Helen Y.
Yelp
Trust me and ignore the bad Yelp reviews this time. The food and service at this place was superb. We had nothing bad to say about this place, though we suspected a slightly heavy hand with the MSG. One of their specialties appeared to be the spicy salt and pepper shrimp we ordered, big, plump shrimp that had a batter coating to which chili paste has been added. The taste was incredible, different than the usual salt pepper shrimp that is just flash fried and coated with salt and pepper. This one crackled with its coating and presented spicy, tangy, salty tastes, along with the sweetness of the fresh shrimp and the sauce. Our other dish, seafood pan fried noodles, was also packed with flavor. Even the tea was good, not the usual watered down overused tea leaves you get in dives. I would not even call this a dive. Bestie, who has eaten at serious dives in NYC, remarked that I like greasy spoons. Compared to immaculate Vancouver Chinese spots, this would get a B. But compare it to a typical NYC Chinatown restaurant, an A plus indeed. The food isn't overly greasy by the way, but is reasonably priced and even cheap for the generous portions you get. This place is outside Chinatown, and, we were told, popular with clubbers late night. I could see why. After a night of spinning and gyrating, you definitely want to chow down on the delicious piles of food here. It seems to be a fave of groups too. We were agape when we saw the mountain of lobster the table behind us had, and was told it was only two lobsters. We doggie bagged the goods, tucked it into our hotel fridge, and I had a great, cold Chinese breakfast. Even Bestie availed herself of cold spicy shrimp the next day. I don't know if this place changed management, but the gracious service we got was so contrary to the bad Yelp reviews from years ago. The decor wasn't memorable,but it was pretty clean and the bathroom was very clean.This restaurant would be a repeat if I lived in Toronto.