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Chinese Halal Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese
668 Silver Star BlvdUnit 201
Scarborough, ON M1V 5N1
Neighbourhood: Scarborough
(416) 754-8379
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 12 am
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
9 reviews for Chinese Halal Restaurant
9 reviews in English
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Review from Justine H.
Toronto, ON
3/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
Restaurant: Chinese Halal Restaurant
Cuisine: Chinese
Location: Scarborough
Address: 668 Silver Star Blvd
Price Range: $10~15
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent
Food: 5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4.5
Extra information:
* Halal (no pork served)
* Debit & Cash only
* Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner
* Lunch Special 11AM~5PM, Mon-Fri
It was couple years ago when I started hanging out this friend in particular, I started developing likings for lamb. A lot of people who don't like lamb, says that they can't get past the gamey taste in the meat but that's what I like about lamb! If cooked right, I find it to be better than beef or pork sometimes.
Anyways, now that I've explored enough of Chinese restaurants in Chinatown- I've been looking more up at North York. Yes, it is quite far from where I live- but for good Chinese food, I am willing to travel the distance.
Chinese Halal Restaurant is bright and spacious with high ceiling- location seems new or renovated (tables and chairs were shiny!) Waitress that was working there seemed to be doing everything by herself, which was fine cause the restaurant wasn't that busy. However, given that there were 4-5 tables, she was doing a pretty good job keeping up with our table.
Their menu is long and extensive varying from cold dishes, noodles, meat dishes as well as vegetable dishes. Every item has picture on top showing how they look so no surprise there when you want to try something new!
Ordered: Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce (J11) 3/5
* Cold drumstick of chicken covered in chili sauce for $5.99
* My sister really likes this dish and wanted to order it
* Am not really a fan of this dish initially, unless it's done right with lots of spices, peanuts and cilantro
* I did not really enjoy this dish but my sister really liked it
Ordered: BBQ Lamb Skewer (A05) 5/5
* 1 skewer for $1.99
* Compared to some other places, $1.99 is one of the pricier ones but these are very much worth it
* Lamb pieces are covered in cumin and cooked perfectly
* With just the right amount of fat in each pieces, they were really juicy and tender
* It was easy to get them off of the skewers (thank goodness)
* One of the best lamb skewers I ever had!!
* Must Order when you visit
Ordered: Black Garlic Beef Tablets (B13) 5/5
* Plate of beef pieces covered in sweet garlic sauce for $9.99
* I wasn't sure what to expect when ordering this but it just sounded interesting
* Kind of reminded me of Ginger-Beef I had from food courts, but better
* Beef pieces are deep fried and then covered with the sticky garlic sauce
* Comes with pieces of garlic that is cooked thoroughly
* Garlic was cooked perfectly, they almost reminded me of chestnuts (and you know garlic is good for you)
* This was another solid dish I really enjoyed
Ordered: MaPo ToFu (G07) 4/5
* Sharing portion of MaPo tofu for $6.99
* For it's price, it's very big portion
* I don't really like tofu, but this was done really well
* It was just spicy enough and seasoned right
* Went really well with the plain rice we ordered
* Made with semi-soft tofu pieces and lots of sauce to be eaten with rice
Ordered: Hand-made Beef Noodle Soup (H02) 3/5
* Bowl of hand made beef noodle soup for $6.99
* Broth is more on the clear side which is rare for beef noodle soup (usually they are darker and thicker)
* I actually enjoyed the soup cause it was light and helped me wash down all the spices from other dishes
* Noodles are hand made and fresh, which makes them really long and chewy
* 6~7 beef pieces and they are all very good quality
* Good with some hot sauce (it lacks some flavor on it's own)
* This is actually a very big bowl of noodle soup so you might want to share
Summary: Chinese Halal Restaurant is a must visit for everyone who loves lamb! Even if you don't like lamb, there are other dishes there I am sure you will enjoy.
