Congee Queen 皇后名粥 (Scarborough)

Location: Toronto, Canada
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

Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • - 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!