Origination

Ordered solely on other reviews. Pictures looked great and it is basically the only place that delivers Ramen. Should’ve known… We were pretty disappointed. Broth was salty and noodles were worse then that served from a package. Only reason they get 1 star is because it was delivered by Door Dash — Awesome delivery service!

More like a 3.5. Came here for dinner with a friend and ordered the rice noodle with beef. It came in a cute pot, and portion of beef was decent. Noodles were cooked well, not too soggy and overall the whole dish was tasty. Nothing exceptional, but still tasty. I do really appreciate the thoughtfulness of the restaurant though. I remember on the table there was a decision chart to help you decide on a dish to order. I do hope to return to try one of their more interesting dishes/​teas though like their tofu rice noodle. If you have a chinese noodle craving on a cold winter day, definitely give origination a try!

For a Chinatown restaurant, they had above average service (the waitresses were attentive and nice) and all the cutleries were in sets (no broken edges on their bowls and plates either).
The food tasted good, impressive load of condiments and nice presentation of the food as well.
Would go back.

Stumbled into this restaurant when visiting Toronto and loved it. Really kind staff who walked us (the only non Asian people there) through the menu, including a really intricate tea ceremony. We are vegetarians and while there was only one vegetarian noodle dish, it was delicious and we got some vegetarian appetizers to supplement. All the food was great, and really different from the Chinese food we are used to because it’s from south China. The place is also really cute, with great décor and fun music. Would definitely recommend as a great unique spot in Chinatown.

Loved the food, the people, the place, and kung fu tea, woah! The food was healthy, not greasy, and doesn’t have MSG, perfect. Also, vegetarian friendly.

Almost every entrée here involves red meat. I ordered the shrimp and I got exactly three, although they’re good-​sized. The noodles are quite unique and the interior is really nice, air-​conditioned, and served with a smile. There were as many non-​Chinese as there were Chinese, when I was there, so I worried about it being like a fusion restaurant, which I dislike and am glad Orgination isn’t. The portion issue seems to be a common complaint, and I hope they fix it. The noodles are delicious, again, but I don’t want that to be my main course, despite the relatively cheap menu.

Two things about this restaurant really set itself apart from other restaurants in China Town. First, the staff were super friendly. Unlike the other Chinese restaurants in the area, when I asked the staff how each food on the menu taste like, they actually explained to me accurately, and patiently (sorry for being an annoying jack ass, by the way). Second, the restaurant is clean and organized. Most of the restaurants in China Town are greasy and kinda messy, but not Origination. Origination is cozy, pleasant and comfortable. I feel safe and happy to dine in this restaurant.
Food: they accurately presented how Chinese (Yunnan) people eat rice noodles. Upon the arrival of your hot broth, the staff will help you by putting all the ingredient into the broth. It’s pretty cool.
However, there was one thing that didn’t satisfy me: the amount of ingredient was totally not enough. As probably you can see from my picture, I only got 2 slices of chicken, pork and unnoticeable amount of ham in my order. Unfortunately, because of the lack of diversity in ingredients, the noodle became pretty boring and monotone at the end. I think Origination should do something about that.

There was alot of heart and effort put into the interior and great selection of music played as background and ambience music. The concept is interesting like a hotpot concept with the food served.
However, the proportions of the food seems too large with the noodles and insufficient toppings. There was alot of base soup. I ordered the Tom Yum with rice noodles and the tom yum has a bland taste… although I would return to try out a clear base fish broth soup just for comparison.
The staff was friendly. What I liked at the end was a small portion of melon cubes fruits was served. Serves as a refresher to your taste palate.

the origination rice noodles tasted light, and decently authentic from yunnan, although the noodles were thicker than typical. was kinda cool to see the entire tray of toppings brought out before the noodles, which the server added to a clay pot of boiling soup, one by one, and naming each thing as he went.
the service is pretty good. attentive servers, who were also funny and polite.
bonus — got a free cold noodle dish for checking in on Unilocal.a great way to finish the meal, as the noodles were flavourful and light, to cool down after downing a bowl of spicy hot soup.

Origination gave me a feeling of home although I’m not from Yunnan. Been there twice so far, I really enjoyed their decoration, their service, and even their music. I had the pork hock rice noodle and one of the spicy cross bridge rice noodle. They’re both very delicious. I really like Taste of Yunnan, but I think Origination has the better cross bridge noodles. The cross bridge noodles do seem a little pricey, but they have some cheaper options as well. I believe I’ll go back and try one of their cold noodles soon!

The interior décor is really artistic and the cutlery are very cute. Menu is different from most restaurant and u can tell that alot of thoughts were put into the design. The owner and staff are really nice and knows what to recommend for those firstcomers. I had tried most of their menu items and i enjoyed them all. The only thing i would recommend on changing is the portion size for the appetizers. Its a great lunch choice for those working nearby and if u just want a place to kick back n relax with some nice tea. :)

The staff seemed nice and friendly and the ambience was alright. However, the food was really disappointing in comparison. Their signature dish origination Yunnan rice noodle supposedly should have a really tasty and aromatic broth. And my expectation was amped up even more when the waiter encouraged me to drink more of the broth when this dish was served. The broth, altogether with the rice noodle dish turned out to be over salty and lacked complexity.
The real bummer was the beef shank slice appitizer: a total waste of $ 6.50. A handful of really small and thin slices, some five spice powder and two types of sauce was all there was to this dish. The beef was totally bland if you don’t dip them in the sauce and tasted medicore even with sauce. And for the price, you really expect at least twice the amount of beef, especially when the restaurant serving it is surrounded by cheap yet good value eats in Chinatown.
Stay far far away. I would choose $ 19.99 AYCE hotpot next door over this any day.

Tried beef stew. Bleh! There was no beef in it. They claim they used ox tail instead. Anyways, it was a bowl of broth with noodles (that tasted just so-​so), and no meat, just pieces of cartilage or some connective tissues. I had to go buy something else after lunch at this place cause I was still hungry. Avoid!