The Short Version: Cute café that also sells Indian food and…read moreIndo-Chinese fusion dishes. The food was fantastic. The Long Version: Vylora Café opened up around January 2026 in the space that was briefly Fruittopia Cafe (it was Pure Apothecary before that, and prior to that, the space was Simply Raw Express, which I still miss actually). They sell coffee, tea, juice and smoothies, as well as sandwiches, wraps and waffles. Then there's their Indian Street food menu (think samosa chaat, noodle burgers and stuffed kulcha) and most recently they added Indo-Chinese items like Manchurian. There's something for everyone whether you want a BLT sandwich with an Americano or a bowl of Chana Masala and rice with a Karak Chai. My husband and I dropped by for lunch and got the steamed Chicken Momos ($12.99) and Dry Manchurian ($13.99) and both dishes were fantastic. The Dry Manchurian came out first. Manchurian are deep-fried vegetable balls and they usually come either dry or with gravy. I didn't see the gravy option at Vylora Café but I prefer dry anyway. The vegetable balls were delicious and were served piping hot. The sauce was tangy and spicy with chopped up vegetables. So delicious! We finished the Manchurian before the momos arrived. The momos were equally delicious. The wrapper had a nice chew to them and they held the filling well without being too thick. The filling was flavourful ground chicken and vegetables. The momos came with a creamy mayo-based orange sauce and a spicy chili-based red sauce. Both were amazing and complemented the momos well. We were offered iced water when we arrived and service was pleasant and welcoming. We were served by Sim, one of the owners (I recognized her from when Vylora Café was featured on CTV News, lol). The café is so nicely decorated with lots of pink (artificial) flowers. They have a small collection of board games that you can play and books to read. It is casual dining though. Plates and cutlery are all disposable despite dining in (our plates were paper and cutlery were wooden, so at least compostable, but cups were plastic, as was the container holding the Manchurian). Hopefully with time, they can move to real china and cutlery. So glad we tried out this cafe. Looking forward to checking out their other menu items. Street parking only. Review #90 (2026)

What I had was amazing and will be going again soon. I am planning a get together there.read more

Maybe once a year, we get takeout from T'Basil. Every time, we wonder why we don't eat this more…read moreoften. It's easily one of the best tasting foods east of Bank Street. We've eaten in their private room once for my birthday, but we prefer our own home. Every item is so flavourful and of excellent quality. The service is efficient, pleasant. Come on, discover it, it's amazing food! Try something unknown.

Decent bubble tea spot that is open late in Ottawa. The pearl milk tea had hit the spot. Ample…read moreseating. Nice spot to hang out with friends.

Before my friend and I were about to part ways after a fun day hanging out, she let me know that…read morethere was a BOGO deal on Uber Eats for sparkling tea at Tealive. It was so sweet that she remembered that I am a sparkling drink fan. I walked over to my car and opened my Uber Eats app on my phone. Yep, I saw the BOGO deal and immediately added it. I also needed to fetch dinner. It was great that Tealive had egg sandwiches called toasteas. Such a cute name! I got a hash brown and egg toastea. My order was perfect, as I was more thirsty than hungry. One-stop shopping is also extremely convenient! My friend said to head east along Richmond Road that becomes Somerset Street West and keep on driving till I saw this place in Chinatown. It was the easiest set of directions for this tourist. Tealive is by the arch in Chinatown. I turned left into a parking lot. It generally is one that you have to pay. However, I had arrived after the pay-up parking period, so I parked for free and walked over. This store has a single step to get in and out of the store. It may be an accessibility issue to some folks. It's a deep store. There were plenty of places to sit down and enjoy dining in. I went to the back third of the store. There's a counter on the left for pickup orders. I had a nice man helping me. I showed him my Uber Eats order. He fetched my paper bag with my order. I thanked him and happily headed to my car. I safely secured my order in my car and then drove back to my hotel room to enjoy my food and drinks. Toronto has similar places that sell egg sandwiches. What they lack is offering bubble tea. This place has everything that I love, especially with sparkling tea. The hash brown and egg toastea was incredible! The egg was in omelette form. It wasn't overdone. It was fluffy and enjoyable. You also get a rectangular hash brown. I loved how crispy it was on the outside. It was seasoned nicely and was perfect. Perhaps to make you feel like you're eating something healthy, it had a tomato slice and romaine lettuce. They were fresh and complimented the hash brown and egg perfectly. The bread was toasted. You saw horizontal marks on the bread, which made me think that they use a sandwich press of some sort. The bread provided the perfect crunch, while still being soft. It held the entire sandwich together without wearing what you were eating. The toasted bread sets this toastea egg sandwich apart from similar egg sandwiches in the GTA. Here, you get a lot of bread that isn't toasted to the same extent. It's also so dry that you end up consuming a bunch of fluid to wash it down. My sandwich came with a couple of sauces. You can certainly enjoy the sandwich without them. One was cheese. The other one was a cross between mayo and tartar. They were perfect with the sandwich. The toastea tastes better with them. I was so thirst after having consumed a ton of sodium at lunch that I actually had both 3Q sparkling mango green teas that evening. It was a first for me. I normally have one immediately and the other the following day. Both drinks had no sugar and half ice. I didn't have the option to go less ice, but it didn't matter all that much. It was such a hot day that half ice sounded inviting! The drinks were divine. I loved the carbonation in them. Bubbles rule! They feel fancy when you drink them. Sparkling drinks are more enjoyable if the option is there. The 3Q toppings were pearls, coconut jelly, and sago. They were the perfect trifecta in these drinks. You got chewiness, a bit of sweetness, and different textures to devour while sipping on the perfect combination of mango flavour with perfectly brewed green tea. I loved this place so much that on my final full day in Ottawa, I ordered takeout from Tealive again for dinner. My order was the same, except that I tossed in Japanese strawberry shortcake. It did feel like a carbon copy of my visit. Even my order the second time felt like my first visit. The same sandwich and sparking bubble teas were yummy and consistent. I was impressed. The Japanese strawberry shortcake was delicious. It was the perfect portion, with layers of cake, whipped cream, and strawberry puree. I am normally not a huge fan of whipped cream, but I enjoyed how subtle it was. The strawberry flavour was spot on. I loved that it tasted like real strawberries. The strawberry slice on top was a nice touch. The cake was moist and fluffy. This dessert hit the spot. My sweet tooth was happy. This place was awesome! I long to return to try more toasteas, drinks, and desserts. This place had macarons. I'll need to get some next time. Toronto and its surrounding area need at least one Tealive. Please come here! I am thrilled that I can return here for excellent food and bubble teas. I just need to do another vacation. (304)

