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| - Hey, remember when Ho-Lee Chow went bankrupt? It was all over the news when it happened. People wondered what would happen to the franchisees.
They can stop wondering. It seems like many of the locations are still in business under different names, peddling Chinese-Canadian classics without the support of a single head office.
Cho Cho Cho would appear to be one of these outlets. On the south side of St. Clair, Cho-cubed anchors a multicultural strip between Jamaican, Latin and Italian neighbourhoods, which suits the cuisine very well. It's the kind of non-ethnic "Chinese" food that grad students write theses about these days. In the middle of clearly defined ethnic neighbourhoods, Triple Cho presents a classic Canadianized take on Chinese classics, so the food is unrecognizable to true Sinophiles. However it suits when you're looking for something deep-fried and sweet.
3 Cho Night has a sit-down restaurant which sits empty most nights in favour of a thriving takeout business. Their website features a photo shopped Ho-Lee Chow menu, right down to the playful descriptions attaches to house specialities. I wonder if the present owner operated as a franchisee before; and if so, whether the menu is a violation of intellectual property law.
Takeout arrives fast and for the most part, hot. Appetizers trump mains, which are often inconsistent. Egg rolls and spring rolls arrive hot and crispy, with bright vegetables and well-seasoned meat. Hot and sour soup is both, and loaded with chicken, tofu and other veg. Wontons are tasty, but the soup is horribly salty. Pork potstickers are past their peak, but satisfy a late-night dumpling craving.
As mentioned, mains are hit and miss. Portions are huge, but the food itself isn't always top-grade. Chicken balls are battered heavily. I avoid the gooey sweet and sour sauce. Sauces are generally indistinguishable from each other. Szechuan and Kung Pao come with a tonne of vegetables, but register more peanut butter than heat. General Tso chicken is a gross (and I mean gross) disappointment. Chicken is petrified beyond chewing. It's sauce seems like little more than Sweet and Sour with a few chili flakes and less food coloring. It sits on a bed of unsalted steamed broccoli, which is properly cooked but does little on the plate other than turning the General's batter into mush. Better to go with the Cantonese chow mein, which offers a bright mix of vegetables and an orgy of meat/seafood on top of lightly crisped noodles. BBQ pork fried rice is enough food for an army. Other than starchy peas, it elicits no complaints.
Forest Hill is not known for it's Chinese restaurants. Cho Cho Cho operates at a level well below China House (which also delivers), but for a safe, inexpensive late-night feed, I would ride this train.
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