Dinner at Congee Queen (Hwy 7 and Leslie Location)

Congee Queen is one of my go-to spots for lunch. With locations scattered around the GTA, they offer an affordable variety of Chinese, as well as Thai and Vietnamese options. My family and I decided that we head over to Congee Queen one night for dinner. This time, we decided to visit their fairly new (Hwy 7 and Leslie) Location, right by the 404 in Richmond Hill.

While browsing the 'Hot Picks' menu, the Tiger Shrimp tossed in Custard Sauce (2/5) caught our eye. The Shrimp wasn't 'tossed' in the Custard Sauce as advertised which made us quite disappointed as some pieces were lacking in sauce. The shrimp was nice and crispy which we enjoyed. The custard sauce drizzled on top was really just mayo.

We decided on the Two Assorted BBQ Combo (3/5) , which included Roasted Duck and BBQ Pork. The Roasted Duck was beautifully prepared in my opinion where there was little to almost no fat and the skin was not soggy at all. The meat was moist and not dry. The BBQ pork was great as well, as it wasn't too fatty or chewy. The soy sauce on the bottom made the meat taste overly salty which I didn't enjoy, as I would've preferred to have it on the side. Maybe next time I'll ask for that.

I'm a sucker for anything in a Hot Pot. Even rice in a clay hot pot. With 9 varieties to choose from, and more than 10 long minutes of deciding, I decided to go with the Chicken and Chinese Mushroom with Rice in Hot Pot (3.5/5). The large pieces of chicken were moist, but had very big pieces of bone still attached. Most restaurants I've been to, tend to use boneless chicken which would've made it easier to eat. Nonetheless it was tasty, especially the Chinese mushrooms which added a nice smokiness to the dish. The rice was aromatic from the chicken and Chinese mushrooms.

The Beef with Mushroom On a Sizzling Plate (3/5) arrived piping hot and sizzling as advertised. The large pieces of beef were tender and not chewy at all. The caramelized onions were sweet and flavourful, while the mushrooms exhibited a nice texture and weren't too soft. Oh man pair this dish with a bowl of rice...

Also on their special menu, was the Golden Milk Pudding (4.5/5). My goodness these were delicious! Creamy, Smooth and full of milk flavour, these are definitely a must try! These weren't too soft which I enjoyed. Something about the rich milk flavour makes this dish so tasty, I couldn't stop eating them. Yes Yes, I know these can be easily made at home, but something about these make them a must try.












Something that can be easily made at home that I
wouldn't have again here is the Fresh Mango Pudding (1.5/5). Texturally, it was nice and smooth, but really it was the average mango pudding you find at a dim sum spot. The taste was pretty generic and I expected some pieces of Mango as it was called Fresh Mango Pudding. For $3.99, I'd rather add an extra dollar for another order of the Golden Milk Pudding.




The food at Congee Queen can be consistent at most times which is great. It can also get quite busy during lunch and dinner hours, so be prepared for a short wait (Depending on the Location). The staff at the locations I've visited are nice which is a plus.


The Good:

• Not a long wait for Food
• Everything was at the right temperature
• Spacious

The Bad:

• Food can be inconsistent at times

Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill (Bayview Village)

A friend of mine recommended me to try out O&B Cafe Grill for quite sometime now and after doing some Christmas Shopping at the Mall, we decided to stop by their Bayview Village location.

 Thankfully on this busy Christmas Eve, they had a table for 5. My sister ordered the Fettucine Alfredo (3/5), made with egg noodles, Parmigiano-Reggiano cream and peas, topped with roasted chicken. For $16, this was a fairly decent portion. The noodles were nice and tender, but I was not a fan of the sauce as it was tasteless. The chicken was quite dry as well and the peas were hard.

Both my mom and brother had the Sunday Special [$23], which was a Roasted Black Angus Strip Loin, with Yorkshire pudding, Buttermilk mash and Pan gravy (3.5/4). The strip loin was cooked to a perfect medium rare, and was juicy and tender. As you can see from the picture there was a layer of fat that had to be taken off. You can also see the burnt baby carrot on the left, I mean this ain't no 5 star restaurant but how could you miss that ?! The buttermilk mash was nice and creamy and the Yorkshire pudding was crispy and very moist on the inside. We had to ask for more of the Pan gravy, as the dish was kind of dry.

I had the AAA Canadian Cheeseburger (3.5/5) [$17], which came with a huge pile of Yukon Gold Fries. Although I asked for it to be cooked to a medium rare, it came almost to a well done, but was still very juicy. It had a nice char on it, which I enjoyed. The fries were crispy and thick. I would've liked it if the bun was topped with sesame seeds.











My dad had the Piri Piri Half Chicken (3.5/5) [$24] with Roasted New Potatoes, Spinach, Artichokes, Tomatoes and Zucchini. There was an option for mild or spicy, and my dad opted for the spicy. The Chicken came on a sizzling hot plate, that did not sizzle at all when it arrived. The Chicken was overcooked and dry in some areas, while it was moist and juicy in others. The chicken and potatoes were both aggressively seasoned which my dad wasn't a fan of as it made him want to drink water every 10 seconds.


For Dessert, we decided to try
the Four Tasting's of Chef's Favourite Desserts (3/5) [$15.25] which consisted of a Mini S'more, Lemon Posset, Carrot Cake & little Eton Mess. My favourite out of the four would have to be the Carrot Cake as it was light without being too sweet. The Eton Mess on the top left was tasty as the Toasted Meringue added a nice crunch. The S'more was a tad too sweet in opinion, especially with the toasted marshmallow on top and the berry compote. The Lemon Posset looked very good, but I was disappointed instantly when I put my spoon in and noticed how watered down it was. Instead of a nice creamy, smooth custard like texture, this was

literally like liquid milk and I could move my spoon around no problem.
There were no traces of lemon either except for the zest on top. I would like to give it a rating of (1/5), because honestly it was that bad.

We had two scoops of the Passion Fruit Sorbet (3/5) [$7.25], which had a better consistency than the Posset did. The flavours were very strong which I enjoyed.


The food my family and I had here was quite substantial, and definitely did not wow us. For the price, we did expect a little more presentation
as well as consistency, I mean who
wants a half an inch of fat clinging on to their meat?
Or burnt baby carrots? Small fixes would've
done the job. The staff were friendly, but we did
have to ask 3 people to fill our water as they forgot.

The Good:

• Nice Vibe
• Spacious

The Bad:

• Need to be more consistent
• Food is quite average
• Pricey for the quality