Kanpai Snack Bar

Hearing about this place from a few people I decided it was high time to check it out. Headed out here with a few friends last weekend and I must say I am sad that I went this long without eating here.
A group of 6 we decided the best bang for our buck was to get the 12 piece family style family platter — the fried chicken; some sides (we got the potato slaw and some antipasto; fried rice and some plain bao and 6 PBRs. This is enough per the menu for 4 – 6 people. We still had chicken pieces left over as they are huge and you get 12 pieces.
The chicken had a flavourful deep fried deliciousness on the outside and was juicy on the inside. The potato slaw was delicious as it was something we hadn’t seen anywhere else.
The bao — sometimes plain is just best. The fried rice (we got the spicy version) wasn’t too spicy but pretty flavourful. The balances of sweet and savoury throughout the entire meal was well done.
This is a small space that gets bsuy really quickly. They only take reservations for 6+ people so depending on your group size you may have to wait. We were seated at the table by the kitchen so we got to watch the food preps which were just amazing. I’ve never seen a cleaver that big before in my life — and the way the chefs artfully plated the dishes… it was like I was a judge on Top Chef!
For dessert we ordered the beignets — oh my. Delicious little balls of doughy goodness with sesame seeds and powdered sugar. Heaven… dear sweet heaven.
I can’t comment on how closely it is to Taiwanese street food since I am not too familiar with this cuisine, however everything i had was quite delicious.
I believe this is a new menu they have right now so if you’ve come here before please check it out again for some new fare.
I can’t wait to try this place again. YUM oh YUM

I’ll start with this disclaimer: I know the owner and I went not only to high school with him but I also went to the same grade school and we grew up in the same hood. That being said I haven’t seen him in pretty much what equates to since high school which is a good quarter century ago.
A small group of friends decided to try this place and I was invited to tag along. I had thought of coming to check this place out because they are famously known for their fried chicken and I have to admit that I’ve had a somewhat recurring infatuation for fried chicken this past year ever since Darrin checked into Turntable Chicken Jazz in NYC. That being said my recent Korean fried chicken crusade has taken a break for a few months now. I was so gung ho to try to find a place like Turntable in Toronto or anywhere else that I’ve traveled recently that I basically forgot that fried chicken in other forms can be good too.
I can’t say I really have had Taiwanese fried chicken before. Does Kookoo count? That place is a bubble tea place but they do serve chicken skin on sticks but that place feels more like a fast food place. Kanpai feels more like a real restaurant and all around fun place because it is. Kanpai Snack Bar has food that looks familiar and in fact looks so good that I want to try everything.
Being it was a Saturday evening we had sat up at the bar and even though we were a group it wasn’t so bad. In fact for a first experience it was probably the best seat in the house. I felt like Jack Nicholson at a Lakers game court side. My point of view for the next couple hours was basically a peek into the kitchen. The bar seating puts you right at the action, front and center where I was able to see just about every dish that went out dressed and every delivery order packaged. The show alone felt like I was watching Chopped or some other show where time was of the essence and dish after dish was being constructed for the public.
Das Bao which is a fried chicken bao looked pretty amazing. I saw fried tofu, dumplings, fried chicken and a variety of other things being made and sent out like a deck of cards being dealt and it was just vibrant action.
Our group had decided to go with fried chicken but we made it interesting getting the group dish also known as the Redneck. It consists of a dozen pieces of chicken, rice, other sides and a 6 pack of PBR tall boys which was perfect being as there were 6 of us.
Of course the time we’re at the restaurant it’s peek time or beyond that if there’s such a thing. I could see so much in front of us being plated and countless other orders being packaged for delivery. When our order finally came out we were in awe seeing such a beautiful plank of golden fried chicken being dressed with green and hot chili topped off as if they were cherries on top of a sundae. We all paused, gave that plank a good 1, 2, 3, 4 shots that it deserved before spreading the wealth amongst ourselves.
The Taiwanese fried chicken (aka TFC) as served to us was a golden crispy dry outside which is very juicy inside. I didn’t find it to be too salty but I loved that it came with the peppers as I was eating them along with it. It came with a side sauce which I tried which had a bit of a sweet flavor but the chicken itself was the star here. I can’t say that this version of TFC has a recognizable layer of batter, even as some KFC have an eggshell type or an overdone or thick glutenized crunch. This chicken seemed to be a simple unadulterated sublime fried chicken. I can’t say spice wise, sauce wise or flavor wise that it stood out as anything very different but as far as fried chicken goes it’s very good and cooked basically the way I like my fried chicken which is well cooked (no parts looking under cooked at all), not rubbery, not dry inside (juicy in fact) and skin well done.
The staff reminded me of the Hunt for Red October as the Russian submarine «Konovalov» where captain Tupolev played by Stellan Skarsgard (you may know him as the professor on Thor) basically asks for 115% power on the nuclear reactor. The place wasn’t just hopping, it was Über (eats) busy literally. Not only was the inside of the restaurant all ahead flank as far as capacity but the delivery orders were rolling. All this and my grade school friend takes the time to come over for a friendly chat to catch up after two and a half decades.
I said a quick goodbye to my old classmate and I left feeling I had a great time and a really fun meal. The food (everything I saw) looked so good I wish I could have had more. I get the impression that this place is busy during prime time much like all good places and they are like that for a reason. To me the reason they have patronage is because they are good and being rated highly is not something easily done in arguably the most multicultural city in the world.
For the all around good time feel of Kanpai I can easily give 5*. The fried chicken alone is A1.

