The mercury dropped significantly over the past week, bringing an unnecessary amount of flaky white particles with it. While the later half of the week was teeming with bitter winds and absolute frigidness, the first few days were still bearable enough for a short walk out to Chinatown for lunch.
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Authentic Chinese cuisine is difficult to come by in Metro Toronto, especially seeing as the menus are usually curated to suit Western tastebuds (looking at you, Pearl King).
There are, of course, a few exceptions: Chinese-run restaurants in Chinatown. Characteristically, the waitstaff will speak little to no English, as there is no demand and the majority of their customers are of Chinese heritage. Dim Sum King fits these specifications perfectly.
There are, of course, a few exceptions: Chinese-run restaurants in Chinatown. Characteristically, the waitstaff will speak little to no English, as there is no demand and the majority of their customers are of Chinese heritage. Dim Sum King fits these specifications perfectly.
In celebration of Chinese New Year, a large group lunch took place at the restaurant; it consisted of a ten-course meal as opposed to dim sum items picked from the carts circulating around, including a starter soup, Peking Duck, and other classic Chinese dishes.
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Lunch hours are relatively short, so it was difficult to savour the taste of each individual dish. Though from what I could recall of the speedy culinary adventure, the seafood soup was a tad too thick for my liking but possessed a decent amount of shrimp and specks of white fish. The Peking duck was on the average side, while the short ribs were overtenderized but still tasty.
I've never been a big fan of lobsters (likely due to overconsumption of the crustacean during my childhood years), and thus opted out of the garlicy shellfish, munching solely on the well-seasoned glass noodles. The crispy lettuce wraps, on the other hand, were a total winner - undoubtedly my favourite dish of the day. The two-part dish was a nice combination of flavour, crunch, and texture.
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Steamed tilapia with sweet soy sauce and a veggie dish comprising of bok choy and enoki mushrooms in a diluted oyster sauce were also served up throughout the meal. Neither was particularly outstanding in my opinion: the fish had been overcooked, while the sauce for the veggie dish had been evidently thickened to a paste through the use of copious amounts of cornstarch.
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Finishing off the meal were generously-portioned plates of fried rice and yi mien (伊麵), which are also referred to as flat egg noodles hailing from the Canton region. The fried rice was rather standard in appearance, so I chose the 伊麵 as my carb of choice instead.
Last but not least was dessert: a bowl of red bean soup and platter of almond cookies and jelly with Goji berries. The red bean soup was done surprisingly well (a rarity in my experiences), maintaining a good balance of sweetness and chewy bean-like properties. While I would have preferred the almond cookies to be served at room temperature, they were still great to munch on. The Goji berry jelly did not contain dried osmanthus as I had initially assumed and also exhibited a dire need of a higher gelatin content when it began to crumble upon stabbing with a fork.
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Despite my aforementioned less-than-stellar opinions, Dim Sum King did considerably well in my books as a casual Chinese restaurant. To be quite frank, dining out "family-style" (turntable and all) is an experience I undergo much too frequently when in Vancouver. Consequently, I've become accustomed to stray from such get-togethers when possible. But Dim Sum King was enjoyable enough that I have the intention to return and try their dim sum.
Even our own Prime Minister approves!
I also had the rare opportunity of spotting the NBA-week limited SNKRS EXPRESS streetcar touring on Queen Street on the journey back.
Did I mention that I was able to obtain Nutella & Go samples from Richmond-Adelaide Centre and Metro Hall three days in a row? Newfound knowledge: Nutella & Go + Pretzels is a sure winner.
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Other visuals of the week include maneuvering through slush and a mild blizzard and making my first purchase at Kupfert and Kim via Ritual.
The vegan-friendly and gluten-free-supporting franchise is no stranger to Toronto, especially in the PATH. But with food and drink items bearing price tags capable of resonating fear from within my wallet, I had never contemplated making a purchase before.
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Seriously hankering for a green smoothie, I settling for the Crowd Pleaser, a smoothie created with kale, banana, hemp seeds, pear, lime, and ginger. The flavour of the ginger was a bit overpowering for me, but nothing too significant. I was actually rather appreciative that the smoothie was more on the refreshing side as opposed to bloating-inducing (as with similar blended concoctions), though the high price point is definitely a factor to consider should I return for a detox.
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