Downtown Chinese?

[7smcb]

I know it's a question that's been batted around here from time to time - can anyone recommend a decent Chinese meal downtown? I can't bear the drive from downtown to Richmond Hill/Markam right now... And I'm discounting LWH which is great, but I'm thinking about something less grand.

And particularly - is any one of the seafood restaurants to be preferred?

Thanks very much,..

[autopi]

a previous visit to swatow left me a bit disappointed. (i ordered the swatow special soup, and didn't think it was that special.) however, i was encouraged to revisit swatow today by this thread, and got the beef stew w/wonton. it was very nicely done! richly flavorful broth, tender pieces of beef & tendon, braised greens, 3 or 4 delicate shrimp wontons and a fistful of noodles. all for about $8, inclusive, and super quick too. my only quibble is that i personally prefer my noodles cooked a very slight bit more, but this is really just a personal preference. great find!

[aser]

my rotation is swatow (wonton/brisket, curry squid, water spinach, salted fish fried rice), taste of china (wok hay dishes) and xam yu (seafood).

if ordering right, the quality is comparable to uptown mid range places.

[Teep]

Good choices aser. Once again I'd like to point out that Swatow is a noodle house, as are Gold Stone and King's Noodles. Their forte would be noodles and simple rice dishes. If you order dinner items from them, you would most probably be disappointed.

Taste of China is our go-to for dinner as well. (Used to be E Pan but since they changed hands the quality has declined.)

[aser]

I find swatow's wonton noodles to be much better than king's or goldstone. King's has pretty good congee though.

taste of china also has some very good simmered clay pot dishes.

again, each spot has its good dishes, just have to fish out what's best at each.

although I haven't had much luck w/ goldstone of late.

It's impossible to be good at everything if the menu has 150 choices. All about trial and error, or rather trusting others' opinions and ordering something new.

[justsayn]

I only get bbq and young chow fried rice from goldstone now. The dumplings/wonton are no longer special and the noodles were always just ok. Their roast pork, chicken wings are the best in the area IMO. BBQ pork is quite good but not the best. Soy chicken is always moist with great ginger/onion oil.

House of Gourmet is my new go-to for dumpling noodle soup place. Been there forever - have you tried it?

[aser]

yes, the one beside the royal bank/xinjiang skewer place.

can't say I recall the wonton noodle there, haven't been in a while. Last time I had siu yok dishes and they were good, roast duck.

I do find the bbq downtown is one area strongly lacking when compared to uptown.

[Luvtooeat]

Swatow

[juno]

I've been partial for years to the second-floor Yueh Tung, behind City Hall on Elizabeth St. just south of Dundas St. Popular at lunch, when I usually go, more restful at dinner. Mainly Cantonese cooking, reliable, tasty, usually good service, attractive prices. In Toronto's original Chinatown, it beats - in my view - just about every west-end mid-and-low-level Chinese joint around the Chinatown at Dundas and Spadina, though there are a few that come close. Yueh Tung's strong point: it's consistent, which is tough to say about any other Chinese resto at that price point. In my experience, it hardly ever has a bad day. You'll invariably eat well there.

[Splendid Wine Snob]

I enjoy Yueh Tung but they specialize in Hakka, not Cantonese. So if you head there best to order Hakka dishes.

I love Swatow. Their dumpling soups and wok hay dishes are awesome.

I haven't tried any seafood centric places at all in the last couple of years-would love to hear recs from other hounds.

[juno]

Yueh Tung is mainly Hakka? I never noticed, and I've been going, on and off, since it opened a couple of decades ago, across the street from its present location. I can only blame the fact that many downtown Chinese restos, trying for the broadest possible appeal, tend to cherry-pick the most popular dishes from the many regional Chinese cuisines into one all-purpose menu. And I don't even bother looking at Yueh Tung's menu anymore. I just order what I'm used to enjoying. Next time in, just for the change, I must actually look at a menu and seek out some of the Hakka entries. Thanks for the tip.

I've never had much luck, at Dundas and Spadina, a either Swatow, in my view a total washout, or New Sky, whose fish and seafood dishes, I find, though more affordable and acceptable enough, aren't close to what I can get in northeast Toronto. But I've done reasonably well in that neighbourhood at Goldstone and King's Noodle for modest, uncomplicated dishes. I've yet to get to Taste of China.

[childofthestorm]

FYI the Chili Chicken from the Hakka menu probably ends up on 90% of the tables at Yueh Tung, pretty much their signature dish.

[Luvtooeat]

Taste of China 338 Spadina Ave ( Joanne Kates and my new fav )

Lee Garden 331 Spadina Ave

New Sky 353 Spadina Avenue

[justsayn]

+1 New Sky

Because Swatow soup has become too sweet for my tastes and Goldstone has early-ish hours, my new dumpling/wonton noodle soup hot spot is House of Gourmet on Dundas, east of Spadina. Excellent house-made dumplings and wontons. Noodles are super tasty and perfect. 484 Dundas St W

For entree dishes Swatow is hit and miss for me and therefore we never pick it over New Sky which right now is in top form!

E-Pan was always a decent alternative but haven't been in months.

[Splendid Wine Snob]

What dishes do you recommend from New Sky?

[justsayn]

Japanese tofu with king mushroom
e-fu noodles
green beans xo sauce
lobster with onion ginger
pick any fresh fish (grouper)
hot pot of veggies and tofu
queen's steamed chicken
eggplant and chicken
Sliced schezuan chicken - not exact name, but sliced chicken dishes always good!

[Splendid Wine Snob]

Thanks!

[justsayn]

NP. Hope you like it. Forgot to mention - their chili oil is really tasty with fried onions!

[Wench Foraday]

+1 Taste of China

[7smcb]

Taste of China it is - I think. Thanks to you all. Anything anyone has particularly enjoyed there?

[justsayn]

Please report back!

[7smcb]

We ordered very simply - lobster with ginger and green onion, salt and pepper shrimp and snow pea greens. It was all very good, and (IMO) nicer and fresher seafood than I've had at Xam Yu in recent years. Nicely prepared as well. We saw what looked like a very lovely steamed fish being eaten at the next table - we'll be back for sure.

Thanks to you all...

[justsayn]

Thanks! I will check it out and compare to New Sky!

[Wench Foraday]

Any seafood I've ever had there has been reliable (stir-fried lobster, oysters with garlic or black bean sauce, whole steamed fish, squid/shrimp/scallop mix). I think their taro nest (the nest itself) is better than average, and the last time I went the pork neck meat dish was also quite well done.

The beef seemed average but then again, we've never ordered a "filet mignon" dish, just regular sliced beef, so I couldn't say for sure that they wouldn't give you some nice cubes of steak if you ordered the proper dish.

We've also had decent food at both E-Pan and New Sky.