Congee Queen — Restaurant in Toronto

Food: 3 Stars Service: 3 Stars Ambience: 3 Stars Value: 3 Stars Overall: 3 Stars

I visited Congee Queen for a casual dinner with my parents, hoping to enjoy some of my favourite dishes in a relaxed setting. Having ordered takeout from here several times before, I was curious to see how the dine-in experience compared. While my visit had its highlights, there were several areas where I felt the restaurant could make some improvements to enhance the overall experience.

First and foremost, the condition of the booth seating caught my attention as soon as I was seated. Many of the booths showed significant wear and tear, with the upholstery visibly worn out in several spots. This gave the restaurant a somewhat neglected feel, which is a shame because the rest of the interior is fairly pleasant. A revamp of the seating would go a long way in improving the overall ambience and making the dining experience more comfortable and enjoyable. For a restaurant with a decent reputation, maintaining the physical aspects of the dining area is crucial, and this is an area where Congee Queen could certainly improve.

When it comes to the food, it was largely as expected—decent and satisfying. The unagi fried rice is one of my personal favourites and didn’t disappoint. The dish was well-prepared, with a good balance of flavours, and the eel was tender and cooked just right. However, I couldn’t help but notice a stark difference in portion sizes between dining in and takeout. The dine-in portions were significantly larger, almost double what you receive when ordering takeout. This inconsistency was a bit surprising and might leave some customers feeling shortchanged if they’re used to ordering takeout. It’s something that the restaurant might want to address to ensure a more uniform experience, regardless of how the food is ordered.

Service during my visit was just okay—nothing to write home about, but also nothing to complain about. The staff were polite and carried out their duties efficiently, but there was a noticeable lack of engagement. A little more warmth or attentiveness could have elevated the experience. I understand that the restaurant was busy, but even during peak times, a bit of personal touch can make a significant difference in how customers perceive their dining experience.

The overall atmosphere of the restaurant was alright, but again, nothing particularly memorable. The restaurant’s layout is practical, and the décor is pleasant enough, but with the worn seating and the fairly routine service, it didn’t quite leave a lasting impression. It’s a decent spot for a casual meal, but if you’re looking for a dining experience that stands out, there might be other options that provide a more polished environment and experience.

In summary, Congee Queen offers decent food, particularly if you’re a fan of dishes like the unagi fried rice, but there are some aspects that could use attention. The condition of the booth seating is in dire need of a revamp, and the inconsistency in portion sizes between dine-in and takeout could be addressed to provide a more cohesive experience for all customers. Service is passable, but a little more engagement from the staff could improve the overall dining experience. While I wouldn’t hesitate to return for the food, especially the unagi fried rice, I hope the restaurant takes steps to address these issues to elevate the overall...

1 hour for 3 simple dishes😬🤨

We arrived @ 808P, seated promptly since it wasn't busy at this time, aside from 6 family groups each ranging from 3-4ppl and 1 party of 9ppl.

We ordered the shrimp wonton(8) soup, House seafood fried vermicelli (E4)and stuff eggplant (K60) appetizer. Unfortunately, our request to have everything brought out same time was not fulfilled..if anything, we ended up waiting 10mins at least for each dish. First to arrive was the stuffed eggplant -compared to many other great Toronto Chinese eateries, tasted bland and lacked the shrimp & scallop filling that I've been accustomed to. It was four(4) large cuts of eggplant filled with what seemed mostly a cornstarch-rice flour filling that had no seasoning. It was a 14mins wait before we received the shrimp wonton soup which we had hoped to start our meal with. It was tasty and good amount of wontons in the soup (8pcs). However, there was hardly any broth after dishing out a bowl for each Hubby & I. So add another 10mins to wait for more requested broth. In the meantime, the fried seafood vermicelli arrive. This was a nice generous portion filled with scrambled eggs, bay scallops, baby shrimp, not much else. It wasn't bad, wasn't Great tho. It lacked a bit more seasoning flavour & any other vegetables IE slivers of peppers celery, snow peas/beans & carrots.

It took another ~15mins to get the attention of staff, for our bill and takeout containers. Unfortunately, when our server (Gina) decided to be helpful by packing up our leftover wonton soup, she inadvertently spilled most of the remaining broth on the table -which she didn't even notice until we pointed it out..it created a bit of frustration having to ask for some more broth to be added. They were originally going to charge us but I argued the server spilled it and the original serving was already lacking a sufficient quantity that should accommodate 8 wontons. Fortunately, no upcharge. When we stopped the manager on duty (Kim?🤔) to express our disappointment in food timing and the soup-broth situation, he apologized and offered a 5% discount off our total bill. We thought, ok Great to see some amend efforts being made. However, when I checked my bill, the discount was not applied and told by the same manager it only applied if we paid cash. Otherwise, we can forego on tipping our server😲😱

So technically, the compensation for the issues we encountered during our meal service is only applicable if we paid cash💵🤔🤪🤔🤭🤨Hhhhhmmmm🤐🙄 I'll leave that right there for Ya'll to decide if this establishment really cares about their customer satisfaction and whether they have returning...

11/06/2022 - Congee Queen is my go to restaurant for my big family gathering. This was the first time I ate at this location. There was a bit of a lineup and we had to wait around 30-45 minutes to be seated, luckily the restaurant was inside a plaza so we walked around and visited other stores around the area to kill time. Since it was located within a plaza, there was a lot of parking as well. When our table was ready, the employee showed us our table and gave us time to look at the menu. They noticed when we were ready to order instantly and came to take our order. The employees were fairly nice and the food was prepared really fast as well. We ordered quite a bit of food and had to take out the leftover food that we didn't finish.

🦑 the Salt & Pepper Salt Squid, I sometimes order this whenever I go to Congee Queen and it tasted as good as all the other times I've had it.

🍚 the Empress Fried Rice was delicious. This was the first time I've tried this fried rice dish from Congee Queen and now it might be a hot pick for me.

🧆 the General Tao Chicken was more sweet than how I was used to it being. It was still good, but I didn't eat as much of this dish as I usually would.

🍖 the Platter with assorted meats, this was the first time I've ordered this dish, it came with BBQ Pork, Roasted Pork, BBQ Duck, Soy sauce Chicken, and Jelly Fish. The dish was delicious and flavourful, each meat packing it's very own flavour combination with the sauce provided. The jelly fish was something I also enjoyed eating as well, the texture was chewy. I really liked this dish.

🍲 it wouldn't be a proper review if I didn't try their congee since the restaurant is called Congee Queen. We ordered the House Super Bowl Congee, which contained mixes of seafood such as tiger shrimp, scallop, hokkigai, salmon, garoupa, and crab meat. The dish itself did not pack as much flavour as the other dishes I've ordered. However it did help me with my upset stomach. My stomach had been upset the entire day and this definitely hit the spot and played an important role in making my stomach feel better.

Overall the experience here was a good one, from the employees to the food, I would highly recommend coming here if you have never been here before. I might come back to this location if another chance arises in the future. But even if it doesn't, Congee Queen will still be my go to restaurant for my family gatherings...