Best Hot and Sour Soup????
I used to hit a restaurant just south of College on the east side of Spadina...I think it was called The Shanghai Restaurant. The hot and sour soup there was unmatched! I also believe they were voted the best in the city in a Star reader's poll. They disappeared a few years back and I have yet to find any H/S soup that can hold a candle to this one. Again, as with most things I have posted here lately, I am pregnant and the baby REQUIRES a HUGE bowl of this soup. It was hot and sour, yes, but it also had a small hint of sweetness that I have yet to find anywhere else. I even emailed the food columnist at the Star, but she couldn't help.
So, I leave it in your capable hands. Please find me the BEST hot and sour soup....or one that is close to the Shanghia Restaurant. Does anyone else remember this place?
Gormlaith
Oct 27, 2009 08:28AM
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Try the hot and sour soup at Thai Plate. It is exactly what you describe -- a solid Chinese hot and sour soup but with a sweetness that I suppose makes it Thai. The sweetness is what I don't like about it, but it is otherwise a very good soup.
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TJ....I'm a big fan of the Hot and Sour at Thai Plate...had it on a cold, windy, snowy night last winter and it lingers in my mind as one of the best ones I've had in recent times.
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Yeah, my lunch buddy swears by that soup -- says it's his favourite hot and sour soup of all time. But I can't get over the sweet aspect of it. I just grew up with soup that had no hint of sweetness, so this just tastes wrong to me. It is otherwise a great soup -- right consistency, good ingredients, nice heat. Sigh.
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The one at Graceful Vegetarian also has a sweetness to it. It is one of my favourites in the city!
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Kom Jug Yuen hands down. I often ask for extra hot, and add vinegar if it needs it.
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I remember that place. I don't think I ever had H & S soup there but I thought it was a good restaurant.
I think it depends on what you like in your H & S soup. I tend to be (what I think is probably) a purist: I like fungus, bamboo shoots, tofu and maybe a little egg. I don't like much if any meat or seafood in it and I think it should have a little bit of fresh scallions to finish it. I used to really like the H & S soup (even though it has chicken in it) at Asian Legend but last time I tried it, it just seemed wrong. Not unpleasant but too pale and just the wrong depth of flavour. I try H & S soup at pretty much any asian place I visit and many are very forgettable. But the classic type I've found most memorably at Spadina Gardens and (oddly) C'est Bon. The only issue I have with CB is they need to make it more hot (stove hot, that is). I sometimes ask them to reheat it. They are both very good, reliable H & S soups.
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I like the h&s soup at C'est Bon as well. It has a touch too much black pepper, but otherwise, I really enjoy it.
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My favorite is at Hua Sang on Baldwin - not traditional: has pork, shrimp, all kinds of stuff, but I find it delicious - kind of a meal in a bowl.
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I agree...I love their H & S soup...better than anything I have had and I worked in Markham for 7 years so I have been to a few places.
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New Sky's Hot and Sour is great.
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It used to be Peter's Chung King ages ago - but they fell off the map long since.
I would suggest 3 places - top 2 without doubt would be LWH (very refined, delicate H&S) and second Thai Princess (king & spadina) make a wicked H&S - very spicy though.
Last, and closes to me is Lime - they are sometimes hit and miss, but when they hit, it's quite a good bowl.
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My favorite is Spadina Garden on Dundas, her City Hall. They have an amazing Hot and Sour Noodle soup for a lunch special. It is well priced and a whole meal in a bowl. It is the only place I've ever been to that has a hot and sour NOODLE soup.
Definitely worth a try.
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I enjoy Lin Garden's hot and sour soup.
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I remember Shanghai! The hot and sour at Shanghai was truly the best. I used to come downtown just for it. I don't think I've ever had a hot and sour that came close. It was really rich and flavourful with that hint of sweetness you mentioned. It was a "brown" version as opposed to "pink-red".
Mr Leny quite likes the one at Yenching in Bayview Village but personally I don't think it's as good.
Good luck!
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