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Ivan's Kitchen
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
416 Spadina AveChinatown
Toronto, ON M5T 2G7
Neighbourhoods: Chinatown, Kensington Market, Downtown Core
(416) 593-4788
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Has TV:
- Yes
3 reviews for Ivan's Kitchen
3 reviews in English
-
Review from Jay M.
Toronto, ON
12/28/2011
Ordered delivery through http://Just-Eat.ca this weekend, with mixed results.
Order was based of Vegetarian Spring Rolls ($1.25 each), Chicken Sticks (3 for $3.95), and Chicken Wings (4 for $3.28 off the Dim Sum menu). Mains included General Tao Chicken ($9.50) and Curry Fried Rice Noodle with Shrimp and Pork ($7.95), and Chicken with Vegetable on Rice ($6.50).
Spring Rolls and Chicken Wings were both generic but decent.
The General Tao Chicken was some of the best I've had in Toronto yet. Perfectly cooked, lightly breaded chicken with diced brocolli, absolutely swimming in sauce leaving enough to pour over rice and such. Fantastic stuff.
The Curry Fried Rice Noodle was okay, but a little dry, especially on the re-heat.
The one weird thing is that no where on the Just-Eat website menu was there the ability to order a side of steamed rice. So just to make sure we had a good amount of rice for the General Tao Chicken we ordered the Chicken w/ Veg on Rice which was okay, nothing special but I had low expectations as I wanted it more for the rice than anything.
But lets talk about the Chicken Sticks. They were skewers of chicken which looked pretty good at first, but within the first bite noticed they were a bit pink inside. As I actually cut the remaining pieces off the stick we realized that the rest of that chicken was bordering on uncooked rawness. We threw them out after that, but would be afraid of what could've happened if we ate them.
So overall, if this was just based on the General Tao and a Spring Roll, I might have been giving a 5 star review. But with the inconvenience of the rice situation, the mediocrity of the other items, and the most importantly the uncooked Chicken Stick, I'm giving this place a 3 star review, and just barely.
On the redeeming side, they did have delivery on Christmas Day. -
Review from Lin H.
Toronto, ON
1/7/2012
Went here looking for dim sum after reading some reviews for "Number 2 Restaurant" and found that the sign now says Ivan's. However, they still have the all day dim sum banner out front, so we went in. One table up front was leaving as we were coming in - otherwise the place was empty for Saturday lunch.
There is a full menu on the table, and the waiter brought us the paper dim sum menu. We ordered the har gow (shrimp dumplings), vegetable+shitake dumplings, cha siu bao (steamed bbq pork buns), zong zi (wrapped rice), luo bo gao (turnip cakes) [they had trad'l with pork and shrimp, and a vegetarian one with mushrooms], one of the steamed rice rolls and one other dish. We ordered too much for just two of us and had trouble finishing it all. The luobogao was good (not greasy like it can be at other places), as were the har gow and buns. My partner liked the spinach in the vegetable dumplings, but I was disappointed to not be able to taste the mushrooms in it.
Overall, the food was OK-to-good. Price (before tip) came to $22 for the 7 dishes we ordered. -
Review from Jenny H.
Toronto, ON
12/16/2011
January 2012 - Downgrade alert!
Well, this place was new-ish when I first reviewed it. It didn't take long to go downhill. On my second visit. Once again, the place was empty. Prices had increased considerably in the last month. However they had several signs posted stating "2 lobsters, $19.99" Seemed like a good idea....NOT. When I tried to order the lobster the waitress informed me that I would have to order several other dished to get that price. "It doesn't say that on the sign", I politely pointed out. This was greeted with a fixed smile. I ordered something else, I can't remember what as it wasn't memorable. If it is too much to expect honesty in their signs, so much for this place.
=======================
Dec. 2011 - Finally, trying a place for the first time and actually enjoying it. My luck has been really bad lately.
First I have to say that, in spite of the name, this is your regular greasy-spoon type of Chinatown Chinese restaurant.
Walking along Spadina a couple of blocks south of College on the west side, I found that their menu was on a little table outside, so stopped to read it. It had dishes that appealed to me at a very cheap price, so I went in.
I ordered the Cantonese Chow Mein at $6.50, and tea arrived on the table without my asking as happens in many Chinese restaurants. The tea was charged 30 cents on the bill later, but I could hardly complain as the whole thing was dirt cheap. Looking around while waiting for my food, I noticed a lit candle sitting on the floor at the top of a stairwell, very close to a wood panelled wall. I spent some time locating the nearest exits in case of fire. The Cantonese Chow Mein arrived, and it was a generous amount of noodles, meats, and seafood, which I enjoyed very much with my tea.
Service was friendly and efficient. The place was clean, though I didn't have the nerve to check out the washroom. Cheap and unpretentious, my kind of place. I will definitely go back, and maybe give it another star if it is as good as it was today.
