You visit Beef Noodle House for their beef noodles, or the stew beef with noodles in brown sauce ($14.95) to be exact. With a choice to order them neutral, a little spicy, or very spicy, the little spicy version adds a mild chili taste that is perfect. And after almost a decade, I’m happy to say the dish is just as stellar. The thick wheat noodles slightly al dante so they resist getting soggy, the broth rich and savoury, and the beef served as large tender chunks. If you want a deal, visit during lunch on Tuesday, and pay with cash to get 15% off.

It’s the same Tuesday discount you’re score on the pan-fried dumplings ($5.50), which are a great add-on with the noodles. At Beef Noodle House, they are so crispy you’d think they’re deep fried, if it weren’t for the uneven toasting that indicates they’re pan-fried.  I did find the filling too bland, but made use of the table-side sauces.

The restaurant offers a special weekday lunch menu with a selection of items ranging from $8.95 to $11.95 (a different lunch menu is available Tuesday). The stir-fried green beans with pork and water flour and vermicelli ($9.95; not available Tuesday) consists of a mixture of two types of noodles, tossed with chunks of lap cheung (Chinese preserved sausage), ground pork, and eggs. While it’s sauceless, the dish was still flavourful and reminded me of the stir-fried glutenous rice dish (sang chow loa miy fan) that’s found during dim sum. For the price, it’s a surprisingly large portion, but the green beans were too dry, adding colour, but not much flavour to the noodles.

The Shanghai style fried noodles ($10.95 on Tuesday; $9.95 the rest of the week) were better, using the same pasta as the beef noodles. There’s a nice wok hay essence but the dish is a tad scant on vegetables, including a decent amount of pork but only a handful of bean sprouts instead of the crunchier cabbage that’s usually paired in the recipe.

If you’re sharing noodles, a rice dish is a great second option to add on. The deep-fried chicken in Hunan style ($11.95 on Tuesday; $10.95 the rest of the week) was fantastic, the nuggets fried until crispy and tossed in an addicting sweet and savoury sauce. It’s garlicky and well balanced in sweetness so you can’t help but keep reaching for another piece. The dish is ideal for sharing as there’s tons of chicken to go around and it’s all protein with not a bell pepper or onion in sight.

A freshly prepared hot lunch doesn’t need to cost a lot when you visit Beef Noodle House. Bring a $20 bill and you’ll even have change to spare. 

When Doug Ford announced restaurants could open for dine-in guests on their patios, I was elated. It had only been about three months since the quarantine began, but as someone who ate out three times a week, it seemed like a year had passed.

My first meal out also took me outside of the city to Taris On the Water in Welland, about an hour and a half drive outside of Toronto. My dad lives in Welland so a belated Father’s Day lunch was an optimal excuse and the quieter town meant I could avoid the Toronto frenzy that seemed to ensue on the opening weekend.

I knew that something deep fried would be ordered that day - we never fry things at home and delivered versions are never great. Taris’ fried chicken ($16) satisfied the craving and despite being boneless white meat was surprisingly moist and the breading oh so crispy.

Having difficulties trying to decide between buffalo or honey mustard sauce, our server offered to put both on the side. What a great call as I probably would have gone with buffalo, but the honey mustard was the tastier of the two. Served with perfectly fried shoestring fries and their crunchy vinegary coleslaw, it was exactly what I was wanted.

The smoked pork ribs ($25) seemed more like the boiled then grilled variety as there wasn’t a visible smoke ring and most of the flavours came from the barbeque sauce. Nonetheless, the sweet smoky sauce was tasty and the ribs tender.

With a choice of sides, grilled vegetables helped to balance out the heavier dishes and arrived on a skewer, the bite-sized pieces easy to eat on a patio.  

Taris’ was properly prepared for the opening: the tables well-spaced apart, all staff were wearing masks, and they even disinfected the payment terminal before each use. Their patio is also located at the back of the restaurant, away from cars or people walking, so it’s idyllic as you dine and take in the people kayaking across the canal. Thankfully, we have been blessed with gorgeous weather this year, we’ll need it for all the patio dining to come.