I had passed this restaurant a myriad of times while making my way towards other businesses in Kensington Market. In all those times I never even took the time to look inside the window to get a sense of what the type of cuisine they served as suggested by the interiors. Therefore when a friend recently suggested we meet there for a late afternoon snack, I wasn't quite sure what to expect after she had attempted to describe it as vegetarian "Asian Fusion".
After I gave the menu a good scan, it occurred to me that perhaps my friend's "Asian Fusion" description was in reference to the many processed tofu / simulated meat products on offer. Not sure that's a valid connection, but I digress.
My friend had been looking forward to the Hot and Sour soup - it was after all a damp, rainy day. At the time I wasn't into ordering a full entree so I ordered some pan-friend dumplings. My friend also ordered the Kung Pao "Chicken" with the intention of trying some of it out and wrapping up the rest to enjoy at home.
The soup arrived and was your standard, thick and tasty Hot and Sour soup, which did not disappoint (I've had watery, near-flavourless ones in the past). The pan friend dumplings, though a tad oily on the outside, had a tasty filling and the accompanying dipping sauce was well-suited (not exactly sure what it could have been made of but it had a kind of tangyness and sweetness along with the usual soy sauce base). The Kung Pao chicken however was absolutely delicious - it was not coated in a mass-produced sweet sauce, there was some heat and other flavours abounded. The chicken chunks were simply to me deep fried pieces of tofu, which were delightful and I personally prefer these to the processed simulated meat version. All of this was washed down with some lovely chrysanthemum tea.
It's rare that I am ever in the company of enough vegetarians and vegans to warrant seeking an exclusively vegetarian / vegan restaurant, but next time I am, I will definitely be heading back here.