" VERY GOOD CONGEE & NOODLES " - Hands down BEST Won-Ton noodles and rice congees in the GTA and beyond!! ( Long Review )

For an avid foodie like myself, who occasionally love to seek out authentic, historical, culinary gems. It is therefore disparaging and a sense of betrayal to see certain age-old classics being bastardized and transformed, by chefs and/or business owners, using short-cuts and gimmicky approaches. Their sole objectives, to boost profit margins and/or attract new clientele.

One such example is the quintessential Cantonese comfort food, ’ Won-Ton Noodles '. This delicious gem was created generations ago in Canton, China by a Mr. Mak. The delicious end product featuring dainty, cloud-like, ‘bite size’ pork & shrimp dumpling morsels paired with super fine al-dente chewy egg noodles in a refined, flavourful broth. The latter based on hours of slow simmering using pork and chicken bones, shrimp shells, shrimp eggs and toasted fluke…etc. Condiments of lard, shrimp eggs and yellowing chives were added as a final touch to elevate the flavour profile further! A perfectly crafted product should exude wonderful aroma and the taste, mouth-watering addictive… enticing the patrons to order an extra bowl or two!

Sadly, IMHO, this classic have gone through some rather unwelcome mutations. In some cases producing an almost unrecognizable product when compared to the original. First off was the transformation of the won-ton morsels. In some establishments, this culinary trinkets have now ballooned into the size of a golf ball, requiring several bites to down a single piece. To cut cost, cheaper, pungent scallions instead of chives are being used as condiments, destroying rather than complimenting the profile of the dish. However, the saddest scenario goes to the broth when, to cut corner, a soya sauce base chicken broth loaded with MSG was frequently used. Imagine what a sushi aficionado would feel if the nigiri sushi he ordered comes in the size of a hot-dog and dressed with chicken gravy?! :smiley:

Therefore, for me, it was more than God-send to come across this truly amazing hidden gem inside the relatively new Markham shopping mall - ’ King Square '. Once entered the mall, one can locate the restaurant just by following the ’ toasted fluke and shrimp eggs ’ aroma of the broth escaping from the restaurant premise. EVERY dishes we tried today and during past visits were executed perfectly with the authentic Won-Ton noodles, the best rendition I have come across outside of the Orient! Adhering to every component and instruction laid down in Mr Mak’s original age-old recipe, one heavenly bite and it transformed me back to my days in Hong Kong!

Other dishes we ordered were all lovingly prepared and expertly executed.
These included: Braised Beef briskets and tendons, Shrimp ’ Shui-Gow ’ noodles ( shrimp dumplings with wood fungus and bamboo shoots ); Sweet & Spicy penny hot-sauce shredded pork lo-mien; Fried crullers.
The hands-down stand-outsdefinitely belongs to the well-seasoned, crispy, crunchy and perfectly timed pig’s liver in the rice congee. The steamed rice-roll crepe ( aka cheung-fun ) was silky smooth and delicate, a worthy competitor to Sam’s Congee, the once authority in this hard-to-perfect dish.

With this, IMO, BEST Won-ton noodle and congee joint in the GTA just a short drive from my home, I am sure I will be having many more re-visits making this place my regular ’ canteen’!!









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Sounds scrumptious. You had led us to to a won ton noodle place many years ago at Warden and Hwy 7 which was also lovely - I think it is gone now. Will have to try this place when we are next up in Markham.

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Wow! Won-Ton Hut on Warden & Hwy#7!! Haven’t been for years! Sad to hear it has closed?!

Food at this place is way more authentic and better!!..no wonder owner named it ’ Very Good '! May be change it to ’ Excellent '?!
Also, more spacious with really high ceiling creates a safer environment too!

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While most of us can/will never visit VGC&N, you do open windows for us to seek out this dish and others you pictured. Thanks.

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Never say never my chow-friend?! May be one day, the owner will decide to open up branches around your hood?!
Take a look at ’ Congee Queen ', they first opened up their flag ship around 404 and Steeles and now they have branches extending to East end Scarborough and Mississauga!! Quality pretty consistent through out too!

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Yes, that was it, Won-Ton Hut. You had also mentioned the broth with fluke last time, a detail that we had not been aware of. The broth was very good, although our palates are not refined enough that we could pick out the fluke flavour profile going forward. Hope to keep educating our palates with Very Good Congee and Noodles.

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Concur with Charles. This new place is very good. The news is already out though, so be prepared to line up to wait for a table during lunchtime (at least on weekends anyway).

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Looks almost like in Hong Kong. Could use more prawn roe. Are the noodles “chewy” like in HK, too? Why can’t they achieve this in other countries where they also have the same dishes? The texture of the noodles is half the enjoyment for me.

I tried to eat this noodles and soup, and dim sum every single day on my previous trip to HK in 2018.

Re adding a caption under a photo (your question from another thread).
I write a line of text either above a below each photo.

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Though ’ less fine ’ than some of Hong Kong’s ’ Mak’s ', ‘Tasty’s’ or ‘Ho Hung Kee’ offering, the noodles of VG are amongst the best Toronto has to offer…super chewy and al-dente and void of ’ alkaline flavour '.
The amount of shrimp roe used are comparable to those found in Hong Kong. In addition to the sprinkling on top, the soup is also filled with them! Most welcome feature, considering how expensive shrimp-roes are here in Canada!! None of the outfit I know serving ‘decent?’ Won-Ton noodles in town have such offering!
BTW, FYI, here’s a posting of some of Hong Kong’s finest Won-Ton Mien I wrote on Chowhound a while back!

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100% agree!! That’s why we always go just after 2.00 pm!!

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I remember this thread.
Hong Kong’s changed so much since then - I’d probably need to fly to Toronto or Vancouver for good wonton-mein next time.

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’ Mak’s ’ do have out-crop in Singapore?! No?!

Not anymore, unfortunately - it closed down its last remaining branch in Singapore last year.

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Charles, so sounds like its just a little bit behind the best of HK? That is mighty good.
Unfortunately around where I live, if a bowl has 2 out of 4 elements right, its already considered a success. Nothing compared to GTA for sure.

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Tried out another of their offering this lunch time:

’ Braised Pig’s feet with fermented red bean curd and bean sauce '. One of the best rendition in town. Super tender, yet retaining the right bite/textural feel. Non-gamy and flavourful. Main thing, its not too salty! A very enjoyable dish to go with a bowl of Won-Ton noodles…now with a touch of lard ( the authentic Hong Kong way ) to kick-up flavour profile even more!!

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