When I am in Ajax, I often take Westney Road North to get to places. There is a Shoppers Drug Mart that I like frequenting along this route. On Saturday, I popped in there to get a few items.
I was hungry. I have been eyeing Hakka Pavilion for a while. It's across from Shoppers. I decided to take the plunge and have a later lunch on a Saturday afternoon.
I walked in. There were a number of customers chowing down. I didn't see anyone at the counter. I simply found a free booth and started plopping my stuff down. About thirty seconds later, a woman popped out of the kitchen. I signalled that I was the only one dining. She came over, and brought me a menu and cutlery.
My usual dish that I order at a Hakka restaurant is spicy garlic chicken. If I end up not liking it, I'll come back and give the chilli chicken a try. So, I went with the former. It was on the list of daily specials. It's $6.25. You simply choose what type of protein (there's also eggplant) you want and what starch. I went with steamed rice, which is the default. You can also get fried rice or noodles for an additional charge.
I also got a can of Diet Coke. It was $1.25.
I got my meal super fast. It was impressive. At first, it looks like a small portion. However, when you get down to eating it, looks are deceiving. It's generous.
I love spicy garlic chicken when it's got heat and flavour. I love lots of garlic that will ward off vampires and some people that I don't like. I also like chicken that is both a bit crispy and juicy. This restaurant does spicy garlic chicken well. I ate everything up. It was delicious.
Service is efficient -- perhaps too efficient. I had finished and the woman came over to clear my plate away. She then came back with my bill, a fortune cookie, and the payment machine. She wanted me to pay immediately. The good news is that I didn't have to walk up to the counter. However, a slight pause between getting my bill to actually look at how much I owed before whipping out my payment card would have been nice!
The price is decent for the food that you get. I paid. She asked whether I wanted my fortune cookie. Yes, please! See, I didn't even have time to crack it open before paying.
The booth was comfortable. I was watching CP24 on the TV as I ate. The women's washroom is compact and clean.
I'd come back. Lots of folks were doing takeout. I may need to give that a shot when I am in the area.
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