Swatow Restaurant — Restaurant in Toronto

Swatow is horrid, unclean, grimy, and barfworthy. The aura here is emetic. The walls have food spots, the tables are unclean, cutlery and vessels are covered in debris/dried out material. I dined in once and wasn't sure the soup spoon I used was clean. An average restaurant in a developing country is cleaner than this and it's pathetic that the food reviewers are all over this place. This place is not "no frills" as the reviewers say, it is "no thrills" and full of spills. The food is overrated; read below.

Most of the hype around this place seems to be coming from the Tdot bloggers who think they have as big feet as Anthony Bourdain, who do not have the ability to venture outside of downtown and try actually good Chinese food that exists outside of Spadina. How the bloggers tolerate the unhygienic atmosphere is unbelievable. The fellow restauranteura who hype up this place are even more peculiar and make me wonder how well they maintain their own kitchens.

I've tried Swatow soups, friedrices, and a rice on plate, and all were underwhelming and did not live up to the hype piled on top of it by BlogTO, Dished, and such.

This place is often labelled as a Hidden Gem but it's actually in plain sight on Spadina with its distinctive signage and distinctively grungy look.

The minced crab meat soup was ok, hardly any crab though and it looked like it may have been immitation crab meat given the texture and flattened shape of it. It also lacked the distinct starchy taste expected of this dish

The fried rice was nothing impressive. The rice was too hard and it felt stale. Hardly any meat. Nothing authentic either.

The duck on rice was the last straw for me. A few oversalted duck pieces placed on top of white rice, three greens on the side, and no sauce whatsoever. This was hard to eat because of the dryness. The duck meat was okay, but no significant seasoning. I was expecting greatness with this dish but what I have tried is telling me the other dishes

There are way better Chinese restaurants in tdot.

I have never dined in because the interior is not appealing. Parking is extraordinarily hard to find. And they do not accept card for payment.

If you've come here from afar, try Bitter Melon nearby or go to Annalakshmis on Blue Jays way for memorable food experiences. If a review brought you here, go to Little Tibet on Queen-Jameson which is the real deal and taste some authentic Chinese/Hakka food made with care in a...

Swatow is a typical HK Chinese food joint. It's clean, spare and not overly decorative. Their proud of review articles are blown up and framed by the front, at a table that is now used for takeout and food delivery orders.

A few larger round tables for bigger groups are in the middle, tables for two on the left, and tables for four on the mirrored right side.

A few plants (unsure if real or fake) are above the beverage fridge, and a hot noodle cooking section are right at the front window.

If you're on your own, sometimes they use the round tables for communal style space sharing.

The food is made fast. But it's good.

This is a no-frills, wok is always hot, so the "wok hay" umami is real here. Everything I have ordered has been good. Hot, delicious and flavourful.

I have had everything from the deep fried wontons to Yeung chow fried rice, to the deep fried spicy squid.

The last time I was here, the Singapore Noodles teased me with the chilli symbol. I have had these noodles from many places prior, and expected a yellow curry. Nope. This one came a rusty orange, and my mouth was aglow with the spice. They weren't kidding!

The more the merrier, so you can try more food.

The wonton noodle soup has 4 plump, juicy shrimp wontons. The clear broth is simple but lets you enjoy the sweet greens, the savoury wontons and the chewy noodles.

My go-to is the Beef fried rice noodle. It's always full of flavour and while it's a touch greasy (so the noodles don't stick to the wok), it's got lots of tender beef, sprouts and green onion for more flavour and some regular slivered onions. It has been my favourite for decades.

Price is reasonable for the amount of food and I come here reasonably regularly.

There is one step at the entrance, and washrooms are downstairs.

I am coming again next weekend, so now you know I do have a favourite...

We were exploring Chinatown the other day and saw two men tossing noodles 🍜 at the window in the old fashioned way. We decided to come back another time.

It was a late lunch on a suddenly cold Sunday. Just the moment I was almost turning into this place, two groups of customers cut in front of me. Imagine those drivers turning into your lane in front of you without indicator on. Good sign for good food, though, I guessed they were desperate!

It took us almost half an hour to get a table for two of us. While waiting, I asked the waitress what tasted good. She said everything! There were also old news articles hanging on the wall near the entrance area, which were quite interesting.

I was inspecting the man who cooked noodles. I decided to try their brisket - they called it Beef Stew, though, on the menu.

You had to write your own order here. Perhaps, it was a thing for Chinatown here. Same for another place we tried a few days ago.

We had Beef Brisket and Tendon Rice Flat Noodle Soup. The brisket was exceptional - tender and flavorful. Rice flat noodle was a bit soft, which I preferred - slightly overcooked.

Four kinds of Balls Noodle Soup 🍜 the noodle itself is exceptional. I hadn’t had such great noodle for long time. It was thin, perfectly cooked, still a bit crunchy, and tasteful of egg. The balls were alright. The fish balls were a bit too fishy for me.

I would suggest to have the noodle as it was to taste the broth and noodle first, then added a bit chilli oil afterwards.

I also liked how the veggie that came with the noodles were perfectly cooked.

We will definitely come back next time we...