Swatow on Spadina - BEST dishes?

[toronto guy]

What are the best dishes at Swatow?

Thanks in advance

TG

[thebutcher]

Went last night and picked up some food for take-out and used the recos here as a guide.
Shrimp Dumpling soup - terrific (lots of shrimp filled dumplings in a light broth).
Beef with black bean sauce over crispy noodles - meh. (Crispy noodles, hard, green pepper and onion, undercooked, beef ok, under-seasoned overall).
Hot n Sour soup - amazing (not too gelatinous, good heat).
Spring rolls - v good.
Garlic pork (good flavour - but container steamed the dish making the pork soggy).
Overall - will stick with the soups and spring rolls.

[jdgo75]

not sure of the #, but there is a mushroom and bok choi dish that is excellent.

[justanotherdoan]

agree with luxal. the beef with blackbean sauce over noodles is very good. u can ask for the thick white rice noodles or the crispy fried noodles. very hard choice for myself as i enjoy both types of noodles.

[luxual]

71. Beef with black bean on noodle.

[DDD]

Shrimp with lobster sauce on rice

[Hondapendragon]

+1 for the shrimp in lobster sauce.

[Danybear]

went to SWATOW last night after reading this post. Third time at Swatow and was amazed at how EMPTY the place was at 8 pm. Had the beef and black beans on rice. Cook had hurried to get it out, even though I hadn't asked. The onions and green peppers were totally uncooked and very off putting. The shrimp dumpling soup was delish, the broth especially so. Hope they haven't begun a slide to the bottom.

[bryanayrb]

swatow's never actually been that great whenever i went. maybe i'm spoiled by markham chinese food.

[aser]

beef brisket + daikon
curry squid
salted fish & chicken fried rice
water spinach (tung choy) with preserved bean curd or shrimp paste

and the ubiquitous wonton mein of course.

[bbbradk]

For sure get the General Tsao Chicken, it's so good

[Dr. John]

Definitely the shrimp dumplings - either as noodle soup or just shrimp dumpling soup (more dumplings).

Beef stew noodle soup and four kinds of balls are also good soups. Agree that the broth is not the strong suit.

In terms of the fried noodle dishes, we like special fried noodles, beef and black bean rice noodles, and the Singapore fried noodles particularly.

Eggplant and shrimp, clams in black bean sauce - both a bit cornstarchy but very tasty.

Scrambled egg with shrimp on rice - almost a comfort food for me.

There's a bitter melon dish that's quite good - I can't remember if it is with oysters or something else.

Agree about the fried dumplings. The fried stuffed tofu and the fried stuffed hot peppers are similarly good.

[Wandering Foodie]

Haven't been there in a few years but I prefer their beef internals noodle. Not many places give you the variety and quantity of organs. I find the wonton noodle good but pretty standard compared to other places.

[T Long]

Beef rice noodle soup.

[caitlink]

Stirfried pea shoot with garlic, shrimp dumpling noodle

[Notorious P.I.G.]

Wonton Mein + Curry Squid

[robb]

shrimp dumpling noodle soup, special fried noodles...more like a linguine type noodle than chow mein, pan fried pork dumplings....ask for them well-done with the sweet soya on the side.

[petek]

Eggplant with shrimp(ask for it spicy).

Pan fried dumplings

General Tsao(sp?) chicken.

Steamed oysters w/black bean

BBQ pork noodle soup..

[justsayn]

+!

[acd123]

+1 on the shrimp dumpling noodle soup. Flavour of the dumplings (shrimp and mushroom) and egg noodle are good although the soup could be better. The chilies in oil, soy sauce and vinegar pull it all together. It's in my lunch rotation.

[justsayn]

Yes its true that the soup could be better - its too sweet. I much prefer House of Gourmet around the corner on Dundas.