Queen Slice Pizza & Pita

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lamb plate / chicken shawarma plate

Students with classes around the south-west side of campus at UofT probably already know all about Queen Slice but anyway...the menu at Queen Slice is a strange mix of pizza, panzerottis, burgers, and shawarma but most people seem to just go for the shawarma plate. A decent place for a quick tasty lunch or for people watching the "interesting" business going on upstairs. (it's a whore house lol)

I got the lamb plate ($7.99 + tax, but I got it for $6.99), while Leo got the classic, #3, the chicken shawarma plate ($6.99 + tax). Both plates came with salad, rice, half a potato, and the meat all covered in hot sauce and their "special shawarma sauce" (thousand island dressing lol). The lamb was surprisingly decent, it was a nice sized lamb shank and the meat was pretty tender. I didn't try any of the chicken, which just looked like a bunch of chopped up chicken, but it gets Leo's seal of approval though he does warn it can be really greasy sometimes.

Queen Slice Pizza & Pita
177 College Street
Toronto, ON

Oriental Cafe

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chef special chunked beef noodle soup

Sadly with the great Mr. Sun's now closed, I now need to find a new place for my beef noodle soup fix and a definite contender for that role is Oriental Cafe located in Richmond Hill just north of Leslie/16th. They used to run a stall in the First Markham food court and apparently moved here a while ago.

Walking past the restaurant the first thing I noticed was a big yellow poster advertising their chef special chunked beef noodle in soup so of course I had to try that. From 12pm-6pm, it costs $7.25 + tax/tip but otherwise it's $7.99. The beef was good. Soft, not too fatty, no bad pieces. The soup was also pretty good and very flavorful. The noodles though were just ok and just like any other noodle you'd get elsewhere. So while they weren't terrible, they weren't anything special like Mr. Sun's.

We all got the beef noodle soup except for Leo. And Leo being Leo, he of course got the hainanese chicken ($7.25 + tax/tip). The rice according to Leo was very good, "creamy yet had that essense and smell and taste of hainanese chicken". But the chicken was too rough and dry and disappointing compared to the rice.

Though a little expensive for what it is, the beef noodle soup here is very good and I'd definitely return.....but it's still no Mr. Sun's.

haianese chicken

Oriental Cafe
9425 Leslie Street
Richmond Hill, ON

HKS BBQ & Noodle House

Roasted Duck & Soy Chicken Rice (w/ Sunflower Tea)

Another day, another dinner at First Markham Place foodcourt. I must say, this foodcourt is by far one of the best places to eat because of its prices and quantity. Speaking of which, HKS BBQ & Noodle House is most famous for its large amounts of food (not just rice) while maintaining a decent quality every time. This is my usual place for my chicken, duck, roasted pig and etc as it has never disappointed me for the past 9 or 10 years (and continuing). Also, if you order near closing time, SOMETIMES they give you a bit more stuff depending on what they have left.

The day that I went I got the roasted duck & soy chicken rice ($6.25 tax included), and it always comes with a complimentary drink (soy milk or sunflower tea) or soup. I went close to closing hours and they ran out of roasted pig or else I would’ve got that (their roasted pig is better than their duck). Usually, their roasted duck is too bony and skinny and I never get enough meat out of them, but surprisingly, the duck was pretty good this time, not skinny at all. The soy chicken has been consistently good throughout the years, so that was normal for me. Although the quality is not what you would expect from actual sit-in restaurants, it does its job for a fast-food place. It tastes different from the average place, but not worse, just slightly different. It doesn't bother me at all and I’m sure it won’t bother the rest of you guys.

So, if you ever wonder into the foodcourt feeling some BBQ pork or anything else, HKS BBQ & Noodle House is the place to go. There is another place two stores beside it, but DO NOT try that. I tried it once when it opened up and it was no match for HKS BBQ & Noodle House. The meat is dry and the quantity is less. HKS BBQ & Noodle House: GOOD. Other place: BAD. Bon appetit.

Rating: 8.5/10

HKS BBQ & Noodle House (in the First Markham Place food court)
3255 Highway 7 East
Markham, ON

Mei Nung Beef Noodle House

beef noodle soup (S $5.99/L $6.99)

NOT VERY GOOD. GO TO MR. SUN'S.

Mei Nung Beef Noodle House
3229 Highway 7 East, Unit 7
Markam, ON

Ho Garden

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toast, eggs, instant noodles with ham / I have no idea what that is

One day Leo had an appointment early in the morning and decided to wake our lazy asses up so we settled on going for some cheap chinese breakfast. Of course for us, the temporarily unemployed, early is like 11am so we ended up going the closest place possible, Ho Garden, just to make it there right before breakfast ended at 11:30. This was pretty early for me so details are a little hazy.

