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Chilli Secret
Category: Restaurants Chinese Dim Sum Dim Sum [Edit]
9021 Leslie StUnit 9
Richmond Hill, ON L4B 0B2
(905) 764-9119
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 9 am - 10:30 pm
Sat-Sun 9 am - 11:30 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
15 reviews for Chilli Secret
15 reviews in English
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Review from Mary C.
Richmond Hill, ON
2/5/2012 9 photos
Located just by Time Square, Chili secrets gets lots of traffic for both lunch and dinner service. It serves up a fusion of Cantonese, Szechuan and Shanghai cuisines.
The restaurant is a decent size, but like most Chinese dim sum places, they don't offer too much space between tables. The decor is relatively clean and simple, but they definitely tried to add in some character with the nicer chair covers, chandeliers, and faux coconut trees.
The great thing about this place is that they have lots of vegetarian options. Because we had a vegetarian with us that day, we had less meat dishes than usual.
We ordered Tofu thread noodles, Tofu Rice Noodle Roll, Spinach Dumplings, Pumpkin Glutinous Dumplings, Spicy Cow tendons, Beef Fried Noodle, Pork Shui Mai, and Red Bean Pankcake (Wo Beng).
Pumpkin Glutinous Dumplings.
--The dumplings were made with that has pumpkin mixed into it, giving a bright orange colour and a sweet hint of pumpkin.
--It is filled with a red bean paste that did not overpower the rest of the dumpling.
--they were piping hot with a nice crispy exterior, it easily became my favourite dish of the meal!
Tofu Thread Noodles:
Because tofu itself is often watery in nature, in order to make noodles out of it, it would have to be relatively dried. The texture ended up being a dry and spongey texture. I can't tell if I liked it or not, but it was definitely a different noodle experience.
Spinach Dumplings:
--the spinach dumplings were a nice twist on a commonly omivorous dish
--filled with tofu curds, vegetables, glass noodles and other non-meat ingredients
--I found it a bit salty, but that might be to compensate the fact that vegetables generally aren't as flavourful as meat
If you ever want to come here for dim sum, you should come before 11am, they have a cheaper per dish dim sum rate. But be warned, you might be waiting for a table for quite a bit! -
Review from bold c.
Toronto, ON
3/6/2012
Spicy Spicy Spicy - The name is apt for this restaurant
30 Sec Summary
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1.Everything has chilli in this restaurant
2. Think bold flavors with pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chili peppers
3. Unique flavour of the Sichuan peppercorn
4. Try the seafood and chilli fish dishes
5. Prefer eating in to takeout as the portions are much bigger -
Review from A L.
Markham, ON
5/18/2012
My family have been here numerous time. It's one of the best and cheapest dim sum place in the area. They offer both Cantonese dim sum and "Northern" dim sum.
The only thing to criticize is the parking. Now there is another dim sum place at the back and it's almost impossible to find a parking in this plaza. -
Review from Darren S.
Markham, ON
10/24/2011
This is another restaurant that I would cite as a classic example of a 3.5 star restaurant. Why? Simply put, I would rate the dim sum experience as a 4-star, and the regular dining experience as a 3-star. Average those out, and voila, Bob's your uncle (does anybody say that anymore?).
Let's talk about dim sum first. The quality of each dish that we ordered (the usual har gaw, siu mai, chang fen etc...) was excellent. Not only was the food tasty, you could taste that it was prepared with care, or if not care (since asking for that may be too much in a large Chinese restaurant), then at least skill.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the regular food. Everything just tasted a bit off. Not off as in rotten, but as in not quite tasty enough, too spicy but not enough taste, or too salty (I'm referring to different dishes, obviously). Nothing really bad, but very very meh.
Service-wise, Chilli Secret is not bad. The waitresses speak an acceptable level of English, so that someone with my atrocious Cantonese/Mandarin/English combination can get my point across. They are usually quite quick and attentive, which is all I can ask for.
Ambience-wise is where this restaurant fails spectacularly. I'm not talking about noise level as that's pretty much a lost battle as far as I'm concerned. I'm talking about the UTTERLY WASTED potential in how great this restaurant can look like interior-wise. The restaurant invested (I would assume) significant amounts of money and effort to have graceful Chinese-style murals and other fine decorations within its walls, looking very close to a unique fine dining restaurant, but completely botched it by cluttering the interior of the restaurant with that oh-so-classic sins of Chinese restaurants: tackily pasted photographs of their food, piles of cardboxes, and visible carts filled with bowls and other kitchen utensils. It looks like a MESS and very unprofessional. Still, nobody else seems to mind it.
Finally, keep in mind that there are three locations for this restaurant, all of which have the same Chinese name (Ban Mu Yuan), but all with different English names. I don't really understand the logic or marketing strategy behind this (I think it's ridiculous), but this is neither here nor there.
