After a long day in meetings and shooting along Queen West, I was famished. Heading west past Spadina, the "All Day Dim Sum" sign at Tempo Chinese Restaurant caught my eye.

Tempo is the kind of place I've passed by hundreds of times without ever considering going in. It never appears to be entertaining much of a crowd, looks pretty grimey inside and out, and, let's just say I once shot a photo from the sidewalk of the owner fast asleep inside. How they pay Queen West rent, I don't know.

Still, that sign had caught my eye. I was already picturing a turnip cake... or two.

So, I called a friend to join me and went inside. The staff seemed startled.

After browsing the menu(s), we go with a can't-go-wrong staple dish of beef & greens and two dim sum dishes: turnip cake and stuffed green peppers.

Now we wait, and make conversation to distract us from the fact that up close, the place is a dirty as it looked from afar. Having eaten on Queen before though (let alone Bloor West) we still have plenty of hope for truly tasty grub hiding in dirty venues.

Soon after, the dishes arrive and we're pleasantly surprised by the portions. Both the main dish and the dim sum are positively huge for the el-cheapo price we paid. Just the turnip cakes alone could be a standalone meal.

Of course, the joy of value faded quickly once we started chewing... and chewing... and chewing.

While the bok choy was edible, the beef was nasty. After attempting to chew through rough and tough pieces proved useless, we piled it it up on the edge of our plate like children with vegetables.

The dim sum looked good too, but whatever flavour existed in that turnip had long since died from grease affixiation. Together, we made it through one of 3 pieces. The stuffed peppers were also greasy, but turned out to be the only salvation in the spread.

Thankfully, the total came in under $15 with tax and tip.

I won't be back any time soon, but hey, if you've got one of those made-of-steel stomachs, there are certainly deals to be had.

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Tempo Chinese Restaurant - 414 Queen St West.