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Full House Desserts
- Hours:
Mon-Tue, Thu-Sun 7 pm - 12 am
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
12 reviews for Full House Desserts
Review Highlights
"If you're a DURIAN LOVER, this is a MUST."
(in 12 reviews)
"...yellow wrap, encasing the whip cream + mango goodness."
(in 1 review)
"...two dumplings, made of glutinous rice, were one of the best..."
(in 2 reviews)
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12 reviews in English
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Review from Valery C.
6/14/2010 2 photos
Upfront, I'm going to say this place has a crazy business model, but they're certainly confident enough in their product to let customer service go out the window. And I have to admit that their product is fantastic indeed.
Full House Desserts is located inside a small mall on Leslie St, with mostly small restaurants inside. They open from 7 PM - 12 AM (closed Wednesdays), after most of the other restaurants have already closed. The place itself is very small, with only room for 5 dark wooden tables inside (seating at most 2-4 people/table) but they spread out folding tables all out front in the mall corridor, and here's where larger groups cluster. They are understaffed for the amt of business they do, with usually only 2 or 3 people trying to keep up with all the orders (and running around to do it).
My friend and I visited three nights in a row last week (from out of town, not going to get this again for a while). On the first, we arrived just before 9 PM to find the place lit but their roll up gates half-closed, tables/chairs stacked up inside, and a few groups of people milling around outside. Seemed they decided to close up sometime to handle take-out orders only and told everyone to return at 9:15 PM. But they didn't bother to put up a sign to that effect so we saw group after group of people show up trying to figure out what the story was.
Seated promptly 20 minutes later inside, we perused the double-sided menu, divided into traditional Chinese dessert soups (hot), mixed soups (think cocktails) (also hot), sesame-filled dumplings in every combination of the former (hot), a few herbal soups, cold versions of the traditional soups, cold sago soups, a mango section, and a durian section. As extensive as this sounds, there are several basic soups and add-ons, like black glutinous rice, that really form the basis for nearly everything.
This night, I tried the sesame soup mixed with walnut soup, served in a traditional Chinese rice bowl as a tan-colored soup with several artful black sesame swirls that you mix before eating. I loved this. The nutty flavors of sesame and walnut are subtly infused in the soup, and these combined beautifully with just a whisper of sweet. We spotted the bright mango pancakes being served at another table and decided it would be worth a second visit to eat the soups again along with the pancakes.
On day 2, with 2 friends in tow, we tried ordering the pancakes and were told that mango and durian pancakes had to be reserved a day in advance, and highly recommended paying to guarantee they'll be held for us the entire next day. Now assured a third visit, we reserved 2 and pre-paid. I had the sesame-filled dumplings with sesame and walnut soup this day and those two dumplings, made of glutinous rice, were one of the best I've eaten, deliciously chewy yet light. Sampled a few other cold sagos and hot soups, everything excellent, especially the hot black glutinous rice.
On day 3, the four of us returned around 10:30 PM and tried the mango pancake. An order came with two, brightly yellow (almost cartoonishly so) and fist-sized. The thin pancake is wrapped around a light whipped cream filling dotted with cubed mango. A very very light dessert that didn't precisely wow on first bite but it grew on us until we couldn't stop eating until it was gone. I attempted to get the sesame filled dumplings again, in a different soup base, but was told b/c of the late hour, they were sold out. I ordered black glutinous rice in hot walnut soup instead; that was very good also, but less so than my previous orders. My friend attempted to order black glutinous rice in a hot soup after my order came, but was told they sold out of the hot version of the rice and would have to order it cold.
So in sum, come early if you want full pick of the menu, call-in take-out orders ahead of time, and reserve mango or durian pancakes (or possibly other items) in advance. It really is worth it in the end. -
Review from Thuy T.
Woodbridge, ON
11/10/2011 11 photos
FHD are good for durian lovers :)
They have odd hours, open 7pm-12am & close on Wednesdays.
Many times I tried to go for their famous MANGO/DURIAN CAKE, but it's always sold out and the best way to try it is if you order in advance.
