Shine Kitchen occupies a location that’s been a bit of a dead zone. Past tenants include Kenny’s Noodle, which lasted a while but after it has been a host of restaurants that opened and shuttered in quick succession. Shine Kitchen goes back to a similar rice and noodles menu to Kenny’s but also focuses on other Cantonese style dishes.

During our weekend lunch visit, tables were ordering an array of items from congee to clay pots and even steamed fish thanks to their lunch specials. Their house super bowl congee ($18.99) was chocked full of fish, shrimp, scallop, and imitation crab captured in a soup that was thick and silky but not overly heavy. It was salted just enough for flavour while still allowing the seafoods’ sweetness to permeate.

It’s not that different from the seafood super bowl congee ($18.99), just with squid instead of imitation crab. That said, on our second visit, the salmon tasted less than fresh. Nothing serious and thankfully didn’t lead to any stomach issues.

From reading reviews, some diners feel dishes aren’t seasoned enough. And while it is tamer than Congee Queen, I found it’s enough. The beef and vegetable chow mein ($14.99) incorporated a decent portion of the savoury brown sauce without saturating the noodles so they remained crunchy and hot from the wok. The dish also had enough meat and vegetables to go around.

Their fried vermicelli with shrimp and BBQ pork in Singapore style ($14.99) uses a healthy dose of curry powder for flavour and colour. The dish is fragrant with a nice balance of moisture.

Shine Kitchen’s shrimp wontons ($11.99) are generously portioned and well-stuffed with shrimp. My aunt appreciated that they weren’t overly tenderized, allowing the natural texture and flavour of the crustacean to come through. While that’s usually my preference as well, I found them a bit bland and in need of a generous spoonful of chili oil to add flavour.

If you’re dining solo, their weekday lunch combos are a great option. With a rotating selection each day, we visited on a Wednesday and chose the house seafood and mixed vegetable fried Taiwanese vermicelli ($15.98 for the combo). It arrives with a half portion of noodles that boast great wok hay and an ideal dry, chewy texture. Surprisingly, the dish also included a generous amount of shrimp and bay scallops.

The combo is rounded out with a bowl of minced beef and egg white soup (better seasoned than their congee), a freshly fried crispy chicken wing, a decent portion of boiled yu choy, and a couple of orange slices for dessert. It’s more than enough for one person and could even stretch to two with an extra dish.

If you’re used to Congee Queen’s astronomical portion sizes, you’ll find Shine Kitchen’s dishes smaller. Yet, it’s really stems from them using less carbs, the accompanying ingredients are similar. Since prices are couple of dollars less than Congee Queen, it balances out and is better for smaller tables where you can order more dishes for variety.

Since Shine Kitchen inherited the furniture from the previous hot pot restaurant, they have a lot of large circular tables and fewer small booths. Consequently, it’s a good option for large tables as they seemed to be seated with little difficulty.

It’s a place that’s finding their groove. For everyone’s sake, I hope the dead zone is done and Shine Kitchen is here to stay.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10

Daldongnae's lunch specials remind me of a tiffin where the main dish is circled by seven banchan creating a colourful fulsome platter. Unlike their Korean barbeque sets, lunch takes longer to arrive as the kettle pot rice is made to order. It’s worth the wait to allow the purple rice to develop a bit of crust on the bottom and to allow the beans, chestnut, pumpkin, jujube and chickpeas to soften and seep into the rice.

Given how long it takes for make the starch, I’m surprised the pork bone soup ($21.99) doesn’t arrive bubbling… this stone bowl is for show only.  It also lacks flavour and needed to be stewed longer as the bones were difficult to tear and grizzly to eat. As kamjatang go, this is mediocre at best.

The spicy soft tofu stew ($21.99) was better, even the “medium” spicy level came out flavourful without being overpowering. And while it wasn’t bubbling, this was hotter and more comforting feeling. It’s just a bit stingy on the protein with few slices of beef but adequate amounts of tofu and vegetables.

Each arrives with an array of banchan including crispy kimchi cucumber, vegetable laced japchae, a flavourful stewed eggplant, a hefty portion of rolled egg omelette, a scoop of overly sweet potato salad, savoury gelatin, and a slightly sweet creamy lotus root. Two lunch specials can be shared amongst three people, otherwise expect to leave with leftovers.

