Lin Garden is fitting of this Scarborough neighbourhood and this plaza. It is a bit off the main street of Sheppard, therefore a normal passerby will not typically find their way to Lin Garden. People will know of it by word-of-mouth or find out about it while visiting Le Cafe Michi next door.
I had some preconceptions of Indian Hakka because of my less-than-stellar experience at Federicks but sometimes reputations are based on some truth. A thing I didn't like was that we sat right at the Table next ot the "Dirty" Dishes Table that they use to accumulate instead of taking it inside back to the Kitchen. I wonder how many of the sauces and juices flew my way?
The decor is very Old-style Canadian Chinese but at least the space was lit up nicely so you don't feel the darkness has something to hide. I mean when a restaurant Deep Fries Meat in the form of a Croquette quite a bit your mind starts wondering......
CHICKEN PAKORA($8.50) - This is ONLY thing I have liked so far in an Indian Hakka place. Much much better than the unappetizing clump at Federicks. These Croquettes of perfectly juicy Dark Meat Chicken were nicely spiced and addictive. I would love this as a Street Food, snacking everywhere I go. 2.5'd
Chili Chicken ($8.00) - Less gluely than my prior Hakka experience and it wasn't quite Spicy, more of a Mild Soya. Again this is more Food Court item in my mind, so if thinking of that fact along with price-point then it's less of a complete disappointment.
Crispy Beef($8.50) - Food Court style Chinese food has a similar idea of Cantonese Sweet & Sour Pork. It was almost like eating thin strings of Beef Jerky with a Dark Sauce coating over it. Interesting to see and try.
Additiona Info: One of the server seemed quite lost holding the dish around to see which table it belonged to or who accepts it. She was a spectacle that every table had someone looking at her to see if it was one of their dishes. The Steam Rice side order we had seemed a bit blah passed its prime.