King Palace

[ziggystardust]

I tried this Pakistani fast food place near Church/Yonge a couple weeks ago and I think I'm addicted. I'd never heard of it before. I'm curious what other hounds think of it.

[Moimoi]

Have I responded yet? I've been a big fan for a few years. Did visit the old location. You can't beat them for a kick-butt, cheap take-out dinner... Less than $20 + wine and you're laughing in front of the tv without slaving in the kitchen. Chili beef and naan are personal favourites... actually I haven't had a bad dish there... This is soul food. I'm not big on their salads (typical ice berg type lettuce style) - I think they make them because they think their North American clientele want them. Anyway.. the place is spotless... so clean. I will be a patron for years to come.

[gembellina]

Just went here for lunch. Noticed a tray of "brain masala". I got distracted and forgot to ask if it was really brain - does anyone know? Has anyone tried?

[JennaBean]

I like this place, and I'm a "brave" eater but even I wouldn't venture into consuming brains at King's!

[gembellina]

A Pakistani colleague tells me that curried brain is fairly common, and a tasty way to prepare them. She wasn't sure if leaving it to sit out in warming trays was a great idea though...

[warlock]

I have not been to the new one...but the old location used to have "Brain Masala"...Yes it is "brain"...as Gembellina has rightly pointed out ,its a fairly common dish in pakistan....

I have tried it and its Ok (again in the old location)...didn't have any after effects...taste wise,they put in a lot of spices so that kind of makes the dish pretty palatable....

[JennaBean]

Love it!

[millygirl]

Any recommendations for a newbie?

[Googs]

Before you start planning an evening out, take a look at this:
http://goo.gl/maps/wh6cb

It used to be a doughnut shop and still has that, shall we say, ambiance. It has nothing to do with the food (which personally I won't eat even when they were steps from my home), but may have you leaning towards take-out.

[millygirl]

Ha Hah, thanks Googs. I see you have my back :)

I actually pass by there almost every day so I knew and to your point, its not a place I would have consider until a neighbour told me that she loves the food there - but take out only. I didnt even know one could actually eat in LOL

I'm still not sure we'll actually pay a visit - hubby the more discerning one, it's quite skeptical. He may win this one. I'll let you know if it ever comes to be.

[ziggystardust]

It's true that the ambiance is somewhat lacking. This wouldn't be my choice for a first date or a place to impress out of town clients. Think of it as a fast food place and nothing else. That being said the place is always hopping. A meal will cost about $11 pp. Not a huge loss if you don't like it. I say give it a go. Lots of people love it

[Googs]

Good to see they've managed to go an entire year without any violations. That's a huge improvement over their last location.

[ziggystardust]

I have no idea about violations but I do know that if you deign to get close enough you'll see that their windows are covered in great reviews and various awards and accolades from The Star, Now and others. Can it be that terrible? : )

[Googs]

Their last location was essentially dumpster diving as far as I'm concerned. Yes, it was that terrible.

[JennaBean]

I like the chicken tikka masala with spicy lentils and nan. It is completely fast food but it is enough for two meals for me and I've never found it more oily than any other fast food of this style. I've had the pleasure of eating at much more ummm let's say interesting places all over south east Asia so I'm not too concerned about the look and feel of this place.

[Notorious P.I.G.]

Yeah, they reheat it in the microwave. They also prepare all of that food and freeze it, then they thaw it out and huck oil all over it.

[ziggystardust]

In a Toronto Star review they said they prepare everything the same day, then put it on ice, then put it in the microwave. The reason given was that keeping it in steam trays would make it mushy.

[Yongeman]

That makes some sense to me. The one time that I went in the old location, I enjoyed the food, but couldn't get my mind around the fact that it was reheated in styrofoam. Nothing like eating out of a shrunken styro container.

[ziggystardust]

I've only eaten in but got the leftovers as takeout. The food was served in plastic dishes, not styrofoam. The leftovers turned up in styrofoam.

[jmeggs]

I've read that they take your food and reheat it in a microwave... is this always the case?

[Fwagra]

I love it. Absolutely love it.

[dlw88]

I used to live right there, and ate it at least once a week. There is plenty to try, and I worked my way through the entire menu. Their naan is on the crunchier side, but I prefer it to most and would recommend the sesame style. The food is certainly tasty, but there were a few times that my body did not agree with what I had eaten. You can count on the food always being greasy, but there are some days when the grease is just out of control. The simple salad and delicious dressing are recommended to help combat some of that oil.

[Dr. John]

I tried it in the old location and found it tasty but pretty greasy, so I haven't gone since. So it sounds like it hasn't changed much (which could be good or bad, depending on your preferences).