Mega Street Food Complex
Mega Street Food Complex may look like a single restaurant from the outside, but step inside this spot just north of Finch station and you’ll find that it’s actually a one-stop shop for five different types of Asian cuisine.
What used to be an office space is now a mini food court of sorts run by Jackie Zhao, who for 30 years headed the popular Scarborough spot ABC Bakery with his father Sing Zhao.
Stepping in to Mega Street, a narrow walkway will lead you along the small space where you can peruse the incredibly affordable food stalls to your right, with a seating area that can fit about 32 people to your left.
The best move is to start off at the back of the complex and work your way towards the front for an optimal taste testing experience.
This stall features a simple menu of popular Hong Kong favourites like lo mein and soups with noodles.
The pork rice rolls ($4.50) make a good appetizer and are made to order in a traditional shelf-like container often used in Hong Kong street markets to make tongs of cheung fun at a time.
Oil and water are added to steam the in-house rice mixture to perfection, followed by your meat of choice, some green onion, and a raw egg cracked on top to steam slowly.
Other cheung fun options include kimchi and sliced beef ($4.99) or BBQ pork ($5.50).
As a main, I highly recommend getting the shrimp wonton noodle ($6.95). Wontons are made from scratch here – a process often headed up by Sing.
Shrimp is minced in a special blender before being assembled into massive wontons, with five per bowl to create a filling, tasty meal for lunch or dinner.
For fried chicken lovers, Hoo Hoo's is for you. Here, huge filets of chicken are cut up into smaller pieces after being deep fried to perfection in sweet potato batter.
The Sichuan style fried chicken ($9.99) is a unique meal because of its sauce, an in-house made concoction of flavourful spices.
The spicy Sichuan sauce consists of two kinds of peppers – Sichuan and Hunan pepper – and has a deep taste that’s offset by a dash of sugar.
The resulting chicken is a delicious filet that's crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, without being overly greasy.For finger-picking, there’s sides like deep fried tentacles ($8.99) and chicken nuggets ($6.99).
There also serve bento boxes that range from $9.99 to $11.99 with rice, veggies, your choice of meat and a drink.
Head to this stall for your fix for raw seafood, with a good selection of sushi burritos.
They also have the ever-popular poke bowl plus a salad bowl option that comes with greens and your pick of protein.
The spicy salmon burrito ($11.99) comes in a hulking wrap of salmon and veggies, cut in to two halves for easier consumption.
The salmon poke bowl ($11.99) comes with rice, corn, seaweed and is topped off with nori for a fresh and filling seafood meal.
You'll probably be needing a drink to wash all this food down, hence the convenience of Happy Tea.
This beverage counter has a huge menu of all the classic Asian drinks you could want, like slushes, smoothies and frappuccino bubble tea.
All drinks here are $4.50 for a small, and $4.99 for a large. It’s one of the best bubble tea deals out here, since the cost already includes your choice of one topping like tapioca, or lychee jello.
The mango frap is a massive concoction with chunks of mango inside and a big scoop of mango ice cream to top it off.
The pina colada smoothie is a refreshing monster of a drink as well, with bits of pineapple and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Other drinks include signature milk teas like Irish cream milky black tea or chocolate mint milk tea, and simple green teas with flavours like Taiwanese plum.
Saving the best for last, the final stall of the food complex and perhaps the highlight is Sophia's, situated next to the window.
Here you can grab a variety of luxurious crepe desserts packed with fruits, ice cream, sweet sauces and whipped cream.
Their most popular orders are from their cartoon ice cream series, which are all $8.50.
The nutella strawberry cartoon crepe is freshly made crepe with a nutella interior, whipped cream, strawberries, and a scoop of ice cream decorated with small oreos, cheerios, and an M&M to make a tiny face.
You can also get crepes wrapped in a cone to eat like ice cream, with fillings like taro cherry ice cream and peanut butter banana ice cream, all for $8.50.
If you’re trying to get your dessert and your meal from the same vendor, Sophia’s also sells savoury crepes like the spicy beef crepe ($8.99), with veggies, savoury sauce and strips of tender beef.
Hector Vasquez