Danforth Dragon Restaurant

Service was good, prices are ok. It’s very worrying that the food came in 2 minutes… And whatever you do don’t get the shrimp pakora. Worst butter chicken you will ever eat !!! All chicken was the same.

Friday night in with Friend — Awesome take-​out:
Pakoras (Fish) — Full 13.99 — Succulent pieces of meat mixed w/​special hakka & Indian spices & delicately deep-​fried. An amazingly delicious appetizer, served w/​lemon wedges to bring out an irresistibly tangent flavor.
Chili Chicken (Includes Steamed Rice) — 12.99 — Specially selected meat (chicken lightly breaded) stir fried w/​fresh green chili & onions in Soya flavor.
Manchurian Beef — 12.99 — Cooked in Manchurian sauce made of green chilli, fresh coriander, onions, ginger & lots of garlic (chicken & ribs lightly breaded)
Special Cantonese Pan Fried Noodles or Lo Mein — 12.50 — Broccoli, Chinese greens, carrot, onions, baby corn, mushroom, snow peas, shrimp, chicken & pork on thin egg noodlesBroccoli, Chinese greens, carrot, onions, baby corn, mushroom, snow peas, shrimp, chicken & pork on thin egg noodles
Manchurian Fried Rice — Veggie — 8.50 — Fried rice in Manchurian flavour made of green chilli, fresh coriander, onions, ginger & lots of garlic
Ma Po Tofu — 9.99 — Soft Bean Curd w/​some diced vegetables in chilli Soya flavour

This is a go-​to place for us. We order from here regularly and have yet to try something we haven’t liked. We usually order items marked as «Hakka» and haven’t gone wrong. Delivery is always super fast. My only complaint would be that they aren’t open on Sundays!

I have only one word for their food … «Bland». Everything lacked that burst of flavour one would expect from a hakka place. The only dish that impressed was the crispy egg plant — couldn’t stop eating them. Also, I had high expectations for their signature dish of shrimp pakoras but what came were flavourless shrimp that were greasy and void of any flavour (we couldn’t tell that it was shrimp at all). When you screw up that badly on your signature dish it is no surprise the rest of the food is quick to follow.

How this place gets any positive reviews is beyond me. I ordered satay, curry and kung pao. All 3 were nearly identical — greasy sauce (which pretty much all tasted the same), vegetables and gristle. Honestly, probably the worst food I have ever ordered (and I order a lot). Unless you think mall food court food is haute cuisine, don’t bother.

Good Chinese Hakka take-​out. If you are bored with Canadian Chinese food, this is a great place to branch out and add some hakka heat to the mix. They have an extensive menu with man Canadian Chinese traditional items. I’ve tried and love the chicken pakoras, Hakka fried rice, Hakka vermicelli and Hakka veggies. It’s Chinese food with an Indian flavour. I have no idea if this is one of the best Hakka places as its my first and only so there is no frame of reference.
Delivery is fast and friendly. For $ 40-​$ 50 you get enough food to feed 4 – 6 people.

Flavourless food. Fish manchurian tasteless and lacking in spice… fried rice more like pulao. Food was cold too. Staff are friendly though!

This joint is off the beaten path of the hustle and bustle of the main Danforth strip.
We walk in and were immediately greeted and seated. They have one high chair and plates/​bowls and children’s plastic utensils.
We proceeded to order half an order of shrimp pakoras, Manchurian fried rice and deep fried ginger chicken.
The pakora were served with a cilantro based dipping sauce. They also have an In-​house hot sauce which was very good. They were piping hot and fresh. Sooooo delicious!
This was followed by the Manchurian rice which tasted just like any other fried rice. I could not taste the cilantro or hot sauce. But it was very good.
The ginger chicken was tasty and was the dry kind without too much sauce the way I like it. It was on the sweet side which is not my personal preference but the dish was good when eaten with white rice.
The price was on the higher side. Total bill came to $ 34 and $ 40 with tax and tip. Service was excellent. They kept refilling our glasses and the food came promptly. We also had lots of leftovers that we took to go.
Very good overall. Would definitely return to try some of the other dishes.

Was recommended by a friend for their spicy wings. We ordered those, steamed dumplings, a Cantonese type chowmein and a Manchurian fried rice. Everything was flavorful, and fresh. Will definitely order from them again, if only for those awesome spicy wings.

Love the ginger chicken… obsessed may be another good word

Not too familiar with Hakka to make an informed review, but thoroughly enjoyed the Crispy Ginger Eggplant and look forward to my return.

The chili chicken and fried rice were lacking in flavor. The pakoras were also not very crispy. How is it fresh when they give it to you in less than 2 minutes for takeout.
Another hyped up joint because its on the Danforth.

