Tag: congee

A Tasty Breakfast at Ying Ji Chang Fen

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Ying Ji Chang Fen
Location: 4040 Creditview Road, Mississauga
Website: https://yinjicanada.com/

Ying Ji Chang Fen does well.  I showed up at around 10:00 on a Saturday morning and it was already starting to fill up; by the time I left, it was basically packed.  That’s not to mention the constant stream of take-out orders.  Clearly, people know a good thing when they find it.

Their menu consists mostly of various congee dishes and rice noodle rolls, and I tried one of each.

Ying Ji Chang Fen

First up: Marinated Beef & Shrimp with Chives Rice Noodle Roll.  No, it’s not the most photogenic dish you’ll ever see (neither were), but it was thoroughly tasty, with a generous amount of perfectly cooked shrimp and tender beef, a perfectly chewy rice noodle wrapper, and a delicious sweetened soy sauce on top.

Ying Ji Chang Fen

Bonus: the extremely tasty chili oil on the table, which enhances everything you put it on.

Ying Ji Chang Fen

I also tried the Preserved Egg and Minced beef congee, and yeah, that was just as good.  The congee itself was hearty and satisfying, and all the toppings — from the crunch of the peanuts to the chewiness of the preserved egg — worked really well together.

Ying Ji Chang Fen

I got a side order of the dough stick, and that was quite good too — slightly oily, but nice and fresh, and a really great complement to the congee.

Unique Thai Brunch at Kiin

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Kiin
Location: 326 Adelaide Street West, Toronto
Website: http://www.kiintoronto.com/

I initially tried Kiin in 2018 and I found it tasty, but a bit overpriced.  Since then, they’ve been featured in the Michelin Guide, and they’ve started serving brunch.  I figured another visit was probably in order.

After visit two, I’m still more on the “like” than the “love” side of the fence, but it was a tasty meal and a pretty solid value.

Kiin

I ordered the jhok: “Thai rice porridge, housemade chicken meatballs, sous vide egg, crispy vermicelli noodles, ginger, green onion, coriander, Thai cruller.”

This was a hearty bowl, with a generous amount of tender meatballs and tasty sausage (which wasn’t mentioned on the menu), a nice textural counterpoint from the crispy noodles, and pops of freshness and heat from the coriander and the sliced peppers.

Kiin

And the porridge itself was creamy and comforting, with a satisfying savoury flavour.  The silky sous vide egg complements the porridge quite well, adding extra richness and oomph.

It might have been too rich, however; it was crying out for a vinegary hot sauce or something with some brightness to cut the heaviness a bit.

Kiin

I also tried the bua loy for dessert: “sticky rice flour balls, sweetened coconut milk, pandan, sesame, young coconut.”  This was thoroughly tasty, with a bunch of pleasantly springy mochi-esque balls swimming in a sweet, flavourful coconut milk concoction.  I was expecting this to be cold and was a bit shocked when my first mouthful was quite hot, but once I got used to the temperature, it was a great dessert.

Bonus: unlike my last visit, the prices seemed quite reasonable.  The jhok was $18, and considering how crammed with tasty stuff it was, it’s impossible to argue that it’s overpriced (the dessert was $15, which is a bit less of a steal, but it was delicious enough that I won’t get too worked up about it).