KITCHEN M

Kitchen M is a Hong Kong style cafe on the corner of Highway 7 and McCowan that opened at the end of 2014. While in the neighbourhood running errands, I was debating whether or not to skip lunch when we drove by Kitchen M. Figuring I could order something light while The Hubby ate a full meal, we pulled into the parking lot.

Atmosphere: Walls of the restaurant were covered with printed posters advertising menu specials. At 2pm, we didn’t have to wait for a table and Kitchen M was less hectic than other Hong Kong style cafes in the area. The location used to be a Japanese restaurant and the dining room was fairly large.

Service: Service was fine, not bad, not exceptional, but perfectly acceptable. We were shown to a table and handed menus. The Hubby decided on his usual lunch combo and I was enticed by a wall poster to order a full bowl of noodles. The house special noodle wasn’t on the menu and I had to point to the sign when ordering.

Food: Overall, I thought lunch at Kitchen M was fine, from all aspects. Again, not bad but also not amazing. We ordered two hot Hong Kong milk teas that were good. The tea had a strong flavour and was milky. Our entrees though were meh to disappointing.

With the Hainanese chicken, the rice had the right flavour but the kernels were soft and mushy. There was no side bowl of stock, so I assume the rice was served with the stock pre-mixed in, which could have caused the sogginess. The chicken itself was ok. My house noodle soup consisted of round rice noodles in fish broth, topped with various fish balls and tofu puffs. Positives of the dish, there was a generous amount of toppings and the noodles were cooked to a soft but chewy consistency. Negatives, the broth. First, I found the broth under seasoned and second, there was a strong, distinct fishy flavour. Even with spoonfuls of chili oil, the broth was overpowering. I am a big fan of fish flavour and fish broth (I eat the fish skin for myself and The Hubby) but this bowl had no depth of flavour, richness or seasoning, just straight up fish.

Prices at Kitchen M were also higher than cafes offering similar menus in the neighbourhood. Personally, next time I’m hungry, I might stop by for the milk tea, but I’d look elsewhere for lunch.