The Old House

for the price i guess its alright.
The Shui Zhu Yu was not authentic, wasnt spicy and the fish was already cut fish fillet there were no fish heads like you would traditionally find in a sichuan restaurant. The lamb didnt taste fresh and was salty. The price was cheap but I will not be returning.
Update: Also kept giving us wrong dishes. happened twice.

The chuanrs were nice but were very spicy for me. I thought I could take spicy very well so this was a surprise.
The eggplant noodles were too salty, but the taste is not bad.
I ordered something else and it came in a large portion. It just tasted like MSG so I regret getting that one.
We got served the fish fillet in spicy oil by mistake. I actually tried a piece and it was actually very good! But then it got taken away. :(
Overall, this restaurant is «A-​OK».
Next time I will definitely get the fish fillet in spicy oil, and ask for less spicy chuan’r.

Our favourite place in Toronto for lamb skewers.
Somehow their lamb skewers and lamb rack just taste smokier and better than others. They use better quality of meat — not just fatty bits.
Spicy sauce noodle — noodle cooked just right. Not sure if it’s homemade but cooked perfectly chewy.
Also love their stir fried dishes. For northern food, lots of wok hay. Especially the veggie dish which is basically stir fried eggplant, green peppers and potatoe.
Water cooked fish — fish in spicy oil is a little different from other places. When we had it, oil was clear, not ma-​la and red in colour like other places — but just as good.
Last time we visited, it looked like they actually renovated — not as «dimmy» as before.
Prices in line with others but much higher in taste and quality.

Over-​priced. way over priced. Food is good though. However watch out for undercooked meat.

Cheap and authentic northern food. Always busy. Very down-​to-​earth place for casual eats. Yums!

Toronto’s Most Authentic Shui Zhu 水煮肉片 or «Water Boiled Fish»
I’ve found myself on an eternal quest for hunting down the best ethnic eats that Toronto has to offer. I scour Unilocal,and head to pockets of Toronto that I never even knew existed, all in the name of finding hidden secrets of tasty success! While on my quest, I find it rightfully just to share some of those secrets — as a sort of public favor.
The secret I’m going to share is said to be the best you can get and it’s boiled up in Old House’s kitchen. The Old House is an assuming Northern Chinese restaurant residing on the outskirts of Toronto in the food-​haven of Scarborough.
The Old HouseThe inside of this hideaway may not be easy on the eyes, but with the food that their dishing out, who cares! At first glance you’ll find a handful of tables, photos of their offerings adorning the walls, a TV playing a Chinese news station and then there is this sound of a fiery roar coming from the back of the house — a high cooking flame. As I sat there, I began to feel almost as if I were sitting in someone’s cozy and warm kitchen for a bite to eat.
I came for one thing and it was, Shui zhu otherwise known as, «Water Boiled Fish,» a Sichuan specialty that’s brimming with scorching chili peppers and tongue-​tingling Sichuan peppercorns, but don’t run away yet! Shui zhu appears more daring than it lets on and for those brave enough to dip their chopstick into the bubbling bowl of chilies to fish out a delicate piece of buttery soft fish (or beef or pork) will be rewarded. You see, beneath all that spice lies a decadent bite that exudes the perfect amount spicy and tingling hot.
I urge you to go find the Old House, order up a bowl of shui zhu and know that you’re getting the most authentic that this city has to offer.
How It’s Prepared
–Shui zhu literally means, «water-​cooked meat/​fish slices»
— The dish begins by scorching a handful of small red chili peppers and heaping spoonfuls of Sichuan peppercorns in a wok until nose-​tinglingly fragrant
–Next, wok some Napa cabbage, stems included and place them in a large serving bowl.
–Then comes the shui zhu part– Boil some stock with a copious amount of doubanjiang (a spicy, salty paste made from fermented broad beans, soybeans, salt, rice, and various spices.) and poach the fish or meat just enough to remove the rawness (20−30sec) Add all to the serving bowl with the Napa Cabbage
–Add the chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorns
— Bring a generous (…like a ½ cup or more!) amount of vegetable oil to nearly smoking point then douse it over the awaiting bowl and watch it come to a sizzle, toasting it to impart that Sichuan scorched chili taste.
How To Eat
Simply dip your chopsticks in and grab hold of a perfectly cooked piece of buttery soft fish (or beef or pork) that will literally melt in your mouth.
Also Good To Eat
Lamb Kebabs: Grilled to perfection with cumin
Stir Fried Pancake with Cabbage: This was delish! The stir fried pancake took on a texture similar to noodles.
Where To Find
The Old House Chinese Restaurant
Address: 3 Glen Watford Dr, Toronto, ON M1S 2B7
Phone:(416) 298‑8986
Hours: Sunday-​Saturday 11Am-​10PM

