Mickey\u2019s Eatery<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nTried this a couple time back in first year. Can\u2019t really recommend because the food tastes so bland that I didn\u2019t even finish it. PRO-TIP: if you\u2019re looking for Chinese food and a restaurant says it sells \u201cCanadian & Asian Food\u201d, then it won\u2019t be selling real Chinese food.<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>6\/10
\nPrice: <\/strong>Okay<\/p>\nA Taste of Taiwan<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nHome-style food with exceptional service! The cashier is the owner and he really cares about his restaurant. While I personally don\u2019t come here often, many Chinese friends enjoy eating here. Their egg-drop soup is good.<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>8\/10
\nPrice: <\/strong>Acceptable, $12\/dish<\/p>\nKenzo<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nFine noodles with medium portion sizes, but no air-conditioning. The ramen bowls are enjoyable but if you\u2019re a big eater, the only way to feel full is to eat its Spicy Bowls (Chasu Ramen, IIRC). Kenzo\u2019s Spicy Bowl @ 3-star spiciness is truly a formidable foe and not one for the faint-hearted. Would recommend giving it a try as it\u2019s probably the spiciest dish on Plaza!<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>7.5\/10
\nPrice: <\/strong>Higher than usual ($13-15)<\/p>\nChong Qing Xiao Mian (\u91cd\u5e86\u5c0f\u9762, next to Asakusa)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nExpensive but spicy. If you eat a lot, make sure to order the Level 3 serving size because it offers unlimited noodles. The side dishes taste pretty good. If you\u2019re non-Asian, I recommend giving this place a try because it tastes somewhat authentic. But if you\u2019re Asian and have eaten really good noodles, do be aware that this place is a mere shadow of Hey Noodles!<\/p>\n
PRO-TIP: pay with cash because the lowest tip you can give on their debit machine is 15% IIRC<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>8\/10
\nPrice: <\/strong>Expensive, $15<\/p>\nMr. Yin (Chinese sandwich + dumpling)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThe newest addition to the plaza, Mr Yin is several stores away from BK. The d\u00e9cor is cute and the food is yummy, although its quantity is less than at other restaurants. Mr. Yin also offers Watermelon juice for $2\/glass.<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>8.5\/10
\nPrice: <\/strong>Acceptable <\/strong><\/p>\nMoral\u2019s Village<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThis is the only decent AYCE hotpot place in the plaza. After eating a meal of hotpot, I feel like my body grows fatter\u2026and my wallet grows skinner! Moral\u2019s Village also has a lunch menu (\u9ebb\u8fa3\u70eb), which is much more affordable (not AYCE, pay-per-item). The lunch menu\u2019s ecstasy bowl is extremely spicy and around the same level as Kenzo\u2019s Level 3 Bowl.<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>9\/10
\nPrice: <\/strong>Hotpot is expensive ($30+\/person); lunch menu is usually $10-15.<\/p>\nShinwa<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nReasonable price and acceptable food. I\u2019m going to take some flack for saying this but here goes: if you like watered-down Westernized Asian food, this is the place to be. For some positivity, their lunch specials are at reasonable prices.<\/p>\n
Shinwa replaced \u201cTwo Ox Heads\u201d, which was a crappy hotpot-ish place, earlier this year (my friend and I might have gotten food poisoning there once). Before that, the restaurant was called \u201cEmpire\u201d, which actually served descent Chinese food. RIP Empire ~~ The kingdom has fallen.<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>7.5\/10
\nPrice: <\/strong>Reasonable, ($8-12)<\/p>\nChina Legend<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThe lunch specials are disgusting meh but the group combo dishes can be enjoyable. I used to come here often until a new waitress arrived who consistently delivered abhorrent service and terrible dining experiences. Will not be coming back in the future.<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>7\/10
\nPrice: <\/strong>Average
\nRecommendation: <\/strong>Be prepared for exceptionally bad service and negligent staff.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Bonus Restaurants<\/h1>\n
These restaurants are closer to Laurier but deserve to be mentioned.<\/p>\n
China Bowl<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nExcellent authentic taste! Its dishes are also much more expensive than at other restaurants (around $15\/dish). If you\u2019re looking for good Chinese food, this is definitely at the top of the list! Strongly recommend! You get 5% discount if you pay with cash.<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>9.5\/10
\nPrice: <\/strong>Expensive, $15+\/dish
\nRecommendation: <\/strong>Come with a group since the dishes are meant to be shared.<\/p>\nKing Tin<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThis used to be at the same location as China Bowl several years back but have since relocated to Spruce Street, near Sage 2. This might be the only restaurant that offers decent dim sum and various seafood near UW\/Laurier.<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>7.5\/10
\nPrice: <\/strong>A little expensive<\/p>\nBogda Uyghur Cuisine<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThis is a hidden gem next to Bao\u2019s Sandwich Bar that serves delightful Xinjiang and Tibetan food! Expect lots of beef and lamb, along with exotic spices. The price is not cheap, but the taste is\u2026different from your traditional Asian food. Would recommend trying at least once.<\/p>\n
Taste: <\/strong>8.5\/10
\nPrice:<\/strong> Expensive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the past couple years, I\u2019ve eaten at almost all the restaurants near UW. Here\u2019s my review of the most well-known Asian restaurants in the UW Plaza. For some restaurants,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":493,"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions\/493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}