Providential 9 鳳庭 — Restaurant in Markham

I could write a simple “terrible service, bad food!” review, that that would let this overrated, sad excuse of a “restaurant” off the hook much too easily.

We made reservations for 4 people at 10:30am today, because it was Easter weekend and we try to be good about planning in advance and got there at 10:25am. It wasn’t too busy when we arrived, and no one was waiting for a table. The host came up to her stand with the most awful scowl on her face and asked what we wanted and we told her we had reservations. I mean, how DARE we interrupt her busy day to let her know we were here! Well, in the most PETTY fashion, she stuck us in this wee little corner table inside a room, even though there were tables outside. We asked if it was possible for one of those empty tables but apparently they were reserved. I guess our 10:30am reservation we made doesn’t count as one. Oh well, we thought, “if the service is already so bad, then the food MUST be tasty right?” NOPE. We were wrong.

We waited for 30 mins for our first dish to arrive. Even though we ordered within 5 minutes of sitting down, I guess that was our fault for taking so long to order. I mean, what could we expect from a dim sum restaurant on a long weekend? Our first dish was BBQ pork steamed buns. The minute your chopsticks go NEAR the bun, it falls apart. But not in the sexy way you would expect. It fell apart in sad sad clumps. We ate one of those clumps, which had a slightly better consistency and taste like wet sand. The bbq pork inside tasted even sadder, almost as if they left it out on the counter for two days because they forgot it was there, but decided to add it in today because who wants food waste in this economy right?

It wasn’t all bad, I mean their sesame balls with salted egg yolks were quite delicious, but I highly encourage anyone ordering those to eat them within the 2 minutes they arrive on your table because otherwise they will taste like week old oil.

Oh and the first thing we ordered was the sui mai. As much as I would like to tell you how delicious the combo of foie gras, caviar and pork was, I can’t because it NEVER came. Even after asking 3 times, in 15 minute intervals. So yes, we gave up and paid our bill because when the manager tells you it will be 5 minutes for steaming every time you ask in a 45 minute period, you kinda wonder if they are being steamed in another dimension.

But of course when we bring this up to the manager, but how dare we bring up how bad the service and the quality of food was! When I asked him “what are you going to do about this poor service and us not getting our food” he said, “sorry.” That’s it. No explanation, no excuses. Just pay your bill and get out. Oh, and in case you miss the sign out front, they charge an extra 2.4% if you decide to pay your bill using credit card. Because you have to pay extra for the privilege to be treated with absolute disdain and fed food made in oil they forgot to change for probably a month. Quick tip, do NOT order the deep fried taro dumpling unless you want to know what month old fryer oil tastes like.

The restaurant decor is pretty though. They have nice wall paper?

There’s a ton of dim sum restaurants much cheaper and more delicious than this one. Do yourself a favour, save your money and aggravation and go to those...

I’ll give 0 star if I can.

My friend and I were seated around 11:40am.

Around 12:30, a server came by and asked if we were done and ready to pay because there were other customers waiting with reservations. Excuse me? Our table still had half the food left — clearly visible. We politely said we were still ordering more.

At around 12:40, another server came to check if all our dishes had arrived. We said yes, again politely, and she left.

Then at 12:53 (yes, I checked the time because it was getting ridiculous), a woman who seemed like a manager came over with a condescending attitude and told us we had to pay because there were many people waiting and the next reservation had already arrived. We replied that we had only been eating for about an hour. She insisted, saying “this is how weekends are.” We responded politely but firmly — we understand weekends can be busy, but being rushed three times within an hour is excessive. Her attitude remained dismissive, saying we could “stay for a bit more if you want.” Excuse me?

She must’ve realized we were annoyed — maybe surprised that two women actually pushed back — and returned again asking if we were unhappy. She said we could sit a little longer but had to leave within 90 minutes anyway (still with a very indifferent tone). By then, the mood was completely ruined. We just said, forget it, we’ll pay and leave.

Here’s my question: where exactly is it written that dining time is limited to 90 minutes? Even at all-you-can-eat places, people usually get two hours. We were only there for just over an hour and you were rushing us multiple times. Was it because I’m not a local or don’t speak Cantonese? Is this discrimination? Or because we’re two young women, that we’re easy to push around? We get that it’s the weekend and restaurants are busy — we’re reasonable customers and always leave promptly if we’re done — but at least let us finish our meal in peace.

To top it off, we were charged mandatory tips( service charge). I didn’t want to argue — it’s not a big amount and I get that the other staff are working hard. But after what we experienced, it just left a really bad taste. For two people, six or seven dishes, the bill came out to $102. I won’t comment on the food itself. Let’s just focus on facts: with this level of service, pricing, forced gratuity, and the rushed dining experience, the value is extremely low. Maybe instead of focusing on pushing customers out, the restaurant should invest in improving food and service quality.

As someone from China who has enjoyed dim sum at many great restaurants both in China and in Toronto, I can confidently say this is one of the worst experiences I’ve had. I absolutely do not...

It’s a long review. Here’s my verdict if you don’t have time to read further: Food quality (taste & presentation): 5/5 Ambience: 5/5 Service: 3.5/5 Overall value/rating: 4/5

We (5 people) were having a gathering on Saturday. A friend and I arrived a bit earlier ~9:30am to chat. The place was quite empty at that time as you can see in the videos I’ve posted.

The place’s decor reminds me of some Chinese restaurants in Shanghai. I’d say it stands out from most of the other dim sum places.

Location: Easy to find, SE of Woodbine and Hwy 7, with a Costco nearby so you can do some shopping with family afterwards.

Their menu has a decent amount of items. Maybe slightly less than some other dim sum place but I can tell they do a better job at making every item look and taste good.

The price is on a slightly pricier side. And I think that makes sense given the location, decor and the capacity of the restaurant.

The servers were overall polite but not the type that would have a smile on their face.

Prior to the visit, my friend and I were wondering why this restaurant got such ‘bi-polar’ ratings. Some love it and some people just gave it 1 star. After my visit, I guess I may understand why - during our visit, we didn’t order a hell lot of food and we stayed there from 9 something 10 to 12 ish. Different servers came to our table to check on us. Eventually one server told us that lots of people were waiting and that we should leave soon.

Some of my friends felt that was really not nice since no matter what, you shouldn’t do that (especially they didn’t specify the max amount of time people can spend there). To me, I didn’t feel too bad, maybe it’s because I look at it from the business perspective. They have to make money. And the only way is to make sure the tables “flip” faster (a Cantonese expression).

So I actually went back again on Sunday with my family and we all liked the food.

Roughly prepare to pay around $100 before tips for 5 people.

My favorite dishes: octopus tentacles, pumpkin chestnut congee

I’d still come back to this place since we usually don’t stay that long. It’d nice if the servers can have a bit of smile on their face… but I know it may be a lot to ask these days when it’s so hard to hire and retain people in the F&B industry.

Nice thing to note: I liked their washroom set-up: 7-8 rooms with individual toilet and handwash. It gives you better privacy and it can be gender neutral and...