Excellent service with very friendly staff in a spotlessly clean environment. The food was…read moreoutstanding, with bold and well-balanced flavours and spices. We particularly enjoyed the chicken pad Thai and the spring rolls both were absolutely delicious!!

Chili Thai is my faaaav Thai place in Ottawa. Their food is always so fresh and flavourful plus…read moreLola and the team are always very kind! You can tell that the team cooks and serves with so much love and passion for what they do. I'm a believer that this helps make the food taste even better ;) From the outside, Chili Thai can be easily missed since it's in a little strip off of St. Joseph with other businesses packed together. There isn't room to really sit and eat there, but there is room to stand to pick up your order. Parking is a bit tight and limited since it's shared with the other businesses, so be patient because this place is definitely worth the wait. Even walking by, you can smell the aromas coming out of this gem and they can make anyone drool! I ordered the Pad Thai with Shrimp ($16.95) at a medium spiciness level. It was really tasty but a little too hot for my liking. It was my first time trying medium instead of mild though with this dish, so now I know to go with mild like I usually do. I also got an order of Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp and Peanut Sauce ($9.95). The order comes with two rolls. They were also delicious and I absolutely love their peanut sauce. Chili Thai is on the pricier side for Thai take out, but to me it's worth it because you can tell that everything is high quality and the dishes are of good size. I definitely recommend checking them out next time you're in Orleans!

Northern Han is a small, family-owned and run restaurant…read more I went in a group which included the owner's son-in-law, and was more than impressed. We had fried dumplings, green onion pancakes, lamb with cumin, imperial chicken, and the fish-flavored eggplant. I can't stand seafood so I was scared of the fish-flavored eggplant, but as my colleagues said, that's just the name and there is no fish or fish flavor in the dish. Everything was excellent, and we cleaned off every plate. There are lots of options and variety - I will definitely go back and explore the menu a bit more! Take friends so you can try multiple dishes.

I heard about a new Hakka spot in town but have been hesitant to try it as all the other places…read morethat have had Hakka dishes haven't been that great and I've never returned. After a bit of craving from driving by Federicks's while in the GTA, I decided to give this place a try one night. I drove by and walked in to place an order at the counter. They mentioned it should be 15 minutes. The place was about half full and much more open and spacious if it's the place I'm thinking that it took over. About 15 minutes later I walked in and sat on the chairs. The person who took my order acknowledged me. After some significant time after I came in, I got my order and headed home as we wanted some take out. When I got home I checked on the order and it looked pretty decent. I will say, the portion sizes are much smaller than I recall from my favorite places in the GTA, however that was before the massive shrinkflation that has happened the last few years. I tried the chili chicken and honestly it wasn't to bad! Much better than anything else I've had in town. The noodles, I think there was some confusion about this order but I have to say that it tasted pretty decent and I did like that they put a ton of sauce on the side for us. All in all, if you have a craving, give this place a shot. I'll probably come by to try some other things in the future.