Great Szechuan food. Don’t go here expecting nice décor. The ambiance isn’t great but the food more than makes up for it. Dishes were cheaper than at other Hunan/​Szechuan places I’ve been.
Ordered a few things, each which we enjoyed:
–boiling fish dish in peppers. This was pretty spicy but tolerable. I’d say it taste similar to other restaurants. They were pretty generous with the fish
–cumin lamb. This is my standard dish at these places, but I haven’t had it prepared like this before. It was served with a lot of onion on a sizzling plate. We really liked it. I think there’s a little less lamb than usual but it was still enough.
–beef pancake. I actually preferred this to the ones I’ve had at other places. Often I find the meat too chewy, but this was perfect. Also I felt that it had the perfect meat to pancake ratio
We also ordered a stir fry pancake dish. This was cool… Haven’t had something like before. It consists of pancake pieces cut into small strips and stir fried. There was some sour lettuce type of vegetable which I thought complimented the pancake well. My main complaint about this dish however is that there is no meat (wasn’t obvious from the name)
Takes debit or cash
Parking

This is such a good place for northern Chinese cuisine! It definitely hits all the right places for spice and hotness. I love how they put chilis in everything! We ordered a couple of dishes to try out this place and wow, everyone blew our minds. The fish in spicy oil was practically amazing as the top of the soup were all cut up chilis and you really have to dig to find the fish! Once you taste the fish it was an explosion of spicy and the calming taste of cabbage. As well the fried rice is a must have as it is spicy with vegetables and beans. Oh the best part is fried cartilage! It was amazing experience and I definitely will be back to try more dishes!
There is no better place for this cuisine!

Summary:
The Old House specializes in Northern Chinese Cuisine. Quite literally a hole in the wall, this restaurant houses the best lamb skewers in Scarborough. Aside from its flagship, Old House serves up some amazing classics but dilute them with a wide array of forgettable ones.
Value: ³⁄₅
Quality of Food: ⁴⁄₅
Cleanliness/​Atmosphere: ³⁄₅
Service: 3.5÷5
Innovation: ²⁄₅
Overall: 3.1
Value: Despite being a smaller and obscure restaurant, the price points are fairly high. Skewers are around $ 7 for four, which certainly isn’t high, but it certainly isn’t cheap either. Rest of the big dishes are right on the $ 10 mark and higher. Small dishes are cheaper but comes in smaller servings. All in all, the value isn’t bad, but it isn’t great.
Quality of Food: This place has the best lamb skewers I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating in Scarborough. They use a different cut of meat for their skewers that is higher in fat. This renders the meat more tender and more flavorful. They dose the skewers in cumin and go quick heavy on the salt. I would say the skewers alone are a good enough reason to eat here. Aside from the skewers, they also have several great dishes. Their Kung Pao chicken is very well done, as is their boiling fish. However, this high quality doesn’t trickle down to their smaller dishes and rice dishes.
Cleanliness/​Atmosphere: The place is very small. The fact is even more amplified by their table configurations that forces people to eat very close to each other. It doesn’t feel cozy as much as it just feels crowded. The ground can sometimes be sticky, and the plastic drapes over their table makes the whole place seem very run down. Given the circumstances, it does make you feel, at the very least, the place gets cleaned regularly.
Service: Given how small the place is, servers are usually attentive and requests are handled swiftly. They are quite friendly and respectful. If you’re a regular, they will have warm conversation with you. However, the staff won’t be checking in on you once you sit down. Requests are handled but initiatives to inquire your comfort or needs are not taken.
Innovation: Considering how standard their menu is, they do not do a great job on innovation. However, they do earn some points for creating an unique lamb skewer that is in a class of its own, as well as putting their own take on very traditional dishes (Kung Pao Chicken/​Boiling Fish). Nonetheless, I found this aspect to be lacking.

