Royal Feast?

The over-abundance of fried chicken the other night reminded me of that "dark" time when I first moved to Toronto. I spent 6 months eating greasy fried food every night at the Dufferin Food Court. No wonder I packed on 30 pounds so quickly. The only bright spot was the vegetarian White Lotus Garden on the week-end which gave my diet a semblance of health. This spot on Dundas is long gone but King's Cafe in Kensington Market, another stalwart from that era, is still around.

With its large space, it still resembled a cafeteria. Although with an upgrade to nicer tables and walls, perhaps a cafeteria in a Scandinavian store. A beautiful tea-shop, a store-in-a-store, took up some wall space to one side. I ordered the Lo Han Chai Chow Mein ($9.99) and some pan-fried radish cake ($3.99).

The noodles came out piled high with a selection of greens and numerous mushroom variety. The noodles was crispy on the edge of the plate but softened in the middle where it soaked in the stir-fry sauce. It was a plentiful and healthy dish: garden-variety strip mall Chinese food. There wasn't even the practiced flair of the really popular ones that are packed at 3 am. The radish was a disaster: thick and heavy, without the crispy brown searing of a hot flame.

Come to King's Cafe for a cheap, healthy meal but that's about it. The tea-shop, however, seems to be of much higher quality.