The Big Zen - Hakka & Thai Cuisine(Halal)

Come here if you enjoy maggots in your food! Dined in, waiter made us pay for what we had already eaten. Unhygienic & disgusting. Waiters behaviour wasn’t apologetic at all.

I tried a simple order of chilli chicken and white rice today and really enjoyed it. I ordered for takeout and it was ready quicker than the 15 mins they said. The restaurant looked clean and there were people dining inside also. The menu is extensive and the service is really good. The chilli chicken here is really good. Not overly salty like most other hakka places. Spice level is also good. Only thing I would change is the tip prompt on the machine for takeout. I personally am not a fan of having to navigate out of a tip for a takeout order but that's just my opinion. Overall I really enjoyed the food and will be back here again. 5 stars easy!

The Big Zen Hakka Thai Restaurant is a popular dining spot located in the heart of the city. The ambiance of the restaurant is cozy, and the decor is modern yet traditional, giving you a relaxed and comfortable dining experience. The menu at The Big Zen Hakka Thai Restaurant is extensive and offers a wide range of options, including Hakka and Thai cuisine. The food is delicious, and the presentation is impressive. From appetizers to desserts, every dish is thoughtfully crafted and beautifully plated. The service at The Big Zen Hakka Thai Restaurant is top-notch. The staff is courteous, friendly, and attentive, making you feel welcome and valued as a guest. They are knowledgeable about the menu and happy to provide recommendations if you are unsure about what to order. The prices at The Big Zen Hakka Thai Restaurant are reasonable, considering the quality of food and service you receive. The portions are generous, and you are sure to leave the restaurant feeling satisfied. The Big Zen Hakka Thai Restaurant is a fantastic place to dine, offering a great combination of delicious food, excellent service, and a cozy ambiance. If you are looking for a memorable dining experience, this restaurant is definitely worth a visit.

4.1/5

Food quality: 3.8/5
Quantity: 4.5/5
Service: 3/5
Parking: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Price: 4/5

We ordered Hakka chicken fried rice and Red Thai curry and side of jasmine rice and sticky rice (too sticky). This was good enough for 2 and we have leftovers.

Chicken in the chicken fried rice tasted a little stale. Better to order veg fried rice in my opinion.

Service charge is included in the bill for a table of 2 guests? I have seen this if the table is larger than 5. They should reconsider it!

Hot sauce is pretty good, which is on the table along with salt? , pepper and soya sauce.

Not consistent. The last time I ordered chilli chicken it was extra spicy, this time was not spicy at all. Extra extra breading. I do not recommend.

Been eating Asian food for many years and have been getting bored with it. Very sugary, heavily coated food with very little taste until now. The Big Zen is without a doubt the best Asian food I have ever had. Not overly sweet, high quality food and large portions. Always good for more than one night. Highly recommend.

Lunch special is $8.99 for a very large portion of food and a bowl of soup. Excellent price, and quite tasty!

I did my Daughter’s Birthday Party and these guys just impressed us. Lots of food, delicious and most importantly they got it ready in time. My guests were delighted. Highly recommended if you are craving for Indo-Chinese style. A big shout out to their Chilli Fish - just out of the world!

Very good service and the place is very clean. Usually they are busy so if you order take out I suggest to order ahead of time. The food is delicious and you are probably missing out on this experience if you didn't try this place before. Highly recommended.

The flavours are out of this world good and if you like it spicy then ask and they will blow your mouth with yummy heat.ohh but it hurts soo good

Very friendly service and I like the jug of water on the table. All soup sizes are quite larger then you'd expect, which is a nice surprise. In fact all portions are large. I've yet to leave Big Zen without leftovers.

My only concern is that they don't make their dishes the same way each time, depending on which chef is cooking, I find flavours and breading to be inconsistent.

They will bread most things wheatfree with a starch if you ask - but it is a shared fryer so not for Celiacs. For my gluten intolerance its a great option for crunchy deep fried shrimp & calamari.

