Mei Mei Chinese Buffet & Takeout Brings All-You-Can-Eat Restaurant Back to Peterborough With Grand Opening
/Helping to revive all-you-can-eat restaurants in Peterborough, Mei Mei Chinese Buffet & Takeout welcomed hungry customers at their grand opening on Wednesday evening.
Co-owners Morgan Bell (left) and Susan Tung (right) with some of their classic and popular buffet dishes such as Torpedo Shrimp, Egg Rolls, General Tso’s Chicken and more. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
Over 30 people were lined up at the restaurant during the grand opening, with several more customers coming after the doors opened. Co-owners Susan Tung and Morgan Bell said they were scared and nervous ahead of the grand opening. They have received a lot of positive feedback, leading to high expectations since their soft opening (takeout only) that began on Feb. 25.
“The positive response of this restaurant has been beyond what I imagined and now opening the buffet feels like we’re opening the floodgates,” said Tung. “At the same time, I feel like our hard work is paying off.”
“I think after our friends and family buffet night, we had to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to keep up with demand,” explained Bell. “This week so far, it has felt like we were preparing for war but I’m really proud of the team we’ve built and I can’t wait to see how we grow from here.”
The restaurant is located at 1080 Lansdowne St. W. in Consumers Plaza, at the former Wimpy’s Diner location, and offers a dinner buffet or takeout, with more options coming later. Several Peterborough Chinese restaurants that offered all-you-can-eat buffets prior to the COVID-19 pandemic did not reintroduce the concept after restrictions were lifted. This was an opportunity that Bell and Tung could not pass up.
“Who doesn’t love a buffet? I think we really just want to open restaurants we want to eat at. I was also really excited to learn and work with Mei (Tung’s mother),” said Bell. “She’s the Chinese Food Queen and I’m very honoured to learn from her.”
“I’ve skimmed Reddit enough to know what the people want and the Google search analytics,” said Tung. “Morgan and I joke about our mantra, which is give the people what they want and a Chinese buffet it is.”
This was not Tung’s first rodeo running a Chinese restaurant as her family previously owned the Golden Wheel Restaurant in the Springville area for several years. It was sold after Tung’s parents had retired.
“This is classic comfort Chinese/Canadian food that my parents sold at the Golden Wheel,” said Tung. We’ve slimmed down the menu because it’s unrealistic for us to sustainably have such a large menu but we stuck to the greatest hits.”
The restaurant is named after Tung’s mother in honour of the work and dedication she put into the Golden Wheel and her other restaurants.
“My mom was the anchor/boss lady at the Golden Wheel and when I was coming up with names for the restaurant, there wasn’t even a debate or question about what the name was going to be,” she explained. “My mom’s presence in my existing businesses is so felt. My team has so much respect for her and they learn from her even when she just pops in. It’s only fitting to carry on her legacy in my own way.”
Tung has founded and owned several food-industry businesses in Peterborough, including Hanoi House, Electric City Catering and Naka Japanese (sold to Emily Tan on Nov. 1, 2024). Bell had served as general manager for those businesses but this time joins Tung as a co-owner of Mei Mei.
“Over time, Susan and I realized we’re two halves of the same brain when it comes to building ideas,” explained Bell. “I’ve always put everything into the projects we’ve done together but this one felt different. We built it side by side, from the ideas to the problems, it didn’t feel like I was just supporting anymore. It felt right to step in as a partner.”
@ptbo_canada Peterborough’s newest Chinese restaurant, Mei Mei Chinese Buffet & Takeout is now open!!! #ptbocanada #journalism #fyp #news #food ♬ Chinese musical instruments cinematic of towns and fields(1329013) - GlanZauber
The following are the restaurant’s business hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