I finaly got to try the famous MANGO/DURIAN CAKE one day to see what all the hype was about o_O
It was like eating a Chinese fruit/durian cake without the cake...........
I must say the skin/wrapping taste like it's homemade, i'm sure u need skills for that 6_^ personally, i think it would of taste better if the DURIAN/MANGO CAKE had vanilla ice cream filling instead of whip cream :)
My family & friends tried it out too and they described the dessert as a Chinese version of crepe o_O
Overall it was a good experience and many attempts to retrieve this unique dessert.
WARNING...... if your interested in trying out DURIAN/MANGO CAKE, please call in advance and place your order. as they do run out of this dessert quite fast, on a nightly basis.
Restaurant Rating:
0(Too Sad), 1(Horrible), 2(Poor), 3(Ok Lah), 4(Good), 5(Excellent)
Food: 4
Clean: 3
Service: 4
Atmosphere: Casual
Will I Return? Yes
Keep in mind all food postings is according to personal preferences and taste buds. Therefore, it's best to try the places out for yourself and see if it suites your taste. -
Review from David D.
4/9/2011
Wow, the smell of Durian filled the entire plaza as we entered. You'd either hate it or love it.
It was really a full house when I arrived there at 9:00pm on a Friday night. Glad it was opened too. There was only 1 person managing everything behind the counter, but she was pretty fast at seating, delivering the food, giving the bill, and managing the take-out.
Tried the Full House Sago and the Mango pancake (they were all out of Durian pancakes by the time I went).
The Mango pancake really grows onto you. Covered in a bright yellow wrap, encasing the whip cream + mango goodness. It was heaven.
Definitely going to be back to try the other desserts! -
Review from Tina N.
Toronto, ON
3/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
BLAST YOU PEOPLE WHO CAME BEFORE ME AND TOOK ALL THE DURIAN PANCAKES! :'(
I stopped by at Full House at round 10pm after having dinner with the family and I was really looking forward to trying the Durian Pancake since everyones been raving about it. What I didn't expect was that, it would be sold out by the time I got there.... WAH!
I was very saddened by this but regardless, I wanted my durain! I ended up trying the Sago Durian which turned out to be quite refreshing, Other dessert places fill their sago with sugar but Full house uses the durian fruit as the sweetner. It really balanced all the flavours rogether which I really liked and you also dont get that really sweet sugary aftertaste lodged in your throat.
I will be back! ..... for the durian pancake.... and other stuff too. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
It is so hard for me to get desserts at Full House Desserts.
I dropped by too early that they are not open!
I dropped by and they suppose to be open but they are not open!
Finally I drop by they are half open! It is a Saturday night at 9:30 pm. All the tables and chairs were stacked together. No one in the front cash. Half of the metal railing was pulled down. Oh they said they almost sold out of everything and they are closing soon! hmmm.. Just take out and with limited choices.
I am a huge FAN of durian. Yes I know it is smelly to some one i.e. my boyfriend.. but I just love the smell. I have to admit that my dog loves that smell too! When I start eating my Sago with Durian and Mango ($6.50), my dog was really looking at me with hungry eyes and want to have a share of that! Yes it is delicious, and the durian meat inside is huge meatball sized. (BTW, durian being the King of Calories in fruits are all forgotten!)
The nice lady said I should always call before I drop by because they close/open whenever they like or when they sold out!.. That is so so encouraging! -
Review from Katrina L.
Richmond Hill, ON
7/20/2009 1 photo
The owner of this place is straight from Hong Kong and makes amazing Asian desserts. There is actually a place that sells desserts in Hong Kong by the same name (same Chinese name that is).
My parents took me here and I fell in love! I'm a huge fan of the black sesame dessert. Honestly, I'm not sure of the exact name in English but it's the soupy dessert that is made from ground up black sesame seeds.
Everything is made on the premise fresh and it's guaranteed to be piping hot when you get it, unless you ordered a cold dessert. If you see in their fridge those round yellow ball looking things, those are called Durian pancake. It's filled with fresh mashed up durian (that spiky fruit you see in Asian grocery stores) and fresh cream wrapped in a soft pastry.
