SpiceCityTo

Journalist Sarah Efron explores strip malls and hole-in-the-wall restaurants in search of the city's best ethnic food

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Toronto's best Malaysian restaurant has a new spin-off

One of the absolute best Southeast Asian restaurants in the Toronto area is Gourmet Malaysia, an oversized dining hall in Scarborough with a massive menu of Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean favourites. In September, the owners opened a new spin-off restaurant called Gourmet Satay at 1348 Kennedy Road near Ellesmere Road in Scarborough. 


Owner Amy Lim (centre) with cousin Shuen and son Nikola

The restaurant hasn't even had its official opening yet, but fans of Gourmet Malaysia have noticed the similar sign at this dodgy strip mall on Kennedy and started popping by. The narrow restaurant has many of the same dishes as Gourmet Malaysia, although owner Amy Lim wants to add some specialty "hawker" or street food dishes here soon. A flyer for the new joint describes it as "food court style," meaning it serves dishes sold at bustling South Asian food stall markets. (In fact, it's similar in some respects to Gourmet Malaysia's precursor restaurant, the now closed cult classic Gourmet Garden.)



The dishes at Gourmet Satay are carefully prepared and packed with flavour. The satay doesn't taste like globs of peanut butter, but instead is made of fresh crushed peanuts and a surprising amount of spice. 

Nasi lemak (below) is an eye pleasing dish that offers a sampling of the wide range of flavours in Malaysian cooking. A mound of coconut-sweetened rice is surrounded by rich curry-leaf infused chicken, sweet shrimp, a fried egg and a punchy garnish of dried anchovies and peanuts, all for just $8.80.


Nasi goreng (below) is a Malaysian classic, consisting of rice fried in thick, sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) and densely packed with veggies and seafood.

Amy opened this restaurant so she can use the kitchen to supply labour intensive desserts like pineapple tarts and layer cakes for events at Gourmet Malaysia. She also plans on taking advantage of the space to store freezers full of imported goods from Malaysia.


And the restaurant's hours? Well, hard to say exactly. As a blogger specializing in strip mall food I've been to an awful lot of plazas but this is definitely one of the sketchiest I've seen, with a porn shop, late night reggae bar, various massage parlours and many suspicious looking dudes sitting in parked cars in the evening. 

"Some customers don't like the area," says Amy. She originally planned to be open until 9pm but has gradually moved to closing earlier and earlier, so if you want to stop by before 5pm give a call first and ask if the restaurant is open. But let me assure you, these wonderful Malaysian dishes make the trip more than worth while. 

Gourmet Satay is located at 1348 Kennedy Road, Scarborough, Ontario. Call for hours at 647 741 2468. 


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  • Monday, October 6, 2014

    Legendary North York jerk chicken restaurant gets a new home

    Allwyn's Bakery has long been a legend amongst residents of North York. The location at Parkwoods Village Centre was obscure to say the least, but Allwyn's had no trouble drawing a crowd of rabidly loyal fans thanks to its killer jerk chicken and dirt cheap prices. Now the restaurant has a moved into a more visible storefront at Donwood Plaza at 81 Underhill Drive.



    Allwyn's regulars have flocked to the new location, which opened three months ago after the old space was given up to expand Shopper's Drug Mart as part of the Parkwoods Village redevelopment. "There are lots of old folks and new faces," says stoic staffer and Jamaican immigrant Donald Simpson, who has worked for Allwyn's for almost 20 years. "It's much busier and there are lots of lineups," he sighs. 

    The new location is still modest, but bigger and brighter than the previous space. There is one table and some stools so patrons can eat inside instead of scarfing down the food in their cars. Heck there's even a phone number now. But the basics haven't changed. 

    "It's still the same food. It's great if you like spice," says Rich McDonald, a North York resident who's been going to Allwyn's for more than five years. 

    The jerk chicken sandwich—moist and flavourful meat and crunchy coleslaw nestled between two airy pieces of coco bread—sells for just $4.25. The patties ($1.50) are pockets of spicy meat encased in dough that has the perfect balance of flake and chew. Plus there's a new addition to the menu—the spicy curries can now be enjoyed inside roti. 




    Allwyn's Bakery is located at 81 Underhill Drive, North York, Toronto. Telephone 647 859 6388. Hours are currently 11am to 10pm every day although they may be changing soon.   


  • Share your own thoughts on Allwyn's Bakery in the comments field below.
  • Follow Spice City Toronto on Twitter and like it on Facebook.
  • Recommend a place for Spice City to visit or let me know about updates or errors at SpiceCityTO at gmail dot com.
  • Sample the best food from around the world without leaving the GTA with the Spice City map of Toronto