📍Congee Wong – 1 Spadina Rd, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3M2
🌍Country: China  
🔥Must-try dish: Soy Sauce Beef Noodles
🪑Seating: Indoor seating only
👍The high: The whole process is quick, so it’s a great place if you don’t want a long, drawn out meal that still tastes good.
👎The low: Regretting not ordering more noodles, but that’s on us! 

If you head just north of downtown Toronto, you’ll find some of the best Chinese food in the country. There’s no shortage of spots doing the classics, but plenty of places go deep on regional specialties too. One of our go-tos? The Congee chain. It’s fast, dependable, and usually packed, so don’t be surprised if you have to wait a few minutes for a table.

Walk in and you’re immediately hit with the sights and smells: roast ducks glistening in the window, steam rising from the kitchen, the kind of comforting chaos that tells you you’re in the right place. Despite the name, we skipped the congee this time and went for a lineup of veggie and carb-forward dishes, trying to balance out a very meat-heavy weekend up north.

Veggies First

Snow Pea Leaves in Garlic Sauce
Simple name, but don’t sleep on it. These greens are super fresh, a little crunchy, and have just the right amount of garlicky goodness. It’s the kind of dish that makes you feel like you’re eating healthy, even if the rest of the table says otherwise.

Green Beans with Minced Pork and Saltfish
Always a solid pick. The texture is on point: crisp beans, savoury pork, and chewy bites of saltfish. Every bite packs a salty, umami punch. One of those “you’ll keep reaching for it without realizing” dishes.

Bean Curd with Mixed Vegetables
Okay, this one’s a bit of a wild card. Giant roasted tofu chunks with stir-fried veggies, it’s earthy, hearty, and a little polarizing depending on how your table feels about tofu. If you’re into it, great. If not, then maybe move on to something crispier.

Carbs, Because Obviously

Soy Sauce Beef Noodles
These were a hit. Nothing fancy, just soft rice noodles tossed with tender beef and a really solid soy-based sauce. Mild, comforting, and somehow still the favourite of the night.

Yeung Chow Fried Rice
Gone so fast. Classic egg-fried rice with pork and shrimp – luffy, savoury, and perfect for soaking up saucy bites from the other dishes. This is one of those “we should’ve ordered two” kind of things.

Something Meaty

Half Roast Crispy Duck
If you can get past seeing the ducks hanging in the front window (which we secretly love), this is totally worth ordering. It’s perfectly crispy, with a sweet glaze that balances out the saltier stuff on the table. Bonus: the portion’s big enough to share… unless you’re a duck superfan.

Congee Wong is definitely a group spot – the more people you bring, the more dishes you get to try. We had our eyes on a few more noodles and meat options, but with limited stomach space (and not enough friends in tow), we’ll just have to go back. 

Eat with you soon!