Reading Week Post #2: China Cottage

Following the hakka momentum after eating at Lucky's, I decided I wanted to try another Indian-style Chinese food restaurant. I'd been reading things about China Cottage, so off I went.

It's located at Pharmacy and Ellesmere.

Upon entering the eatery, to greet you there's a smiling Buddha and a poster proclaiming China Cottage as the only hakka restaurant in Toronto to be nominated by the "Top 100 Chinese Restaurants."

I was excited.

China Cottage is a small, dimly-lit, cozy kind of restaurant. The walls are decorated with Chinese and Thai statues and art. It's a classy looking restaurant. It definitely stands out against the busier/noisier/shabbier Lucky's and Federick's.

And I stand by my notion that hakka food is Scarborough's regional cuisine. There were all sorts of people from all sorts of cultural backgrounds eating at China Cottage. Hakka brings people together!

After taking a seat at a redwood table, I perused the menu. Our server promptly came over to table and took our order:

Vegetable Pakora in Manchurian Sauce

These were flat! I'm definitely not an expert in hakka cuisine, but I've never seen a flat pakora! They were delicious nonetheless. Could have been spicier and contained more than simply smashed potato and chopped up pepper, but I enjoyed them thoroughly. The pakoras definitely needed that sauce, though.

Vegetable Chop Suey in Szechuan Sauce

I just love this dish! The crunchy noodles topped with veggies and a delicious sauce. Yum!

While the portions at China Cottage are smaller than those at Lucky's, I found the Cottage's food more fresh tasting.

Although, it's definitely not as spicy. I had to add extra pepper to this dish. Still delicious, but if I had to give a recommendation: less sauce to lessen the sogginess and more spiciness!

Chilli Tofu

From reading many reviews about hakka food, most people claim that the quality of the chilli chicken is the determining factor if a restaurant is good. But since I don't eat chicken, I ordered chilli tofu to try and see what all the fuss is about.

I found this dish okay. I didn't taste any spice, whatsoever. But the tofu retained a hard texture, despite the gooey sauce. I was impressed.

I ate many pieces, but I probably wouldn't spend $8 again for saucy tofu.

All in all, I think I'd give China Cottage ***/****.

Kangdi thought the food all vaguely tasted the same. I'm not sure I agree, but the chilli sauce on the tofu and the Manchurian sauce for the pakora did both look oddly similar...

We also don't think we ordered the best items on the menu. So I think we'll go back again. But not anytime soon. I am hakka'd out!

(Sorry for missing yesterday's post; I'll try and write twice today. Perhaps I'll even post about something not food related. Shock!)