Since 1997, Hong Shing has been a leading go-to spot for Torontonians looking for a Chinese meal, well into the night.
By: Kaden Nanji
Hong Shing lies at the corner of Dundas Street West and Centre Avenue in Toronto. (Courtesy of Minh Truong)
This article is part of CanCulture’s food review series, where our writers explore some of the best food finds across the nation.
Do you ever get super hungry late at night when virtually every restaurant is already closed? Well, I was stuck in this particular predicament a few weeks ago. I skipped lunch and dinner due to a busy schedule and was completely famished. I wanted to eat somewhere nice, not just a fast food place, but nothing was open at the time.
“Go to Hong Shing,” my roommate told me as I briefed him on my situation. My roommate swears by this place; he talks about Hong Shing nearly every day. Usually I ignore his ramblings about this restaurant, but at that time, I could eat just about anything. I gathered up a few of my friends and decided to try out this restaurant — and this is the part where Hong Shing became my new late-night staple.
Opened in 1997, Hong Shing is a Chinese restaurant located at 195 Dundas St. W., which specializes in Chinese “family style” and comfort dishes. When I first entered Hong Shing, I noticed that the interior has an appealing dark-themed design with a particularly scattered spatial concept, creating a small and intimate dining experience. Another diner who sat at the table next to mine described the decor as being “rustic with an urban punch.” Along the walls are patterned wooden art designs and a chalkboard with some common phrases in Cantonese, which alludes to the restaurant’s origins.
Hong Shing’s crispy beef. (Kaden Nanji/CanCulture)
As soon as we sat down, we were met with great service, particularly by hosts Anna and Ranger, who made it their priority for us to have an enjoyable dining experience. Anna helped us pick the best items off the menu and provided us with her earnest opinion, something that I thought is quite rare in restaurants. I decided to order the crispy beef after it was recommended to me by Anna. My friends ordered the spicy chili chicken, garlic beef, fried chili squid and sweet and sour pork.
Ranger remarked that in order to have been open for nearly 25 years, through ups and downs, “the restaurant must be doing something right.” And he was absolutely correct, as the food was absolutely delicious. My crispy beef was delectable; the great flavour and sweetness of the sauce with the pieces of beef, along with a side of rice, was extremely pleasant. The aromatic fragrance that escaped the dish made me salivate as soon as the food was brought out, and after I tried the first bite, I could not stop eating. My friends were met with equal satisfaction from their dishes.
If you’re planning to visit after reading this, I would have to recommend my dish, the crispy beef, as well as the garlic beef, which was also absolutely delicious. Crispy garlic flakes alongside the tender, juicy meat in the garlic beef made this dish one of the highlights of the evening. Both of these dishes were mouthwatering and I cannot wait to have some more the next time I visit.
Hong Shing’s garlic beef. (Kaden Nanji/CanCulture)
The only issue that I have, which is quite understandable from the restaurant’s perspective, was the overall price. As a university student, I find it difficult to afford expensive meals; the total cost of my crispy beef came to around $20. Although this is a little on the pricey side, I felt that the quantity and quality of the crispy beef helped balance the costliness of the restaurant.
Finally, I would like to end off with my restaurant rating scale. Ever since I was younger, whenever my family would go out to eat, we would rate different aspects of the restaurant and dining experience from 1 to 10. These different categories are taste, presentation, service, ambience, price and creativity. They are quite self-explanatory, except creativity, which represents the steps that a restaurant takes to distinguish itself from another restaurant that may have a similar dish — does the restaurant stand out? All of these categories would be measured while considering the overall price of the dish.
Taste: 8.7/10
Presentation: 7.3/10
Service: 9.2/10
Ambience: 8.8/10
Price: 7/10
Creativity: 8/10