rolls were my favourite hotpot classics but I noticed they don't have it on their lunch menu Shrimp paste and scallops were also tasty Fries and chicken wings were the highlights out of all of their appetizers Takoyaki and Steak cutlet were tasting pretty basic

Dessert: ice cream and milk pudding tasted basic but I would order more crème brûlée next time

Ambiance was a bit noisy since it was busy and only a pulled-down drape separating us and the next table

Service was great. Vanessa was our server and she was very friendly and attentive!

Overall, I'd come back. I'd order the 2 flavour soup base and pick the Tom Yum and Sukiyaki

(Would be better if each table had an ipad to order from rather...