I went here the other day and ordered the beef Bánh mì for my friend and I and when I got home…read morerealized they had given me chicken instead. I let the employee named Andrew know and he promptly apologized and asked me to come in for either a refund or a beef banh mi on the house. I ended up picking up the beef Bánh mì. The chicken was good but a teensy bit on the dry side and the beef was fantastic. There is depth to the flavours. It tastes like there may be shrimp paste or something of the sort inside the mayo, but it's subtle. The flavour profile of the pickled radish and carrot is perfect. I would have liked more cucumber but that can easily be solved by asking for extra. Both buns were very fresh but a little too sweet for me personally. (Take that with a grain of salt as I don't like my bread sweet at all.) The hot sauce was spicy and bursting with delicious flavour. Overall the food was fresh, flavourful and layered and the customer service was top tier.

This is a Vietnamese restaurant focusing on Banh Mi. This is their second location, which…read moresoft-opened on 2026-04-24. They also sell rice dishes, fresh rolls, coffee, and matcha. There are 5 locations, with the first one opened Nov 2025. The bread reflects the colours of the Vietnamese flag, red from beet juice. They have a huge variety of fillings, from all regions of Vietnam. They will also put a star on the banh mi but they didn't have it on the first day. I ordered the following: 1. Pistachio Coconut Drink ($7.50). 2. Nem Nuong Nha Trang Banh Mi ($11.99). 3. Purple Rice dessert (free during soft-opening). The customer service was good. The drink and food tasted good. The banh mi bread was definitely deep red and crunchy. The Nem Nuonh sausage was very tasty. There was also pate, pickled carrots, pickled radish, and cucumber. I definitely have to come back to try other drinks and banh mi! The banh mi is packed in a cute takeout box, the size of a single banh mi. They also have a pretty takeout bag. There are some vegetarian options. Their ingredients are prepared fresh daily at their huge St. Clair location and delivered to each location. They also sell coffee beans imported from Vietnam. The coffee drinks will keep you awake 5-7 hours! There is counter seating with stools. There are a few electrical plugs. The neighbourhood/seniors/students get 15% off. There are some nice Korean-themed wall murals, since they are located in Koreatown. They also have special Korean gamers event. There is free WiFi. The store is not wheelchair accessible. There is one gender-neutral washroom which is not wheelchair accessible. There is paid neighbourhood street parking. Review 2026-074

Saw it in my friend's stories and so has to try it!…read more Place was very clean and the workers were very friendly/ patient as I was reading their menus. I ordered the assorted banh mi and also got their fresh shrimp roll. Asked for extra butter and spice on the side, for no extra charge. Their bread was fluffy and there was a lot of meat in it. The veggies were fresh and the pate/butter was flavorful which was a very good touch. The shrimp rolls were as expected and was worth the extra splurge. The pricing was all very affordable and good value! Might be my new fav place- will definitely come back and tell my family/friends about this place!

Small grab and go spot for Vietnamese food. Incredibly affordable pricing, natural flavours, and…read morehouse made bread, you won't go wrong! $5 for the shrimp fresh rolls and $4.5 for the Pork Banh Mi. Their machine was down today so cash is preferred but they also accept e-transfer. There is no where to eat in the restaurant so it is take out only. They pastries come out around 2pm. Apparently a fan favourite is their raisin croissant!

My hubby and I came for a late night dinner in search for bahn mi. Unfortunately they were sold…read moreout and we still opted for a rice place eith the grilled pork chop, pork meat loaf and shredded pork skin. It was delicious. Still thinking about it the next morning, I sent my hubby back with my daughter to get a few bahn mis and the pomelo dessert to eat before we left Toronto. I can see why the bahn mi was sold out the night before. The bread is not what I usually have with bahn mi and I would even say it was elevated. It was all delicious and a great way to end our food eating adventure while k the city!