There’s no other restaurant that makes such good boiling fish like the Old House!!(please let me know if there’s any, especially in downtown area, many thanks).
The old house is one of the restaurants my family frequents. It is a small family run restaurant specialized in northern Chinese cuisine. Their boiling fish (fei teng yu) is their signature dish. Boiling fish is an adaptation of shui zhu style fish. The thinly sliced fish are covered with hot oil and lots of chili peppers and peppercorn, and spices that I don’t recognize. There’s options of cabbage or bean sprout to be cooked together. The fish are cooked just right, very juicy and aromatic. This dish might look very spicy but it is actually manageable. Perfect amount of spiciness so you can still taste other ingredient in it. The cabbage in it taste heavenly as well. A MUST TRY dish! I always crave for this dish when I am out of town.
The other dishes we usually order are stir fried pancake, braided lamb racks and lamb skewer. Stir fried pancake sounds weird, but it taste similar to chow mein. The pancakes in are not the butter milk pancake, they are thin like tortilla and sliced, so taste just like noodle, a bit more chewy. The lamb skewer are very flavorful and authentic here.
The rolling donkey is pretty tasty too, there’s NO donky/​meat in it, it is a dessert that’s similar to mochi.
Food 4.5÷5, I would give it a 5, but northern style food are usually very oily. The price is fair.
Service 4/​5, it can get very busy here during lunch/​dinner time, they also offer delivery and take out which makes the waiting time a bit longer. But overall very quick and friendly service
Environment 3/​5, the restaurant is not nicely decorated, the chairs and tables are quite old and a bit sticky, the tables are covered with thin disposable plastic sheets for easy cleaning. There’s around 9 tables in the store FYI
High recommended if you are looking for some authentic northern Chinese food.

There’s no other restaurant that makes boiling fish like them (please let me know if there’s any, especially in downtown area, many thanks).
The old house is one of the restaurants my family frequents. It is a small family run restaurant specialized in northern Chinese cuisine. Their boiling fish (fei teng yu) is their signature dish. Boiling fish is an adaptation of shui zhu style fish. The thinly sliced fish are covered with hot oil and lots of chili peppers and peppercorn, and spices that I don’t recognize. There’s options of cabbage or bean sprout to be cooked together. The fish are cooked just right, very juicy and aromatic. This dish might look very spicy but it is actually manageable. Perfect amount of spiciness so you can still taste other ingredient in it. The cabbage in it taste heavenly as well. A MUST TRY dish! I always crave for this dish when I am out of town.
The other dishes we usually order are stir fried pancake, braided lamb racks and lamb skewer. Stir fried pancake sounds weird, but it taste similar to chow mein. The pancakes in are not the butter milk pancake, they are thin like tortilla and sliced, so taste just like noodle, a bit more chewy. The lamb skewer are very flavorful and authentic here.
The rolling donkey is pretty tasty too, there’s NO donky/​meat in it, it is a dessert that’s similar to mochi.
Food 4.5÷5, I would give it a 5, but northern style food are usually very oily. The price is fair.
Service 4/​5, it can get very busy here during lunch/​dinner time, they also offer delivery and take out which makes the waiting time a bit longer. But overall very quick and friendly service
Environment 3/​5, the restaurant is not nicely decorated, the chairs and tables are quite old and a bit sticky, the tables are covered with thin disposable plastic sheets for easy cleaning. There’s around 9 tables in the store FYI
High recommended if you are looking for some authentic northern Chinese food.

The food is great and the price is fair.
Only downside is it seems a bit dirty inside. Some of the seats seem caked with grease/​dirt through the years.

The food is about a three star, but the service and the ambiance drop it down to a two.
First off, the décor. There’s only one table here that could, if you squeezed people together, handle six. The rest of them fit about four, but the tables aren’t very spacious. When one puts the food onto the table, things get quite crowded. The tables are also really close together. With both me and the man at the table behind me sitting comfortably, our chairs were back to back. It did not help at all that he seemed to really enjoy placing his hands on the back of his head or stretching his neck in what I’ve heard is called the reverse nod (take head, tilt up). I was scared we were going to knock heads, we were so close.
Second thing. The service. It’s not like the main server for the restaurant was rude or anything. He was fairly helpful. I’ve never seen someone dressed so casually while serving though. It takes homey to an all new level. He was wearing a t-​shirt, sweats, and slippers. Not home slippers, swimming slippers. We had two menus: one English, and one Chinese. We inquired about an item on the Chinese menu that wasn’t on the English one. He felt the need to reach over me to point at the Chinese menu in front of my mother, who was in front of me. I wouldn’t have had a problem if he had reached over the table, but he didn’t. He got into my personal bubble. It was quite annoying. He decided he was going to reach right in front of my person. His body was about two inches away from my side, and his arm was also about two inches in front of my chest… even though I was doing my best to avoid him by shrinking into my chair, which wasn’t going so well because I couldn’t move my chair back any further due to the close proximity of the table behind us. Thankfully, he didn’t touch me. Had he, things would have been a lot worse.
The food though, was decent. The pictures were a tad misleading.
We had the Beijing pancake with lamb $ 5.99 (6 pieces). The pancake (think green onion) was a tad too oily and a tad too salty, but edible. The pancake couldn’t quite hold up to the filling inside it. The ground lamb had a lamb-​y taste though.
We also had the menu item on the Chinese menu that isn’t on the English one. It’s a lamb dish made of stewed lamb ribs (think pork side ribs, but the soft bones that don’t turn into delicious jelly soft bones) with some meat on them, and quite a bit of fat ($ 7.99). It came with a bowl of white rice. The lamb ribs were tender, although quite fatty, and the stew was quite flavorful. Seasoned soy sauce.
We had the bean paste noodles, which were quite good at $ 4.99. Lots of cucumber shreds, and a good sauce to noodle ratio.
Finally, we had the lvdagunr. No, I didn’t spell it wrong. It’s a dessert roll that’s got a mochi type base, filled with red bean paste, and then the whole thing is covered in soybean flour. It had a lovely texture, but was a tad too sweet for me.
If I was to come back, I’d come alone, and I’d have the bean paste noodles.