I got uhh some sort of breakfast combo, which came with toast, 2 fried eggs, and instant noodles with ham ($4.95 + tax). Most amazing breakfast ever? No, but for $5 I'm not complaining and it definitely hit the spot. Leo got a different breakfast combo which came with oatmeal and a scrambled egg sandwich ($3.95 + tax) which he thought was just ok and regretted not getting my combo. Our last friend Wey got....I have no idea what he got but it was some sort of noodles in soup with chicken and a whole bunch of other stuff ($4.95 + tax). Didn't look very appetizing to me but he seemed to enjoy it so who knows.

Overall not bad, I like breakfast...just not waking up for it.

oatmeal and scrambled egg sandwich

Ho Garden
9255 Woodbine Ave
Markham, ON

Food Challenge: Yanagi Sushi – Double Katsu Challenge

Before the challenge began – TWO chicken katsus!

A while ago one of my friends tried to eat two pork katsus at Yanagi Sushi. Unfortunately, he did not finish. After hearing about this, I decided that one day I would step up and take the challenge myself. So, on August 18th 2009 (a day to be remembered), the challenge for two katsus was up again, only this time I was the contender.

Because I made up my mind to do it just two days before, I didn’t really prepare for this challenge besides drinking a lot of water the day before in an attempt to expand my stomach (which I think did nothing) and starved myself a bit the whole day. The time finally came when I arrived at the First Markham Place food court, and told the lady “TWO chicken katsus, please” (Fan of chicken, never pork). When I saw the two plates of katsu goodness in front of me, I was already hungry beyond my imagination, and began eating. I managed to finish the first katsu in about 5 minutes, probably because I was too hungry. After that, I slowed down my pace as the first katsu started filling up my stomach. In the end, I finished both katsus in 23 minutes. I did save a small bite as a grand finale to show my friend (the one who didn’t finish the challenge) and for the video below, but that wouldn’t have changed my time dramatically.

This challenge is now deemed a standard introduction challenge between all my friends, and a start to the world of competitive eating among us. If you’re going to start somewhere, you better start here. As for my friend who didn’t finish, he’ll back for a rematch soon. And for me? Gluttony is a sin, and I am now a sinner.

COMPLETION!

Yanagi Sushi (in the First Markham Place food court)
3255 Highway 7 East
Markham, ON

Kenny’s Delight

Pork Fried Rice with Vegetables and Dried Olives, Fish and King Oyster Mushroom on Fried Noodles

After a whole day of sports with the guys and not having a full meal all day, all I can think of is Kenny’s Delight, located in First Markham Place. This is because Kenny’s is well known for their large dishes at a reasonable price. So, before I begin my review, I challenge everyone to try and eat TWO plates of Kenny’s rice or fried noodles. It is possible (I’ve witnessed my previous roommate eat two before), but I believe only a handful of people can achieve this feat WITHOUT training or fasting.

Anyways, to satisfy my hunger, I ordered the pork fried rice with vegetables and dried olives ($7.99 + tax), an usual for me at Kenny’s while my friend ordered the fried noodles with fish and king oyster mushroom ($10.99 + tax). Now, I may be biased since I’ve been eating at Kenny’s for a long time, but the pork fried rice has never disappointed me. The rice is not too dry or too wet, just moist enough. There are plenty of dried olives in the rice and always enough meat and vegetables so that you will never be left with just rice in the end. The fried noodles, however, was a major disappointment. The noodles seem to be overcooked and burnt a bit and the taste was bland and plain, almost as if there were no flavour at all. The fish was decent and not overcooked , but still had no taste to it. Other than that, I don’t know what else I can say aside from a below average dish overall for Kenny’s.

If it weren’t for the fried noodles, it would have been a nice dinner at Kenny’s. So, for all you followers of this blog, DO NOT order the fried noodles (unless you’re feeling for some plain and flavourless food similar to congee). This does not change my mind about recommending and going back to Kenny’s though, but I think I’ll just stick to my pork fried rice and salty fish fried rice (also my favourite at Kenny’s) from now on.

Rating: 8.5/10 (-0.5 for the horrible fried noodles = 8/10)

P.S: I also ordered the Horlicks, which by the way, is the best Horlicks I’ve ever had. Highly Recommended!

Kenny’s Delight
3255 Highway 7 East, Unit 18A
Markham, ON