Unsure of what to order, I decided upon the wonton noodle soup. Although the broth was clear and the wontons huge, I was disappointed with my lunch. The chow mein noodles were overcooked, which was their first major mistake. Secondly, the broth was bland and under-seasoned. It tasted like a vegetable broth, but coupled with the soggy noodles, the entire dish was blah.
The wontons weren’t very flavourful either. In fact, they tasted like the frozen types that Christine likes to buy. In the end, I ate less than half of the bowl and had to give up.
Jimmy saw beef noodle soup on the menu and couldn’t resist ordering it. He’s been eternally hopeful in finding a worthy replacement for his former favourite, Mr. Sun’s Noodle House. As you can see, the noodles were unadorned with any greenery whatsoever.
Again, the noodles were overcooked and limp. In the close-up, you can see that they were practically translucent. The beef chunks, however, were incredibly tasty. Just thinking about them makes me salivate. The spiced flavour was deeply concentrated in every tender piece, but alas, there weren’t enough cubes of beef for the both of us. We both agreed that their soup came close to Mr. Sun’s gloriously spicy broth, but it still fell short. It has the potential to be awesome.
The real star of the menu is the bubble tea. It aced all of Jimmy’s criteria for a truly delicious bubble tea: good tea, soft and chewy tapioca pearls, not too sweet, and icy cold. I loved it. It rivals Ten Ren’s bubble tea in Toronto. The only drawback is the price. I’ve forgotten how much we paid for two large bubble teas, but I remember balking at the bill.
In total, we spent nearly $40.00 for lunch – totally unacceptable for two bowls of noodles, xiaolongbao (not pictured because it was unremarkable) and bubble tea. I wouldn’t visit again, unless I was having some SERIOUS cravings for bubble tea.
Agreed. Pretty bleh. Essentially a problem in concept: They have a kitchen... but then they also serve typical cafeteria style chinese food. When you order dimsum (avoid the siu long bow...) you aren't sure if it comes "fresh" from the back" or if it comes from under the steamer from the cafeteria area.
ReplyDeleteReally well adorned though. I like the look and feel that it is going for the Ten-Ren or Go for Tea feeling.
Have to disagree with you on the bubbletea though. I found it pretty watery though the actual tapioca was not bad. My favourite for bubbletea is Classics, though they tend to be on the sweet side.
awww what a disappointment. I've been meaning to go visit this place since it opened up but often times was too intimidated by the emptiness of it.
ReplyDeleteThe review is much appreciated. I'll probably still venture there, even for just a look.
I had high hopes for this place, with its sparkly clean aesthetic, but really, I've never seen this place full. The servers and manager were really nice, but that clearly doesn't make up for the food or the prices.
ReplyDeleteGlutton: Hmmm, if the bubble tea was watery for you, I could have had a fluke batch. We never did go back to Green Tray before we moved out of Kingston. The price was enough of a deterrent.