I tried IC22 Hakka Spot for the first time with a few friends. Overall it was a pleasant visit,…read morejust not really my personal preference. A lot of the dishes tasted pretty similar to each other, and the noodles we ordered were quite salty. The soups were probably the highlight for us and the part we enjoyed the most. The chicken lollipop was a bit of a let down too, there wasn't much seasoning and it felt more like simple deep fried drumsticks with a dip on the side. Service was good, our server memorized the whole order without writing anything down which was impressive. It honestly felt like a one man show since he seemed to be cooking and serving too. It wasn't busy when we went so we didn't have to wait. We ordered a good amount of food and it came to around $150 plus tax and tip for five people, which is pretty reasonable. At the end of the day it just comes down to personal taste.

So Kim Chi Korean Delight is a chain from Montreal (part of the MTY Group) and they just opened…read moretheir first location in Ontario here at the St Laurent Shopping Centre food court in November 2019. Fast food chains from Quebec are really taking Ottawa by storm! As you can guess from the name, they serve Korean food. Now, keep in mind that this is fast food, so Kim Chi is to Korean food, what Thai Express is to Thai food or what Mucho Burrito is to Mexican food (coincidentally, they are all part of the MTY Group, lol). If you taper your expectations accordingly, then I would say that the food is quite good. It is by no means authentic, but it's fast, hot, and tasty for what it is. I ordered the Beef Japchae ($9.88). It was a pretty hearty serving of sweet potato noodles, beef, onions, bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, red peppers and green onions. I got it medium spicy, and it had an ever so slight kick to it. It was steaming hot, and very flavourful. I really enjoyed it. I like that it was served on a paper plate and not styrofoam. I think this is the first and so far only fast food Korean place in Ottawa. There are a few national chains that exists like Koryo (another MTY restaurant), and some more smaller businesses with just one or a few locations, like Atti Express (4 locations in Montreal) or Sushi & Bbbop (1 location in Toronto), but Korean fast food by and large is not that common. So I'm glad to see a location here in Ottawa. Hopefully, more locations will follow, and also different brands. I love choices!! Kim Chi is a welcomed addition to the St Laurent Shopping Centre food court for sure!

I picked up some Chinese takeout here and overall it was pretty good, for North American Chinese…read morefood. I'm a bit surprised by all the poor reviews, but I did notice they are all from several years ago. I got the Dinner for 5 and that fed 6 adults and 2 kids with minimal leftovers. The Dinner for 5 was $87.95 and it consisted of 10 egg rolls, Chicken Fried Rice, Garlic Spareribs, Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls, General Tao's Chicken, Beef with Broccoli, Cantonese Chow Mein and 5 fortune cookies. We got a bonus large portion of Chicken Fried Rice for free since we spent over $80. I phoned my order in and asked for it to be ready in an hour. When I arrived at the specified time, it was ready. The drive back to my parents' house was about 10 minutes and it was still piping hot. I was impressed with the egg rolls. It was mostly ground meat in the filling, and not mostly vegetables like at other places. They were crunchy and tasty. The plum sauce was much runnier than I'm used to, but was still good. The Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls were great too. Crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Lots of lean chicken breast meat inside. Good meat to batter ratio. The red sauce was also a bit on the runny side, but it was still ok. The Garlic Spareribs were meaty and not drenched in sauce. I like them on the drier side so I liked these. The General Tao's Chicken was a bit sweeter than my preference, and had no spicy kick, to my chagrin. It was also a bit soggy. However, it wasn't bad and I still enjoyed it. I liked that it didn't have fatty or gristly pieces. It's just battered meat, no vegetables. The Beef with Broccoli was more broccoli than beef, but that's how it often is with most restaurants. The beef was tender and the broccoli was soft but not mushy. It also had onions and carrots. The flavour was just right and not too salty. The Chicken Fried Rice had very little chicken, but I liked that it wasn't greasy. The rice was soft and fluffy and not too salty. It did not have any vegetables in it other than green onions. It was a bit on the boring side, but not greasy/oily wins out in my books. The Cantonese Chow Mein had chicken, BBQ pork, shrimp, mushrooms, broccoli, celery, carrots and onions on top of soft noodles. It was my favourite dish, but had way too much onions in it, lol. I liked that I didn't feel super thirsty after eating the food. And usually after gorging on Chinese food, I'm usually a few pounds heavier the next day, lol, but that didn't happen with the food here. Relatively speaking, I feel like they use less fat and less salt here than at other places. I am a fan. Service was friendly and efficient. It's strictly a takeout joint, no dine in. It's part of a strip mall so lots of free parking in strip mall parking lot.

My Favourite Chinese Food is actually my favourite Chinese food takeout restaurant in Orleans,…read morehaha. My family loves the dinner for 5. It's about a hundred bucks and all the dishes are great. The grandkids love the chicken balls and noodles and the adults love the General Tao's Chicken. I like it because it's not spicy, haha. The rice doesn't have too much soy sauce in it and it's not too greasy like some places. They give you 2 egg rolls per person which is more generous than other restaurants. The egg rolls are also full of meat, not just bean sprouts. My husband always craves the Chinese food from here (and Famous Wok in Place d'Orleans). We've had Chinese food from lots of places in Orleans and we like this place the best.