知味煲仔饭 (Unionville) Good Taste Casserole Rice — Restaurant in Markham

This place is a great example of doing one or two things really well and making people always come back for more. When the food is that delicious, you don't care about the decor, tight space, or lack of any background music or chatter because everyone is too busy tucking into their food.

I have never tasted rice with various combinations of protein and/or vegetables in an earthen-ware pot that was so good! Thanks to my YEA for introducing me to this hidden delight. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

It was obvious that this place is popular when there is a line out the door of this small restaurant in a the plaza. People were willing to wait and so were we! I didn't come all this way to just turn around.

TIP #1: while you are waiting in line, look through the menu and step inside the restaurant to place your order. It takes about 20 minutes to cook the casserole dish so the staff will try to line it up that when you sit down the meal will come shortly thereafter!

They bake all their dishes from scratch as the menu is quite expansive with different combinations of toppings that you can have on your rice. If it is your first time then I recommend selecting one of the first 6 combinations. You won't go wrong with anything there. I decided on #5 which was the four treasures (preserved duck, preserved duck, eel, and BBQ pork). The meal also comes with a Chinese soup of the day as well as a small plate of Chinese greens.

TIP #2: when the bowl comes to your table, pour of soy sauce over top the rice and toppings before mixing the contents. Careful to not scrape the bottom of the bowl because you want that rice to get nice and crispy so you can enjoy it towards the end of your meal.

The casserole dish was cooked just right and the preserved meat and duck were an excellent compliment that provided the additional flavour that makes the dish so savoury and yummy. I just had this smile on my face as I was enjoying it so so thoroughly. I even started to think about how I could make this myself but it probably won't be as good.

I'm already scheming about when I can come back the next time but without...

If you're looking to go and have clay pot rice prepared in a home-like style (not overly salted and more-or-less simple), this is the place to go!

I have included pictures of the menu (at the time of posting) and of what I ordered (#60 BBQ Eel and Pork Ribs). This restaurant is focused on clay pot rice (hence casserole rice), so you won't be expecting to find a variety of dishes to eat here and it's best to come here ready to eat your own share! That said, their focus on the rice dish makes the quality amazing!

Food: Each clay pot comes with a small dish of vegetables and either a soup of the day or can of pop. The clay pot dish itself is quite large and will fill you well (I eat a LOT). Food comes out hot and fresh, so you can expect good flavour from the toppings and the rice itself. Rice was nicely cooked and crunchy at the base (as you would want with clay pot rice). Toppings (Pork Ribs and Eel for me, though I tried their chinese sausage and BBQ pork too) are plentiful in quantity and in flavour, they don't skimp on the meats and they taste good (especially the eel!). Included vegetables are simple and aren't overly seasoned to help 'cleanse' yourself from eating the typically saltier casserole dish. The soup is also purposefully unsalted as I'm assuming the purpose is to not overwhelm you with saltiness as the casserole dish is usually topped with salted/dried meats.

Service: They will serve you hot water (no tea here), and that's fine by me. The ladies interacting with us were friendly and helpful. I'm not that great at Cantonese so they were patient while I spoke Chinglish. They do speak Cantonese/Mandarin if you're wondering!

Price: 11.50 is their most expensive casserole dish. That price, given the portions and inclusions (soup/drink and vegetables), is quite fair in my opinion, if you're going out to eat...

Food: 9/10 -- Value: 10/10 -- Service: 5/10 -- Ambiance/Décor: 7/10

The food here is really great. Perfect for colder weather because the stone bowls keep the food nice and hot and after a few bites, you warm right up. There's an option to pay more and upsize your bowl, which we've done a few times. However, we never know which of the bowls has been upsized, so I'm hesitant to say it's a worthwhile difference.

The soup that comes with each order is tasteless, so I always pass on it.

YOU MUST CALL AHEAD.

The service speed is atrocious. Absolutely horrible. In the five or so times I've been there, it has been criminally understaffed every time. Only one waitress and one person working in the kitchen. We call to order ahead of time and get seated before other people because we have food on the way. Last time we did that, we sat, got our food, and watched as tables who had been seated before us waited over 45 minutes for their food. We'd finished eating and paid the bill just as they'd gotten their food.

SO CALLING AHEAD IS A MUST.

The owners need to be less cheap and hire more people. The waitress is always incredibly overwhelmed and understandably so. But the classic Chinese...