Showing posts with label Sichuan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sichuan. Show all posts

LALA Spicy Lab 辣辣冒菜 (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2025 by

If you frequent the University of Toronto area, 181 College Street has been home to a host of eateries: Teara Lab and Spicy Mafia being some recent renditions. Once again it has changed, almost merging the two former restaurants into the new LALA Spicy Lab.

While beef noodles may seem overdone, what makes LALA’s spicy tenderloin beef noodles ($17.99) special is the golden egg. Imagine a funnel cake made from scrambled egg that sits in broth absorbing flavours while still retaining the fluffy eggy texture. I thoroughly enjoyed it with the juicy tomato broth as it captures the classic Chinese flavours of tomato & egg and tomato & beef so well. I’d order this again.

Most customers go for the maocai, a shallow hot pot containing a mix of vegetables and proteins stewed together in a sauce that’s usually mala based. At LALA Spicy Lab, you customize the dish by choosing the:

  • Base: mala soup, dry mixed, or a spicy sesame peanut paste mix.
  • Staple dish / carb: rice or noodles (choice of egg, handcrafted thick, Wuhan style alkaline, sweet potato, or rice).
  • Spiciness level: from extra mild to extra super spicy

Already the medium dry mix sliced beef brisket maocai ($19.99) had my mouth stinging. Luckily, when our server came around to ask how we were and I expressed I should have gone with mild, she brought a bowl of broth so I could dilute and wash off some of the chilis. Finally, I could actually enjoy the ingredients used in the dish.

The beef brisket was sliced too thinly for my taste, resembling what you find in pho becoming lost in maocai. I’d recommend going with the tenderloin beef option ($21.99) instead as they’re thicker slices.

Aside from the beef, the maocai also contained a selection of 15 other ingredients. It’s a treasure hunt digging through the dish to find things like Spam, thumb-sized sweet sausages, fish balls, quail eggs, tofu, or a variety of vegetables (bean sprouts, winter melon, baby corn, etc.). A dozen more ingredients are available for a supplement like fried dough sticks ($3.99), shawarma chicken ($8.99), or the delicious golden fried egg ($3.99).

With both dishes, I opted for the handcrafted thick noodles. In the dry mix it was chewy and pulled the chili flakes into its cervices for maximum heat. Meanwhile, in the tomato broth, the noodles had a silkier texture. Either way, noodles work!

If things get too spicy, their ice cream parfait ($4.99 with a meal or $6.99 solo) is a great way to calm the scorching heat. At first glance, I was sure the brown sugar parfait would be my favourite as it’s essentially a bubble tea made into ice cream: black tea ice cream, tapioca, black tea jelly, and grass jelly layered in the cup with brown sugar coffee syrup and a few chocolate shavings on top. And LALA doesn’t skimp on the boba, so this is a meal.

Yet, it was the citrus garden parfait that had me digging through to get to every layer. The base of green tea ice cream is fairly light so the lemon honey syrup shines through. And while the slice of orange seemed weird in the parfait, it surprisingly works with the black tea jelly not unlike having a lemon tea. You must make it to the end as the green tea loaf cake at the bottom is what steals the show, soaking up the flavours from above including the coconutty shaved ice directly on top.

I love when a restaurant causes me to rethink my biases. Whether it’s citrus tea over bubble tea or my ability to handle spice, it’s all about allowing yourself to try new things.

Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10

Disclaimer: The above meal was complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in the mission statement, I will always provide my honest opinion. 

How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 181 College Street


 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
  • 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!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Miss Fu in Chengdu 付小姐在成都 (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, June 15, 2024 by

Miss Fu in Chengdu. I don’t know who this Miss Fu is, but she sounds like a cool person I’d want to know. If the restaurant’s food is any indication of her personality, she’s spicy and you should be careful… if you cross her, you may get a skewer in the back.

Serving Sichuan dishes, I warned them that my tolerance for spice was only a medium level. And in case it was too much, I kept a large mug of peach slush ($4.99) on hand to cool things down.

You’ll find heat in plenty of the dishes including the deep-fried tofu with garlic sauce ($5.99). Served super hot, they cubes were crispy outside and soft in the centre, soaking up the spicy soy sauce. They were delicious, just watch out as the sauce will squirt out during the first bites.

Despite the sparse amount of sauce covering the dandan noodles with ground pork sauce ($8.99), it was hot! Containing the Sichuan numbing chili, they heat quickly builds on the tongue and after two bites I had to take big slugs of the slush. It’s surprisingly spicy for being listed as a one chili dish on the menu, the chilis not even mentioned in the description – it’s simply listed as containing ground peanuts, sesame, preserved mustard greens, and green onions. You’re warned now.

The noodles did pair nicely with the smashed cucumber salad ($7.99), where the chunks of skinless field cucumbers were tossed in a salty sesame oil with just a hint of chili sauce. It’s cool crunchiness even lasted until the following day.

What Miss Fu is known for is their skewers, arriving in a hot metal bowl and cooked through (this is not a hot pot restaurant). They’re served two ways: in a combo ranging from $24-$26 with enough food for two people or a la carte where you select from four soup bases ($7.99 - $8.99) and add on individual skewers ($0.99 - $2.99).

Of the two we tried, the seafood skewers in chicken broth with a medium level of heat was my favourite. The spices were just enough to flavour and cover the shrimp, fish tofu, fish cake, and lobster balls we had without it being overwhelming. Admittedly, the fish tofu, cake, and lobster balls were run-of-the-mill varieties you’d often find in supermarkets, but they were still tasty.

