Save yourself the headache and come early in the day, food is great but unfortunately they are always understaffed in the evening and wait times are in excess of an hour. There’s no system for lineup everything is just confusing and everyone is just standing around. Also it seems uber/skip takes precedence over customers in line as the food delivery service tablets keep ringing and those orders are always ready sooner, very sad to see the state of service for an otherwise great spot for Hakka food.
Two recent visits, both on weekdays:
First day (9pm) : gentleman at the till said wait time for food was at least 45 mins so we left.
Second day (7pm) : same gentleman said wait time for food was at least 1.5 hrs, so again, we left.
I sincerely hope they are not understaffed because of being underpaid and overworked…they have great food but the evening service has taken a nose dive in the last year.
Zen cuisine was one my favourite take-out Chili, chicken, dry, ginger, beef, chicken, sauté, mango , & hot noodles. We usually order from the Stouffville location however we moved and recently ordered from the Whitby location, unfortunately, we were less than satisfied with our $281 order, the quality of the food does not compare to Stouffville and after paying online… there was a lot of back-and-forth about whether or not they received the order at the front counter…until a lovely gentleman came out of the back with our order…the lady at the counter I have no idea about our order and was trying to convince my husband that we were at the wrong location. Not worth the money we paid!
It’s a quite small space, however, wasn’t busy at all when we went there. Staff was extremely friendly and the food was great. Their Zen special chicken was really good. We ended up ordering it twice. Their menu offer both Thai and hakka and it’s halal. We went there in group of 8 and had a good quality time as a family.
Delicious Hakka food. Lots of great options.
Everyone keeps recommending the Zen Special Chicken. I thought it was good, but only if you like a bit of sweetness.
Hakka Spicy Noodles and Chilli Potatoes were my favorites. Veg Manchurian was pretty good too.
Do not get the fried wings. There’s no flavor or salt. Just fried battered wings.
Do NOT go here without reading this - Good food but Im very disappointed about the 12% service charge that we were not informed about, and we even tipped separately. I checked the receipt a few mins after we left otherwise would have gone back. We ended up paying a lot more. If costs are rising, they could simply adjust/increase their prices. Adding a sneaky 12% service charge and also taking tips, as a customer, this hidden cost feels like the restaurant is cheating.
My first review of 2026 comes after ordering takeout here on a Friday night. This place is located in the same plaza as Longos and is next to the beer store. This area has plenty of parking.
I called ahead after finishing my grocery shop in Markham. The gentleman who answered the phone was quick & efficient. I ordered the spicy garlic beef dinner combo with an upgrade to hakka noodles. It also comes with a vegetable spring roll. I also ordered Spicy Hakka Noodle with chicken Manchurian style for hubby.
When I arrived approximately 15 minutes later, my food was ready and waiting. Dine in is available and the size of the restaurant is average with only one table whereas there were quite a few takeout orders waiting.
My bag of food smelled amazing and hefty!! It was still hot when I got home even after putting the groceries away & with a quick change out of my outside clothes.
My spicy garlic beef with Hakka noodles was delicious. Love that there is green onion, julienned carrots & cabbage in it. The spice level wasn't that spicy in my opinion however certain bites were spicier due to it having green Thai chillies in it. The beef could of been velveted more as some pieces were chewy. The amount of beef was plentiful and the container was pretty full. If possible, I would order this outside of the combo since the spring roll isn't my thing plus it was super oily.
I can't speak for the other dish except that the container was way more full than me. I did have a taste of the chicken and the noodle & it tasted kind of bland to me.
I would order from this place again if I was in the area.
Tip: I received a 5% discount paying cash.
Had a major craving. This place hit it!
Crab rangoon wontons were a standout. Really good! Steep on the price though for 8 pieces. And the miniature sized egg rolls were also unusually expensive—especially for their itty bitty portion size. Now this may be the Uber eats upcharge pricing…but still seems remarkably high.
Liked that in the noodle dish it seems maybe canned baby shrimp was used. Have never encountered that before with chinese takeout. Fine by me!
Am not from the Stouffville area, but interested in seeing if there are other locations nearer to where I live. Would order again.
Tried a mix of Hakka and Thai dishes and everything was spot on. The chili chicken had great heat and flavor, well balanced with tender chicken and sauce. The fried rice was fresh, not greasy, and loaded with vegetables. The noodles were cooked perfectly with good wok flavor and no sogginess.
Portions are large and clearly made to share. Quality and consistency stand out compared to other Hakka spots in the area. Presentation were solid as well.
Definitely one of the better Hakka options in Stouffville. Will be ordering again.
Stopped by the Zen while visiting Stoufville and was pleasantly surprised! The portion size for the lunch menu was amazing for the price and we had lots of leftovers for home as well.
The atmosphere of the restaurant was wonderful, really enjoyed coming here.
A special mention to the kindness of the staff, they were so nice and friendly! Service was wonderful, would def stop by again!