It is located inside a plaza and it is quite a small place. Has approximately 4 tables that each hold about 4 people but they will bring out the fold out tables and chairs and set them up outside in the plaza hallway.
Honestly, you'll be very confused when looking at that very large menu, so go with a friend that knows their Asian desserts and be open to try anything because there are some weird things on the menu that you may have never heard of before. -
Review from wendy c.
6/7/2010
To get typical Hong Kong style desserts, this place is as good as it gets in GTA.
The place doesn't open until late afternoon/early evening, "busy time" is 9pm and later. Not much ambiance, but cozy and comfortable.
The English menu is quite challenging to negotiate with because of the translation, so go with someone who knows what to order to take a few minutes to "study" the menu.
+ There is the soupy paste-y category -- basically there are walnut, almond, sesame varieties; you can combo them up by mixing any of the two or all three, adding glutinous rice flour balls with sesame filing to the paste/soup is another option. Just note this is described as "sweet ball" in the English menu.
+ There is the whole mango series, from pudding to jello to pancake, everything made fresh (you see boxes upon boxes of mangoes stacked up in the store). Oh, you can also get pancake with durian fillings, the "king of the fruit" you either love or hate.
+ There is also double-boiled milk and egg white mixture type of desserts, probably uniquely Hong Kong. I don't remember the exact names of the various dishes, some have more milk vs. others have more egg whites, but all are good.
Some of the dishes can be consumed hot or cold, if unsure, asked the owner/chef-looking guy who is always willing to help and give you a recommendation. -
Review from WaYnE c.
Maple, ON
4/15/2010
DURIAN PANCAKES rock! Durian is a fruit, Pancake is a dessert therefore a FRUITY DESSERT. This is the only place I know that has a Durian dessert in the GTA.
WHY do I come for Durian dessert? Do you really want to bring Durian home and STINK up the joint?
The Pancake is a thin cold wrap that holds WHIP CREAM inside. In the middle of the cream is Durian meat and all it takes is that small amount as it is so CREAMY its like Ripen Banana but less SLIMEY.
This place opens in the EVENING and thats the perfect time because after having Durian Pancake, you probably want to avoid any place public because the SMELL of it will be KO lights out for others.
Some people are known to be addicted to Durian and there are many varieties and people get picky over the kinds they will eat even at more cost.
This place is actually an Open Patio-like setting that opens up to the inside of the Mall so every passer-by can be TEASED by your odour. The secret is that the person eating it won't smell it, so make sure you're the one of the group having it or else SUFFER like the others.Listed in: 4+ ****Stars****, Desserts - Chinese
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Review from Patrick T.
Richmond Hill, ON
4/11/2011
While the exotic durian desserts are really good.
You really have to wonder if it's worth to go through such bad service just to be given the chance to taste these elusive pancakes or tapioca pearls with durian.
Another thing about this place is that you never know when they are open, the hours appear to be completely random, most of the time you show up, and they're closed.
If I didn't know better, I'd suspect the business is just a front for money laundering by cartels or perhaps a hobby by some rich kid who wants a place to eat durian. -
Review from Sandy W.
6/1/2011
This dessert place is one of the best, so far in Toronto. If you're a DURIAN LOVER, this is a MUST!!!
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Review from Bebe B.
Richmond Hill, ON
5/31/2011
the food here is good but not far from the dessert places around the area that actually have dine-in and service, i come here cause i like their durian desserts (ex. the durian pancake $8.50)
However i feel that their desserts are way overpriced (mango, pamelo sago $6.50), especially for the service that you get. the many times i went, we are not allowed to dine-in. no table or chairs are out and when we asked, she just says NO. that lady there is rude!
also their hours are really strange, i sometimes want to have desserts after lunch or in the middle of the day.. but they are only open from 7pm-midnight. that's ok, its their lost.
so for take-out this place is good (cause apparently that's all they offer), but not quick either. wait time is from 10-20 mins.
If there is any other place in richmond hill that offers delicious durian pancakes, i will never come back here again. -
Review from Diana C.
Toronto, ON
9/17/2010
Love their durian pancake!