Atrocious branding and wasted interior decor potential aside, the food is quite decent and the price is alright. I would still recommend the dim sum as it's reasonably priced (about $2.25 per dish) and of excellent quality. The rest of the menu is just....alright, but you won't encounter anything that is terrible. Just nothing mind-blowing, either. -
Review from Vivien L.
Updated - 4/28/2011
Up until last Sunday, I've only had dim sum at Chili Secret. I came here with my family and we ordered the set meal things (again I can't read Chinese so... yeah)
Besides the waitress spilling tea all over my grandma, the food was SO salty and very msg-y. All of it was like that... so I didn't really eat much that night. It really wasn't good..
So the verdict: Come here for dim sum but please, don't eat here for dinner....Listed in: Eating with my Fam Jam
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/3/2011
My parents go through phases of dim sum places, we go to a certain place for a while and then change… Read more »
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Review from Anna T.
Markham, ON
1/2/2010
One night the whole family was there for dinner, the following dishes were ordered:
Beef with Stir-fried Onion
Stir-fried Fish with Vegetables
Hot Pot Stir-fry
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Sesame and Sugar Coated Taro
Eight Treasure Rice
Yeung Chow Fried Rice
Seafood Soup
Sweet Sticky Rice Ball Soup (dessert)
We loved the dishes however, we waited a long time since the place was packed. Instead of the main courses, they started off with the desserts. We had to ask several times for the waiters to bring us our meal.
I suggest you go there early as 5:30 PM for dinner so that there are less people and you can enjoy a savory Sichuan dinner without interruption. -
Review from Rafi N.
Toronto, ON
4/21/2011
The secret is exposed: chili. I came here for a group lunch; the food and service was great. We ordered ahead of time from the dinner menu.
*** Appearance ***
Overall, the restaurant looks clean. It is well decorated with murals on the walls. There's a large engraving on the wall with horses that looks like it was made in ancient China. The tables and chairs have cloth draped over them.
*** Food ***
* 713 - Beef Slices in Hot Pepper Sauce *
This is more like slices of beef in a hot soup. The beef is well cooked and are not too thin. The chilis in the dish are not too hot. For the most part, there are dried chilis in it which you can eat whole without burning your mouth. Scattered throughout are slices of fresh chili - this is where the secret becomes apparent. Altogether, a very tasty dish.
* 909 - Eggplant on Sizzling Hot Plate *
This dish has no chili that I could taste. The eggplant is the long skinny variety and is cooked just enough to leave a crunch. It is cooked in a slightly thick, sweet sauce. This was a nice contrast to the spicier dishes.
* 714 - Spicy Lamb Hot Pot *
This was probably the hottest dish I ate at this restaurant. The lamb is well cooked and tender. The lamb has a lot of fat on it, which I think could have been cut off. There are loads of chili in this which is great!
* Szechuan Smoked Duck *
Another dish with no chili. The duck looks like it was roasted or had its skin fried, but the meat is so tender that it is as if it were boiled. It is served with a couple sauces, one is a sweet chili sauce, the other I believe is hoisin. The duck is good.
To drink I had the green tea that has become a staple of almost all Asian restaurants. The tea is a lot stronger than most places and you can see some of the tea leaves, which adds to the authenticity.
*** Service ***
The service is good. The waitresses are attentive, though not as friendly or sociable as other places. They are quite monotonous, but always on task.
*** Price ***
The pricing is right on the money. You get a large portion size and the food tastes good. The service behind the food is good.
*** Tale of the Tape ***
If you like spicy Asian food and don't care for chit-chat with servers, then give Chili Secrets a try. It's no secret!Listed in: I got Yellow Fever
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Review from Erwin M.
4/19/2010
When fully packed, this is one of those places where you wish you spoke the language. You're waiting in line for 15 minutes, someone comes in, they talk, and then they get immediate seating. I start thinking, do they have reservations? Do they know the owner? Are they sisters? Did she slip in $20 for a table? You suddenly just wanna get outta there.
I stuck around and ended up sharing a round table with 2 more couples which was barely an ideal situation. We got all sorts of dim sum which were pretty good but hardly the best. Their menu is huge sadly I could only taste a few stuff. Best thing out of this experience was the mango dessert you can get from those push carts going round the place.
I would never come back peak hours ever again. Maybe 4pm on a Tuesday for dinner. -
Review from Scot J.
Toronto, ON
8/13/2011 2 Check-ins Here
They have 2 dishes I cannot get enough of - Szechuan Dan Dan Noodle & Bean Curd Thread Salad. Addictive!!
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Review from Ariel G.
5/22/2009
After driving by this place a number of times, we decided to try it. They do take reservations for larger parties, and they are usually very busy.
