Address: 3850 Sheppard Avenue East (in Agincourt Mall)
Website: http://www.congeequeen.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner
The “wife” restaurant to the Congee Wong chain is the newer
and larger Congee Queen. With a menu branching outside the normal Cantonese
dishes, it also offers items such as pad thai (if you like the ketchup variety)
and pho (never had it myself but the picture looks nothing like the pho I
love).
There’s also a BBQ meat section that churns out dishes that
look on point. I’ve tried the BBQ duck with thick vermicelli in soup
($7.25). The noodles (lai fun) are thicker than vermicelli and tastes nothing
like it; they’re a non-doughy texture and resists getting soft. The BBQ duck,
although well flavoured, was chewy and difficult to bite through. Needless to
say, BBQ meats isn’t something I’ll be going back to order.
Despite their extensive menu, I normally go for the tried
and true favourites – congee, rice noodles with beef, Singapore fried
vermicelli, stir fried turnip cakes and salt & pepper fried squid. All are
great and arrive in huge portions, sure to satisfy crowds.
If you’re with at least four people, I’d suggest ordering the seafood and
chicken with wintermelon super bowl congee ($10.25), a great combination of
ingredients. When I go with less people, we stick with the small bowls. Something
simple like the sliced beef congee ($5.50) allows you to enjoy the thick smooth
congee. The beef, although boiled, has been tenderized so that it resists
becoming tough.
During a recent visit, I felt like something different. After
all, with such a wide-ranging menu they must have other items worth a try. With
a craving for lobster, the lobster chow mein ($20.95) seemed to be a good
choice – crispy noodles topped with a full lobster. Stir fried in the
traditional ginger and green onion sauce, the dusting of flour over each piece
was a tad thick. But, once you got through it, the lobster itself was nice and
tasted fresh. Moreover, the noodles were thin and remained crispy due to the thicker sauce.
Based on the picture, you likely won’t be able to tell there
are a decent number of pieces of soft shell crab in their fried rice ($11.75).
But, buried under the mound of well flavoured rice are lightly fried chunks of
soft shell crab. Personally, I find that this relatively flavourless crustacean
requires more spices or sauce to enhance it so it was a tad bland in the rice. Also, if you’re going to order this, make sure you finish all the crab in
the restaurant, while it’s fresh, as it becomes mushy once reheated.
To round out the meal, a dish of simple but nicely prepared
yu choy (a leafy vegetable) stir fried with beef ($10.75). I must commend
Congee Queen on preparing their vegetables – they always seem so well trimmed
and cooked perfectly.
If you’re looking for plain vegetables, their gai lan with
oyster sauce ($5.95) satisfies and is a reasonable price.
Congee Wong will always be my go-to carb filled restaurant.
But, with more and more locations opening, it’s just so convenient to head to
Congee Queen! So, grab a group of people or be prepared to have a lot of
leftovers. The price and selection makes it such a great everyday place to
visit.
Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
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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!
