Tsui Wah is a no-frills Hong Kong style café with a menu offering
a variety of baked rice, sandwich and stir fried noodles combinations. However,
there is something a little more interesting and rarer, a style of cooking
generally not found in other establishments, Guilin style noodles.
A cacophony of crunchy peanuts, pickled vegetables, vegetables
and some sort of protein, it’s a more flavourful dish thanks to the area’s
Sichuan influences. If you’re into a stronger dish with a variety of textures,
you’d want to give this a try.
Of the two varieties at Tsui Wah, the beef Guilin style lo
vermicelli ($8.25) provided a richer version of the dish. Lo essentially translates to ‘mix’, the bowl of noodles topped with
pickled cabbage, bamboo, peanuts, tomatoes, fried garlic slivers, green onions
and cilantro that you mix together. The sauce is soy sauce based with a more
potent taste from spices used in it. Unlike the traditional dish, it wasn’t
spicy but few drops of the intense chili oil on the table did the trick.
Whereas, the soup
version, pictured here is the Guilin style minced pork vermicelli ($7.50) is
lighter. Seemingly, they use the same soy sauce base but it’s diluted with a
broth to mellow out the flavours. The ingredients used are the same, except in
this case substituting minced pork for the stir fried beef.
Although the menu describes both dishes as ‘vermicelli’, the
noodles are actually Guilin rice noodles also known as ‘mifen’. It’s about the
thickness of ramen and the texture of Korean potato starch noodles – a bit
chewy and doesn’t become soggy when left in the broth. There’s a silkiness to
these delicate slippery noodles.
Just in case the bowls don’t contain enough vegetables,
there’s always the opportunity to add some boiled yu choy with oyster sauce
($3.99) on the side. Tsui Wah provides a decent portion for the price.
Located in a non-descript commercial area down Kennedy Road,
who knows how many times I’ve whizzed past the place. I’m glad my father
decided to slow down and take a chance on the restaurant; otherwise, I wouldn’t
have been introduced to it! Maybe it’s something we should all do more, just
drive and stop at small establishments without all the glitz and reading about
it first. Something I’ll try to do more of this year – after all, who knows
what you’ll discover?
Overall mark - 7 out of 10
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 3261 Kennedy Road
Address: 3261 Kennedy Road
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
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