The atmosphere here is really great, and the drinks were also great! The food is pretty decent — it’s good for appetizers, or maybe if you’re looking for a fried chicken meal.
The only downside was that the service near the end was really slow, we ended up having to wait quite a long time for our final dish, almost to the point we were going to have to just leave without it. Overall though it’s pretty good, I’ll go back sometime for drinks and an appetizer!

I just ordered from Ubereats. And my order came about an hour and half late. I called Über to see what the problem was, and they just offered me free credit. When the delivery man came to my door he told me he had to wait 45minutes just for my order! My food was close to freezing. If you can’t make the food and have it delivered on time, you shouldn’t even have your business on Über.
The food wasn’t terrible, but I think if I ever try it again, I’d eat it at the restaurant.

Fried chicken. Fried chicken. Fried chicken. That pretty much sums it up. This snack bar is tucked away at Carlton and Parliament.
The 8 piece chicken is perfect to share between two people (and you will fill full afterwards). The cilantro and chili stacked on top gives garnishes the chicken perfectly. The chicken is battered to perfection and has flavour throughout the meat. The sauce they serve it with is 10000x better than ketchup.
I also have had the edamame said knock you out (plug 2). Nothing special — just deep fried edamame.
The pork belly is tasty and flavourful — a dish that should be tried at least once.
As for dessert, I’ve eat the ping pong beignets. Small balls of purple yam and sweet potato donuts. Make sure you roll and cover it with sugar!

I was quite excited to try this place out since I love Taiwanese street food. Having studied their menu extensively, I knew what I wanted to order from Kanpai. We came for lunch during a weekend, plenty of space available although there was only one waitress. I do have to commend her efficiency, and she was very accommodating as noted throughout our dining experience.
On to the food, I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Everything was just… okay. Presentation was quite lacking and dull. Flavour department was also underwhelming.
Between the two of us we shared:
Can You Hear Me Now — sliced pig ears in chili oil. This was okay, I would’ve liked them to be cut smaller; it would’ve resulted in less slimy textures.
Hot in Herre — pork filled wontons. I’m not sure if this was supposed to be a cold dish but I would’ve liked it to come out piping hot, would’ve been more enjoyable. I don’t care for the chili oil, I find it too sweet for my liking.
Das Bao — this is where I was most disappointed as the chicken schnitzel, albeit having a crunchy skin, was rock hard. It was definitely overcooked. I’m also not thrilled about the cilantro, which included long stems that were a bit off-​putting.
3 pc TFC– after being dubbed one of the best fried chicken in Toronto, we had to try it out. This was the most satisfying dish out of our whole meal. Chicken skin came out crispy, while the meat stayed moist. Nicely seasoned, and I do like the garlicky hot sauce (although to me it seems more like ketchup) that came with it.
Overall, I find our experience quite underwhelming. I feel the dishes could’ve been more refined both taste and presentation wise. I did notice the price increase, as most dishes are $ 1 – 2 more than when I last looked at their menu.

