Dim Sum and Then Sum

My brother and I were awful eaters as children. Is it green? Hate it! Is there sauce on that? Don’t want it! It’s not pizza? Forget about it! The exception to the rule was when we would go to Dim Sum in San Francisco. Chicken Feet? Yes, please! Sui Mai? Give us more! Is it green? No, it’s dim sum!

Needless to say, we both got over our bad eating habits and are now both excellent foodies. But dim sum will always have a special place in our hearts.

Which brings me to Lai Wah Heen. When I got to Toronto, I heard from fellow LA film biz folk and dining guides that this Chinese restaurant in the Metropolitan Hotel was the best dim sum…ever! When you walk in, you realize you are in a swanky place – it is quite beautiful inside. And the dim sum is has fresh ingredients with interesting twists on the ol’favorites…that is only the start of my problems with this restaurant. I am a dim sum purist. To bring in California cuisine to dim sum is just plain wrong. When I get sesame seed balls, I do not want them filled with chocolate, it has to be black bean paste. Another problem is that you order off the menu…no carts! The carts are what make dim sum such an experience. When you pick off a cart, you get much more variety than choosing from a menu. Then came the check. Dining at Lai Wah Heen is almost twice as much as you would pay at a normal dim sum joint. I was not impressed. Two and a Half Smacks.

Our Canadian Crew, Dawn, Russell and Sonja, told us about a dim sum restaurant near our apartment. I was so happy when I entered Pink Pearl for the first time…lots and lots of carts. Pink Pearl is a small little restaurant that is quite homey (perfect for families). The dim sum was very good, almost on par with some of my favorite San Francisco spots. They have a lot of different varieties (carts help, folks) that you can choose from. And yes, the sesame balls had bean paste in them. My wife Renee and I also went there once for dinner. Their dinner plates are very light compared to most Chinese fare. We had a plate of walnut shrimp which were sautéed instead of deep-fried…a welcomed treat. Three and a Half Smacks.

Finally, BC and I ventured to Toronto’s Chinatown to try the dim sum at Bright Pearl Seafood. It is a large dim sum palace on the 2nd floor of a shopping center and was packed with people (this place looked the most like what you are used too when going to dim sum). My one complaint with this restaurant is that they took a long time to get the carts to us (BC had a hard time getting his Sui Mai fix. There was one funny moment when we heard a cart lady shout out “Sui Mai” and then turn away from us…I thought BC was going to run off and stop her). The dim sum is good, not great, but good. They also have a fry station where you can get custom orders of pot stickers and the like. Three Smacks.

-JB


Lai Wah Heen - Metropolitan Hotel, 108 Chestnut St., Toronto (416) 977-9899

Pink Pearl - 120 Avenue Rd., Toronto (416) 966-3631

Bright Pearl Seafood - 346-348 Spandina Ave., 2nd Floor, Toronto (416) 979-3988