CMT8 is a new Vietnamese eatery serving up Vietnamese street food (banh mi, Viet coffee, and broken…read morerice dishes) in a small space. During the day from 10am to 3pm, they offer a variety of banh mis, and from 4-10pm you can order broken rice dishes featuring a variety of proteins. The store is not accessible as there are a set of stairs that you do have to go down to enter. There is no indoor seating, however, there are small plastic stools at the street level for you to enjoy your items (just like in Vietnam!). Menu wise, for lunch, there are 5 banh mis that you can order (grilled pork, grilled chicken, grilled betel leaf beef, cold cut, and Viet meat ball with tomato sauce) all less than $10 and made to order. They also have a nice drink selection where you can order your classic Viet coffee, tropical fruit tea, fresh soy milk, wintermelon tea, and even salted coffee. I stopped by CMT8 on a Friday morning around 11am to grab an early lunch. I actually didn't realize they opened at 10am for lunch (I think I saw on Google it stated that they open at 11am). Looking at the menu I opted for a heo nuong (grilled pork banh mi - grilled pork, homemade sauce, peanut, cucumber, Vietnamese pickles, homemade mayo, green onion, fingers mint) and a classic Vietnamese coffee (requested for the coffee to be less sweet with less condensed milk). Service were super friendly and they made sure my coffee was to my liking (asked me to try it to see how I liked the sweetness of it). My sandwich took around 5 min to make. I decided to have a few bites of my banh mi outside on the plastic stools before heading back to work. Opening the banh mi packaging, the smell of the delicious grilled pork filled my nostrils. As I bit into the sandwich, the bread was perfectly toasted, slightly crispy. The grilled pork were actually more like lemongrass meat balls and stated delicious! The other ingredients in the banh mi worked well with the protein and the homemade mayo was also tasty as well. Overall, a delicious new spot for banh mi and broken rice dishes in Chinatown! Coffee was strong as well and service was friendly. Definitely will be returning to try more of their other items in the future.

Overall, I was hoping that the buns at this place would be above average especially given the…read moreratings and reviews however, I was really disappointed. I tried out types of buns. Specifically I tried the specialty and seafood bun. I found them to be quite average tasting. The bun wasn't really the soft texture I was looking for and the filling tasted pretty bland. As this place specialized in their steamed buns, I had much higher expectations for their flavours. Especially located in the core Chinatown area, you can find better buns at other places such as the bakeries nearby. Unfortunately, I would not revisit again.

Tough dough on the buns, will help keep you (young healthy hard working lads) full until the next…read moreday. Simple spices. Curry bun has curry taste, spicy beef bun is spicy. Overall addition of salt seems about as grand as they get. Large space.

Picked up a rice dish for lunch and enjoyed the flavours, especially the lemongrass pork chop…read more Great option in the area. Really nice staff.

I honestly did not know of this restaurant's existence until I erroneously drove into the parking…read morewhere it resides (I was actually planning to have some Korean jjamppong, but realized the place I had in mind is closed on Tuesdays). The restaurant is located in a strip plaza tucked in a sea of commercial/industrial buildings near the corner of Steeles and Keele. On the inside, it feels like you've been warped into some exotic location. I really didn't expect that based on the exterior of the restaurant. And cooking and serving you are servers (I assume the owners and family) who could be your grandparents and great grand parents' age. A special item that was written on the chalk board, called Bun Mam really caught my eye. The grandma asked me, "have you had it before?". I shook my head and she said it is going to be fishy. I responded with an alright. So what it is exactly is a bowl of rice vermicelli in a fermented fish soup filled with seafood and pork. I've never had this noodle before, but I think I've eaten enough Asian dishes from different Asian countries to have a bearing on what it should be like. I'd say A+ for attempt since I've never seen places in Toronto make it. But, I have the feeling that what I've tried is far from what it should taste like in Vietnam, partially because of the limitations in ingredients and partially due to an attempt by the cook to tone down the pungent nature of the dish. Here's my general take: They used frozen fish, clearly they've attempted to steer away from the cheapest fish possible, which is a good thing. Nonetheless the fish still would not give the soup the natural sweetness that it requires. The shrimp was also of the frozen variety. Nothing special. The eggplant I thought was an odd topping, but I checked online and it seemed to be a normal ingredient for this dish.. I didn't like the eggplant since it was a bit too chewy, especially the skin portion. I think the eggplant can definitely be prepared a lot better. The star of the show was actually the pork. It was marinated with some sort of fermented sauce. However, I don't think it's what it should be. From what I know, the pork should be like a roasted pork with crunchy skin. As for the soup, it smelled a bit fishy upon initial inspection. When it came to the taste, I personally thought it was a bit on the sweeter end. I think it could use a bit more sourness and fermented taste. It's not great, but it's not bad. I would not order it again, nor recommend it. But I think there's enough here where I would come back to try something that is a bit more typical.