Amazing expériences, this is nice place and I tryed 3 differente meal, all delicious!!! You should try !

*Service is not attentive. Extremely hard to waive down a server for water or the bill.
*Most of their dishes were mostly meat and deep fried, not too much veggies option.
* I thought the food was reasonably priced and the portions were easily shareable between 2 – 3 people
–TFC — Taiwanese Fried Chicken — $ 9 for single order of 3 pieces:
The fried chicken was out of this world and each piece was enormous! I expected it to be a little dry but it was so moist and tender on the inside. Amazingly crispy enough on the outside and seasoned perfectly. Highly recommended!
–Deep fried goldmember (golden fried morsels of squid served with house-​made kanpai cocktail sauce) — $ 7
The squid was also tasty, but after ordering the popcorn chicken, the dish felt a little repetitive as it shared the same breading and sweet chili sauce as the popcorn chicken.
–mc hammer (Taiwanese popcorn chicken with fried basil leaf in Ike’s secret blend of herbs and spices) — $ 7
There wasn’t too much breading and each nugget is well-​seasoned. Juicy and tender pieces of chicken that kept its crunch? Too good, especially paired with that side of sweet chili sauce. Try having a piece with the fried Thai basil leaves, they added a hint of aromatic that makes it outstanding. Delish!
–The o.g. bao (original night market sammie with slow-​cooked 5-​spice pork, taiwanese relish, pickled cabbage, teriyaki shoyu, crushed peanuts) — $ 6
The pork belly was marinated in a typical 5 spice with a crunchy and balancing slaw. The only thing I didn’t like was the meat was mostly fat. In addition, I’d like this bao more if they added more sauce to it.
–kung-​pao cauliflower (stir-​fried with roasted peanuts and dry chili) — $ 6
The kung-​pao cauliflower at Kanpai was nothing like the one I had at Thoroughbred at all. The dish was saucy, bland and the cauliflower was undercooked. It was not kung pao style at all, flavour-​wise.
–Can you hear me now (charcuterie-​style marinated pig ears tossed in house-​made taiwanese chili oil) — $ 5
Unfortunately the pig ears were sliced too thick and bland. The chili oil didn’t come through either and all I tasted was the heat from the raw green onions.
–Fu Manchu (crispy morsels of house-​fried tofu tossed in a light sweet chili sauce) — $ 5
I’m not sure if this was supposed to be served cold but the tofu had a crispy skin and soft on the inside. The tofu can be bland on its own but the sauce added just a hint of sweetness and heat to it!

There’s something about Kanpai’s insistence on their «hip ass vibe» (quoted verbatim) that is hard to take seriously. But they sort of make up for it with food that goes really well with beer.
The Sam Adams Rebel IPA (which, without fail, they will tell you is a «fantastic choice!») is great, and apparently it’s the only place in Toronto that carries it.
The chicken is always yummy, and the red sauce that comes with it is even better!
The backless stools are a little cumbersome, but not the end of the world.
In the summertime, you might want to watch out for transients gazing longingly at your chicken while standing perilously close to the open-​window seats.

4.5 stars
THE FOOD…
I love tapas! Especially when other cuisines besides Spanish join the party.
The fried chicken was so crispy and juicy, not to mention huge!
I’m not a huge squid fan, but their squid made me a believer! It was cooked perfectly.
Watch out for the chilli’s. Fortunately they are cut large so you can avoid them if you don’t like spicy.
The pork belly was DROOL worthy. And the popcorn chicken was really good.
The beignets were delicious, although a different texture than I expected.
They also have hilarious names for their dishes!
THE OTHER STUFF…
It’s a unique looking restaurant with the windows removed in the nice weather. The atmosphere is great. Staff are really friendly, and it’s nice to see the owner interacting with the customers too.
The only thing that was kind of weird was the reservation policy. I was told they don’t take reservations under 6 people, so I was told to book a table for 6 and then just tell them I had 4 people when I got there. When I arrived I heard someone come in who had made a reservation for 3 people. Wtf? Kind of weird, I was told no reso under 6, so told to book it for 6 and say we have 5 ppl. Then when I was there, I overheard someone who had made a reservation for 3 people. Wtf?
For 4 people (with leftovers) $ 50 each approximately. Pretty good!
Aside from the reservation thing that was kind of bizarre this place was awesome and I can’t wait to come back.

