Although you won’t hit triple 7’s while dining at Jackpot Chicken Rice, it’s a good double 7’s and a bar. The quaint well laid-out
dining room surely elicits excitement like a casino – the larger-than-life baby
holding a watermelon painted on the wall and the sporadic tables wrapped in
bright tropical flower motifs. On a first date? Just look around, there’s
something that will get you talking.
A friendly vibe just buzzes throughout the restaurant. It
definitely has something to do with the people working there – their smiles are
infectious and puts you in a good mood. If you’ve read Gastro World in the
past, you’ll likely remember my grips about communal tables. Jackpot put me in
such a great mood, that my friend and I actually ended up sharing a table (and
meal) with an out-of-town diner and had a great evening meeting someone new.
Who said Torontonians are stand offish?
During dinner service sharing is strongly encouraged since most
dishes are fairly rich and there’s so many interesting sounding ones to choose
from. Their Go All In! menu urges
patrons to share and already come with their staples (the schmaltzy rice,
crispy chicken skin, soy eggs and winter melon soup). All you need to do is
choose from the selection of snacks and large plates – the number varying
depending on the amount of guests.
Our table of three settled with the Go All In! for two ($70; all the items listed below were included,
the individual prices are listed for informational purposes) and added on an
extra bowl of soup ($2.50). With all the food, we left satisfied… wow this
would have been a feast for a duo.
Of course, we did lean towards to the
heavier dishes such as the kaffir broccoli tempura ($9) instead of steamed
vegetables. The tempura’s batter was light and crispy with drizzles of roasted
garlic aioli on top. The kaffir lime leaves helped add some freshness to the
broccoli but it was still too heavy. In hindsight, the steamed bok choy with XO
sauce would be a better choice to balance out the richness of everything else.
The Jackpot stickers ($10) were delicious, each thumb-sized
dumpling containing a simple shrimp paste. It was all the condiments that made
the appetizer sing, with the Japanese curry sauce that has a hint of mustard to
the beet slivers that add a juicy crunchiness to the dish.
Our meal certainly was a chicken affair. Aside from their
famed dish, the meal also featured the fowl’s crispy skin ($7), which had a
surprisingly delicate crunch thanks to Jackpot baking the skin so that the
oiliness is toned down. As a lover of soft boiled eggs, the soy sauce eggs
($3.50) had that gooey jelly centre I love, but the braising liquid could be
stronger as the soy and Shaoxing wine flavours were non-existent.
Then there’s the dish everyone comes for… the Jackpot
chicken ($16), where the bird is poached Hainanese-style on a slow boil so that
it soaks up the flavourful stock and all the meat’s fibers break down. It’s
certainly soft - to the point that it’s getting too soft - as the texture is
turns towards mushy. I did prefer that the chicken was slightly warm (sometimes
it’s dunked in ice water to create a jelly between the meat and skin), which
helps coax out the ginger and scallion flavours from the dipping sauce a bit
more.
As the chicken simmers, the fat that’s released floats to
the top and is skimmed off to form the base for the schmaltzy rice. Chef Craig
Wong demonstrated how to cook the dish on Breakfast Television. The recipe
starts off like risotto: chicken fat is infused with ginger and garlic, then
rice is added and gets coated with the fragrant oil before chicken stock is poured
in and the rice begins to steam. The resulting rice is heavenly, dressed with
crispy shallots and scallions, something that could be eaten on its own.
In terms of the large plates, the Hanoi pork jowl ($18) was
absolutely delicious, the chewy but soft pieces of meat coated in a blend of
turmeric, ginger, and dill. The dish has that salty, sour and spicy combination
normally found in Thai dishes; all these refreshing elements helping to balance
out the richness of the oily rice. A tip I learnt from our new friend for the
evening: add some of the ginger and scallion sauce served with the chicken onto
the pork … it just brings the flavour up to another level.
It’d be nice if the winter melon soup ($2.50) was hotter - between
bites of the oily rice a piping hot broth would certainly help cleanse the
palette. As a warning, it’s nothing like the grand winter melon soups found in
Chinese restaurants – steamed in the vegetable with seafood, cured ham and
mushrooms throughout. Rather, it’s a bowl of condensed master stock, with
simple garnishes of crispy shallots and scallions. The soup’s fine, but not
something I’d add onto a meal.
Let’s be honest, if you’re going expecting the typical
Hainanese chicken rice plates found in Hong Kong style cafes or food courts
across the city, you’ll likely end up complaining about the price and portion sizes.
Jackpot Chicken Rice isn’t typical: you’re going for the jovial atmosphere, the
ability to make reservations, and getting to have a killer cocktail with the
meal (they share a bartender with Cold Tea). It’s cheeky and fun.
And if you see a single diner needing a table, invite them
to sit with you. It’d be a shame if they couldn’t get the full experience; there’s
certainly enough food in the Go All In!
to satisfy everyone.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 318 Spadina Avenue
Address: 318 Spadina Avenue
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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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