North-East Chinese Restaurant - Toronto, ON

CLOSED April 30(?), 2020

476 Dundas Street West

Visited December 25, 2010

It’s common knowledge the better Chinese restaurants are located north in Markham and Richmond Hill. But we weren’t there, it was getting late, and surely there had to be some gems in the Toronto. The Chinese restaurant scene changes here so frequently it’s hard to keep up. So after checking out 3 blocks worth of restaurants, the partner decided on this place. There is no queue but it is full.

We are confronted by a plump muscular woman who only spoke in rude Mandarin. The woman could easily overpower a professional wrestler. We scour the menu but looking at the other tables, it is Hot Pot night. We are only one of two tables that go against trend.

Veal hand pulled noodle soup. The veal is fork tender and so pleasant. The noodles are a pleasant surprise. They are unexpectedly smooth and tender unlike the typical northern Chinese noodles.

This is another hand pulled noodle dish, more noodles to enjoy, with its velvety smoothness.

Excellent fried pork dumpling.  We are batting a thousand.

Excellent and moderately spicy cumin lamb. It has no grittiness that seems present in all cumin lamb I’ve previously encountered.

The meal is stupendous and exceeded any expectations we had going in. I suppose the hot pot must have also been excellent and it would appear the restaurant has garnered a reputation for it. The restaurant is highly recommended and worth a revisit. Just make sure you don’t upset the temperamental Big Boss Lady.