Given Daldongnae wasn’t busy during their weekday lunch, their service was spectacular. Still, if you go for lunch, I’d stick with their wheelhouse and order table BBQ as the stone bowl mains were not impressive.

If Daldongnae wants to pump up their weekday lunch service, I’d recommend they switch to something they can execute better. Perhaps something like Haidailao where they offer table BBQ but instead of having diners ordering proteins separately, they create a mixed platter priced per person (with still a minimum of two people required). Korean tiffin you should be retired.

Does anyone else find downtown lunches expensive since returning to work? A handheld option set me back at least $10 and if it’s something with protein and two sides we’re pushing $20. I get it, there’s skyrocketing input costs, less competition, and many food courts need to make up for the lost pandemic revenue.

In contrast, it makes Ni-Ji Sushi’s weekday lunch menu an amazing deal. Here you’ll receive the protein with way more than two sides since every selection comes with a simple green salad, hot miso soup, and a small bowl of their savoury congee for good measure.

For the indecisive, the lunch combination ($16) provides a bit of everything. Sadly, the chicken teriyaki is probably the most forgettable part of the bento. The poached chicken breast lacks flavour and is a tepid temperature, this seriously needs to be marinated and grilled. If anything, I was more impressed with the shredded cabbage below the fowl, which was at least soaked in the teriyaki sauce.

The accompanying shrimp and vegetable tempura were delicious, the batter just thick enough, crispy, and sizzling hot. And Ni-Ji doesn’t skimp either, with two shrimp and assorted vegetables it’s surprisingly plentiful for something that’s only one part of the “combination”. The last third of the pie is a decent California roll made fresh and an ideal ratio of filling to rice.

While the salmon steak could be cooked less, being an oilier fish, the salmon teriyaki ($14) was at least more flavourful than the chicken. This bento is also more manageable for a smaller appetite, served with a cube of cold tried tofu, lightly pickled turnip slivers, and japchae potato starch noodles.

For something lighter, the sushi lunch ($14) offers enough food to satisfy without leaving you in need of a nap. Small bites of warm rice sit beneath the salmon, tuna, and butter fish in the six pieces of nigiri and a respectable California roll rounds out the bento.

Let’s be honest, you won’t find perfection on Ni-Ji Sushi’s lunch menu. Yet, for the price and speed-of-service, their offering certainly surpasses what’s found in a food court. Plus, you’ll be treated to their attentive and warm service and a host of sides - especially the congee, which is the fish roe cherry atop the sushi sundae. 

Jatujak Thai Cuisine is quickly becoming a chain of restaurants serving cheap-and-cheerful Thai food in the Toronto suburbs. After seeing so many of their dishes on Instagram and finding positive Google/Yelp reviews to back up the pretty pics, I decided to head north to their outpost located on Steeles a stone’s throw from Scarborough. From the outside, the storefront looks like any other plaza establishment, but once you enter, the dining room is surprisingly spacious and modern.  

Order a lunch special and they’ll arrive in no time – sometimes a worrying sign of premade food that just sits around and is assembled to order. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case with the pad Thai ($8.95). The heap of brown noodles studded with chicken, onions, and bean sprouts didn’t look like much, but once I had a forkful the seemingly too-wet noodles was the perfect consistency and the sweet flavours nicely balanced by the sour and savoury elements. While I couldn’t smell much wok hay when the dish was presented, the pad Thai did have a mellow smoky element that briefly peaks out while being consumed.

I’d skip the chicken green curry ($8.95), it’s run-of-the-mill and a tad sweet for my taste for something that has two chilies listed beside it on the menu. Truth be told, I was probably still a little salty from hearing that the steamed fish curry wasn’t available, something I really had my heart set on.

Jatujak’s beef khao soi ($15.95) could also use a kick of heat to really push the bowl to the next level. Still, it was a tasty dish with the creamy curry broth incorporating a hint of citrus. The combination of silky egg noodles with crispy ones were also on-point with equal amounts of both textures. There were also tons of brisket in the bowl, so this is a great choice for those who really want their protein.

Until my work-from-home schedule ends, and I re-join the downtown rat race, I’m glad to have found Jatujak who will satisfy my Thai cravings until I can taste Chef Nuit’s creations again. I guess their affordable price points, large portions, and ease of getting a table also doesn’t hurt either. If only they had the steamed fish curry – one day, you will get into my belly.