Deer Garden Signatures Scarborough — Restaurant in Toronto

Food is pretty good.

Unfortunately the service was so bad that it overshadowed my experience there.

We walk in about an hour before closing (well enough time to have a bowl of noodles) and it's practically empty save for 3-4 tables. All the staff are hanging around chatting at the back near the food prep station/drinks bar. Loudly, in mandarin/cantonese.

No one noticed we came in. Either they are really THAT unaware, or are purposely trying to not make eye contact with us in fear they'll have to peel themselves away from their trivial conversations (oh yes, I understood everything they were saying, unfortunately...) Having worked in the asian restaurany industry for 7 years, I would have forgiven them had they been dealing with some kind of work crisis and were too busy to notice a customer walk in. But nope, just talking about stupid crap no one cares about, probably not even the person at whom the chatter is directed.

Anyway, we are starving, so I walk over to someone and say, we're a table of 2. Someone says, "sit anywhere" and we picked a random table that I probably subconsciously chose far away from the annoying chatter so I wouldn't be subjected to unwanted conversation overhearing. Meaning, far from their reach since they are all hanging around in the back.

Bad idea.

We each filled out a little paper order and wait. And wait. And wait. My boyfriend who is white starts to get pretty irritated, so I resort again to bringing it over to them. Since I recommended coming here I didn't want us to have a horrible time out.

The food comes pretty quickly and is pretty yummy. My boyfriend's drink arrives but my hot Horlick never makes it. I understand, and think "I'm sure it'll come soon enough."

Half a bowl of noodles later (and I am a slow eater), drink still hasn't come and again all staff are ignoring us. I look over and wave my arms frantically because trying to make eye contact with someone who is purposefully trying to avoid eye contact is a fool's errand. Nope, nothing.

Finally a staff member finally walks out near the entrance to talk to THEIR FRIEND who just came, and I leapt at the chance to tell her that my drink never arrived.

I kid you not, this was her exact answer verbatim, "We don't have anymore Horlick." She knew off the top of her head what drink I had ordered as she never went back to the computer to figure out what drink I ordered and why it never came.

SOOOOOO... this entire time you processed my order full well knowing an item was missing and just chose to ignore it and not tell me so I could make an alternate choice? And then what, hope I wouldn't notice? Or wait for me to speak up? Or worse, wait for me to speak up but hide so I can't????????

Shortly after, I receive my substitute drink but I am so annoyed I can't even consume it. 2 minutes later they bring the bill because they're closing.

No tip, just left.

Go to the one in Richmond Hill. That's the first one I went to which I thought was pretty good, and decided to try this location because it's closer.

I would definitely spend more gas and time to go to the one in Richmond Hill. I mean the service isn't spectacular or anything, but it's robotic and efficient enough that it's still MILES better than this...

For regulars, a heads up that the prices have increased. I think what used to be the $8.95 noodle combo is now $9.25. The add-ons, like pork cutlet, are now $2.25, up from $1.95. And they now have fewer choices of free drinks, with cold drinks like lemon ribena now cost an extra $0.50. These were the price changes I noticed, but I didn't scan the rest of the menu.

The noodles come with a few vegetables, like nappa cabbage and mushrooms, so don't worry about picking two meats as toppings. I've tried the malay laksa, peanut & chili, and one of the fish soups though I can't remember which. All three were enjoyable, but the peanut chili (also known as "dam damn meen" in Cantonese) is definitely my favourite. If you like peanut flavours, this is perfect for you. I've had minor issues with there not being enough soup on some days and the soup being too watery on other days, but most of the time, it's a nice, thicker soup with strong flavour.

My favourite cold drink (and by "favourite", I mean "the only one I've ever ordered over and over again") is the strawberry smoothie. You get a good amount for an extra $2 as it comes in a bubble-tea takeout cup and tastes great. It could benefit from a little more blending as sometimes there are chunks of ice that are too big for the straw, but it's never been a big enough issue for me to change my mind on the overall taste.

Seating is not a big issue and while there are usual wait times for core meal hours, I haven't experienced a wait longer than 20 minutes, even for a group of eight.

While there are a few areas that could be improved, if you like noodles in soup, this is a great...

Create your own noodle soup; it's the perfect spot for picky eaters. The combo comes with your choice of a soup base, noodles, two free toppings (additional toppings are $1.95 each), and a hot drink (cold drinks, specialty drinks, and add-ons cost extra). Green onions, parsley, cabbage, mushrooms, and beancurd sticks are automatically included so make sure to mark it off on your order sheet if you don't like them.

I ordered the Malay Laksa soup with pork stomach and cuttlefish as well as an iced milk tea + coffee with tapioca. The Malay Laksa was spicy, creamy, and flavorful. Chunks of tender cuttlefish slices complimented the Laksa. Pork stomach is a rare ingredient for any store to offer so I was surprised to see it on the menu. It was cleaned well, didn't smell or taste pungent, and was one of my favorite parts of the meal. The fish soup base had a pronounced depth to it that was healthy and clean but may come off as tasting bland. Milk tea and coffee is a combination I'm not sure if I like or dislike. Putting that aside, I definitely liked how caffeinated it was. It wasn't diluted even after all the ice melted. The boba was soft, chewy, and cooked better than most bubble tea shops.

For those who don't eat a lot, you may struggle with finishing a bowl by yourself as portions are large. For those who do eat a lot, you may want to add extra toppings and/or extra noodles. Service is standard. Our noodle soups and drinks were quick to come out but no one checked up on us during our meal. While there is a parking lot, it's usually full so finding a spot may...