When I heard about the new restaurant at the Soho Met Hotel by Susur Lee, Luckee, I was really excited to try it. With my love for uniquely designed restaurants and my growing love for dim sum, I knew it would be a great experience. I met my sister there this past Saturday for dinner.
Luckee serves a small selection of dim sum dishes in addition to larger dishes of meat, seafood, fish, noodles, rice, steamed baos, and plenty of vegetarian options (you can download the menu here). Everything is made with a modern twist. The dishes are inspired from a fusion of tastes from Susur Lee's travels around Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Susur Lee was born in Hong Kong, where he began his career at one of the oldest most prestigious hotels there - the Peninsula Hotel. He is now a Toronto-based celebrity chef, with three popular restaurants in the city and as a judge on the television show, Chopped.
Coming from a Chinese family, I grew up eating a lot of dim sum. Back when I used to live with my parents, I really disliked going out for Chinese food. Since we ate it literally every day, it was nothing special for me. But now, I have grown to love it. I've lived alone for the past 6 years and rarely (never) eat Chinese food by myself or with friends. So every week when I go to see my mom for lunch, I usually ask to go for dim sum.
While waiting for our food to arrive, I took a walk around the restaurant. Next time I come, I would love to sit at the dim sum bar here. The open kitchen allows you to eat while watching the chefs prepare the food.
I guess now that I've been going to dim sum with my mom so often, I am quite familiar with all the types of dishes. I knew exactly what I wanted here. Actually, I wanted to try everything on the menu. One of the best things about dim sum is that everything is small/meant to be shared, so you get a chance to try a lot of different things before getting full. We started off with this "Long Xia Gow" - lobster and asparagus dumplings. This was really delicious - one of my favourites!
Crispy Tofu Cake (with corn and mushrooms) and Crispy Taro & Turnip Cake. Loved these as well. I would re-order them both next time I go!
Steamed Spinach & Chinese Celery Dumplings. Didn't really like this one - it tasted pretty bland.
Chicken Cheung Fun - Rice Roll (with tofu, ginger, green onion & soya sauce). Cheung Funs are my favourite to order at dim sum. This one was really flavourful. I would definitely order it again. They also have a Shrimp Cheung Fun which I heard is delicious too.
The Cantonese Style Ginger Fried Rice with egg white, dried conpoy scallop, asparagus & bacon. I probably wouldn't order this again. It was good but nothing special - what you can expect at any other Chinese restaurant. It tasted a bit bland as well.
Dessert time! We ordered these three to share. Chocolate Custard Steamed Sponge Roll (with hot chocolate dipping sauce), Passion Fruit & Pineapple Coconut Mango Pudding (with coconut mousse) and Rice Donut (with egg custard & sesame). The Mango Pudding was my favourite! I would definitely get that again. I didn't really like the Rice Donut too much.
Recommendations/What We Loved
- Have a seat at the "dim sum bar"
- For dinner for two, I recommend 2 mains, 4 dim sum, and 3 desserts to share.
- Our Favourites: Long Xia Gow, Chicken Cheung Fun, Crispy Taro & Turnip Cake, Crispy Tofu Cake, Passion Fruit & Pineapple Coconut Mango Pudding
- We didn't get a chance to try these but I would also suggest (because I love them at other Chinese restaurants): Shrimp Cheung Fun, Luckee Duck, Wok Fried Green Beans and Black Sesame Tong Yuen Tart.
- The service was excellent. Our server was extremely friendly and knowledgeable in the menu. He was really patient with all the tables and eager to give suggestions on what to try.
- I really loved the decor. It's very modern and unique. It reminded me of some places I visited in NYC and Paris, the types that we don't get many of in Toronto.
What We Didn't Like
- Luckee is (expectedly) more expensive than your typical dim sum restaurant. I felt some of the dishes were overpriced (if comparing the taste, to what's served at other Chinese dim sum restaurants). I wouldn't say it's not worth it though, as I would definitely go back to Luckee.
- It would be helpful to include a few photos on the menu. I knew what every dish was as I've had it all before (at other restaurants and because I can speak Chinese), but it may be confusing for someone who has never had dim sum to know what "baos" or "rice rolls" are like. I also think the Rice Donuts should be re-named Sesame Balls. Personally I'm more comfortable ordering food when I already know what it looks like.
- All the dim sum came first and the large fried rice we ordered came last. It would be good if the rice came in the beginning with the dim sum so they can be eaten together. I see dim sum more as side dishes to the mains (rice and noodles).
Luckee is located at 328 Wellington Street West, a short walk from the CN Tower and SkyDome/Rogers Centre. To book a table, call 416-935-0400.
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This post archived in: Toronto
A few nights ago we went for a wonderful 3-hour long dinner at Hy's Steakhouse. We left incredibly full and satisfied with the meal. It was one of the best dinners I've ever had, and I'm craving all the food now as I look back on these photos.
I can't believe that just a few years ago I hated steak. Well, I would never order it at restaurants and I definitely was not as "into food" as I am now. Growing up I always ordered the most simple things when we went out to eat. Now I'm slowly becoming more adventurous with food. Whenever I have dinner plans at a new restaurant, I would excitedly go online to see their menu and plan out everything I would be ordering. I was especially excited to try Hy's Steakhouse as I wanted to try most things on their menu. I had a hard time narrowing down what to order..and I'm happy to say that everything we ended up ordering that night exceeded my expectations.
