Food Review: Phoenix Restaurant 金鳳餐廳 (Tsai Tsan Tang)

Here is blog post #3 on my list of Hong Kong style Chinese diners in the GTA.

PHOENIX RESTAURANT 金鳳餐廳

With 3 locations around the GTA, there's got to be something about Phoenix Restaurant.

 

I went to the location at Bayview/Hwy 7 (south of Hwy 7, west side) in the Thornhill area.

We went during the peak time (noon), holiday, and so the wait was around 20-25 minutes for a table. 

Once we got to our seats, we were feeling pretty hungry.

With some great visuals, it was hard to decide on just one plate. And addition to that, they had an even longer line up for the lunch set (dish + beverage).

Here's what we ordered:

Baked fish in cream sauce with rice (photo above). The fish was fried and the cream sauce was creamy. Below the sauce and fish, the rice had a slight stir-fry making it even better. At chinese HK style diners, you can never tell if their "cream sauce" is really all that creamy or it just "looks" that way. However, this dish definitely met my expectations. 

Vermicelli and brisket in spicy soup (photo above). The soup noodles was a very unique taste. They included star anise and a dried orange peel. The unique flavors made the soup taste to something new for me. I'm not sure I can say that I liked it very much. But the dish was saved for me when I bit into the brisket. The meat was very very very tender and tasty. 

Egg noodle with tofu, mushrooms and veggies (photo above). This is a great dish for vegetarians and also for everyone else. They dish is simple and tasty. They gave a lot of sauce which made it even more pleasant to enjoy.

Pig's neck + fried egg with rice (photo above). At first, I was very suspicious about trying it, but I gave it a go and I was delighted that the meat (with a line of fat), was not half bad. It rather tasted like B.B.Q pork, even the sauce flavour was the same. The presentation and portion of this dish, however, was very disappointing. Way too much rice for such thin and small amounts of pig's neck ratio. 

Lastly, their HK style hot milk tea. It ran down my throat nice and smooth. Loved it and was happily delighted with the brew that day! =0)

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Giving allowance to their service on a very busy afternoon (Family Day), their attitudes were very well received. They did not look frazzled or tired, instead I found that they were very pleasant and even started a conversation with one of our waitresses. The prices (lunch sets only) varied between $6.99 - $9.99. 

And on a much minor but noticeable detail, this is not your typical HK style diner. Their presentation of the interior was modern, clean and simple. They did not exude the traditional Chinese culture with neon lights and Chinese words on the wall, instead they flanked the interior with images or symbolic-looking fishes, birds and trees, which also tie into the Chinese culture -but in a new and modern manner. I liked that very much!

 

On my HK Style Chinese Diners List, this diner was very good in taste and service.

Overall, I rate it 3.9/5

Food Review: Leslie Cafe (Tsai Tsan Tang)

I am a lover of hot milk tea and I am in search of the best hidden HK diner gems surrounding the Toronto GTA.

Since there's no real list or good list for Hong Kong Diner style restaurants in Toronto, I have decided to put matters into my own hands and do it myself. 

This is my first blog stop: Leslie Cafe 

Location: Leslie St. & Finch (North East corner plaza)

Specials Offer Daily:

Breakfast specials that end at 10:30am (or 11am, not a 100% on that) 

Afternoon Tea Specials between 2:30 - 5:30pm

I came here with 2 other people on a late Sunday morning. It was nearing 11:30am and we were very hungry. Other than that 2-sided menu (above), we noticed that in their "regular menu" that their prices were just as good. We definitely liked the extension on good priced specials.

If you order from their Special menu, you will also receive a complimentary drink. You may choose from the following:

Hot milk tea 

Hot water

Coffee

Hot Lemon Tea

This was each of our orders...

They look gigantic, don't they? Well, it's really that big. Of course, you can immediately tell that the "food" itself is only drizzled on top while a massive amount of rice is embedded underneath. 

1) Smooth Egg with beef on rice (back, left)

2) Spare ribs with black bean sauce with veggies on rice (front)

3) Curry chicken with veggies on rice (back, right)

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My thoughts on the 3 dishes:

The best tasting dish turned out to be the smooth egg with beef. The sauce mixed with the rice was a very easy to please. 

Unfortunately, my order of "spare ribs" was very disappointing. There was little to no meat on any of the spare ribs. The spare ribs themselves seemed smaller. What saved the dish was the sauce. 

My least favorite dish was the Curry chicken with vegetables on rice (photo below). I did not taste any flavour. It tasted very bland and boring. There were no spices and nothing to help save this dish. It was a big disaster, I'm sorry to say.

The thing that saved whole meal was when I had my first sip of my Hot Milk Tea. The creaminess with the tea itself was made to be very tasty. It was not watery and the tea flavours were bursting out and dancing on my tongue. 

Overall, I give Leslie Cafe a 2.9/5

I was very pleased with the service (easy & quick)

For a HK diner in TO, I was pleased with the cleanliness and modernity of this place

I was very pleased with the big portions offered

Beware of what is good and not (If you happen to be like me and miss 2/3 of the dishes, then be smart for next time, if you ever go back)

I was very pleased with the hot milk tea

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And in case you're curious to try, here's the menu for the value prices:

Thanks for reading. Keep looking out for my HK diner reviews. =0)