Great eats in Chinatown that won’t break the bank

There are also times when you don’t want an elaborate sit down meal but just something quick or on the go. So for those of you who just want a quick bite, consider the following destinations.

Hey Kitchen

Before COVID Hey Kitchen was a regular haunt of mine in Chinatown. Both the flavours and portions of all the dishes were always generous.

It was a bitter cold Saturday afternoon and I needed something to warm me through so there was nothing else on my mind than a large bowl of noodle soup, so I headed to the restaurant at 710 Somerset St. W.

I ordered the pork rib soup ($13.99). You have your choice of noodle style as well as level of spice (chile pepper) and numbness (sichuan pepper). It’s a considerate gesture as not everyone’s an expert with this spicing.

It seems to me there are two types of noodle soup people: those who consume all the broth and leave some noodles and those that eat all the noodles leaving the broth. I’m in the first camp and there was more than enough to take home for a noodle stir-fry the next day.

The broth is made in house entirely of beef and for the money it’s a bit of a luxury. Deeply extracted and delicious with a tender braised pork rib meat that had been marinated to the bone. The noodles had resistance to the bite and the soy cooked egg gave me the illusion of ramen.

There are other dishes on this menu that are worth exploring but this soup was what I needed and it just has to be one of the greatest noodle soup values in Ottawa.

Kowloon Market

Kowloon Market, for my money, now has the finest char siu (BBQ pork) in Ottawa. That wasn’t always the case but it seems that this is not all that has changed.

Buns filled with BBQ pork, curry beef, vegetables or chicken have long been a favourite snack of people on the go. They also work for students as a full meal because they hit a trifecta: they are delicious, they’re filling and they’re cheap. I also find they go well with beer.

Having lived in both Vancouver and Toronto, it’s easy to recall certain food experiences as benchmarks and inevitably you start to make unconscious comparisons.

It wasn't the case years ago, but now these filled buns (Approx. $2) available at Kowloon are as good as any I’ve had and better than most. The pastry was sweet and eggy and luxuriously soft and the filling was abundant and robustly flavoured. Nicer still was that both the curry beef and BBQ pork had none of the gristle you often find in such buns. Terrific value.

Banh Mi My Hang

Banh Mi My Hang has been giving residents a taste of Vietnam for a very long time and at $5 a pop, you’re not likely to find a better sandwich for the money, anywhere.

I ordered the house special loaded with pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro, slices of hot chili pepper, pork, and what seemed to be actual roast chicken breast. The bread was fresh and soft and better than I expected it to be but I was missing the Vietnamese mayo and Maggi seasoning common to these sandwiches.

That said, it’s a very good and filling sandwich that over-delivers for the money.