We ate at Toronto’s New Ho King, the spot Kendrick Lamar name-dropped. Here’s what to order

There’s also an unofficial remix to Euphoria (specifically surrounding the restaurant) created by local content creator Anton Pirisi, for which a video shoot in Chinatown is scheduled Monday night.

New Ho King owner Johnny Lu originally had no idea what was going on when his phone kept going off with texts and DMs from friends upon the release of Euphoria last week. He admits he wasn’t familiar with the rappers or the beef. “My daughter knows (them), but I don’t. I listen more to Chinese artists,” he said. Nonetheless he says he’s happy his restaurant is getting positive attention.

“We usually receive 20 to 30 orders of fried rice a day,” Lu told the Star less than two days after the release of Euphoria. “Today we made three times as much.”

Lamar didn’t specify which fried rice he was referring to, and the restaurant lists 14 kinds, including vegetable, chicken and salted fish, and, a personal favourite, the Yin Yang, where half the fried rice is smothered in a tomato sauce the other half in a béchamel-like sauce. However, one of the more popular orders in the last few days is the Ho King Special Fried Rice, a mix of shrimp, barbecue pork, shredded lettuce, green peas and eggs tossed with just a tinge of soy sauce and plenty of delicious smoky wok flavour.

Open since 1976, New Ho King has long been a favourite late-night Chinatown dinner spot amongst Torontonians but since the song dropped, the restaurant is now under the global spotlight with Lamar fans dropping five-star Google reviews and thanking the rapper for putting the Cantonese spot on their radar. During dinner service on a recent weekday evening, people could be seen outside on the sidewalk taking photos of the restaurant’s exterior. 

Lu is the third owner of the longstanding restaurant, having worked there for 18 years, starting as a server at 14 while still going to school. New Ho King first opened a few doors north before relocating to its current larger spot at 410 Spadina Ave. in 2011. 

Along with the fried rice, here are some other things I’d recommend trying beyond the General Tso chicken, chop suey and spring rolls that most diners are already familiar with.

Pork Neck with Snow Peas with X.O. Sauce

Listed as no. 10 under the Chef’s Special section of the menu, tender and thin slices of pork neck meat (a very underrated cut that my mother treats us to during barbecue season) is wok-fried with crispy snow peas and a hint of X.O. Sauce, a savoury condiment from Hong Kong made from dried seafood, ham, and aromatics like garlic and shallots. 

Homemade Wasabi Duck Feet

Also under the Chef’s Special section, this no. 5 offal dish is something Lu says isn’t for everyone, but it’s worth trying since it’s not on many restaurant menus. Braised chicken feet are already ubiquitous at dim sum houses, but duck feet are considered superior due to the larger size and extra webbing to chew on. The texture is similar to bamboo shoots; slightly crunchy with a bit of bounciness to it. It’s an appetizer perfect for pairing with beer. On its own, there isn’t much flavour but it takes on the flavours it’s cooked in, in this case delicate wasabi. It’s not so spicy to clear the sinus, but more of a mild mustard. Typically the feet are served bone-in, but New Ho King’s version takes out the bones to make them easier to eat.

Ho King Special Sizzling Chicken in Hot Pot

Best ordered at the table rather than for takeout, hunks of simply seared chicken and green onions arrive in a heavy cast-iron pot with wisps of aromatic smoke billowing out. You can opt for bone-in or boneless white meat, but I enjoy the former since the closer the meat is to the bone, the more flavour there is. 

Steamed Lobster with Garlic

Fresh lobster is served multiple ways at the restaurant such as wok-fried with ginger and green onions or tossed with an umami-rich black bean sauce, but Lu prefers the most simple method: steamed with minced garlic to let the briny and sweet lobster flavour shine as much as possible. What I particularly like about New Ho King’s version is that the lobster is served on a bed of super thin vermicelli to soak up the lobster juices and garlic. 

Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple

This quintessential Cantonese dish isn’t exactly a deep cut, but New Ho King’s version stays crisp and avoids getting gloopy or tasting overly sweet. Rice (plain steamed or fried) is essential to sop up the sauce and balance out the sweet and sourness of the pork and pineapple chunks.