another trip to Van

[Endy']

Endy, I'm thinking of visiting TO soon. Do you have recommendations for dim sum, Cantonese-HK and regional Chinese in TO and 'burbs?

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dim sum, Pearl Harbourfront and Ambassador (in Richmond Hill -- non-transit-accessible suburb) are comparable to Kirin/Gingeri in price and quality. But just as I don't recommend that visitors from Toronto to Van go for dim sum, I don't think it's worth going to any of ours either while you're here. Bonus points for the lake+island airport view at Pearl Harbourfront, but then again it's no mountains-and-ocean.

both of those are good for Cantonese-dinner as well.

Lai Wah Heen in the Metropolitan Hotel downtown is very good high-end dim sum. It's very non-traditional but I wouldn't go so far as to call it fusion. It's the only place I can think of that would be sufficiently different from what you can get in Van. I think canucklehead can comment further as I believe he visited on a previous trip.

if by Cantonese-HK you mean like HK cafe-style stuff (baked x on rice/spaghetti, HK style milk tea, etc.) then there are a few in Markham/Scarborough (transit-accessible suburbs) but I'm no expert. Toronto forum can help there.

there isn't really other regional Chinese in Toronto. You might find some Chiu Chow- / Sichuan- / Taiwanese- themed places but most will still be Cantonese-based. A notable exception is Ba Shu Ren Jia (Toronto Life's site has the info for the Scarborough one; there's one in Mississauaga too), which does excellent Sichuan.

feel free to PM me if you need more specific directions on getting around or recs. But I'm not sure how much mileage you'll get out of eating Chinese in Toronto if you're from Van.

EDIT: don't confuse Pearl Harbourfront with Pink Pearl or, heaven forbid, Bright Pearl.

Edited March 4, 2008 by Endy' (log)

[canucklehead]

Lai Wah Heen in the Metropolitan Hotel downtown is very good high-end dim sum.  It's very non-traditional but I wouldn't go so far as to call it fusion.  It's the only place I can think of that would be sufficiently different from what you can get in Van.  I think canucklehead can comment further as I believe he visited on a previous trip.

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In terms of sheer quality of dim sum - Lai Wah Heen is very good - but so are alot places in Vancouver. BUT - the experience is stellar. Nothing comes close in Vancouver for sheer quality of service or the room (though slightly dated) - the attention to detail is amazing. You would be hard pressed to find better service even in HK. The room is has a quiet hush about it.

I was by myself - so I could not order anything too large - but I noticed that there a few dishes with truffles incorporated into it. It was done in a very clean way - so the truffle flavor took front and center (it was a noodle dish of some sort). It was very Asian in that way - not fusiony, if you know what I mean.

Very pricey though - I spend $40 on my own for lunch without even really trying.

Edited March 4, 2008 by canucklehead (log)

[fmed]

>> It was very Asian in that way - not fusiony, if you know what I mean.

That's exactly what I'm looking for. (I'm probably going to pass on Susur, for example.).

It sounds like Lai Wah Heen will be on the list.

>> here isn't really other regional Chinese in Toronto.

I'm surprised by this. I'm assuming this is true for the entire GTA?

It's been a number of years since I have visited TO. I would have thought the Regional Chinese boom that hit Vancouver/Rmd and LA/SGV would have affected TO's Chinese scene.

[Endy']

again the Toronto board might have better advice. I rarely see places that stray far from standard Cantonese. I would say that the biggest departure is found in Northern stuff (buns/dumplings). If you're into that, I've heard good things about Mother's Dumplings downtown but haven't been. (Not to be confused with the dumpling place near that which was recently shut down for a rat infestation if you come across that story.)

in general though, there mostly aren't good restaurants to be found in downtown Chinatown anymore. Richmond Hill is a much better bet if you can make it out there.

oh and speaking as someone who hates Asian fusion, Susur is one of my favourite Toronto restaurants. I don't really think of it as fusion...maybe more like French with a different palette of ingredients. But it does seem to be a love/hate kind of place.

[canucklehead]

I was really impressed with Susur when I went - the food was very well done, witty, and demonstrated French technique with Chinese flavors in a smart unobtrusive way. Plus - if I remember correctly, a mid week tasting was about $100 - very good value considering the cost of tasting menus at Lumiere.

There was a lot of fun in the food. They don't seem to take themselves too seriously.

[fmed]

You may have just changed my mind.

[Knightafter]

Which could be why Lumiere has all sorts of problems and Susur is doing well

[Endy']

There was a lot of fun in the food.  They don't seem to take themselves too seriously.

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that's an excellent comparison of Susur to Lumiere. My Lumiere meal last trip was fine but didn't really excite me enough to go back this time.

as an aside, Susur is much less structured than Lumiere, which seems to follow a more classical European flow (cheese course, multiple desserts). Lumiere probably gets a slight edge in service. I do remember being surprised by the price at Lumiere, but I can understand it since they're trying to operate on a different overall level (that's not some kind of hidden comment, I really do just mean their target is a higher level of presentation/service/ambience/etc.).