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Sam Woo Seafood Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Seafood Seafood [Edit]
325 Bamburgh CirScarborough, ON M1W 3Y1
Neighbourhood: Scarborough
(416) 502-2888
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner, Brunch
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
14 reviews for Sam Woo Seafood Restaurant
14 reviews in English
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Review from Velshin C.
7/1/2011
Really great dinner of Cantonese banquet dishes. The Beijing duck is absolutely delicious. We had a course of some 20 odd dishes for our large group -- too many dishes to recall. Nearly all of them were excellent.
Highly recommended! -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
Blame it on Mother's Day! Blame it on coming here late on Sunday when the whole kitchen probably all burnt out from a busy weekend.
I am really disappointed to Sam Woo!!
Not only the "Special" Mother's Day menu has just limited choices...and even then the Kitchen just could not deliver!!
Chives with Fish Fillet ($18)
- Grouper has good texture... but a little cold by the time it was served
Baby Green with Crab Meat ($18)
- It was a disaster... when the kitchen put too much starch in the crab meat...and it became a jello like texture... and so gluey and thick.
- The manager suggested to send it back and order something else
Something Else - Ong Choy (Hollow Vegetables) with fermented bean curd ($15)
- Not much better but at least is edible...but just bland tasting!
- By then I just don't feel like eating any more...
I have "high" expectation with the price I am paying....All the dishes we ordered were border on average and meh......
I don't think I will be coming back soon.... unless someone is dragging me here for their early bird dim sum $2.50 -
Review from Charlotte W.
North York, ON
7/20/2011
Intro. Sam Woo is at the corner of a plaza with a McDonald's and a supermarket called The Supermarket (yea creative juices!) Inside is fairly spacious and clean. The only thing to be re-miss about is their fish tank...I had the spot facing directly the most upper tank that was filled with green bubbly liquid. I can't imagine any living thing...being living in those conditions, but if the restaurant is reading this, my advise would be to nix the science experiment as patrons dig into their chicken.
Food. Very good. This restaurant is not really expensive, and more on the cheap side, but I have to admit, the food was delicious! Although this restaurant is a seafood restaurant, the one thing they do not have is steamed shrimp (nuts), but they do have great fish and tofu dishes, chicken, and vegetables. All in all, you are going to get a well balanced meal.
The service was very slow yesterday which was unusual for a Tuesday night. The place was actually very busy, and I suspect service was slow due to the private party hosting three tables. As our table was next to the entrance to the kitchen, we saw countless plates and plates being delivered to the private room. I was trying to save my rice for the foods yet to be brought out, but I was so hungry that I ate my rice BEFORE all the food came.
All in all, I think the slow service was a one-off experience. I would recommend this place for large groups as the food is great and not overly bank-breaking.Listed in: If you're ever in the area...
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Review from Yvonne T.
My uncle and aunt treated my dad out for his birthday at Sam Woo.
The decor is not overly austentatious, and overall, the ambiance is one of comfort and tidiness.
I am kind of stuck as to what to think of their cleanliness however, as they do have chopstick covers, and give you a wet towel upon sitting down. But there was gunk stuck to my soup spoon. Talk about inconsistencies?
We ordered a set dinner menu which consisted of:
Peking Duck w/ Crepes
Duck Lettuce Wraps (add additional money to have duck lettuce wraps, otherwise, you just get the whole duck chopped into bulk pieces with some plum sauce)
Seafood Soup (Egg whites, scallops, shrimp, and spinach)
Tilapia Fillets w/ Greens
Chicken & Shiitake Mushrooms in Lotus Leaf
Chinese Broccoli Stir-Fry
Complimentary desserts consisted of:
Sweet Green Bean Soup
Lychee & Goji Berry Jello
Almond Cookies
Overall, the food was quite tasty, although heavy on the salt/MSG as I was extremely thirsty upon returning home. I did find their Peking duck to be a bit on the oilier side compared to other restaurants. However, they did have interesting "crepes" as an accompaniment for the Peking duck. They were about half the size, but had more flavour than the usual bland ones. That and who really wants to get full off the crepe part of the dish? I want that crispy duck skin!
The tilapia fillets were not tender and moist, and for me, was a bit on the "rougher" side in terms of texture and consistency. It was flavourful though. The Chicken & Shiitake Mushrooms dish made me wonder how they can make chicken breast so darn tender and juicy? Lots of tenderizer perhaps? *shrugs*
All in all, a pretty pricey place. Our dinner bill rang in at $118.50 for 6 people, which for a Chinese restaurant, and consider the number of, and types of dishes we got, would be considered pricier.
Would I come back to Sam Woo again? Yes, as their food is actually delicious.Listed in: Scarberia, "Chow" Away
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Review from Terrie C.
9/20/2011
Waited for seats during dinner time. Waiting is good - shows that there is a busy clientele and when it's busy, means that people are there for a reason! Meanwhile, not sure why but I'm beginning to find that the excessive oil in the dishes in Toronto does not seem to bother anyone. Ah wells! In any case, the dishes were all cantonese style wok dishes that uses a lot of oil. My friends and i ordered soup, lobster, tilapia fish, bokchoy with garlic, beef and a few other common stuff. Most had oil that i found was a bit too much. Not a complainer but this place still attracts a lot of people, so it's excellent.
4 stars because it's popular , with good service and the food was good. -
Review from Sandra T.
Toronto, ON
10/4/2010
Dim sum is only $2.30/ dish before 11AM!!!! The dim sum is pretty tasty too. Favourites include the veggie/ tofu rice roll, fried taro dumpling, and shrimp rice roll.
Service was absolutely excellent. The managers were extremely friendly and personable. I think this is the friendliest chinese restaurant serving dim sum I have ever visited!
