Electric Piggy Vỉa Hè — Restaurant in Markham

I don’t usually write reviews but the service here was the WORST I’ve experienced.

My boyfriend and I got seated noticing the DIRTY plates and utensils immediately. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo because I didn’t think I’d be writing this review, but BOTH of our plates had food residue on it so we ended up using it as a bone plate. Next, I noticed that the utensils were kept unhygienically since the knives are faced downwards, touching the bacteria on the bottom of the tin. AND the chopsticks are flipped either facing up or down looking left unkept after multiple customers have been touching them.

We wanted razor clams but were told it was sold out. Okay, no worries, just a bit disappointed but no biggie. Then we tried to order what we came for, pho or other Vietnamese noodle in soup, as they are supposed to be a Vietnamese restaurant like their other stores Nam and Nam2. But tell me why they are sold out of all their broth options including pho too??? I KNOW they can be better than this because the owners also own Nam and Nam2 (both restaurants for Vietnamese food/pho as well), so what happened to the stock management and quality control here? Even the table in front of me was dissatisfied because a server presented them with a pho dish and they said “we didn’t order this” and “we would’ve ordered the pho instead of our rice but you told us that you guys ran out of all broth options.” ALSO why didn’t they tell us that all their broth options and other items are sold out (since that is a big portion of their menu) BEFORE we were sat down and given time to look at the menu.

Long wait times, poor attitude, and poor communication. While the food took an hour, it was the poor attitude from the 2 male servers that made it worse. We waited 10-20 minutes for two appetizers to come out separately and were expecting to wait a bit longer for the two mains. However, we placed the order around 8:15pm and at 8:50ish we got told that it was final call since they close at 9pm. Then, as the servers saw the empty plates of appetizers, this one guy asked if we were done with everything and we mentioned that we’re still missing two mains. The server then asked which dishes we were missing (guess no one’s keeping up with our order). After he went back to notify the kitchen and after waiting more, he came back with 1. beef brisket & ribs and then 2. a single plate of rice (NOT our order) as you can see in the photos. First off, my boyfriend was getting a bit upset (even though he usually doesn’t and would not speak up) but he said “So this took an hour?” and then the server rudely mumbled “half an hour.” We were dumbfounded and couldn’t respond to that as we noticed that our pork chops were missing too! So, we immediately told the server and all he said was “oh…” I don’t know how you can miss the PORK CHOPS and just give me rice when the order is PORK CHOPS with rice.

The problem is that after making a mistake of forgetting our mains for an hour, I did not feel the effort of making sure we were taken care of properly afterwards as they made another mistake that could have easily been avoided (not to mention again the poor attitude from the server).

But at least (at that time) he pointed to the beef brisket & ribs and told us he’ll waive off the price of that dish, as you can see circled in the picture I had excitedly sent to my sister to let her know that they’re going to waive off the price. But the excitement didn’t last long. After finishing our food and asking for our bill, I had paid and tipped 15% because my frustration is not about the money, but about my overall bad experience. Only after I paid, I noticed that they DID NOT waive the fee off the beef brisket & ribs but off the cheaper item (the pork chop w/ rice), which further infuriated me as I was told differently.

I genuinely hope that there will be changes made so that other customers won’t have to have these bad experiences of poor customer service, poor management, poor communication skills, and...

Call me very pleasantly surprised by this sister resto of Nam 1 and Nam 2!

My friends and I are OG customers of Nam 1. Once it went downhill in quality we hopped over to Nam 2 which is good but hasn't quite hit the tall heights that Nam 1 once did pre-covid.

Enter Electric Piggy, a fusion viet bbq concept. I came with low expectations (even though my friends hyped it up) because of how we saw Nam 1 deteriorate in quality over time.

That being said, I think this place might be my fave within the restaurant group.

Grilled razor clams: $$$ but absolutely delicious and brought to the table on a still sizzling hot plate (see vid).

Grilled scallops: Not as showstopping as the clams when they arrive but the temperature on these is perfect. All the seafood is served ripping hot. I think I could prolly crush 50 of these without blinking an eye. For me it's scallops over clams all day.

