Hot Eastern

Reviews

• Jaime L.

  star star star star star_border 12 June 2026

  Growing up in Toronto we had no shortage of great Szechuan food. But I am no longer in Toronto. And I do not have access to great Szechuan. I miss it.
  
  For the last night of a little family reunion, we tried Hot Eastern. It was great. Yummy Hot & Sour Soup, a great Szechuan Style Fish, excellent chicken. Just solid Szechuan.
  
  It wasn't perfect. The noodles were a bit overcooked.
  
  Service was great. They know they have to walk around with pitchers of water. Friendly.
  
  Just what we were looking for.

• Hubert H.

  star star star star star 5 June 2026

  I was fairly impressed by this place that serves a variety of Szechuan dishes. The tripe (spicy) was rather fresh (as fresh as tripe could be)! Very refreshing, and a few simple sprigs of cilantro balance out the chewiness of the trip well. The "Ants climbing a tree" dish was one of the better ones in the area (how do people do this one so poorly?). The balance between meat and spicy sauce, and noodle, was very good. The Mala Bang seafood also was quite delicious - the peanut sauce added a new flavor previously unseen in other dishes. The wood ear and the squid in particular (I don't even like squid) were nice and soft, and tender to the bite. Again, fairly impressive! Finally, the stir-fried napa cabbage was also very flavorful; the pepper were definitely hot, and the taste had a nice zing to it. Some of the peppers were overfried (they looked and tasted burnt) and the dish itself was oddly too sweet (I don't remember this dish being particularly sweet).
  
  A worthwhile visit!

• DodiB B.

  star star star star star_border 2 June 2026

  Great place for a quick and easy lunch. Not crowded at 1:00 for a quick lunch off the lunch special menu. Order the broccoli chicken, it came with sweet &spicy soup and a bow of white rice.
  
  The soup soothed my chilled bones and warmed my throat. I don't usually have this type of soup but get NEW DAY, NEW LIFE! Right?
  
  The broccoli and chicken was just the right serving and was a heart full with the rice.
  
  Recommend bringing a group and ordered the 3 item special to share.

• Emily N.

  star star star star_border star_border 20 May 2026

  I would give Hot Eastern a 3.5 but alas, Yelp does not allow for half stars. I decided to try the Singapore fried rice noodles since a lot of the other items on the menu were $16+ and this one was around $11. Although there is a sign outside advertising their lunch special (3 for $21), be cautious -- they don't do the special on the weekends. The first thing I noticed was the enormous portion size. That dish is enough for 3 people! The noodles were pretty flavorful but left a yellow tinge everywhere. I believe one of the lighter meats was chicken but I couldn't tell if the other darker meat was pork or beef... it was just a strange texture and tasted like a mixture of both. I had an alright experience here but with a number of other (more affordable) places in Chinatown, I can't say I'll be a regular at Hot Eastern anytime soon.

• Edna ..

  star star star star star 14 May 2026

  I came here with friends for lunch and we got the pick 3 dishes lunch special. The food was authentic and absolutely delicious. The price was extremely reasonable for the lunch. Dishes were served fast. The place is underground but it's nice and clean.