Sinaloa Factory is located at 551 Danforth Ave., near Pape and its subway station. If this location seems familiar, it was previously 8 Sushi... the proprietor got a nice bonus as was able to reuse the large “SUSHI” sign left over from the previous establishment. Sinaloa may seem familiar as the (in)famous area in Mexico where the largest narcotics cartels were located, but this is coincidental with it being Mexico’s most productive agricultural region: where food grows well, other plant varieties may too! Sinaloa Factory has an interesting well-decorated interior with sombreros, Mexican art (ie works by Frida) and custom artwork featuring Mexican celebrities, and is usually rather noisy, especially when there is a singer.
This was my first visit, so I had a horchaita Mexican cinnamon drink, which was $5. Was quite enjoyable but it’s a bit small. Beef soup was rather light considering it's beef, and I don't think it was the kind of beef that I'm used to; maybe tripe or something similar. It had an interesting flavour I wasn’t sure I liked, but I was unable to identify it and it was also rather salty. Everything else in the meal was unambiguously good! I much preferred the pork soup which was red, spicy, more savoury and absolutely delicious with hints of cumin and chili powder.
Chicken with barbecue sauce and potatoes was delicious and not too hot. Beef with potatoes and onions has a similar texture to hash browns, and was fantastic, and was also not too hot although there is a small residual heat. I was warned that the creamy chicken with onions dish was hot, and they weren't kidding, and there was a lot of residual heat but it was also excellent. Beef with peppers was out of this world good, with no excessive or residual heat and the flavour was just fantastic.
Chicken with potatoes had a wonderful flavour that am unsure of... whatever it is, the world needs more of it. Tamale was a sweet cornbread breakfasty tamale, in keeping with the time of day, and was excellent. Ground beef was seasoned reminiscent of taco filling, and was completely delicious. Nachos with cheese and green salsa was also fantastic, and the salsa appears to be made on premises. Yellow beet paste was another dish full of fantastic spices which was are found in no other cuisine. Scrambled eggs are accented with cubed ham and it was excellent.
For dessert, oatmeal cookie was less sweet and chewy than one may be used to, but had a nice flavour. Shortbread cookie had an interesting aroma a bit like buttermilk and was good. There were also round shortbread cookies with a jam-like filling that were delicious. They all appear to have been baked on premises. Custard dessert was excellent and loved it. Breakfast buffet is only $20; consider what prices are like these days this a fantastic deal. However there is one caveat in that it takes longer to get your fill as this place likes serving the customers at the buffet rather than self-serve, probably to ration the portions... slowly. Patience is a must, but it was worth the wait and I was satisfied.
Wednesday AYCE sushi
Only maki rolls and rice were available, but it was still quite enjoyable. No soy sauce or wasabi could be found, though it really didn't need either, as the offerings are far more seasoned than Japanese sushi. Crab and shrimp roll was excellent and well-seasoned. Strawberry roll was excellent, and what an original flavour combination. Salmon roll was delicious. Crab roll was excellent; all rolls were very fresh. Fried rice was fantastic, very well-seasoned and savoury. Beef roll also excellent and delicious. There were some rolls with dark hot sauce which I couldn't identify but were good. It’s a steal at currently only $18.99 but, as with the above, there’s the caveat of being required to be served at the buffet station rather slowly by a portion-controlling employee, so it may take a few return visits to be full. Still, worth the wait.
Both sets of offerings were excellent, and the very low prices (given what other AYCEs charge) puts Sinaloa Factory over the top.
Rating: 10 / 10