I don't know enough about Chinese Cuisine completely define what they do, but it did taste very 'authentic'.
Naturally the cooking featured chilies and lots of them. We ordered a chicken dish that featured both chilies and star anise. It was delicious. We also ordered the cripy beef, which was fried, and had a great taste garlic, smoke and chilies. It was extremely delicious.
On a return visit, with another couple we had several more great dishes. The only 'miss' was a whole fish with pineapple sauce. The presentation was gorgeous, but there was an unfamiliar spice or spice combination giving the fish a different but not wholly pleasant taste.
This place appears extremely authentic and is worth seeking out. It may be difficult to communicate with the wait staff, as they do not all speak english, although they are extremely helpful. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
6/2/2010 17 photos
Dropped by here on a weekday for lunch! Yes, Chili Secrets is a Northern Chinese restaurant however it becomes a dim sum restaurant during the day! This is what I call being flexible! :)
However, you can still order the Northern dim sums with the Cantonese dim sums! Yes this make everyone happy!
We arrived just before 12:00 and the restaurant is half emptied! We got seated promptly! Even the waitstaffs now understand Cantonese! So no need for me to practice my Mandarian..(the only time I am desperate enough to use my Mandarian is when I have to order food!)
The selections here is massive! There are 2 pages for you to pick from. They are all made to order so you can guarantee that they are hot and fresh not being pushed around for ages.
Always fun when there is a group of people to have dim sum so we can all share! We ended up ordering a combination of Cantonese and Northern dim sums. They all tasted pretty good.. And even with 2 of our vegetarian friends, we ended up have enough choices so everyone are happy!
We ended up paying $8 per person includes taxes and tips! And we are all happy and full!
The services is just ok.. but norm for Chinese restaurants! -
Review from Edwin A.
Updated - 3/14/2011 6 photos
once, twice, thrice
yeah that's how many times i'm going to review this place. i'm giving it a fair shot.
on sunday went here for dim sum. and we arrived just after 12.30pm surprisingly we didn't need to wait and got a table near the front of the restaurant.
there's push cart and a la carte dim sum service. but mainly it's a la carte though.
i wasn't feeling overly hungry for lunch that day, so no bias's of everything tasting good. i came here with an open mind. :)
we ended up ordering our goods off the a la cart menu
sponge cake - kind of dry
siu mai shrimp and pork - average
rice noodle beef roll - good but i haven't had anyone mess this up
dumpling (pork and leek) - too much leek
took a little bit long to get everything, there were some extended periods of time before the next dish came out (5-10mins).
$20 for 2 people at $10 a person not bad for 4 dishes including tax+tip
but would i recommend coming here? not the best place for dim sum imho.
unique for it's Sichuan selections though that would be it.
i think i'll stop reviewing this place now. as I gave it a fair shake. lol2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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1/16/2011
Ok went back this time to try a few more dishes Sunday noon with friends.
We ordered to share a five… Read more »
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Review from Rana L.
Went here w/ my relatives (16 ppl in total) on the weekend. We had a private room at the back & I believe the bill was just under $300. Not too bad!
It's a Northern Chinese restaurant. I'm sure it is prob. better with the dim sum during the day. But for dinner the dishes were just average. Or maybe cuz I had really good Chinese food the night before ;)
I thought the lobster was a bit bland. The soup was great though. I should really remember what the dishes are called so I can yelp properly! Red bean soup dessert had a slight herbal taste to it. It wasn't really my cup of tea. But I liked how they put in tapioca.
Service was ok. We didn't have to wait long for our food even though it was hella busy. -
Review from Diana C.
Toronto, ON
9/19/2010
Weirdd, I gotta disagree.. I liked their food and the service was very good maybe because my friend frequented the place.. But the staff is really friendly :) and the sichuan dishes were authentic! I guess i had a different experienc since I didn't go there for the dim sum but rather the actual dishes.
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Review from Henry F.
Markham, ON
4/26/2010
We go here all the time for dim sum. It's a good deal, $2.05 for Small, medium, and large Dim Sum items. We usually load up on the Shimp dumplings.
After going there for at least a dozen times (we go once every 2 weeks or so), we're noticing the service really drops off sharply when they are busy.
We went last week, and it was the worst it has even been...they forgot our tea at first, then they forgot a couple of dishes. Aafter waiting for 15 minutes after we finished everything else, we told them we wanted the bill and to cancel those items because they never arrived. It must have been a communication issue, because when we told them, they sent a manager to check out our table to make sure we were't lying or something, then instead of cancelling it, they brought it out before we could pay our bill....hence we now had 2 more dishes when we were all done. We ended up packing it for take-out. At least they didn't charge us for the take-out containers.
Let's just say....you get what you pay for. The food was good...but they skimp on the service. We'll still go of course...for the food, but don't expect any decent level of service when it's busy.
