Food Tree

I’d heard good things about the Food Tree, an oddly-​named restaurant with even odder curb appearance at the corner of Ellice and Young. I went with two colleagues for lunch and was impressed on the whole, with two caveats.
Like most restaurants in the West End, the prices are exceptionally reasonable. Dishes are almost all under $ 10.
When we arrived on a very cold day, the restaurant was empty. We were immediately brought steaming hot cups of roasted rice tea. We placed our orders, and within 10 minutes we were brought a tray full of food, but not what we ordered. No, it was a selection of free appetizers. We each had a small serving of kimchee (good) and a ¼ dollop of an excellent garlicky cold potato salad. Also, a plate of tempura battered onion strips with dipping sauce to share.
Shortly after, our lunch dishes arrived. My dumpling soup had tender strips of pork and scrambled egg as well as pork and noodle filled dumplings. My colleagues’ dishes were of saucy, thick udon-​style noodles.
All this for lunch and the total was $ 10/​person including 20% tip. No, really.
Now for the caveats: the place has a strange odor which I blame on what appears to be a commercial kimchee-​maker in a corner of the dining room. It’s a little off-​putting to my nose, at least, which is not used to such aromas.
Second, the place is not particularly vegetarian-​friendly. The server, while friendly, did not have a high level of proficiency in English, which made it hard to negotiate which dishes had meat, which had «just a little bit» (or, as she put it in one case, «About 20%.») So I would not recommend the place for veggie folks.
The décor is extremely Spartan. A hilariously kitschy touch, though, is a display case with what appears to be shellacked examples of some of the restaurant’s dishes. Strange in a funny way.
I’ll be going back!