Chinese Halal Restaurant is clean, has good service and has amazing food. Make sure to drop by if you are in the area, cause I am going back for sure :) -
Review from Mel L.
5/14/2012
All hail the mighty Szechuan peppercorn. Hand-pulled noodles, BBQ lamb skewers, cumin lamb/beef, lamb buns, lamb shank...so many tasty items to choose from (if you love lamb and/or spicy food). I honestly think you can't go wrong no matter which dish you order, but one that really surprised me was the ma po tofu. We usually don't order this in restaurants because it always comes out as the fake, non-authentic, super salty style, but here they add a twist by adding szechuan peppercorns to it so you get that tongue-numbing spiciness that gives ma po tofu a new meaning. There are also a variety of non-spicy dishes that are also really tasty. It's a good place for authentic northern chinese food.
-
Review from Elaine K.
11/3/2011 3 photos
Not bad, but nothing special either.
The only remarkable thing about the place is that they have a 6 foot christmas tree in the ladies room.
The food was fine, but on the greasy/fatty side. The service was friendly and there were helpful photos of every dish on the menu.
I probably won't be back unless my parents get a craving for lamb again. -
Review from Jason N.
Scarborough, ON
2/7/2011
I have never tried halal before, or understood what it means, but who cares, this food rocks.
What can I say, but this food is really very good. As mentioned by someone else, the food was not greasy or too salty, which makes it a health meal. My mother never likes lamb due to the gamey taste, but at this place she liked it (only other place was me-va-mi). The dumplings was very tasty, the vegatables really stood out.
Loved the unique colorful selection from northern China.
Price was surprisingly low. Same or only slightly higher than food court.
Walking out, I felt completely satisfied with the experience. -
Review from WaYnE c.
Maple, ON
7/31/2010 7 photos
Newly opened next to Cafestra and Starwalk, this BRANCH has a whole new look even from the outside logo and signs. Due to being open recently, they have a 10% discount promotion going for a limited time.
The decor walking in is very ELEGANT and sets the mood that is a far cry from the original restaurant near Sheppard and Birchmount. The menu items of North Chinese/Muslim Halal are the same as the original which is exactly what makes me HAPPY.
Xian Lamb Soup Pancake($6.99) is a dough cut into small dice cubes served with Lamb, Glass Noodles in a lamb soup stock.
BBQ Lamb Skewer(1/$1.99) is Cumin spiced not overwhelmingly like others but enough to have you tasting it through-out your meal. Perfectly tender when eaten fresh.
Lamb Hand-made Noodles($6.99) not to be taken as Hand-pulled Noodles, it also comes with tender tasty Lamb chunks, Glass Noodles, Bean Curd Julienne, Seaweed Julienne in Lamb Stock.
A highlight of this meal I would say was the Sweet Sour Fish($8.99) which is definitely worth it's value and great presentation as this dish usually requires. We could taste that the flour batter was salted and seasoned nicely as a savoury dish.
The most noticeable difference is probably the decor and OPERATIONS of this place in comparison to the original. It caters to a different demographics due to its geography. It is also because of this reason that I noticed the dishes are a bit less OILY and SALTY as the main restaurant. -
Review from Archimedes T.
Toronto, ON
9/15/2010
Had their Crispy Halal Beef to see if it is any better than Chung King or Coconut Island (so far those two have the better crispy beefs). Verdict? Not crispy enough and TOO SALTY and spicy. Had to order mango juice to buffer the spiciness.
Then had their beef and lamb pancake. TOO SALTY for me still. Not really too appetizing.
I probably won't go there again by choice, but I may go their if invited by friends to try out other dishes, but the dishes I ate didn't click for me.
No free wi-fi (though there is wi-fi that only the owner runs) -
Review from Yvonne C.
Markham, ON
1/8/2011
To me lamb usually has that...lamb-y taste..that is much too overpowering and unappetizing. This place somehow managed to ease up on that factor, which I was super impressed with. Especially thankful considering how much we ordered...
