Maple's Kitchen 新陸羽

I heard there were lots of buzz when it first opened, to avoid the hype and long lineups, we waited now to give it a try.

This location was formerly the "Old Place", now being called "Maple's Kitchen".

Coming in, we have no expectations coz we know full-well it's comfort food serving casual simple Chinese dishes.

We ordered "Select your own dinner dishes", we chose 3 dishes.

1) Sweet & Sour pork (a little bit on the sour side, lack balanced flavour), lack sauce, it's ok but not the best.

2) Half of free range steam chicken (lack the shinny glaze on the skin, meat is ok, not super juicy or tender but eatable, ginger & green onion sauce was good).

3) "8 Real Tofu Pot" was sizzling but the sauce was too salty. Not much seafood. It was ok.

Overall, we thought "Old Place" had better food, better pricing, if Old Place can't even survive, I don't know how this new Maple's Kitchen will survive better if the overall taste of the food lacks behind and this is a very dead location.

The combo came complimentary "Old Fire" Soup, big portion, whether it's 2 people or 6 people, the pot portion is the same. Although I always appreciate complimentary old fire soup, this lacks salt, it's bland.

Complimentary dessert was the highlight with pipping hot papaya with snow ear plant. If the complimentary dessert is the best item of our whole meal, that tells you the "mid" of the overall dining experience.

Will we come back? The answer is NO coz there are plenty of similar restaurants near this area that offers better pricing, better food taste & flavour and there is no incentive or motivation for me to come back to dine at Maple's Kitchen.

A callback to true old school Toronto Chinese eateries. Which is niche but those who grew up in the 90's in and around Agincourt know what I'm talking about.

As with many others, I was dragged here by my parents who were excited to discover the second coming of local legend "Maple Yip" was back.

Food was made well, and to those calling it overpriced takeout... Well food courts wish they could have the same level of wok hei and steaming freshness. Though I will admit the prices may be higher than expected given inflation observed in the 5-10 years since Maple Yip was last open.

Black bean ho fun, beef & broccoli, and sweet & sour pork were all on point texture and flavour wise. Vermicelli with lobster was good but out of scope for this kind of joint - would rather spend money on two other rice or noodles dishes. Less than $120 for 6 people with leftovers

The biggest miss/sadness was that a select few classic dishes are no longer made in this new location. Notably beef with preserved veggies in taro birds nest - my personal favorite.

Also funny are the people are calling out bad service, which is arguably a hallmark of Cantonese cuisine. The only thing you should be focusing on is the food which is still very good.

Well, the expectation is high because this restaurant is good when they were at Scarborough location. So even though tonight dinner is ok, it feels like a bit disappointing. So...... the food is ok. The sweet and sour pork, the satay beef and the sticky rice chicken are ok. The salty fish pork are too salty. ....... service is the same as before, not enough staff. ...... we pre ordered 1 whole sticky rice chicken, but they said we didn't. And they only have half a chicken left........ so we took it. But the feeling is disappointed. The sticky rice chicken used to come to the table as 1 whole chicken and then cut it up in front of you. Now they cut it in the kitchen and bring it out. That is disappointed as well. .... all in all, disappointed only due to the high expectations. Otherwise, it is a ok dinner.

We made a reservation for Friday night 8:30pm. We still need to wait for 20 minutes before we can sit down. Parking wasn't difficult and I saw a few available spots. We ordered a number of dishes from the set menu and some from the regular menu. They were affordable. All the dishes were fleshly prepared and they were steaming hot when they came out. Taste was average. Service was just alright. You get 10% off because of newly opened.

Great chinese food but make sure to make a reservation in advance (even for 3 people!)! The braised pork is so tender that you actually need the spoon that the dish comes with!! All the food was delicious and flavourful, no complaints around the table throughout our meal. Tables are close and order system is a throw back to chinese restaurants in the past.

We ordered the special duck dish. Delicious.