327972 Fri Sep 22 03:07:41 -0700 2006 12 23 Ontario (including Toronto) 0 1894061 My parents are coming to visit next week and I want to take them to good Chinese restaurants - I keep hearing good things about Ambassador for dim sum so we'll definitely go there, but what about for dinner? They've been away from Hong Kong for a long long time so I really want to take them to places that would remind them of HK - where would you guys suggest? Also - when is a good time to go for dim sum (say at Ambassador) on the weekend? I live downtown so I want to know when we need to get up for dim sum to avoid madness... Thanks! Fri Sep 22 03:07:41 -0700 2006 11667 cutehinano 1 1894180 There is a top-notch restaurant that recently opened up on Steeles just past Warden on the south side. It's called Casa Imperial, and it's in the old Victorian house where the Devonsleigh Place steakhouse used to be. What happened was that a collection of the chefs from the sterling Sam Woo Seafood Restaurant down the street moved over here when it opened up. They serve great dim sum, ditto for dinner. Now I grant you that the locale will hardly remind them of HK (once again it's Victorian styles, majestic with oil paintings all over and the like), but the food is excellent (if pricy) and the service/clientele is very Chinese. Here's a site that has some shots of their haute dim sum. The Dragon Dynasty pics look great too, you may also want to check them out (for dim sum OR dinner), 2301 Brimley in Scarborough. http://www.authenticchinese.com/photo_more.php Fri Sep 22 04:52:54 -0700 2006 1894061 14419 Chester Eleganté 1 1894188 Oh wow this is great. When you go to this index page and click on "View" under each restaurant, you can bring up their entire menu and restaurant info. Highly useful. They've also got Asian Legend (to reference the banana thread, they have this Deep Fried Banana dessert - dipped in honey and then plunged in ice water to harden the honey - that's really good...had it at Leslie/Finch), Big Mouth Kee (grubby HK street styles), Elegant View (I find they've slipped), Golden Court (very solid), House of Chan, New Sky, Peak Top (best bbq duck), Ah Fong frozen foods (I really enjoy the Crisp Bean Curd Roll and Cantonese Sponge Cake) and more. http://www.authenticchinese.com/listen_search_restaurant.php Fri Sep 22 05:13:04 -0700 2006 1894061 14419 Chester Eleganté 2 1894585 Chester, thanks for providing the link and the tips. Peak Top has been added to my list.... Much appreciated! Phoenikia Fri Sep 22 14:03:54 -0700 2006 1894188 10626 phoenikia 3 1903224 No prob. I just happened to come across it. Tue Sep 26 17:00:08 -0700 2006 1894585 14419 Chester Eleganté 1 1894547 You won't regret Ambassador for Dim Sum. Escpecially good are the X.O. Noodles, Hot and Sour Seafood Soup, Har Gow, Dried Shrimp Pancake, Curried baby Cuttlefish, and don't neglect their pasteries -- the deep fried red bean patties as well as their lotus seed paste balls with sesame seeds are both excellent, as are the egg custard buns. I know this is going to sound strange, but they actually make slightly better food on Weekdays because it ends up being made to order and there's no chance of it sitting around. If you do go on the weekend, aim for either between 10:30 and 11:30 or 1:00 onwards to avoid the rush. They do carry around specials on the weekend that they don't have on the regular menu (like soft-shell crabs when in season). Ambassador is hard to fault even when they aren't at their best. I took a group of friends there for my birthday last year and I was disappointed as it was the least good food I'd had there and was approaching what I'd call an "off day". But, it was still so good that they all now have Ambassador as their standard Dim Sum place over wherever they were going before (Bright Pearl and Dragon Dynsaty being among the places deemed not as good). But, that said, I wouldn't recomend Ambassador for dinner. It goes from absolutely outstanding and really rather cheap to not as good and overpriced. They often do the same dish worse at dinner than for Dim Sum (i.e. their X.O. noodles are not so good at dinner time). I'm not sure why this is. The only exception is that they do make what might be the best Peking Duck in Toronto on the dinner menu. I don't have a really good dinner suggestion and am interested to hear what others think. Fri Sep 22 13:45:08 -0700 2006 1894061 24055 Atahualpa 1 1894654 Try Sapphire in the Times Square plaza just east of Ambassador (northwest corner of Leslie and Hwy 7). There are alot of Chinese clientele that orders off the set menus (written in Chinese). The menu will often include peking duck. Very good dinner and much better than their dim sum in case someone is wondering. Fri Sep 22 14:36:00 -0700 2006 1894061 22176 LikeTheWolf 1 1894709 If you want high end food (shark fin etc) go with Dragon Dynasty. I also think they do one of the best chinese style BBQs. If you have money to burn, it's nice to get 1/2 a suckling pig. They do a really good crab in clay pot with vermacelli (butter based). But Magic Wok would be the place to go for Hong Kong style Wok Hei (Wok Air). Their expensive stuff sucks. But their steamed fish or sole done two ways is really good. As is their lobster with E-fu noodles (they cook the noodle in the brain sauce). Deep friend soft shell crab is also good. and the must have is the phoenix nest (get the 3 seafood one). The only problem with this place is bad service, they don't smile and move around like way efficient robots. I haven't been to Ambassador in years and years (I remembered not liking it then). I like to Dim Sum at Dragon Dynasty but my family likes Golden Court. Fri Sep 22 14:54:43 -0700 2006 1894061 23150 eco987 1 1894859 there's a chinese restaurant in the plaza at hwy 7 & warden (where there's a loblaws and other shops). i forget the name of the restaurant, but it has a green sign. i've had dinner there, and one of my friends and his family regularly go there for dinner. the food was quite good from what i tasted, and overall, as he is quite chowish, i trust his judgement. Fri Sep 22 15:47:04 -0700 2006 1894061 21259 auberginegal 1 1895997 Oh wow - thanks guys for all your replies! I will definitely aim for getting there by 10:30 to try to avoid having to wait a long time. We will definitely check out Magic Wok! Thanks!! Fri Sep 22 22:13:43 -0700 2006 1894061 11667 cutehinano 2 1900754 Just went for Ambassador dim sum this Saturday. It's not nearly as packed as Sundays, but you should still make a reservation regardless. Yes, the Ha Gow (what's this longstanding "Har Gow" business) is excellent as per usual, a seasonal (and similar) Satay beef/enoki dumpling is also very good, the Steamed Noodle Roll with Fillet Steak is leagues better than the beef noodle roll you'll find anywhere else, and for dessert make sure to try the Steamed Four Kinds of Sweet Dumplings (there was egg custard, taro, red bean paste, and...something else delicious). Most to least expensive looks like it's Casa Imperial, Ambassador, Dragon Dynasty, Golden Court, Grand Yatt, although it's really just a sixty cent difference per dish from top to bottom out of those five. Mon Sep 25 17:45:56 -0700 2006 1895997 14419 Chester Eleganté 3 1901644 Do they take reservations for dim sum? Thanks for the review - sounds great! Mon Sep 25 22:28:34 -0700 2006 1900754 11667 cutehinano 4 1903242 Yup, they take reservations for dim sum. Really, just order what you like cuz almost everything they make is good (skip the mango pudding though). Tue Sep 26 17:04:31 -0700 2006 1901644 14419 Chester Eleganté