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Canbe Foods
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
4 reviews for Canbe Foods
4 reviews in English
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Review from John S.
Scarborough, ON
3/18/2012
I drove past this place many times, not quite sure what it was. Then one day I ventured in and was very pleasantly surprised. The first thing I saw was that they had dosas. I love dosas, and these were delicious, huge and STUFFED. Really a meal in themselves, I still had to try the chili chicken and some of the fish cutlets, which look like little brown balls, between the size of a big marble and a golf ball. Everything I had was fantastic, the chicken was a little dry, but the next time I got it it was not. The menu is pretty extensive, and its all behind glass, or up on the wall. Prices are reasonable, portions are huge. The staff is great, and they will answer all of your questions like "What IS this?!" Also, on the side is a section of frozen foods.
I would like to say that I'm not sure what the reviewer Janelle means by "stuff white people order", because I am white and I ordered more than just the fried things. So Janelle, please try not to make stupid generalizations, thanks. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
I was on my way to get some cupcakes at So into Cupcakes and then I saw the Sign... yes a sign saying "Spicefully Yours".
Cheesy slogans and store names seems to be the headline for this afternoon..
I should have come by Canbe Foods a year ago... (yay! Yelp Friend I hear you!) but you know being a procrastinator I am guilty... but it is never too late.
Chicken Biryani ($6) is like a full lunchbox with content just expose everywhere when I started eating that. Can I complain that it was too much? Are they purposely trying to make me fat? I ate half and saved the rest for lunch the next day.
Be careful of all the spices they use... It is not hot spicy.. just spicy with a lot of different kind of spices used in the preparation. And you might end up burping everywhere.
Maybe I will try their Roti Paratha which they claim is "Best In Town" next time!Listed in: India and Sri Lankan eateries…
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Review from Janelle W.
5/11/2011 5 photos
That Sri Lanka is shaped like a teardrop is no coincidence.
The lovely country, flush with breathing rainforests and sunlit spice plantations, has been weeping inside. The Tamil-Sinhalese civil war, a fight over differences in faith and tongue, has thrown a metaphorical meat cleaver into the country's heavy heart. Even in a diaspora, Tamils and Sinhalese tend not to let go of their animosity.
This is why Canbe Foods' traffic queue spills out of their parking lot and onto the street, like rolls of fat over Kirstie Alley's elastic waistbands. It has less to do with Canbe's brilliant food than it has to do with the gold-leafed Buddha statue on their counter, which indicates that the business is Sinhalese-run. This Buddha is to Sinhalese immigrants what a Zagat sticker is to an unadventurous food snob -- a stamp of approval from the one they worship.
In keeping with Buddhist tradition, Canbe Foods is clean, bright, and alive. And their clear, English menu makes it easy for someone not fluent in Sri Lankan takeout to place an order.
Grab-and-go snacks take center stage at Canbe. Sri Lankans call these things "short eats". I call them "stuff white people order" because they're mostly deep-fried, and nothing weans white people onto an ethnic cuisine like deep-fried crap [case in point, samosas and spring rolls]. Of Canbe's crispy comestibles, I recommend the chicken or mutton rolls -- doughy noodle sheets, wrapped tightly around a spicy meat-and-potato mixture, then coated in breadcrumbs before hitting the grease.
For a more complete, yet equally speedy, meal, Canbe has an impressive hot counter. Nothing is labeled, and it's laid out only slightly more intelligently than a 'Globe & Mail' restaurant review, so let me point out the highlights:
+ chicken and mutton biryani, made with perfect fluffy basmati
+ chilli chicken, vinegary to cut the spice
+ Singapore noodles, rich with curry and full of tender shrimp
+ egg roti, a pliable roti purse stuffed with spiced egg
But if you have a few minutes to spare, order the kottu roti. This hearty dish is prepared to-order. While you wait, out of the kitchen will come a metallic tintinnabulation of blades against a grill, synchronously chopping the chewy roti and turning egg, green onion, and a heavy shake of curry powder into the pieces of flatbread. Nothing is lost in Canbe's translation of this prodigal street food.
Canbe Foods literally breaks bread every time they prepare an order of kottu roti. I only hope that this very simple breaking of bread someday evolves into a more significant breaking of bread between Tamils and Sinhalese -- if anything can overcome their polarizing differences, it is a mutual passion for their powerful cuisine.
I don't want to be an anti-war, 'Kumbaya'-singing, patchouli-smelling hippie. I just want these people to make hoppers, not war. -
Review from Donna R.
Scarborough, ON
10/17/2011
The samosas, dahl vadai and chicken rolls are a must try! This place always has people lining up the front door.