This is what you see when you walk in. I saw some photos and a virtual tour of the restaurant before going, but in person it was a lot more beautiful. It's quite dark in there (in a good way). I love the high ceilings and the way all the tables are arranged.
The second floor has a nice view over the main dining area, and is available for private events.
We weren't planning on ordering this Cheese Toast but our server recommended it and I'm glad he did! It was so good. The cheese is freshly baked/melted onto the soft bread. If we didn't have so much more food coming I probably would've ordered another basket of this.
Smoked Sockeye Salmon with capers, red onion and herbed cream cheese
Sauteed Garlic Shrimp (loved this!). The sauce is good for dipping the cheese bread too.
Steak Neptune: Filet Mignon topped with fresh asparagus and blue crabmeat, finished with hollandaise sauce and a side of garlic mashed potatoes. You can also have the option of a New York steak instead of Filet Mignon. The steak was very tender and juicy, and perfectly cooked.
Roast Rack of Lamb: herb crusted with rosemary and mint sauce.
For the accompaniments, we ordered: creamed corn (my favourite), steamed fresh asparagus, creamed spinach and grilled beefsteak tomatoes. I recommend the corn and tomatoes. The spinach was too creamy.
After the dinner, we decided to have dessert in their lounge area. Before I tell you about that, here's some more photos of their main dining area.
Want a peek in the kitchen?
This is the booth we got - "booth 301". It's right in between the two dining areas. In my opinion it's the best spot in the whole restaurant! Nice and spacious and great if you want some privacy. (Sorry about the dark photos though..)
After the dinner we came to their bar and lounge area here for desserts. You can't see in this photo but there is a grand piano under the portrait. Two musicians play live jazz music as you sit and relax.
Our desserts: an apple crumble, chocolate cake and some vanilla ice cream.
Overall, it was a wonderful dining experience and I would love to go back again. It definitely exceeded my expectations. I live very close by and Hy's only recently caught my attention. I have walked by many times before but I actually didn't know it was such a nice steakhouse. From their logo I always thought they were more like a pub style place. I found out that one of the companies I work with had shot their interiors for Google Business View. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to review it for my blog! Since it was really dark when we were there, and my photos don't do the place justice..take a virtual tour here to get a better idea of the interiors.
Recommendations
- Reserve booth "301"
- Have dinner in the dining area and desserts/drinks in the lounge
- The cheese toast (pre-appetizer) is a must!
- Our favourites: Garlic Shrimp (appetizer), Roast Rack of Lamb (main), Steak Neptune (main), Grilled Beefsteak Tomatoes (accompaniment), Creamed Corn (accompaniment), Apple Crumble (dessert)
What We Loved
- The atmosphere: classy, intimate, and very relaxing. Great for a romantic dinner for two or a business dinner. It is the perfect place to have a long meal.
- The lounge: live jazz music. They keep playing until the last customer leaves.
- The food: we loved every dish we ordered (except for one - see below). A few things were the best we ever tried. I normally don't like shrimp but the garlic shrimp is amazing. If you like lamb, Hy's serves one of the best in Toronto. & I would go back just to have the cheese toast!
- The servers: they were all very professional, attentive, and knowledgeable in the menu. Their communication skills with each other are excellent as well. We were served by a few different servers who knew what our preferences were without having to ask again.
- The whole restaurant is very clean. Not a speck of dust anywhere!
Suggestions
- The tableware: was pretty basic. Usually I like when high-end restaurants have more unique cutlery and dishware sets.
- Uniforms: I didn't like what the servers wore (white coats, shirts and black pants). Somehow it doesn't exactly match the setting.
- The Creamed Spinach: had too much cream
Hy's Steakhouse is located at 120 Adelaide Street West, and open for lunch and dinner every Monday to Saturday until 11pm (only dinner on Saturdays). To reserve, call 416.364.6600.
Their other locations across Canada include: Whistler, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa and soon - Calgary
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This post archived in: Toronto
A few nights ago we went for dinner at 360, the revolving restaurant at the top of the CN Tower. The restaurant continually spins around (very slowly of course) and makes a full 360 degrees so you can see all views around the city no matter where you sit.
Unsurprisingly, this is a place more popular with tourists than with locals. Including this time, I've only been here to eat three times in my life. The first time many years ago was with my family on the day one of the Harry Potter books were released. I remember I was so excited that I brought the book to read while at the restaurant. After that, we went to watch the Mamma Mia musical. The second time was with my sister a couple years ago at Horizons Restaurant, one floor below 360. I thought I had blogged about it but I can't seem to find the post anymore...
From all those times I post about Canoe, I'm sure you know I love top-floor restaurants with a view over the city. That is the best thing about 360. I like the atmosphere and the food isn't bad..but definitely not amazing.
After a quick elevator ride, we were escorted to one of these comfy booth seats
Pan Seared Atlantic Salmon with PEI Mussels
with fingerling potatoes, wilted spinach and saffron cream
Alberta AAA Peppered Striploin Steak
with Yukon Gold mashed potato, French beans, Cognac, and green peppercorn sauce
In between the main course and dessert, I went to snap more photos..
A lot of my pics came out so blurry..think it's time to upgrade the camera..
My Ontario Pumpkin Tart with Cinnamon Custard (and vanilla ice cream). I love pumpkin pie. I went through a phase last year around Thanksgiving when I ate it every single day for about three weeks. I was really excited to see it on the menu..but unfortunately it didn't taste as good as I hoped.
The mango sorbet was delicious though!
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This post archived in:
Toronto