- Cold noodle salad: amazingly al-dente wide rice noodles mixed with chili oil and tahini, cucumbers and gluten ball 'croutons'. Slightly flooded with the chili oil, but overall really good balance of chewy, creamy, spicy, sour.
- Lamb soup: light, cloudy broth had a faint lamb-y smell but thankfully none of the taste. Nice to warm up with on a chilly day.
- BBQ Lamb skewers: excellently seasoned; very tender; easy to get off the skewers! - it's always nice being able to maintain composure when you're trying to pry meat off a stick in public :)
- Naan: lukewarm; too chewy...(think reheated stale bread). It was for sure a disappointing $4.99 to dish out, but I want to believe this was some sort of freak incident...if only so that no one else has to fatigue their jaw eating this.
- Roasted leg of Lamb: the outer coat of seasoning was a bit too salty but the meat had almost reached that fall-off-the-bone state of heaven and was quite tender. Starting to get lamb-ed out by this point...
- Fried lamb (ribs?): not sure what cut this was but it was ridiculously fatty. The fact that there was a fried coating on it was overkill, and the salty/sour dipping sauce could barely help cut through the greasiness.
The first 3 items were pretty tasty, so I wouldn't mind coming back again. A couple beside us got some soup noodles that looked pretty good...& which might've helped break up our first meat feast of 2011. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
8/31/2010 10 photos
Dropped by here for lunch on a Sunny afternoon.. The restaurant is empty...
I was given the regular menu and decided to order the Beef Hand Made Noodle ($6.99) and after I ordered the other waiter said they have lunch menu for the same noodle for $4.99..and he suggested the Beef/Lamb pancake with sweet and sour soup which is good value.. I decided to stick with the beef noodle soup.
The dishes served here are really less oily and salty. There is hardly any oil in my clear beefy tasting broth. It is just the perfect saltiness for me and the beef too is not fat, really tender and soft.
The noodles since it is hand made are of different fhickness... I do expect that, however some of them are double the width of the others?? What happen is some of the noodles are more cooked and some more al dente... This is the only thing I am not too happy about.
The deco is really nice and chic too... no sticky floors, no sticky tables.The lunch menu are so reasonably priced! I will definitely be back again to try out other dishes!! -
Review from Karen S.
9/21/2010
Well, the food here is definitely different from my normal fare, and oh-so-good! By default, most Chinese fare I consume lean towards southern cuisine that tend to be more mild and is more balanced away from the Chinese 'hot air' concept (check out this link for a description of what that is rather than have me half-ass the explanation and leave you still scratching your head http://www.batgung.com...). The food here is definitely not balanced, incredibly flavourful, and really quite delicious! Not being used to having a lot of spices in my food everyday, I won't be coming here very often, but goodness, the food here is good.
I don't eat lamb, so I can't comment on half of what makes this restaurant so great. My companions sampled the heavily cumin-spiced lamb skewers and the fried lamb dumplings and have assured me that they are very good. We started off with the hot and sour soup that I highly recommend. It set my tongue throbbing and I had to call for ice water. It's excellent! It's a large sharing bowl full of stuff - tofu, mushroom, etc and the right mix of spicy and sour. A lot of hot and sour soups lean toward too much chili or too much artificial whatever to make it bright orange and sour. Not this soup! I also had a delicious chopped up garlic beef dish that is intensely flavoured but mild enough that people who don't like hot spices can have it with no issues. The fried beef stuffed pancake is yummy and that also comes in a lamb version. The bowl of beef noodle soup is very mild, with fresh hand made chewy noodles.
This location is smaller than the original which is now closed. The décor is very modern, and it is very clean and bright. I came here on a Sunday night and the place was packed. We were lucky enough not to have to wait too long, but we did observe a lot of people coming and going and lining up throughout the entire evening. The owner also likes to mingle with his customers which I think is quite cute and adds to the small business charm of this place.
The 10% opening discount as mentioned by Wayne is still ongoing as of mid-September '10 when I went.Listed in: Chinese, Chinese, Chinese!