There is an abundance of parking.
Love this place and we will be back. Hope you check it out too :)
Oh, if you want to take advantage of the early bird dim sum special, cash is the only accepted form of payment. -
Review from Paul L.
12/10/2010
We were wandering around Scarborough amidst snow flittering down last Friday, when we decided to turn in to this place for din-din. Turned out to be a good choice. Don't know if the Sam Woo name is some kind of empire, but they seem to be in a few places in the Toronto area, either as a BBQ (Chinese BBQ) manifestation, or this "seafood" variant. Indeed, there's a Sam Woo BBQ restaurant right in the same mall!
SWSR is somewhat pricey in the sea of Chinese bargain eats in Toronto, but that comes with a classier set-up: table cloths (no cheesy plastic cover, thank you very much), cloth napkins, and - usually a pet peeve of mine - GOOD quality tea!!! I mean, come on Chinese restauranteurs everywhere - don't you know it's a national insult to serve tasteless low quality colored water and pass it off as 'tea'?
Service was attentive, or at least DESIGNED to be attentive. We binged on 1) baby bok choy in seafood soup (quite a bit too salty, probably on account of salted fish bones being a major ingredient) - still the veggies were fresh 2) Sauteed grouper (yummy and perfectly seasoned, and not overly greasy), and 3) scallops "da liang" style, which meant covered in egg white. This last dish was a mistake - too few scallops, and they're the bay variety rather than the monster-size one would expect for $16 - we should have ordered sauteed ones instead, as there would be no hiding! My only complaint is that they have NO white wine selection - only a Kressman riesling-like offering by the glass, which is a little sweet to my buds.
Dessert (complimentary) consisted of a bowl of tsa-tsa, a little agar-agar "cake" with a couple of fresh goji berries (all the rage these days supposedly due to goji's health benefits) and a little glutinous rice dumpling covered in sesame, with lotus seed filling - hence, no excuse to go to that special dessert place on Hwy 7!! -
Review from Eric L.
9/11/2011
Cheap dim sum and good. 9 items for i think around 23 cad. It is a busy place and we waited for a half an hour for a seat. Did not have dim sum elsewhere in toronto, so i can't compare, but it is definitely among the top few dim sum places i've been to in my life. That might not be saying much for an ABC growing up in Iowa. Note this is an intimidating place if you do not know chinese. i had to pull out the little cantonese i knew in order to communicate with some of the staff. Also, they call the table numbers out in chinese, so i recommend learning cantonese numbers at the minimum, or you could be waiting forever. The dishes do seem a little more updated than american standards of dim sum. Maybe because canada has all the new hk immigrants?
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Review from Diana T.
2/26/2010
If you want to eat yourself into a food coma and you want to achieve said coma while eating dim sum, there's no better place than Sam Woo. Well, I'm sure there are... But I've been here twice and I really like it.
The staff is very attentive and the service is pretty quick. My only real gripe about these kinds of restaurants is that the staff believes that if you're not Chinese-looking, that you can't possibly use chopsticks (the girl from a few days ago was shocked when I shooed her away).
Beyond that, you'll find all the greats here, including the BBQ pork buns and fried taro (my favorites). Lots of beef, pork, shrimp, and veggie (well, not all veggie) options on the menu. And the tea is loose leaf jasmine (so good).
Enjoy it! -
Review from Jennifer C.
3/20/2011
Tasty, tasty food here. The service is really great, especially for a chinese restaurant. You feel like a regular here, even if you aren't one. There are tablecloths and somewhat subdued tasteful decor here - no neon or garish furniture or decorations here. The food was great, we had crispy chicken which was plump and juicy with a crackling crisp skin, ginger scallion stir fried crab which had an abundance of meat and tasty saucy fried exterior, and some garlic stir fried chinese greens. To end, the gratis dessert was a trio of red bean soup, a fried red bean puff and a mango jelly. All in all, everything was expertly cooked and delicious. The great service and food come at a price point a step above some of the other restaurants in the area, but it's worth it for a nice meal out!
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Review from Monique L.
5/28/2009
I love chinese food in Toronto! Much better than in O.C. I've been here many times and have enjoyed it each time. The dim sum is good, especially in larger groups. Their fish congee is better than most places and everything else is tasty.
Any chinese restaurant with lots of chinese people is always a good sign. Of course Toronto has so many chinese people anyways :-p -
Review from Tom L.
Toronto, ON
9/29/2011
Sam Woo Seafood gets high marks for consistency. Their dim sum and regular dishes are usually solid and their prices make you happy to return. Comfortable surroundings and good service makes this place a winner. Early bird special pricing on dim sum orders before 11:30 am on weekdays, and before 11:00 am on week-ends and holidays.
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Review from Alison C.
12/27/2011
My family and I came here with a couple of visiting family friends a few days ago. Coming home to Toronto for Christmas, I was eager to feast on the great Chinese food our hometown is so well-known for. Unfortunately, this place did NOT hit the spot. Everything tasted okay, but nothing was particularly memorable. The abalone, shiitake mushroom, and shrimp dish that we ordered was disappointing. Each abalone was less than 3cm in size and looked like it came from a can. The bitter melon and bass sizzling pot we ordered contained mainly battered fish bones. With family friends there, we didn't want to file a complaint and make a scene, but I couldn't help but feel a little bit like I've been taken advantage of as a consumer. The service was quite friendly but the interval between the presentation of each dish was long even though it wasn't particularly busy that night. Given the huge selection of good Chinese restaurants in the GTA, my family and I probably wouldn't come back again.
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Review from Adrian K.
5/26/2009
Unfortunately, I can't give you the exact names our table ordered. Aim for the crabs, scallops, tofu and veges. Very fresh veges!
