Yes. We,re Eating Again.
+4
Po Kong Vegetarian Restaurant is on a stretch of Kingsway where there seems to be a nest of places that offer non-carnivorous options, near Knight Street. They offer dim sum until 1:30 pm and that's what we were interested in. It should be noted that they have an extensive full-day menu with combinations for larger groups. One problem is that the dim sum menu on their web site is fairly illegible. We solved this by seeking out the menu on Yelp and hoping that the selections and pricing hadn't changed too much (they hadn't). So we phoned in our order, picked it up and drove home. I try to order these days keeping in mind that there will be travel involved and surprisingly, even the delicate items made it home, starting with Deep Fried Radish Cake. These were flaky and tasty. Rather than the 'cake' that I expected, the filling was more of a finely shredded mixture of radish, mushroom and whatever else. Not what I would call overly seasoned (some of the dishes were somewhat bland but shone when we added the accompanying sauces) but of lovely texture and we enjoyed them. We tried their Barbecue Buns. They were on the fluffy side and not overly dense. The filling was a tasty mixture of I'm not sure what but almost certainly including bamboo shoot which lent its slightly crunchy texture. The peanut dumplings were decent also. Not loaded with peanuts but just enough and again a mixed vegetable filling. The wrapping was maybe a bit on the thick side but not enough to be a problem. Deep-fried Taro Dumplings is always one of our favourites. These can be quite dense at times but we were pleasantly surprised that the filling included not just the usual taro but a vegetable and mushroom mixtures lending a little needed lightness. Very nice! Lo Hon Rice Roll was next and we always order rice roll with our dim sum. In keeping with the theme, these had what was now a familiar mixture of the enoki mushrooms etc. They came with the usual dipping sauces one peanut and one sweeter. Finally, we had the Beancurd Skin Rolls with Black Bean Sauce. Pictured on their website, we could hardly resist and it did not disappoint. Pleasantly chewy rolls were paired with a tasty black bean sauce and a few bell peppers and mushrooms, this was the plate that we polished off first. This is another, must order dish. Another pleasant dining room that we would like to visit someday. A common them that we are finding with the people who provide us with our food is the old positive attitude and hope that if we all hang in there a little longer, and even stay the course when things return to semi-normal, then we will be OK.
Really good for a veg dim sum alternative! Overall lacked a little of the greasy richness you’d find at more traditional Chinese spots but flavor was good and still kills the craving for dumplings.
I don't give 5's often but this is Po Kong. Bean Curd Skin Rolls, nuff said. Their lineage is vast, stemming from the notorious Bo Kong on Main St. Their food hasn't changed in decades, Always good and always consistent. Thanks for carrying on the tradition. Vegan Chinese food is the best.
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