Came here for breakfast with a client today. I had the light breakfast which consisted of a smoothie, cottage cheese and fruit salad while my client had toasts... With Coffee + tip, bill came out to 30 dollars. While I appreciate the gooseberry in my cottage cheese I thought this was a little expensive for what we got.

I was impressed with the staff... then again, we were the only people in the restaurant. The hostess remember me by my first name, which I appreciated. The waitress even offered to put the extra coffee in the carafe into a take out cup. Nice touch.

The decor is nice and the ambiance is airy since the ceilings are quite high.

I'd like to try this place out for dinner one of these days... I think that will give me a better idea about this restaurant's "chops"... I expect it'll be expensive though.

Went here yesterday for their lunch special ($9.95) at around 2 PM... They serve until 3 PM. The quality/value of the food was quite good - butter chicken, aloo gobi, naan and curried lentils were all well prepared and flavourful... The quality was good... the quantity... not so much. I had to fish the last remaining nuggets of butter chicken out of a swimming pool of butter chicken gravy. A couple of the hot plates were empty because the kitchen staff didn't bother re-filling the food. As well, I asked for a mango lassi (pretty standard for a northern Indian restaurant) but they didn't have any. The service is hit and miss with only 1 waiter for the whole place. I don't know whether these guys are trying to be a restaurant or a sports bar... 5 or 6 TVs inside the cavernous interior, two or three TVs blaring different programs... It wasn't the most conducive environment to enjoy lunch while reading the paper.

If you go for the lunch special, go at 11:30 when it starts.

Came here with a client today... We had the Ha Gau, shredded chicken, egg tarts and the rice rolls with meat inside. The shredded chicken was probably the best dish since it reminded me of Hainanese chicken. Like most of the other reviews, there's nothing that special here... Nothing jumps out as being particular good or bad. Service was average for a Chinese restaurant. If I was in the area, I'd probably try out another restaurant...

I came here for lunch today... There were only two other customers in the restaurant at 12:30... Not a good sign.

First, with the negatives... This place looks like a dump... The last time the bathroom doors were washed coincided with Ronald Reagan's Presidency. The owners have spent zero on decor... If the look was any cheaper, there would be patio furniture.

The positives: The hainanese chicken is excellent... the dipping sauces of spicy chili and green onions work really well with the chicken. They even give you a chicken broth to start with. I also had an order of the green onion pancakes which were good, but extremely filling. My waitress was very attentive and filled my hot tea a couple of times without me having to ask and the food came out quickly. Everything came out to a little more than 10 bucks... which was a very good price for what I got.

Came here with a work colleague today for a "summer" business lunch... "Summer" business lunches aren't so much to talk "hard" business as much as building relationships... My lunch partner wanted to go here as she's been here many times before and seems to like this place... The decor is consistent with their "marketing".... It reminded me of many of the "grill-type" restaurants in Manhattan I've been to... Truth in Advertising is important... More important, the food was solid... I had the linguini vongole in a tomato sauce... I usually prefer al olio but this one was quite nice... My lunchmate seemed to like her chicken pasta dish as well... The service was quite solid... Nice touch... The waitress asked me if I preferred milk or cream with my coffee... That's rare they ask this and I always appreciate it when the service staff asks... It shows they're paying attention... I would come back for a lunch anytime to this nice local restaurant.

Visited this little hole in the wall restaurant based on good past reviews... It was pretty much what I expected... As I walked by, uncertain about the exact address, the aromas enticed me off the sidewalk... As I walked in, it was packed with a late lunch crowd... More importantly, this little restaurant reminded me of the hawker stands I visited in Singapore... Newton Circus and Downtown... The decor (bright, colourful but utilitarian) was the first clue these people knew Hawker food... I had the Laksa, 5 satays and a drink for less than 10 dollars... An extremely good value for what I got. The Laksa was pretty much the same way I remembered it in Singapore... A nice cococunut broth mixed in with tubular noodles with bits of chicken and tofu... These guys fulfill my three requirements for continued patronage... Good, Fast (more or less) and Cheap... I'll be back...

What can I say?... It's "a bit better than Earl's" chain food... The mostly male crowd doesn't come here for the food... really... There were at least 6 guys in there at 3 PM who are stockbrokers checking out the eye candy..

Things I like...
- They refill my non-alcoholic drink without asking.
- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad was light, fresh and not soggy.
- The eye-candy... Hey, I'm a red-blooded man too... The waitresses are good looking and they actually smile.
- My ex-boss picked up the bill! Sweet!
- They brought MILK with my coffee, like I asked. Lazy waitresses just usually bring cream instead of actually pouring out some milk.

Things I didn't like...
- Bathroom is on the second floor... Come on..
- The waitresses push the extras like "Would you like a full chicken breast with that salad"? It sounded like there was an extra half-ton of chicken breast in the back that had to be unloaded before it went bad.

I'm glad the lines for this place have finally disappeared. Last year looked like a feeding line for free gruel in Ethiopia in 1991.

I've been to many dim sum places and Victoria Chinese didn't rate highly... I went here with 4 colleagues and had a variety of dim sum... The service was disinterested at best... plates were almost "thrown" on the table at us... We had to remind the waitress 2 or 3 times for requests. The food is mediocre... The pork dumplings tasted stale and the shrimp dumpling tasted off... It's too bad there are so few dim sum places in the downtown core...

Pupusas are the speciality of this little hole in the wall restaurant on Commercial... A pupusa is like a mix between a soft taco and a small paratha... They are stuffed with queso (cheese), beans & cheese, pork or revuelto (a mix of cheese, pork and beans)... Three of these should fill just about any appetite... Have some cordito (Salvadorean-style sauerkraut) with the pupusa. The pupusas I had today were quite good... A little salsa picante and cordito sure enhanced the food... A good Dos Equis was a nice complement. I was seated quickly, which was understandable since there was only 1 other person in the restaurant. If you're looking for something a little different, this place is worth a try...

If you're one of those "Sushi is my religion" types and want only the most expensive, exotica and almost squirming sashimi and you think negiri is for the masses, this isn't the place for you. It's a good neighbourhood sushi joint. I did a take out here today and was quite impressed about the value for money... Cucumber rolls, futomaki, spicy tuna roll and dynamite roll were all very fresh and tasty... The futomaki could have been rolled better... All the rolls are quickly prepared and the service is pleasant... Everything together cost less than 15 bucks... That's a sweet deal...