For those who’d rather stay away from anything spicy, the tomato soup is a great alternative. We opted to pair it with beef skewers, creating a classic tomato and beef combination.  If you order the savoury tomato soup, I suggest getting a bowl of rice to smother the thick soup in.

The beef slices were too tenderized for my tastes and the beef balls lacked flavour, but the cheese ball was interesting with a doughy exterior that’s like a fish ball filled with a creamy white cheese.

Miss Fu substituted the “spicy sauce” in the pork wontons ($7.99) with a neutral chicken broth studded with dried shrimp. It was lovely, having a creaminess that reminded me of the soup from fish noodle restaurants. The wontons are better than the ones you’ll find at the chop suey restaurants – much bigger and plumper.

Despite being stuffed I couldn’t help but have a handful of the glutinous rice balls with black sesame paste ($4.99). Tossed with soybean powder and slathered in a brown sugar syrup, they were pops of flavour and a great way to end the meal.

I’d imagine the restaurant gets busy during weekend dinners, but it was quiet during our Friday lunch, so our server had plenty of time to converse with us the explain the dishes. Given this was my first experience with Sichuan skewers this extra bit of attention was greatly appreciated. Miss Fu, I’ll be sure to give you a call next time I’m in Chengdu. 

In a nutshell... 
  • Must order: seafood skewers, glutinous rice balls with black sesame paste, deep fried tofu
  • Just skip: beef skewers

Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
Disclaimer: The above meal was complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in the mission statement, I will always provide my honest opinion. 

How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 5441 Yonge Street


 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
  • 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!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:


Qi - House of Sichuan 呇 (Hong Kong)

Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 by

Before venturing to Qi – House of Sichuan, you’ll want to read this first. There will be things that draw you to the restaurant: a Michelin star, an easy reservation system (a simple email), and their Wan Chai location that’s close to other night life.

You may even be drawn by their website’s description:

The authentic Sichuan dishes here reflect the “seven flavours of Sichuan” – spicy, aromatic, sweet, bitter, sour, peppery, and salty. Not for the faint-hearted, be prepared to experience a wide spectrum of spiciness as the house serves up explosive flavours from the Sichuan canon.

Just heed their warning – the menu is not for the faint-hearted. Unless you have a high tolerance for spice, dishes from the Sichuan region really differs from the sweet, sour, and salty preparations of other Chinese regions. Even if you’ve been to a Sichuan restaurant outside of China, you may not be prepared. I was no match for Qi.

Learn from my mistake. Here are three words of advice:

1. Skip the hot and sour soup

While the hot and sour soup ($60 a bowl) was tasty, incorporating plenty of thinly julienned ingredients so that each bite was a mix of flavours and textures, the soup was so hot (in terms of spice and temperature) that your tongue will be scorched by the time you’re even a third of the way through. Good luck handling anything else.

A better starter is the mouthwatering chicken ($85). One of Qi’s signature dishes, the slightly chilled boneless white meat is tender and flavourful all on its own. Plenty of warm chili paste is placed over top, but you can add as little or as much as you like to ensure it’s not overwhelming. Aside from spice there’s a bit of mala heat that has a numb inducing quality – semi-protecting rather than scorching the tongue.

Or you could just go straight to the mains and nibble on the forced upon snack plate ($30) while waiting – a non-spicy sesame oil laced winter melon, lightly spiced cucumber, and lotus root tossed with a mala sauce. 

2. Balance out the meal with non-spicy dishes

A good ratio to aim for is about 50/50. Thinking the sugar glazed ginger and scallion beef ($160) would be a dish with respite, in the dark dining room we didn’t notice the chili beside the name on the menu. Indeed, with the first bite you’re greeted with a crispy crust and aromatic syrupy sauce… but then the chili dust mixed into the batter erupts into the mouth. Nonetheless, it’s mellower than all the other dishes we tried, except for the mouthwatering chicken where the diner controls the spice level.

Even the vegetarian eggplant ($115) was too much. It’s a shame there wasn’t a plain eggplant dish as the vegetable was done perfectly – cut into thicker sticks and cooked until creamy. But then the sauce was so thick that it’s hard to get away from the chili. Unfortunately, for vegetables, there’s only one choice for something without heat – a plain seasonal vegetable ($90) with or without garlic.


Surprisingly, the dish I could handle better was the spicy prawns ($240) – a dish that actually has ‘spicy’ in the title! While it looks scary and filled with red tongue torturers, the chilies are left in large pieces so you can easily avoid them. While the deep fried prawns are stir-fried with chili oil, each are fairly large in size, so the seafood to batter ratio makes the heat more balanced.

3. Arm yourself with plenty of water and a cold milk tea

The restaurant is smart to include a bottle of water at every table. In the heat of the moment, you’ll find yourself reaching for it ($70) – although I did see some tables ask them to switch the bottles for a regular pitcher.

Yet, it was the cold milk tea ($45) that offered the most respite. The sweet cooling dairy temporarily quenching the flames. It was the only thing that allowed me to try everything twice, although my husband and I eventually had to tap out and leave most dishes half done.

If all else fails, you can always ask them to tone down the spice – as I overheard from the neighbouring table when they ordered the chili crab. It may feel like you’re wimping out, but at least you’ll be able to finish the meal.

For a Michelin starred restaurant the service could have been better. Being under staffed, it was difficult to flag someone down to order the milk tea and the paying process was painfully long. Still, while we left the dinner defeated and tongues a flamed, I’ll still give Qi a decent mark since it lived up to what was promised and the food was done well. Just listen to my advice and perhaps you’ll leave victorious. 


Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Wan Chai, Hong Kong
 Address: 60 Johnston Rd (J Senses, 2nd floor)

 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
  • 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!


Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)