This place makes pretty delicious food. However, I find it to be pretty expensive and I get frustrated with the way they cut corners. If I’m going to pay $ 17 for a take out meal, it shouldn’t be lacking. I get take out here frequently and I hate how they skimp on things. In my meal last night I received no plum sauce (ordered egg rolls/​spring rolls) and one packet of hot sauce for a large dish that hot sauce is essential for. There was also long black hair all over my take out container, but not on the food thankfully. There were no fortune cookies. I’ve ordered this exact meal before (also before they raised the price) and got all the sauces and the cookies. Just a bit frustrating…

Excellent food, and good portion sizes for what you pay. They are super fast, too. When I put in orders to pick up, they would be ready within 15 minutes.

Not the best hakka food I’ve ever had. Spicy, but not necessarily as flavourful as I was hoping. Very salty.
Servers were nice. Free ice cream dessert was a nice touch.

Of the Chinese places in our area (that don’t do dim sum) this is one of the best. Good prices, fast delivery, and a crispy ginger eggplant that’s better than either of the meat offerings. There are some misses, but if you’re willing to try the Hakka menu you won’t be disappointed. The veggie pakoras in particular are a delight, especially when paired with the mutter paneer.

I wandered here on my visits to Danforth. There were quite a few options for inexpensive eats in this stretch but the Hakka cuisine sign pulled me here. I haven’t had Hakka style Chinese in a long long time.
I went through the menu and decided on the Chicken Manchurian (what is a better dish to represent the Sub Continent take on this style of food)
I waited for my food and looked around the seats were all empty and the phone rang nonstop, this leads me to believe this is more of a take out/​delivery place.
My food was brought in quite fast and sadly it didn’t arrive on the sizzling platter that is the claim to fame for this dish. Never mind I tried the food without the rice first to get an idea of what I was in for. This dish disappointed as it neither had the sweetness nor the heat that is the signature for this item (I am guessing they are skimping here on Ketchup and chilli sauce which believe it or not are the key ingredients for the sauce for this dish)
This is more of a place to fill up rather than enjoy, solely based on this signature dish for this cuisine.
2 Stars.
Some interesting observation is that while there is No MSG sign on the menu they cook food without it by request!

I entered the mouth of the dragon full of anticipation but exited very disappointed. Granted I only ordered the Chilli Chicken, but that’s the cornerstone of Hakka cuisine. The Chilli Chicken tasted like deep fried chicken in tasteless brown sauce with some cut green chillies tossed in. It was pretty flavorless except for the spicy chillies. Bah humbug!
Chilli chicken should be a tad garlicky, a tad cumin-​y, pepper-​y, vinegar-​y, onion-​y and ergo easily delicious. It’s very, very easy to make. Can’t believe DD messed this up.
DD if you can’t add 1+1, I shudder to think how you are doing multiplication and long division!

Hahaha… don’t listen to all those people who aren’t satisfied with the Danforth Dragon. Those are the same people who think Chinese food is chicken balls, egg rolls and fortune cookies. Hello! Those are just made-​up foods.
China is a massive country with so many regional cuisines. What most people in Toronto think of when they think of Chinese food is actually Cantonese food. The more well-​known, but less famous Chinese foods are probably Szechuan and Shanghai (dumplings, green onion pancakes, etc.) fare. Hakka food, on the other hand, is a different beast altogether… and at the Danforth Dragon, they don’t serve pure Hakka food… but they serve Indian-​influenced Hakka food.
They serve food that is popular amongst the Hakka Chinese living in India. You’re not going to find Cantonese Chow Mein here, folks.
Back to the restaurant: the service is always excellent, and the food is always amazing! I usually order the dishes that are either spicy or cripsy… those are my favourite. If you aren’t sure, ask for guidance and the chef/​owner will be happy to oblige!

BOTTOM LINE: Seemed more «Chinese» than Hakka, but damn, those chicken pakoras really hit the spot!
Cost:
-$ 15 – 25 for dinner (tax and tip included)
Atmosphere/​Décor:
–Typical asian décor: drabby but functional.
Ordered:
–We asked the owner/​chef to make recommendations because it was the first time we had Hakka cuisine.
1. Chicken pakoras — The best thing recommended! Juicy, fried chicken balls with a crunchy outside and tandoori-​esque inside.
2. Fried paneer with green chutney — I generally like paneer dishes,
but this one seemed a bit stale.
3. Crispy ginger chicken — Tasted more like «General’s Tao’s» chicken and had a bit too much breading.
4. Szechuan chowmein — Labelled as a «Hakka» dish, but I couldn’t taste the curry. It was more like your standard Chinese noodle dish.
Service:
–Owner/​chef was friendly and open. No complaints.
Conclusion:
–Overall a good introduction to Hakka cuisine (especially those chicken pakoras), but now I’m really curious to try the «better» ones talked about in uptown.