One thing North York lacks is cheap and tasty Chinese food. True there’s plenty of restaurants if you drive East or North but few within the 5/10 minutes commute I prefer for a quick dinner. When Congee Queen opened at Yonge and Steeles, it was a happy addition to the neighbourhood.

Atmosphere: While the restaurant is situated in CenterPoint Mall, the main entrance is external and separate. The interior was similar to other Congee Queen locations with lots of booths and large round tables. High ceilings, chandelier lights and Asian inspired decor made the restaurant feel elegant.

Service: Service was mixed, not great but not terrible. Generally we were ignored at our table and it was hard to flag down servers. When we did, they were really helpful. Two girls stood right by our table, chatting and looking outside. As soon as I needed to ask for something, they walked away. I couldn’t tell if servers were assigned to specific tables and just grabbed anyone who was around.

Food: Going into the meal, I wanted to order enough food to bring home leftovers for lunch the next day. I normally do not order 4 dishes for just two people (most of the time).

We started with a bowl of pork and century egg congee. The congee was the strongest dish of the meal; savoury, a good consistency and had lots of meat. As side dishes, I always order turnip cake and fried dough fritters. The dough fritters were standard while the turnip cakes were disappointing, especially since I love the version at other Congee Queen locations. That night, the cubes of steamed turnip weren’t fried enough, under seasoned and not spicy.

The flavour was great for the garoupa hot pot and there was plenty of battered fish and vegetables. There was however a ton of bones in the garoupa. We had to eat very carefully and it was a tedious process. I liked the salt and pepper pork chops that were lightly battered and generously seasoned. A little more heat would’ve added to the dish.

Overall, Congee Queen at Centerpoint Mall was hit or miss. I think there’s room for improvement with some of the staple dishes but their congee was excellent.

Now with 6 locations, Congee Queen has quickly established themselves as a go-to Chinese restaurant for weekend brunch, large family dinners or quick meals with an extensive menu and tasty food. The Fiance’s sister was in town recently and we stopped by Congee Queen’s Markham location for lunch on a Thursday.

Atmosphere: Even at lunch on a Thursday, the restaurant was 70% full and busy. The space was clean and modern with plenty of booths and large round tables. A case showing fresh BBQ items is displayed near the kitchen, filled with ducks and a full roast pig. Trying to get a table on the weekend for breakfast can be difficult, I would recommend making a reservation or going at an off peak time.

Service: There was nothing memorable about the service during our lunch. We were seated promptly and dishes arrived hot, after a short wait. We did notice on this visit as well as previous visits the the portion of BBQ duck served feels smaller than at other restaurants or when buying from BBQ places. This could be that Congee Queen only serves the prime pieces (leg, breast and belly) and discards the awkward pieces (neck, collar).

Food: Lunch began with a bowl of House Congee, full of surf clams, scallops, salmon, artificial crab and shrimp. A generous handful of chopped cilantro and green onions topped the bowl. The consistency of the congee was bang on, not too thin or too thick and with plenty of seafood per scoop. Personally, I like plain congee with preserved vegetables, so too many fillings actually counts against the dish for me. We ordered two classic side dishes, fried dough fritters and pan fried turnip cakes. The fritters were airy, fresh, a touch oily but delicious, while the turnip cakes were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. A bit more heat and dried shrimp would’ve made the dish even better.

The Cantonese Chow Mein was delicious, a large platter full of crispy egg noodles, drenched in saucey seafood, vegetables and beef. All for just $10.75. The dish should be eaten as soon as it’s served to avoid letting the noodles become soggy. Our one vegetable dish was blanched Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce. Each stalk was cut in half and presented with the leaves tucked underneath. Another vegetarian dish was deep fried tofu in soy sauce. This dish is very much like agedashi tofu and one of my favourites to order at Chinese BBQ places.

I was trying to order a steamed rice noodle roll, but accidently ordered a pan fried version of the dish (P1), and I’ve been converted. Frying the roll added a layer of caramelized goodness to the exterior. Less healthy, but so tasty; an improvement in my opinion. A whole BBQ duck was the main entree for the meal. The platter of chopped pieces was served with two small bowls of plum sauce and marinated soybeans. Each piece of duck had a thin crispy skin, tender meat and well rendered fat. I really enjoyed the meal but afterwards, I was very thirsty and drank water non-stop that afternoon. This dropped my rating to a 3.5 from what would have been a 4.5.