Following the various rat sightings and Toronto Health Inspection sweeps in Chinatown, it's understandable that many might be a bit reluctant to hit up the area for their next bowl of hot and sour soup or taste of chicken fried rice. Gone are the spotless records of the Dumpling House, Happy Seven, Swatow, Bright Pearl and Pho Hung. So where to eat now?

I've scoured the area to come up with some alternatives. In deriving this list, I've considered a number of factors. Key among them is if a restaurant is newish or modern and recently underwent a renovation the thinking is that their kitchen, storage and dining areas (and overall infrastructure) are cleaner and less rat-friendly. I've also given more weight to places on the first or second floor of a building versus the basement. The way I look at it, the closer to the gutter, the more accessible the place becomes to our rodent friends.

Sadly, this means that neighbourhood favourites like Chinese Traditional Buns and Mother's Dumplings don't score as well. I'm not saying they're not clean - just that the odds aren't in their favour given their age and sub-level settings.

So who made the list? Here are 12 destinations I'd bet a new winter coat are least likely to turn up some fur in unwanted places.