Restaurant Review: China Cottage

This review is based on personal experiences at two different China Cottage locations in Scarborough, Ontario. I do not mean to offend anyone and this is supposed to be an honest review of the food quality and dining experience based on my observation.

This is the Steeles Ave E. location, which in my opinion is better than the Ellesmere location in terms of atmosphere and space

China Cottage Locations: 80 Ellesmere Rd #11, Scarborough, ON M1R 4C2, 5985 Steeles Ave E, Scarborough, ON M1V 5P7

An image of the Hot and Sour Chicken soup

Being from a Southeast Asian decent, my family occasionally enjoys eating out at ‘Halal’ Hakka Indochinese restaurants. I don’t know why exactly I used ‘occasionally’ because my family is literally on a mission to find Hakka Chinese food wherever we go. We are all absolutely obsessed with the cuisine.

A few years ago, one of my friends recommended China Cottage, a Hakka restaurant for us to try out. I will be reviewing the restaurant based on the following criteria: ambiance, flavor, pricing, presentation, creativity and customer service. The review will be based on the score (out of 10) for each criteria.

Ambiance (6/10)

I think the atmosphere of a restaurant is a significant part of the dining experience and strictly depends on the type of crowd in a place as well as the seating arrangement. For both locations, I would say that they are fairly crowded and loud in comparison to other places I have been to. However, it is not uncomfortable to dine in at both the locations and the experience is average. I would give it 6/10.

Delicious Pepper Chicken served at both locations. This is my favorite.

Flavor (7/10)

Some dishes are absolutely delicious whereas some of them are average when it comes to the taste. The dishes I recommend at both locations are the Hot and Sour Chicken Soup, Pepper Chicken, Fried Shrimp, Garlic Chicken, Chili Chicken, Cashew Chicken and Vegetable noodles. However the noodles were a bit on the oilier side. In terms of flavor of the rest of the menu, I think it lacks the intensity and creativity. I would still give it 7/10 based on the dishes that I just mentioned.

Pricing (9/10)

Most of the dishes are reasonable here and the servings are moderate. So if you are hosting a large group of people, it will cost you a bit cheaper to dine in here. Honestly, you do get what you pay for at China Cottage.

Some fried shrimp with these delicious sweet and sour sauce.

Presentation (7/10)

When you dine in, the presentation of the food is good. They do add some onion slices and lemon wedges for the sake of aesthetics and it makes the dish look nicer instantly. The cutlery used is nice as well and the food looks good, although I do think they could definitely do better so I will give it 7/10

Creativity (8/10)

There is a wide variety of selection on their menu, from chicken, beef, fish vegetarian to pretty much anything you want. Really love the huge selection that you can chose from. They also offer cocktails and desserts as well but I have never really tried any of those things.

Customer Service (9/10)

I have been to both locations numerous times and have never had issues with the customer service. The serving time ranges from 15–20 minutes and all the waiters and staff are really nice and make you feel welcomed. I really like the people hence I would give the customer service a 9/10.

Total Review Score = 77%

According to my simple analysis of the aforementioned characteristics of both China Cottage locations, I would conclude my review by saying that I would completely recommend this restaurant to anyone who is in search of reasonable and good tasting Halal Hakka food in Toronto or Scarborough.

Mode De Vie Magazine

Written by

“Mode De Vie” is a Canadian online Magazine that publishes blogs and reviews on Nutrition, Health, Beauty, Spirituality and Well-being.

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