PHOENIX RESTAURANT BAYVIEW

I’ve blogged about Phoenix Restaurant before and they are still one of our favourite Hong Kong cafes. Since moving to Richmond Hill, we’re closer to their Bayview location and have picked up takeout a few times during the past year. Basically whenever we’re craving Hainanese chicken.

Ordering: The first time we ordered, I called the restaurant to place my order and referenced their menu online. Since then, Phoenix has set up an online ordering system that serves 3 of their 4 locations for pick up orders. They are also available on delivery apps like Uber Eats, Doordash and Asian apps like CMEOW and F.O.D. Considering their extensive menu, the online ordering tool had lots of photos available and sections for combos similar to the dine-in menu.

Pickup: Parking was plentiful at the Bayview location, although sometimes busy, shared with other restaurants and retailers in the same plaza. While dine in was closed, the restaurant had created a one way route for pickup from one door of the entrance to the other. The area was fully enclosed with plexiglass and there were only a few employees on site. I’m not sure how the layout has changed with dine in open again, however the experience felt very safe the times we’ve visited.

Food: My usual order at Phoenix is the Yunnan Noodle Soup with ho fan noodles, while Stephen gets the Hainanese Chicken (that we share). Our first time getting those dishes for takeout though, I found the fish broth was extra fishy and the noodles didn’t quite hold up in transport even packed separately. The Hainanese chicken was still delicious, tender and flavourful with the perfect fragrant rice. Instead of my noodles, we decided to try the Beef Brisket Malaysian Curry with a side of roti. The brisket was well cooked, had a good chew but still soft, and the curry was rich with just a touch of heat.

The malaysian curry came with a side of rice but the roti was a great upgrade, flakey and soft. Neither of the dishes we ordered were available for a drink combo at the time, which was a bummer as their Hong Kong milk tea is always a treat. While at first glance, the portion of curry looked small, there was plenty of sauce and we had even enough leftovers for another meal.

Overall picking up takeout from Phoenix was a convenient and tasty experience, remaining our go to spot for Hainanese chicken.