Dislike that they auto add a 13% tip as a service charge, if you don't pay attention you pay it twice because their debit terminal asks for a tip.

Visited twice. First time right after opening and food was overall good but one entree was not the correct item.
Tried again and ordered the zen shrimp. The shrimp was ridiculously chewy and must have been old leftovers or way way overcooked. It was expensive and a total waste of money.
As above some of the food is good but with all the other better options for hakka I won't be back.

Service is terrible. LARRY (the short guy with the orange or red hair - changes with the season) gives attitude for no reason if you are a person of colour. He will also stare at you while you eat which is very creepy. Please sit facing the door if you don’t want Larry staring into your soul while you eat. Overall, very unwelcoming place, I will not be going again.

Great customer service! Ready in 10-mins. Serving size is amazing. It tastes better than most hakka restaurants in Durham, and they have the food ready in a fraction of the time. What more can you ask for

Excellent service, delicious food and very good quality. My kids loved there food and we really enjoyed it. It’s was our 1st time there.

We ordered hot and sour chicken soup today and it was disgusting. There were big chunks of jelly like substance fully in the soup.never buying here again. The quality had declined for sure.

They changed their chef and the restaurant has converted our favoutires from the menu into undercooked potato and overdone rice.
When they started those dishes were called Chilli potato and Singapore fried rice.
This is the third time they absolutely destroyed their once a great menu. Done with this place.

The food is good but the part which I disliked about their service standard is the fact that they have changed their prices without having them reflected in their menu. Worst part is that they don’t even tell you that the pricing in menu is not reflective of their updated prices. You only find out if you calculate which is totally unacceptable! I ordered chicken pakora which shows at 11.99 on the menu, inclusive of HST should be 13.55, however I was charged 15.14. When I asked as to the difference the lady at the counter just said that they have changed their prices about a month ago but haven’t updated the menu yet.

The eggplant dish was so delicious and i enjoyed the vegetable balls to! I look forward to trying more from this restaurant

The Big Zen is a welcome addition to Whitby - a Hakka / Thai restaurant that is so delicious! I have been a dozen times now, trying different dishes each visit, and have yet to dislike anything. The staff is friendly. The food is savoury. I haven't been able to find decent pad Thai in Whitby and hesitated to order.however, I was pleasantly surprised. It was great and generous in portions. A gem to have close to home!

Service is terrible, there’s one guy named Larry (guy with orange hair) that gives so much attitude to ppl for no reason. He is very rude and stares at you the whole time while you dine in. I felt so awkward. If you are a person of colour, he will be very unwelcoming.

Great portions at the right price. We got:
Schezwan Spicy Fried Rice
Hakka Noodles
Zen Paneer
Veggie Manchurian Balls

Everything was on point and amazing.

We ordered takeout for green chicken curry and szechuan beef. I would say the green curry is the best I've had in Whitby- just spicy enough and flavorful. Also loved the beef, again good mix between flavor and spicy. Definitely recommend and going back!

If they deliver this quality for all their meals - this is my new hakka spot in Durham!

We got the vegetable fried rice, mango chicken, general tsao chicken and mixed vegetables. All we REALLY REALLY great! Loved the whole thing and feeding 3 ppl for $50. Hard to go wrong!

Go check them out and compare them to other places in Durham. Thank me later!

Went for mothers day dinner the service and food were excellent price was also reasonable first time vist but wont be the last our server didnt get his name was amazing!

Randomly looked up a hakka place in the area and this was a highly rated one. And i couldn't disagree with those reviews at all. This was an amazing place. Everything tasted great. Got the chicken momos and a Thai fried chicken rice. Really amazing food and the quantity is crazy great for the price. The staff was really friendly too. Definitely recommend to try this place out.

Service was amazing but the food - that some people have raved about - was a little disappointing. Peraonally, I think there are better dining options in the vicinity.

I really like the food here but the server needs to smile. Not rude but not friendly either. Smiling and being welcoming would take this to 5 stars. Their crispy Ginger Beef is the best.