I had no idea this location was open but it's at the corner of Bayview and Major Mackenzie at the…read moreShoppers Drug Mart side of the plaza. This place is small not too big with some seats available. Came here for the $9.99 ramen today. The food was not bad, the thin ramen had some clumps so that's a bummer. The other location I went to last month for their other 9.99 deal and the noodles were perfect. The beef also wasn't as good, more on the chewier side. Also not as good as the other place. Service was okay too but noticed the staff were pretty burnt out. It wasn't as busy as the other place but maybe short staffed? One of them asked these two school kids to move but it was delivered with a lot of attitude. Took a while for them to take our order too. I wouldn't come to this location again unless it's a last resort. Rating 3.5/5

Tips: - If this joint messes up your order by adding bamboo…read moreshoots to your ramen when you asked that they be omitted, they will simply fish the items out. If you have a food allergy, be aware that they don't give you a new bowl of ramen to make up for the error, which is a health hazard. - Customer service needs work. Asking if I want anything else when I'm clearly ordering a combo that comes with a drink and a side was annoying. After a trying, upsetting experience dealing with Bayshore Health Care all day, I needed dinner. My original thought was to grab a bite for dinner at a Wendy's in Richmond Hill that I have flagged for the longest time. Instead, I passed by this Kinton Ramen. I should have stayed with my original plan. I love Kinton Ramen. This location proved me wrong. I parked fairly close to the eatery. It used to be a shawarma eatery. I walked in. A female staffer immediately greeted me. I was dining alone and got a corner table. I looked at the menu. My usual ramen combo felt right. I got these items: - Pork miso ramen, without bamboo shoots, and with thick noodles - Diet Coke - Pork gyoza I got water to start. It was refreshing. It didn't have any ice. I put ice in it from my Diet Coke towards the end of my meal. My Diet Coke was excellent. It was fizzy, cold, and refreshing. My pork gyoza took no time to arrive. I loved the flavourful filling. It's deep-fried. Yummy! The disappointment was getting my bowl of ramen. I asked that the bamboo shoots be omitted. My server repeated my order and had mentioned that they would be left out. Were they? Nope. Sad. I flagged him about the bamboo shoots. What was even more annoying and upsetting was getting the same bowl back with all but one bamboo shoot removed. If I had an allergy to bamboo shoots, this move having them in my ramen and then fishing them out would still be deadly. I frankly could have fished them out myself. This place does not give you a new bowl of ramen, so be aware if they mess up your order and you have a food allergy. I didn't enjoy my ramen. I had a rough day. Getting my order wrong didn't help. I visited the counter. My bill looked normal. I decided to let her know that my order was wrong and bamboo shoots were fished out. It was such a lazy approach. I got $3 knocked off my order. I was not impressed. My not tipping said it all, as not tipping for a dine-in experience is rare. I tapped my credit card and was done. I visited one of the single washroom stalls. I loved the pretty sink. The stall was clean. I won't be back. Customer service needs to be better. The male server seemed like he didn't want to be there. Fishing out an item in my ramen that I didn't want wasn't the best move. If I had an allergy reaction to this item and you simply fished it out without letting me know, I'd probably be dead and you wouldn't be reading this review. (60)

It took a while, but Hunan Fine Food finally opened the past two weeks at First Markham Place,…read morereplacing Van's BBQ which closed down around the middle of last year. As a little background of Hunan-style food, Hunan is a province in around the south-central area of China. They're known for their spicy kick to everyday Chinese food, and it shows with the selection of foods they have available on their menu. This food stall had a lamb skewer special which attracted me. I forgot the price cost but I know it was cheaper than the Kashmiri BBQ stall across the other end of the food court (something like 7 for $10). The skewers had the traditional Hunan spice attached to it, although it didn't really feel spicy at all. The skewers were also good, but of course nothing compared to Kashmiri (you get what you paid for). The lamb is thicker here, but drier. I haven't tried the other items yet, but seeing it's a new place there's lots of time to see how this place would pan out.

I was excited to see the interesting menu items of Hunan Fine Food. The owners are smart to show…read moremany items in big, pretty pictures. I like mildly spicy food, and I am definitely a fan of the sour and spicy combination, which is offered by Hunan Fine Food. I was intrigued by the picture, so I ordered the Spicy Leek Dumplings ($5) and added an order of noodle for $1, making it a dumpling soup noodle. The real thing looked worse than the picture. It reflected a home style cooking. The dumplings seemed store bought. The filling was pork and leek alright. The broth was the star of this item. It was spicy and had heat (to me). It was tasty as well. I think I could take a notch more heat, but this level worked just fine for summer. The portion of the noodle was good. It was not al dente, but this was the natural characteristics of the type of the noodle Hunan uses. There are some really interesting menu items as shown in the pictures, such as Hunan beer duck, spicy and sour noodle, etc. I think I will return to try out more.

