Eat & Drink
Paradise in the Promenade
Think Toronto's Northern suburbs offer nothing but the odd IKEA and bland shopping malls? Think again. There are surprises to be found in areas such as Vaughn, where a brilliant grocery experience is hiding within the Promenade mall.
The Promenade looks like any other suburban mall, and for the most part, it is. But wander into T&T Supermarket, and you're in a different world. This huge Asian superstore, which specializes in its seafood department, has the size, cleanliness, and appearance of a typical big-box Loblaws store, but with the food selection and prices of Chinatown.
To boot, their prepared food counters rival pricy restuarants - from huge, fresh sushi plates for a shockingly low price to moist and tasty barbecued duck and pork to dozens of side dishes, salads, and an incredible mix of other, interesting tid-bits, including chicken feet and pork tongue. Welcome, shoppers!
I feel a bit like a kid in a candy store as I enter - I want to see (and, if possible, taste) everything! At the seafood counter there are huge aquariams filled with live lobsters, fish, and crabs of all sizes. Customers can pick out unrestrained (no elastics!) crabs with their bare hands, and the man working the counter will pop them - live - into a paper bag for you. And this is just the beginning: there is live eel, fresh flounder, miles of oysters, mussels, clams, and conch, and a really rare edition: geoduck clam. To top it all off, the prices are as much fun to look at as the seafood: you have to see them to believe them, they're so low!
And still, there's more: piled-high meat counters, aisles devoted to noodle soups, hot sauces, and so much more. Plus, there's always free samples of goodies like steamed buns or fried dumplings (That's my kind of free sample!)
But of course, the excursion isn't complete without a snack. One look at the sushi selection (with an unusually large variety - all for just 75cents a piece!) and my mouth starts to water. . .
In order to end this piece, I'd better just leave the rest to your imagination. Or better yet, see for yourself: it's worth leaving downtown for.
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I'm not sure if they actually have the best congee in town (probably not), but I do know that Congee Wong(Promenade)'s service is terrible (2 thumbs down).
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I went there the other day (weekday, lunch time). Not busy: like more than half of the tables are not filled. However, nobody greeted us at the door even though I saw 1 cashier and 3 servers at the far end of the restaurants.
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After nearly 3 minutes of waiting, a rude waiter appeared and asked us to wait: saying that we only have 2, and all the empty tables (more than 10 of them) were for 3 or more customers. The time just passed 1 o'clock, and you could tell they would NEVER be filled before 2 PM anyway. I asked and talked to the person in charge. He was even ruder and apparently didn't even want to speak with us (except to ask us to wait). Of course, we left.
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The place is clean and orderly as well, stuff you don't usually see in a Chinese restauarant.
(The washrooms are SO high-tech! ;)
The other Congee Wongs aren't as up to par as this one (I think this is the newest one!) other than the one at First Markham Place...
The one at the Finch and Leslie Plaza just sucks like crap. The food is terrible, its always crowded, and there are flies buzzing around everywhere. I always find hair in my congee, and bits of string and stuff in the noodles.
Just to recap, this new Congee Wong at Promenade Mall is FABULOUS, and don't let the negative review from User 383 deter you from going!
Remember Congee Wong is not a fine dining establishment, it is very casual. As such, it is common for servers to wave you over to a table and throw a teapot at you. This is normal at informal Chinese Restaurants! I have never gone to a Chinese Restaurant (for Dim Sum or otherwise) and received the kind of service one expects at an 'English' style restaurant. If you frequent Chinese restaurants you would know what I mean.
In closing, don't raise your blood pressure over the service at Congee Wong. The service there is typical of all Chinese Restaurants and the reason you go there is for the YUMMY FOOD that is cheap like heck!!
I frequent Congee Wong in Promenade and never had problems with service. Food is the best and very inexpensive. Service is fantastic - food arrives in less than 10 mins and the waiters take time to entertain my 2 yr old daughter. =)
Highly recommended!!!
user383 - I think you might have been rude to the waiters so that's why they were rude back at you.