Steam House

Sometimes when a location has had many changes throughout the many years, it's very easy for people to just forget about the area and place no matter what newer restaurants go in and take over it.  The problem is the newer restaurant doesn't get a fair shake or people just associate it with the past too much and won't even bother walking in because of the past history.  This would possibly be the case for this newer restaurant named Steam House which is located in the heart of Scarborough in the north east corner of Finch Avenue and Kennedy Road.  Previously, a Daybreak restaurant, a Swiss Chalet and some other karaoke bar had occupied the space and now it has become the Steam House.  I drive by that area often but have never bothered to step in simply because it was a place I went frequently in the past but because of the multitude of changes in the restaurant owners and such, I had pretty much neglected the place.

This past weekend, a relative of mine who visited this restaurant often, invited us over for lunch.  We were able to get seats right away however as the lunch hour progressed, the place actually filled up to capacity. The first thing we ordered was the Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Beef and Bean Sprouts.  This was actually pretty good.  It wasn't very greasy and the beef was equally proportioned to the amount of noodles.  There were plenty of green onions and Brussels sprouts as well in the noodles.  I had no issues with it and a little hot sauce to go with the noodles certainly helps to enlightened the noodles.

Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Beef and Bean Sprouts

Next to arrive was Bei Fong Tong Chow Mei Fun.  We asked the waitress to ease up on the hot peppers in this dish as it could get quite spicy.  When it arrived one could see the many hot red peppers in the dish. However it smelled pretty good and the spicy aroma surely made one's nose tingle a bit.  There were also a bit of green and white onions in it as well.  The noodles were actually quite thin and well seasoned with the rest of the ingredients.  The dish was not overly greasy and despite the easing back of the hot peppers, this dish still delivered a pretty punch in the level of spiciness to it.  For someone who can't really eat super spicy foods anymore, the dish was just spiciness to one a good tingle but not bad enough that one had to constant reach for the water.

Bei Fong Tong Chow Mei Fun

A huge bowl of Zucchini and Shrimp Fried Rice was placed on our table.  The proportions were pretty massive and even the waitress was lamenting as to how big the dish was.  It seemed like the chef either really liked us or just accidentally gave us a super sized dish.  One could see many of the diced up zucchinis in the fried rice and the many small shrimps on the side of the fried rice.  Although the rice was pretty good, it actually didn't have a lot of taste to it.  For some, that might not have been a bad thing simply because for those who are watching their salt and other intakes, this dish was probably as healthy as it could get.  The dish was a little bland but one could simply add some soya sauce to it if they really want to have some added flavor to it.

Zucchini and Shrimp Fried Rice

Last to arrive was the Chinese Green Onion Pancakes.  They were all cut up into moderate triangle slices and despite being in the oven for as long as they were, it seemed they actually lacked that crispiness that is found with this type of food.  I prefer my Green Onion Pancakes to be more crispy and if there was one dish that I don't mind being a little greasy, it would be this one.  There was evidence of green onions in this dish however the dough was soft and it almost felt like one was eating roti instead of green onion pancakes. Again there wasn't a whole lot of taste to it and the lack of crispiness in it made it a little bit disappointing.

Chinese Green Onion Pancakes

It was a reasonable first visit for me at this restaurant.  The decor was pretty nice and the staff seemed to be knowledgeable in the foods that they served.  A nice milk tea was also a welcome addition to the rest of the meal.  It wasn't bad but the lack of season and blandness to some of their dishes made up for some of the disappointment and took away some of the wow factor in their dishes.  However, having said that the dishes were reasonably price.  Overall, I give it a 3 out of 5.

Steam House
4020 Finch Avenue East
Scarborough, Ontario

416-291-7977