Gou Bu Li traces its history back to 1858 in Tianjin (a major coastal metropolis in Northern…read moreChina), the place where one of China's most famous baozi (steamed buns) brands originated. The brand since then has expanded into restaurants across mainland China and now globally. This downtown location is right beside Dragon City Mall. The entrance has its own storefront on Spadina Avenue (not from inside the mall) - just a few steps away from the Spadina streetcar stop and there is a Green P parking across the street. The interior is more upscale and has a bit of a luxurious feel and decor compared to the other Chinese restaurants in Chinatown area. Although the inside is not as big as most other Chinese restaurants in the suburbs, their food quality and taste are comparable to the good Chinese restaurants found in uptown and the suburbs (including Richmond Hill, Markham, and Scarborough), at more affordable price. In fact, I think the food quality and dishes that you get at Gou Bu Li are level steps above those in nearby Chinese restaurants (in downtown and Chinatown). They're best known for their baozi (steamed buns), and I could see why! I tried the one with eggs, chives, and vermicelli filling (only one of two vegetarian / non-meat bao options in the menu). The filling was tasty, and it had a decent amount of filling-to-dough ratio. Much better than the baos you get at T&T or elsewhere. The dough had a nice, soft, and pillowy texture. You can order sets of 4 or 8 baos. In addition to the steamed baos, they also offer xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and various Northeastern Chinese specialties such as jianbin (savoury crepes). In addition to the pretty good baozi, I also found their other main dishes to be excellent - especially the live / seasonal fish and seafood. We had a whole fish (either grouper or sea bass) and lobster - both were pretty massive. The steamed fish was done very nicely with subtle soy sauce flavour and some scallions. Steamed lobster with garlic came with heaps of toasted garlic and a bed of vermicelli, garnished with little bits of bell peppers and green onion. The lobster came out already de-shelled and cut up nicely (but still served on the shell for nice presentation), making it very easy to eat (no need to use hands at all - the lobster meat came off the shells easily). They even took out the tomalley and served it nicely on the cut up shells. Snow pea leaves with garlic was a classic and our go-to green vegetable dish in most Chinese restaurants, and this was no different. It was as expected. House Special Fried Rice with Flying Fish Roe came in a big portion with a good amount of big shrimps, peas, carrots, corn, and topped with a generous amount of flying fish roe. We got complimentary dessert of Donkey Rolls ("Rice Rolls with Red Bean Paste" on the menu). Donkey Roll (known in Chinese as Lüdagun or "Rolling Donkey") is a traditional Northern Chinese dessert made of steamed, sticky glutinous rice dough, rolled around a sweet red bean paste filling, and dusted with roasted soybean or sesame flour, resembling a donkey rolling in the dust. I like this dessert because it's not too sweet and makes a good snack, especially when paired with tea.

Their service is straight up ridiculous. we arrived at 5:30 pm and there r tons of seats empty,…read morethey said they don't take reservations for party of 4, but the yelp and google map show their phone number of the nortH York location so it's so misleading because that location do take any reservation. We got seated right next to the entrance and I pointed at an table in the back because entrance can be chilly and the waiter told me we can't go there because someone booked it. Sure so we sat down, then the people right behind us told the waiter no reservations but they gOt seated at the table NOT AVAILABLE TO US? IM Asian they aren't, I can't even imagine if that's the real reason we have to stuck in the cold seat. Also when we ordereed their dessert, the other waiter told us there is one left and he will keep it for us. Then 5 minutes later, the same person who seated us, came back to us and told us "dessert sold out", I told him we were promised to have the last one this is ridiculous, he told me "I don't know but it's sold out". Not apology, straight up rude. TBH I was going to show my friends Chinese food but when they have to witness those bad service this is just sad. Their food is okay, u can find it everywhere. BUt who has the mood to taste the food after being treated like that? Never ever will go back. If u r the owner of the restaurant and u r reading this, please hire someone who actually treats everyone equally and who keeps their promises. Otherwise good luckk keeping ur restaurant in business with that not so exceptional flavors and extremely bad service.