Magical Taste of China Downtown — Restaurant in Toronto

In Summary, Extremely high prices, for a LOT of gristle in the lamb. We came super late to be fair, they were anxious about closing. We ordered a bunch, some for dine-in and some to go. The bill was astronomically high. and the thing is, I asked for receipt and all they gave was the final number. They didn't show me what on Earth I was paying for, it was all just magical numbers in the air (and a verbal reminder to tip). I didn't get the wings I ordered in my to-go bag, and based on that bill I would bet I was charged for it. Dine-In stuff: Wonton soup, Incredible, Mmm. I long for the rare joy of wonton soup since childhood, way before I went halal. The hand pulled stir fry noodles were fine. This thing called Sizzling Eggplant something, it was REALLY GOOD. The kebabs taste very good, but as mentioned, there's a LOT of gristle. We tried them all, lamb, beef, chicken. My fav was the "Red Willow Lamb, personally. The Fried rice they said would have Shrimp and 'Chicken Sausage'. I was so curious what a Chinese or Uyghur chicken sausage would taste like. Spoiler alert, it's an ordinary No Frills hot dog chopped up IN FRIED RICE, yuck. I had to pick the stuff out and eat it Solo, my prissy family wouldn't touch it after that. Take-out stuff we ate the next days: Stir fry Minced lamb w/ 'Chinese pancakes', the lamb was what it sounded like. Like a stew of tiny bits of lamb and veggies, and it tasted fine, worth abt half its price. The 'Chinese pancakes' was just a cold circular brick hard tortilla. Figured out it was paper-thin slices all jammed together. There was no way to pry them apart, they obviously came from a frozen pack of cheap Wonton wrappers and were thrown in as-is, totally unmodified. Also, there was a to-go box with completely plain hand-pulled noodles (made in-house I think), I don't know what they were supposed to go with. They were just a cold hard brick, I had to lightly boil to separate them, then stir fry with my own sauces and spices to make them edible (they were Very good after all that). That's kind of the thing about this place, they seem to have a few things just straight out of the freezer eg. cheap hot dogs, and wonton wrappers, the hand-pulled noodles... I am mostly upset that they didn't show me the bill, and charged me whatever they want. Anyway, that eggplant dish was pretty darn...

Every city has its share of misses in the culinary scene, and unfortunately, this establishment falls squarely into that category. On paper, the menu had promise—with a wide array of dishes including lamb and chicken skewers, wings, noodles, and fried rice. But in execution, almost every element left much to be desired.

Let’s start with the lamb. Any hopes of tender, flavorful meat were dashed with the first bite—it was dry, overly chewy, and lacking any depth of seasoning. The chicken wings fared no better; they were shockingly tiny, to the point where one couldn’t help but joke that the chicken must have been on a strict diet during its lifetime. Flavor-wise, they were forgettable at best.

The noodles were perhaps the biggest letdown. Instead of the satisfying, slightly firm texture you’d expect, they came out slimy and limp, drenched in what can only be described as an overwhelming tidal wave of soy sauce. Every bite felt like a direct hit to the throat—harsh, salty, and far from enjoyable. The fried rice? An afterthought, drowned in the same sauce with no sign of balance or finesse.

As for the service—well, that was its own spectacle. Not only were the servers indifferent, but basic hospitality was clearly not on the training checklist. No greetings, no smiles. When I asked one staff member for a recommendation, they literally walked away mid-conversation. It was so absurd it became almost comical.

Cleanliness was another major red flag. The tables felt like they had been wiped with the same cloth for decades, and the washrooms had a pungent, lingering odor that made you want to cut your meal short—if the food hadn’t already encouraged that.

All in all, this was not just a forgettable meal, but a genuinely unpleasant experience. With so many incredible places in the city offering good food and hospitality, this one’s best left off the list. Safe to say, I won’t...

When you’re downtown with a group of friends, this place offers a great option that fits most needs.

I’ll start this review by pointing out a major point that you may be trying to confirm, yes this place is halal. A Chinese restaurant that offers all their dishes halal is perfect and has led to the end of all those difficult nights trying to find a spot that fits everybody’s dietary restrictions. Living in Toronto, I have always had friends that follow the faith and require to eat strictly halal foods, so when this place was brought up in conversation, we were really excited to try it out.

Being located near Spadina & Dundas, the street outside the restaurant is quite messy but upon entry the restaurant was very tidy and clean. Our group of four was sat at a pretty small table, and when our order came to the table it was proven just how small the table was cause we had trouble fitting everything. The service here was whatever, I think it could be more hospitable and welcoming.

As for the food, my friend group loved it and argued what were the best dishes. During our visit we got various skewers (Chicken, Beef, and Lamb), General Tso chicken, Stir-Fried Spicy Beef, Xinjiang Style Fried Rice, and some dim-sum. Personally I felt the best dishes were the lamb skewers and the spicy beef, but my friends absolutely loved the General Tso’s chicken and kept talking about it even after we left. Overall all the food was really good and surprised me because I went in with lower expectations than my friends. One thing I could say as a negative about the food is I feel the portion size is smaller when compared to various other Chinese restaurants, even those in the same area.

Overall, Magical Taste of China is an excellent Halal Chinese restaurant that is wrapped in an aesthetically pleasing...