Was here just few days ago, has a very chilled atmosphere, decent bar food to accompany the several drinks that they have. But more importantly the service from Leiland was impressive, he was very attentive and pay close detail in several steps of service. I would recommend the following items.
You’re Sizzlin Baby
Piggie Smalls
Edamame Plug 1 or 2
Deep Fried Goldmember
MC Hammer
OG Bao
Let Your Backbone Slidw
Definitely I would recommend if you are looking for something different in the neighborhood. It’s a really chill spot to go out with your drinking buddies, and the Tapas style food is perfect for sharing. With several drinks on tap I think thier food pairs perfectly with it.
***Definitely will come back

Preface: THIS PLACE DOES NOT SERVE LEGIT TAIWANESE OR EVEN GOOD FUSION TAIWANESE.
As a Taiwanese, i can’t decide how to review this restaurant. Should I rate it based on how Taiwanese it is, or how not Taiwanese it is? I think maybe none of it should factor into the rating of how delicious the food is though, which is not that delicious.
Let me start out by saying that this place is the most famous for its fried chicken, and FRIED CHICKEN IS NOT A TYPICAL TAIWANESE DISH. Which is fine, cuz i love fried chicken. and the fried chicken here was decent. The chicken is nicely fried and juicy inside, but the batter is tasteless and requires their sweet sauce that comes with a hint of taiwanese/​asian flavour, but not really. I wouldn’t say my standards for fried chicken is particularly high, but it was quite disappointing as the next day i went for some fried chicken elsewhere and it was so much better. If fried chicken is their draw, they’re fall short against most competition in toronto.
We also ordered a good number of more traditional sounding Taiwanese dishes like marinated pigs ear, pork wonton in chilli sauce, and popcorn chicken. The pig’s ear was decent, but pork wonton was TERRIBLE, and the popcorn chicken was passable but there are better ones in toronto.
Then we tried some foods that were not particularly taiwanese-​sounding, like marinated cauliflower (tasteless), some kind of spicy pork fried rice (boring), and a fried pork belly called piggy smalls (good), a deep fried popular taiwanese bun paired with almond condensed milk and spicy nutella (gross). The only thing that i would order again is the fried pork belly, but i don’t think anyone can cook pork belly wrong.
I was kinda disappointed that i forgot to order the fried chicken schnitzel in the gua bao, but honestly, i dont think i missed out on anything.
At least the meal was inexpensive. For the four of us, and about two dishes a person, the meail came out to be less than $ 75 after tax and tips. The issue here is we weren’t sure if we were actually full or we were no longer hungry after the not so great food.
The service is great, the ambiance is really trendy… fused cocktails and a lot of young urbanites. I could see this being an okay place to chill and snack if you don’t mind paying $ 15 for a cocktail, but otherwise i wouldn’t stop here if you are looking for good food. And definitely avoid if you are looking for Taiwanese food.

If you love fried foods, this is the place to be. We ordered 4 dishes between 2 people and we were thoroughly stuffed:
Can You Hear Me Now? — marinated pigs ears ($ 5). This was my first time having pig ears that was so thinly sliced, producing an interesting texture. The sauce gave it a light, subtle taste which I really enjoyed.
Player Hater — fried chicken skin ($ 5). Total highlight. Probably the best fried chicken skin I’ve ever had! Fried to perfection with a thin, crispy layer on top but still tasting the softness of the skin as you bite into it. Must try!
Piggie Smalls — pork belly ($ 6). Good but not memorable. There are more interesting things on the menu. It’s also on the saltier side so don’t have it alone.
TFC — Huge, juicy chicken pieces fried to a crisp. Can’t tell you how good it is but we absolutely loved it. Their sauce was so amazing it made me want to dip everything in it. NOTE: The menu shows a single order of 3 pieces for $ 9 and 8 pieces for $ 22 but they can accommodate for other combinations as well. We asked for 4 pieces and were told it would be an extra $ 3. Pretty fair.
Aside from the TCF, I highly recommend ordering jasmine rice or fried rice on the side. It really helps cut the grease and the «my arteries are clogging» feeling since everything is fried.
Awesome snack bar. I can see it being a cool spot to hit up for drinks after work or on a weekend!

