Highlights of Chinatown?

[befuggled]

I'm new to Toronto and I live right by Chinatown (Richmond and Spadina). So far my wife and I have tried Pho Hung (pretty good), Pho 88 (mixed luck--should have stuck with the pho), and the Dumping House (pretty good). What are some of the places we should try?

[doro]

Chinese Traditional Buns is probably my favorite restaurant in Chinatown, but the Cantonese seafood restaurant above it, whose name I'm blanking on, is also wonderful. Sichuan Garden is very solid, as long as you only order the Sichuan dishes. Asian Legend, on Dundas, east of Spadina, also has some strong dishes (fish in wine sauce, Sichuan fish in hot oil), though both it and New Sky can be inconsistent. And thanks to Warlock for the Pho Pasteur recommendation--I've been meaning to try it and now will.

[mrbozo]

Second Sichuan Garden. As my dining partner and I discovered not too long ago they really put the "pow" into Kung Pao chicken (we counted 26 chilies).

[mogo]

Xam Yu (Spadina & Baldwin) for seafood.

E-Pan is pretty good too.

[Baelsette]

Can't beat Dim Sum at Rol San......... pass the hot sauce!

[mrbozo]

I like Happy 7, especially their lunch specials. Kom Jug Yuen for BBQ.

[currycue]

Wow, you're right by Le Gourmand, one of my favourites! As for Chinese, I'd second Swatow. I've never ordered anything that wasn't good there. I think they open until 3 a.m. on weekends, if I'm not mistaken too.

[rjp123]

E-Pan has great crispy beef (and other dishes as well). The decor is probably the nicest of any place I've seen on the strip (and the bathrooms are spotless).

[Bobby Wham]

Chinese Traditional Bun!!! Swatow!!! and Rol San (For Late Night or Dim Sum)

[MindGrinder]

Wow Dumpling House!

Starting off pretty hard core!

[halugii]

i really like swatow for their cantonese chow mein and chicken and corn soup . always so good and garlicky .

mother's dumplings of course! (huron and dundas) i've never had anything bad there .. they are very nice people too ..

'chinese bakery' a little east of huron, on the south side of dundas .. 3 buns for a dollar! they're a little small, but i love the variety

[num nums]

i think we're neighbours. here are my go to places in the hood:

for vietnamese i like kim asia cuisine just a few steps west from pho hung on st. andrew. the prep and ingredients seem to be a notch above the usual suspects along spadina. for example, they serve my tho noodle soup with huge shrimps carefully placed on top that are properly cleaned and seasoned with black pepper.

right next door is ka chi which is really good for korean outside of korea town. they have a huge rotating variety of banchan. their pork bone soup is pretty good. warning: their spice levels are not toned down, so order specify spiciness accordingly.

for mainland chinese i like chinese traditional buns on dundas just west of spadina (north side, downstairs). they modestly renovated recently which makes it much more pleasant. they have a wider menu than nearby dumpling house and mother's dumpling. they have a chinese version of pulled pork sandwich which i have never seen anywhere else. i did just notice before breaking my ankle a few months back that there is a new mainland chinese place on dundas (north side) east of huron. as soon as i'm mobile again this is on my to-do list.

and for casual cantonese, i like king's noodle (spadina west side, just north of dundas). they just do things with a little extra effort. for example, they serve lo mein with a decent helping of chinese broccoli compared with a token leaf of steamed iceberg lettuce at goldstone. their bbq stuff is also very good. a nice bonus is they serve dim sum items all day. the dim sum is just so-so, but when you have a craving at 2am, it can't be beat.

[befuggled]

We probably are neighbors. But thanks to you and everybody else, this is exactly what I'm looking for.

[warlock]

Welcome to TO, befuggled....

I used to frequent Pho Hung a lot but then I tried Pho Pasteur,and they are so much better than Pho Hung,less crowded and better service

Pho Pasteur
525 Dundas Street West

For noodles and barbeque I go to Kings Noodles but if it is to busy than i like House of Gourmet

King's Noodle Restaurant
296 Spadina Avenue

House Of Gourmet
484 Dundas Street West

Of course you will get recommendations of Goldstone Noodle Restaurant and Swatow too....

[halugii]

pasteur is 24 hours!! yess!! and the little man is so nice

[hotsauce28]

Lee's garden has a great black cod and I love their hot and sour soup.
New Sky is also pretty good.
If you want to try a great vietnamese place, head east a bit to Broadview and Gerrard and check out Hanoi 3 seasons. Their fish pho and shrimp and lotust shoot salad are incredible!