3.5*
Authentic family run Northern Chinese restaurant, the décor is poor, service is average, but the food is quit decent.
Location is kinda far for me, but I do come here once a while, skewers is always a must for me, although they are deep fried, the meat is tender and well spiced. Their sour napa with pork belly is always my favorite, only complaint is the portion is too small. The stir fry pan cake is a bit oily but taste pretty good.
A few of the dishes here are unique dishes (ie Beijing dessert snack), if u are into northern Chinese food, give this place a try, mela hours prepare to wait, as seats are quit limited.

The food is delicious and aromatic. One of their signature dishes is the «water cooked fish». Their skewers are always perfect and very flavourful.
The service/​staff are quick and friendly. They also offer take out AND delivery, which is a huge plus, as most Chinese restaurants do not offer delivery in the GTA.
One of the best Chinese restaurants in Toronto! I don’t usually give five stars, but this one’s definitely worth it!

We ordered Pork and Leek Dumplings, Noodle in Chili and Peanut Sauce and a Cold Dish for lunch. I don’t remember the exact prices, but I recalled that they were reasonable. Everything seemed authentic and homemade. All the oil, all the flavours. The freshness of everything was average/​okay. The dumplings were home styled, so the skin was thicker than «gourmet» restaurant style. The cold dish was just radish in vinegar.
In place of restaurant refinement, The Old House is full of country charm and homeliness. It feels like a neighbourhood Northern food eatery down the street. I enjoyed the trip back time, so I would likely visit again if I am in the neighbourhood.

One of the best Authentic Chinese Spicy food place to go to. Their lamb soup is the best. Love it. It is really cheap. It is not hard to order, there are pictures on the wall and you can order according to the pictures.

If you like spicy Northern Chinese food, this is a good place. Price is fair with good services.

Their cooking is so delicious! I agree with Karen S below that said the food is fragrant. It is fragrant, very flavorful, and savory. All their of dishes are good, I especially like the hot pot fish and any of the eggplant dishes.

So good! The Northern Chinese here is so authentic and delicious. The one word to describe the menu here is fragrant — in a good way, not a stinky sort of way.
As Jennifer K mentions, their ‘water cooked’ fish dish is crazy spicy and delicious. When it came, the whole thing was swimming in a sea of eye-​popping red chilli peppers and furry looking, tongue numbing peppercorns. I can’t eat spicy, so we scooped out all the chillis first. However, I couldn’t resist sniffing them afterwards as they smelled so fragrant.
We also had the pan-​fried dumplings (delicious), pork filled pan-​fried pancakes (mmmm), their house special fried rice (it’s a bit different from regular fried rice, and so good!), some random sauteed veggies to cool down the spicy food and a pork rib noodle soup that really wasn’t much to look at, but ended up being very flavourful and fragrant too (perfect for the guests who don’t like to eat spicy).
By the way, they have an English menu, you just have to ask for it… which we found out after we laboriously translated the Chinese only menu between the three of us and looking at the pictures posted on the wall.

If you want to have some authentic home cooking of Szechuan or Northern Chinese, the Old House is the place I would recommend.
However, if you are eat spicy food, this is NOT the restaurant for you!
Yes this is the restaurant that will makes your lips numb, you cough like crazy and you have to drink tons of water while the wait staffs smiling at you!
This restaurant serves one of the most spicy «water cook» dishes, that water is hot chilli oil with tons of chilli pepper and peppercorns that explore in your mouth!
The interior is small, the tables are packed together. At least now they installed a new Air Conditioning and ventilation system. You won’t smell like hot chili pepper after you eat here!
Service is fast and efficient! And a good chance for you to practice your Mandarian! :)
Prices are reasonable, portions are big. I was full eating the Szuechan Cold Noodle ($ 4.99). It is mixed with cucumber with hot chili sauce and a hint of peanut sauce. Perfect spiciness for me!
Cash only! no lunch specials!