I met up with some friends here two weekends ago. Interesting food: Taiwanese. I was a little skeptical when I saw that the staff wasn’t Asian per se. But one of my friends who suggested the place is Taiwanese… and picky about food. She did the ordering and all of the food was pretty good.
Though the food was good, I thought the mixed drinks were really good.
One of the things that was interesting about the experience was that the staff made sure we knew that we only had the table until a particular time. And then when time was near, they reminded us and very quickly brought the bill and got us paid and ready to leave. I guess it’s a fair thing for restaurants to do, though we hadn’t all seen each other in a while and were looking forward to talking a little. Given that drinks were good here, I wouldn’t have minded being able to stay a little bit longer and having a few more drinks there. Ah well.

Kanpai Snack Bar has a Taiwanese street vendor look to its interior — I think it’s a cute theme! It has an open kitchen concept and customers can seat themselves near the bar or at the side tables. Service was excellent.
One thing that boggled our minds was: How do people who do not know how to read Chinese identity which one’s the girl/​guy washroom LOL? It only had Chinese writings on it. I didn’t see any picture /​signs: S
(Good thing I know how to read Chinese… hahaha)
DRINKS:
* Samuel Adams Boston Lager
* Riesling wine
TAIWANESE FRIED CHICKEN (⁴⁄₅)
This was so delish! The skin was very crispy. Usually fried chicken gets dry closer to the middle but the meat inside was so juicy. Mm!
MC HAMMER 鹽酥雞 (⁵⁄₅)
I’ve always liked Taiwanese popcorn chicken. This one topped it. It was delicious because there were that much flour around the popcorn chicken, it’s just pure meat with a thin layer of breaded crust. So good — I’d want to order this again.
PIGGIE SMALLS (⁴⁄₅)
(small chunks of pork belly, deep fried and tossed with secret spices)
This was so fat — but it’s a good fat. Loved the dipping sauce!
FU MANCHU (⁴⁄₅)
(Crispy chunks of fried tofu tossed in a light sweet and a sour sauce)
This dish contains my second favourite dipping sauce from the dishes of the night.
O.G. BAO (³⁄₅)
(original night market sammie with slow-​cooked 5-​spice pork, taiwanese relish, pickled cabbage, teriyaki shoyu, crushed peanuts)
Being a sauce-​boss, I’d like this bao (bun) more if they added more sauce to it.

Love the vibe at this snack bar! It’s a great place to grab a drink after work and enjoy a few small shareable plates. ($ 3 Jameson, anyone? All. Day. Long.) We came here around 6PM on Friday and it was starting to get packed already, especially near the windows (prime spot because they open them when the weather’s nice!). We lucked out and got one of the last open tables around there. Score!
Menu options were really fun to read, especially since a lot of the names were inspired by hip hop. (Piggy Smalls? Edamame said knock you out? Hah!)
Since this was a Taiwanese-​fusion snack bar, we HAD to get the staple of Taiwanese snacks — popcorn chicken, aka «MC Hammer» on the menu. No complaints about this dish! Juicy and tender pieces of chicken that kept its crunch? Too good, especially paired with that side of sweet chili sauce. (However… Guu will forever have my heart with their fried chicken.)
We also ordered the deep fried pork belly, the deep fried squid and the cauliflower (aka «Piggy Smalls», «Goldmember» and «Kung Pao Cauliflower» on the menu respectively). Pork belly was pretty good, though it wasn’t anything amazing. The squid was also tasty, but after ordering the popcorn chicken, the dish felt a little repetitive as it shared the same fried texture and sweet chili sauce as the chicken. And my two cents about the cauliflower? Don’t order it… Super disappointing. Very bland flavour and it just reminded me of any other ordinary stir fry…
I saw others ordering the Taiwanese Fried Chicken (TFC), which came to the table looking hella amazing (Like «Stop the conversation for a sec, I need to take out my phone and snap a photo right now» amazing). Definitely will have to order that next time!
We ended up drinking beer when we went but we hear that the cocktails are actually served on tap here. Looked pretty good too so I’ll have to come back and try some next time!
Overall, it’s a great, casual bar to catch up with a small group of friends or coworkers. Although the food didn’t necessarily blow my mind, it was still pretty good. The atmosphere definitely won me over. Great music, cozy décor and super friendly servers? I can cheers to that — KANPAI!

