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Coming from me, Chinese restaurants tend to be in some of the strangest locations, not to mention obvious and yes, sometimes silly names.


My parents, aunt and I ventured to a small Chinese restaurant called 4 5 6. No jokes. I was driving to the restaurant and my dad had told me that it was behind the Municipal airport downtown. I thought, "ok", this should be interesting. Sure enough, this cafeteria-style restaurant was located in the Centennial Flight Centre (I hope i got the name right), near the Aviation museum.


I let my parents and aunt order the food because I usually don't know what's going on, nor do I know how to read the menu in Chinese (shame on me). But I trust them. The first item that arrives on our table is free-range Chinese chicken marinated in Chinese wine (fa zhui). The chicken is served cold and is best served this way because you can really taste the wine flavour, as well as the sweetness of the chicken. Next item up was a cabbage dish with thick-cut pork bacon, sauteed with a spicy bean sauce and a combination of another sauce I can't remember the name of. Soooooo tasty!


More items arrived simultaneously afterwards, specifically Shanghai steamed pork dumplings. These are one of the things that makes Shanghai famous (besides, yes, you guessed it-Shanghai noodles). They look like mini pork buns, but they are dumplings made to look like buns, with broth and pork with minced green onions inside. "Powwwww" a burst of broth hits my mouth, but the flavour is a bit too subtle. I prefer the chicken and cabbage/pork dish to this. Next up, dessert! Yep, Chinese people have dessert. But not the way that I tried this time. My mom saw the waitress bring it to other tables and was goshdarn curious as to what it was. The waitress was so nice as to give it to us for free. Wow. Free! Who doesn't like free? The dessert itself looked like a pretty little lotus flower. Puff pastry on the outside, and black sesame paste on the inside. The dessert was steaming hot because it was fresh from the fryer. Unfortunately, I'm not too big on fried desserts, but I had to give it a try. BINGO. Another hit with this restaurant.


To all you people out there who don't mind eating in a cafeteria with an aviation theme, and love Chinese food, and want to take the next step up: try this place. Verdict: scrumptious.


Directions: it is located right behind the Ramada on Kingsway. Take a right on 118 Avenue on to Airport Road NW (you'll see a set of lights). Follow this road as it curves, and on your left hand side, you'll see a building that says 4 5 6 restaurant.