Nammer's wings: These are taken straight from the Nam menu. Great all-time wings. One of the best menu items at Nam which they carried over.

Roasted cauliflower salad: Didn't try any of my friends salad but she said it was tasty! The plating was very pretty as well.

Grilled pork jowl: Comes w/ vermi and the portion is nice and big. Me, personally, I think pork jowl is a lil too fatty (even though it DOES taste nice).

Brisket & ribs: Prolly the best menu item imo. The ribs and brisket were extremely tender. The smoke was more muted on the ribs I'd say, which is why the green sauce they put on top of them gave more flavour (ribs were my fave thing on the platter). The fatty brisket was melt-in-your-mouth but I think the lean brisket had the most flavour. Plate comes with two cornbreads and some homemade pickles. Loved the pickles, didn't care much for the cornbread as they were kinda dry and didn't have much flavour. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Fried chicken island: This was a sleeper hit imo because the mash potatoes were so incredibly smooth and buttery. The fried chicken, while good, wasn't even the main star of the dish LOL. It was the gravy and the mash (friends were in unanimous agreement).

Crispy chicken on hoi nam rice: The rice was mid. The crispy chicken leg was awesome (and huge)! Really liked the ginger scallion sauce on top of the meat (I did think it could've been more pungent/flavourful but that's a nitpick). The broth and chili sauce on the side, chef's kiss. They need to improve the rice by getting more flavour into it.

Charcoal grilled pork chop on hoi name rice: Again, the meat was grilled impeccably. Amazing flavour. Huge portion. Rice needs improvement.

Service at this resto is MUCH better than it's older counterparts imo. The gentleman who served us was very helpful w/ the menu and brought us extra napkins, plates, utensils and water frequently. Seating is weird. They have this sort of mixed outdoor and indoor canopy concept going on (you feel like you're seating in a greenhouse or a log cabin; it can get squishy if you have a big group like we did).

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Electric Piggy is a heavy hitter in my books.

Will...

Disappointing Birthday Dinner at Electric Piggy: Service Falls Short

Last Saturday night, I chose Electric Piggy to celebrate my wife’s birthday with our family, hoping for a memorable evening. However, what was meant to be a special occasion turned out to be quite frustrating due to poor service and inattentive staff.

Aware that it was a busy Saturday and the restaurant’s limited size, we anticipated a wait, which indeed was longer than expected. Once finally seated, we noticed another table ordering milk bread, which my wife found appealing. Excited by its appearance, we decided to order the milk bread and pork jowels as appetizers. For our main courses, my son and I went with bowls of Pho, my daughter chose the fried chicken, and my wife selected the grilled pork. The staff informed us that the grilled pork would take longer, which we accepted, thinking the appetizers would tide us over.

The main dishes arrived promptly—the Pho was decent, and my daughter enjoyed her fried chicken. However, our appetizers were conspicuously absent after about 15 minutes of waiting. Frustrated, I approached our server, who nonchalantly assured me the snacks would be ready in two minutes. Feeling ignored and concerned, especially since my wife was still waiting for her main course, we reluctantly began eating without our appetizers.

When the pork jowels finally arrived, they were ice cold, completely ruining our appetizer experience. I pointed this out to the server, who barely acknowledged the issue and offered no solution. To make matters worse, my wife’s grilled pork didn’t arrive until another 10 minutes later, leaving her meal unfinished while our children had already finished theirs. This lack of coordination and attention from the staff was incredibly disappointing, especially on a night meant to celebrate.

While the Pho was passable and my daughter’s fried chicken was enjoyable, these positives were overshadowed by the significant delays and the staff’s indifferent attitude towards our complaints. The cold appetizers and prolonged wait for the main course were unacceptable, turning what should have been a joyful celebration into a frustrating experience.

Overall, Electric Piggy failed to deliver the seamless and enjoyable dining experience we had hoped for. The food quality was mediocre at best, and the service left much to be desired. For a special occasion, I expected better treatment and efficiency, but Electric Piggy fell short on both fronts. I regret choosing this restaurant for my wife’s birthday and would hesitate to return or recommend it to others seeking a pleasant family...