Lougheed Wonton Restaurant

REVISIT POST ON LOUGHEED WONTON [HERE]

Who would have thought that I missed Chinese food?! Since BF has been sick, I went with my sister for Chinese. I have been to Lougheed Wonton three times for dinner before and I always enjoyed it. The only reason I stopped coming here is because of my last visit. On my last visit, I had the house special chow mein which tasted horrible; overly deep fried with an unpleasant tasting sauce and the dish was not edible (it really should not have been served).

As for the interior, these photos were taken after dinner rather than when we first entered. On my previous visits, Lougheed Wonton has always been an emptier restaurant. However, on a Sunday evening the restaurant was packed. The restaurant was full and had a long line up of take out orders. We waited fifteen minutes for a waitress to seat us and another ten minutes for tea. Their friendly service makes up for that later on though.

SLICED FISH CONGEE ($5.00).

I asked for no salt or MSG because I do not think it is necessary, since I prefer simple and bland tasting food especially when it comes to congee. In addition, the waitress was kind and asked if it is just the congee with no salt and MSG, or all the dishes. If my sister was not there when she asked... I probably would have said all the dishes haha (btw I am not against MSG).

Unfortunately, I had no idea that sesame oil is added to the congee. I hate sesame oil but no worries, since I scooped most of it out.  The congee is a bit chunkier rather than smooth and does not taste creamy or tasty, but I still enjoyed it (keep in mind I wanted a simple bland tasting congee rather than a flavourful one). As for the basa, the slices of fish are not overcooked and tastes very tender. However, North Garden's congee tastes definitely a lot better of their creaminess, but will I sacrifice going there just for the congee? Naa. 

3 3/4LB CREAM AND BUTTER SAUCE CRAB ($10.95/LB).

The crab is well executed, not overcooked and has a nice cream and butter sauce. However, the sauce could have tasted more flavourful and tastes more buttery than creamy, rather than having a balanced flavour. Although to be fair, the sauce tastes better than many restaurants and I am just picky.

3 1/4LB LOBSTER IN SUPREME BROTH ($15.50/LB). 

Unfortunately the supreme broth does not have much taste and is very heavy on the salt. As for the lobster, it is well cooked and the meat tastes tender with a nice snap.

SOUP OF THE DAY, WINTER MELON SOUP (INCLUDED IN COMBO). 

The soup has a clear taste but tastes a bit too salty. As for the beef, the meat tastes tender as well as clean, and the soup has been slow cooked.

SAUTEED BEEF WITH BROCOLLI ($11.95). 

The slices of beef taste tender and the broccoli has a nice slight crunch. Furthermore, sometimes a beef with broccoli dish can get oily and this is not the case.

STEAMED WHITE RICE (INCLUDED IN COMBO). 

Believe it or not, I was looking forward to packing the rice. No one I know prefers the harder style rice and I love it. Plus, I hate washing and cooking rice. I can make the best three course dinner or bake two dozen cupcakes, but I hate washing and cooking rice.

ROCK COD AND BEAN CURD HOT POT ($13.95). 

After ordering many rock cod hot pots at Chinese restaurants, I now know that rock cod means sole fillet. The slices of fish are very big, at least 2" x 2" and tastes meaty with a slight stiffness (in a good way). In addition, the bean curds taste juicy but not tasty. The sauce tastes a bit too salty, not flavourful and is missing the usual sauce flavours. All in all, the hot pot does not taste bad and I have had worse, but it was not so great.

COMPLIMENTRY RED BEAN SOUP AND MANGO PUDDING. 

The red bean soup has a nice thickened consistency and a settled subtle sweetness, along with the flavours of rock sugar and mandarin peel. Following, the mango pudding tastes watered down, bland and slightly sweet. I recommend choosing the red bean soup over the mango pudding!

POSITIVES
- One of the better Chinese restaurants in the area
- Seafood is a bit cheaper than other restaurants
- Very friendly waitresses
- Dishes taste average (usually it is above average)

NEGATIVES
- Despite the friendly service, staff is slow when the restaurant is busy
- Most of the dishes tasted too salty

LITTLE THINGS
- Revisit post on Lougheed Wonton [here]
- Waitress was kind and asked if we wanted mango pudding on the side in case they sold out
- Food and service is better than Yan's Garden and North Garden

Food: 2.5/5 (usually a 3 or 3.5/5)
Service: 3/5