This place has by far the best fried chicken I’ve had in Toronto! But I’m getting ahead of myself, let me start from the beginning.
I came here with some friends on a Friday night, the restaurant is located right at the corner of Carlton and Parliament (where Ginger use to be.) The restaurant is small seats about 50 people, but with open windows and a nice view its the perfect place to met up with friends and dig into some delicious Taiwanese tapas food. Its a fun, high energy atmosphere and the staff are very friendly and helpful. If you are coming with a group of 4 or more I would book a reservation, I saw some people waiting quite a while for a table.
The fried chicken was out of this world. Amazingly crispy and not soggy from the deep fryer even after 30 mins! They were still incredibly hot, (FYI as tempting as it is, wait about 5 mins for the food to cool before eating otherwise you’ll burn your mouth.) The size of the wings alone were intimidating, these aren’t your average thigh and drumsticks you get at KFC and Popeyes. These are Fred Flintstone size chickens and are extremely juicy.
My only issue was I wish the chicken was spicier or they had a spicy fried chicken options. It was also a long wait for the food to come roughly an hour, so make sure you order your food ASAP if you’re hungry. But their $ 3 Jameson Whiskey’s can keep you company while you wait!

I had mad cravings for Fried Chicken so I decided to check this place out!
MO MONEY: It was fried rice with spinach purée. It was ok, a little plain to me. My friend enjoyed this dish though. There was nothing special about this dish, it is what it is. Rice+Spinach to make it Green+ Some Veggies
Taiwanese Fried Chicken (TFC): I was so excited when it came out. I opened it and the juices of my chicken was still red. It was running red and the meat did not look cook. I brought it back to the kitchen, and they actually brought it back to me saying it was cooked, but they could make me another piece. I thought it was very odd, I expected them to make me another piece instead of bringing back the piece of chicken which was still raw. Overall, the fried chicken was decent. It was not outstanding and I have had better in the city.
I do not think I would come back. 2 Stars is pretty harsh but the service was not good as well. I felt that it could have been better.

Yum! I’ve been salivating for a while now since I follow their instagram account and just tried Kanpai today.
My fiancé and I came in for a late lunch and I was kinda scared that we wouldn’t be able to get a window seat (see review below– apparently it’s reserved for larger groups) but we were able to sit near the breezy window.
We were greeted in a timely manner and asked for our drink order. Shortly after getting our waters, we ordered the mc hammer chicken, 3 piece TFC and OG bao.
Really good popcorn chicken. I wasn’t a big fan of the dipping sauce but it will do. Maybe if the dipping sauce was spicy?
Oh, the bao is huge so I found really good value there since it was only $ 5. The bao was almost as big as my face. The pork belly was marinated or seasoned in typical 5 spice with a crunchy and balancing slaw. The only thing I didn’t like was the large margin of fat on the belly. Yeah I know it’s pork belly, but I guess it would have tasted better fried than grilled. The fat was just gritty and cold but overall, the bao was filling and delicious.
The TFC came last and beware — order it first since it takes longer to make. It was so crispy and juicy. Huge pieces of thighs and cooked perfectly throughout. My fiancé said it was salty but that’s the point!
Good food, good service. Good vibes. have no complaints! I’ll be back!

Arrived on a Sunday night (after pride) with five other guests. We were seated very quickly. Atmosphere was like typical izakaya except maybe smaller and quieter. The servers were very attentive.
The one thing I must say first is that personally I feel like it is more Chinese, Asian fusion than Taiwanese fusion style. Yes there were a couple of dishes that were typical Taiwanese street food, but so much of it resembles traditional HK style or Chinese style snacks. Even their take out boxes were traditional HK style.
The food was amazing! The fried chicken is a must try. Do not underestimate the size of this dish! One piece per person is actually plenty! Prices are also very very reasonable! They also have interesting names for all their dishes. Pig ears was called can you hear me now?
Another must try would be the O. g bao. This is a traditional Taiwanese style street snack. Very soft bun. One of the desserts made out of purple and regular yam was also really good!