Good Taste Casserole House (Toronto)


In the deep of winter, cravings for clay pot / casserole rice bubbles up from the depths of my stomach and beckons. The 20-minute anticipation while waiting for the made-to-order dish to arrive, the waft of sweet greasy steam that hits the nose, and the faint crackling sizzle that gives a greeting, it's like a winter sport for me.  

The expansion of Good Taste Casserole House out of Markham and into Scarborough has made it easier for me to tuck into the comforting dish. And their expanding menu keeps the hunger growls at bay while the 20-minutes elapse. Their BBQ pork rice noodle roll ($4.70) was a great 'appetizer' to share, soft and silky with large slices of pork- even though it wasn't the most evenly spread out across the roll.


I'm perplexed how some restaurants continue to keep prices low with soaring input costs. Good Taste offers their preserved meat and chicken with rice for $11.99, which is only a dollar more than 5 years prior. They haven't skimped on ingredients - if anything there's more protein topping the rice - and it still comes with a side of boiled yu-choy and a pot of soup where the hunk of pork, fruit, and white fungus remains.  


The execution continues to satisfy: the rice a balanced moisture so that it's fluffy but still dry enough so a golden crunchy crust develops on the bottom. While I'm normally not a huge fan of the greasiness of preserved meat, it's the perfect topping in this dish and keeps the rice from getting soggy. In fact, it actually tasted better than the chicken, which was over marinated causing the texture to be too 'springy' (or song in Cantonese) for my taste.

During our lunch time visit, I was surprised by how many Uber drivers were picking up packages to go. Takeout can't do the dishes justice - the rice noodle rolls become sticky and the crunchy crust of the clay pot rice hardens. If you're trying it for the first time, you need to have it in-person. After all, it's the anticipation and the things that hit the senses that makes casserole rice so special.

Overall mark - 8 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 325 Bamburgh Circle


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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!


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