Susur Lee menu at Taste of China

[table4onthefly]

Had a customer tell me that Susur eats here whenever he is in town. I know they're very accomodating there about custom dishes/menus. I was thinking of jag asking them to send me whatever Susur usually orders. Has anyone else done this before?

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Susur
601 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V1M5, CA

Taste of China
338 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON M5T2G2, CA

[Tatai]

I was intrigued - and humoured - by this thread and so decided to try out Taste of China last night. We arrived at about 9:30 and, being in the mood for solid "North American-style" Chinese food, we ordered quite conservatively: wonton soup, spring rolls, double lobster w/ green onions and ginger, General Tao chicken, and spicy salt and pepper prawns.

We were extremely happy with each dish. The wonton broth was flavourful and needed no "doctoring," the wontons themselves were delicate and tasty, spring rolls were crisp and non-greasy. The lobster was unusually meaty, with nice lobster flavour, but there could have been more of a gingery kick. Happily, though, the sauce was light and not laden with cornstarch as is often the case. The prawns were delicious - more salty/peppery than spicy, with a very light, crisp batter and perfectly cooked, "crisp" prawns (i.e., with that wonderful bite that one rarely gets). The General Tao chicken, likewise, was in the lightest of coatings, very crisp, and with a sauce that leaned more towards the authentic, vinegar-based version of this dish than the overly sweet, gloppy sauce that is most often found in Toronto. (I did still find it just a wee bit on the sweet side and overcame this by dipping the chicken pieces into vinegar, which is readily available at every table.)

Our server was very jovial and attentive; I'd say she was one of the nicest servers we've ever had in Chinatown. We'll definitely be back.

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Taste of China
338 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON M5T2G2, CA

[acd123]

Thanks for the report. When we stay downtown for Chinese, we usually don't stray too far from our favourites, Xam Yu, Asian Legend, and Chinese Traditional Buns, but next time, we'll try Taste of China out.

[Herb]

I think you'll find that Susur Lee has been "spotted" in nearly every restaurant in Chinatown. He also likes Pizza Pizza (based on a Toronto Life article a couple of years back).

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Susur
601 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V1M5, CA

[dubchild]

No doubt one has to take recommendations with a grain of salt. Apparently Susur would hand out the business cards for Taste of China and recommend it. I don't know if he does this for other restos. Are they friends of his or is the food really great, ultimately Susur is the one who knows. Given his reputation it seemed worth gambling on trying this inexpensive restaurant. I don't think we had the salt and pepper shrimp but we didn't have the items listed by petpod and Toronto Fastfoodie.
A few years back the Rudino brothers suggested Toronto street carts should offer frog legs. I couldn't help but suspect this comment was solely intended to get them press. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe they were serious. Is Susur serious about Pizza Pizza, who knows. But I'm serious when I say Pizza Pizza sucks big time.

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Susur
601 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V1M5, CA

Taste of China
338 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON M5T2G2, CA

[table4onthefly]

Pizza pizza may have been the answer to "what's your favorite pizza chain?". I know this past year they asked mcewan that and he said pizza nova. He also said pizza pizza is trash haha

[pinstripeprincess]

he does have two growing teenage boys to feed that don't necessarily have gourmand palates.

[peppermint pate]

Yes, I saw him at Swatow once. It was quite late at night (more like early in the morning), which I think is often the reason you'll see various chefs in Chinatown after they finish their work. That and the fact that there's good comfort food to be had there as well, of course.

[aser]

wow this is on some next level foodie nerdery

[T Long]

Perhaps, but so what... its a great story. Thanks dubchild for sharing!

[petpod]

don't know what susur orders, but my go to there is:

pea shoots
snails in black bean sauce
crispy beef in XO sauce
general tso chicken.

best resto in chinatown imho

[Toronto Fastfoodie]

I totally agree! I get the spicy green beans, mango chicken, and lobster fried rice for sure. And then change it up with a few other things...

[dubchild]

Did this with some friends a few years back. We told them Susur sent us and if they could give us whatever they wanted. I don't remember any of the food, but I do remember none of us were blown away and we haven't been back.

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Susur
601 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V1M5, CA

[table4onthefly]

That's unfortunate to hear that. Did Susur really send you, or was that a clever ploy? Haha

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Susur
601 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V1M5, CA

[dubchild]

Just a ploy, but I doubt it's the first time they've heard it.

[foodyDudey]

And it's quite possible that since they've heard that line before, they just gave you anything they wanted to, and not what Susur orders!

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Susur
601 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V1M5, CA

[table4onthefly]

That's a good point! The aforementioned customer also told me that susur's favorite is the salt and pepper shrimp.