New Ho King (Chinese: 新豪京) (jyutping: san1 hou4 ging1) is a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, Toronto.[1] It first opened in 1976, and rose to popularity after being featured in Kendrick Lamar's 2024 diss track "Euphoria" and Drake's rebuttal "Family Matters" during the Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud.[2] As of 2024, it is owned by Johnny Lu.[3]
| New Ho King | |
|---|---|
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1976 |
| Owner(s) | Johnny Lu |
| Food type | Chinese food |
| Street address | 410 Spadina Avenue |
| City | Toronto, Ontario |
| Country | Canada |
History
editThe restaurant has been open since 1976, and has long been a "favourite late-night Chinatown dinner spot" among Toronto residents.[3][4] Its current owner, Johnny Lu, has worked at New Ho King since he was 14 years old, and bought the restaurant in 2019. [5]
In January 2016, a shooting occurred outside the restaurant, which left two dead and four injured.[6][7]
On April 30, 2024, Lamar released "Euphoria", a diss track aimed towards Drake. New Ho King was briefly name-dropped, with "I be at New Ho King eatin' fried rice with a dip sauce and a blammy, crodie."[2] There are theories to Lamar's motives. Complex speculated it relates to when Drake was robbed at gunpoint in May 2009 in a Toronto restaurant.[8] A few days later, on May 3, Drake released "Family Matters", which featured the restaurant in the music video, wherein Drake is seen with an array of dishes.[9] In an interview, New Ho King's owner said that business had gone up 300% as a result of the mention.[5] In honour of Lamar, the restaurant began offering the 'Kendrick Lamar special', a series of dishes featuring fried rice, deep fried shrimp with chili and crispy garlic, spicy fried chicken wings, and beef and broccoli.[9]
Reception and legacy
editThe Toronto Star food critic Gerry Shikatani praised the restaurant in a 1999 review, writing, "It is quite simple, not high-end dramatic. But servings are large, and few Cantonese kitchens are cooking with such accomplishment and light touch, while leaving an equally light trace on the wallet."[10] Steven Davey of Now in 2011 found the food to be "a little bit too salty and verging on over-cooked" but said that was not a significant concern at 3:00am.[11]
The reviewer Alexandra Clark in 2003 praised the restaurant's hot and sour soup, General Tso's chicken, and the garlic sauce flavoured eggplant and shrimp.[12] In a 2008 review, Ben Kaplan of the National Post found the restaurant to be a "Cantonese greasy spoon ... as good as we've tasted any hour of the day". He praised the crispness of the pork chow mein but criticized the General Tso's chicken, writing, "a harder fried outer coating might have provided a sharper contrast with the white chicken meat".[13]
The name of the queer Asian collective New Ho Queen was inspired by the restaurant.[14]
References
edit- ^ Saponara, Michael (May 2, 2024). "Kendrick Lamar's 'Euphoria' Name-Drop Gives Toronto Chinese Restaurant Major Boost". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Brown, T. M. (May 6, 2024). "A Chinese Restaurant Is Winning the Kendrick Lamar-Drake Beef". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Liu, Karon (May 13, 2024). "We ate at Toronto's New Ho King, the spot Kendrick Lamar name-dropped. Here's what to order". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ Chow, Jason (February 2, 2008). "The Dawdling Dragon". National Post. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Blasi, Weston (May 11, 2024). "The real winner of the Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud is Chinese restaurant New Ho King". Morningstar, Inc. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ "Man believed to be leader of Heart of a King gang charged in Chinatown double murder". CBC News. February 21, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ Skinner, Justin (February 2, 2016). "Toronto police looking for shooter in murder of David Eminess and Quinn Taylor in front of New Ho King restaurant on Spadina Avenue". Toronto.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ Cowen, Trace William. "Does Kendrick Lamar's "Euphoria" Diss Include a Sly Nod to Drake's 2009 Robbery?". Complex. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Clark, Meredith (May 12, 2024). "Chinese restaurant names dish for Kendrick Lamar after mention in Drake diss track". The Independent. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ Shikatani, Gerry (December 18, 1999). "Cuisine's familiar as an old friend". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Davey, Steven (June 20, 2011). "New New Ho King". Now. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
- ^ Quadri, Sarah (2003). "New Ho King". In Clark, Alexandra (ed.). Cheapeats Toronto: Toronto's Guide to Good Inexpensive Restaurants. Plethora Press: Toronto. p. 83. ISBN 0-9731201-1-8. Retrieved June 13, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Kaplan, Ben (2008-01-12). "New Ho King Restaurant" (pages 1 and 2). National Post. Archived from the original (pages 1 and 2) on 2024-06-13. Retrieved 2024-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Queer Asian Collective New Ho Queen Keeps the Party Going". W Magazine. February 20, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.