Zao Men Kan 灶门坎烧烤小酒馆 — Restaurant in Toronto

I've been a regular at this spot for my Chinese Braised Skewers fix, and every visit has been a fantastic experience. I always get my order to go, and the quality is consistently delicious. Every time takeaway orders only.

My absolute favorite and a must-try for any first-timer are the 牛肉大串 (large beef skewers) and the 羊肉大串 (large lamb skewers). The meat on both is incredibly tender and flavorful. On different visits, I've also tried the chicken wings and pork belly skewers, and they were equally well-executed.

What's great is that their spices are incredibly aromatic. As someone who loves a good spicy kick but can't handle too much heat, I was pleasantly surprised. Even when I forgot to ask for less spicy spice, the flavor was so rich and satisfying that it wasn't overly hot at all.

This place is definitely geared towards those who love bold, spicy flavors, and personally i think it's best known for its skewers. If you're sensitive to spice, you can easily ask the staff to reduce the spice level for you. The pricing is very reasonable.

Here's a unique tip from me: I often combine my order with sushi from the nearby J-san Sushi. I love getting both and enjoying them at one of J-san's outdoor tables. The savory, flavorful meat skewers actually pair surprisingly well with the cool, clean taste of the sushi rice! It's a great way to get the best of both worlds.

What's your favorite skewer to get, and have you ever tried pairing different cuisines like this? Let me know...

In search of some great tasting Northern Chinese BBQ skewer meat? This is one great, surprising find!

Coupled with some well executed and delicious food, the funky and psychedelic neon decoration plus lively vibe of this eatery provides a great venue and backdrop for one to spend a couple of enjoyable hours with friends and family on a chilly weekend evening!

From the huge and varied menu, some of the skewered items we ordered included the following: Tofu, chicken skin, shrimp, lamb, chicken cartilage, fatty beef, normal beef, beef tendons, squid tentacles, orleans chicken wings, chicken hearts …..etc. Other cooked dishes included char-grilled Chives, Sauteed Cabbages, Stirred fry shredded potatoes and Spicy Clams. BTW, none of us were brave enough to order some really ‘ cool ‘ and challenging offerings like………lamb testicles!!!

Every captioned dish we ordered were well seasoned, perfectly cooked and wonderfully delicious. The degree of spice level, near perfect. Supporting side dishes were no slouch either. In fact, the fried potato and lotus root dishes were some of the best tasting renditions of these humble root vegetables I have come across!

If you are in the mood for some uber-delicious, savory and smokey finger food paired with a couple glasses of ice cold beer, this is the perfect destination for you and company

BTW, the place was packed after 7.00pm!! So, reservation is highly...

This place has got the spice. Do you like spicey Chinese BBQ with spicey dishes and spicey spice?!? Well you've come to the right place. Also do you like neon lights? They got you. Beer towers? Got you.

Not the cheapest place for watery beer (their house brew) but not every place has beer towers (30ish bucks if my memory serves) these days so, points for that. If cheap beer isn't your thing they have a selection of bottled beer for you fancy folks.

You'll probably gonna come here for the skewers and they meet the standards, no problem. BBQ chicken skin, gizzards and hearts. All yummy. And the standard meats are obvious choices. The heat level here is good on many of their dishes, like the sichuan style pork intestines, an absolute bomb dish. Many other BBQ places opt to go a bit milder as I imagine this spice level may be a bit too much for some. BBQ House for instance will ask you how spicy you want your food, which is the best way to go. Zao is just right for me, but might blow the pants off someone who doesnt have a fondness for Sichuan peppercorns.

I give this place 2 pints up...