2 Days of Chinese around Toronto

In the past, my family would often go to Toronto for a long weekend to enjoy all the Chinese dining options in Toronto. After being in Hong Kong last year, it's hard to enjoy Chinese dining in Toronto as much as I did in the past. No worries, there was still good food to be enjoyed!

We usually stick to destinations within a grid of streets bordered by Kennedy to the east, Highway 7 to the north, Steeles to the south, and West Beaver Creek to the west. (of course these are not exact as we end up a little outside these streets).

For dinner on one of the evenings, my dad's high schools friends treated us to Golden Court Abalone Restaurant. We had huge crab legs, steamed fish, veggies & seafood, fried crispy chicken, Hong Kong style sweet and sour pork, and beef in a clay pot. The service was very attentive, professional, and helpful. The food was fresh and beautifully prepared. I've never been a fan of the Hong Kong style sweet and sour pork b/c I often found the breading to be overwhelming and the cuts of pork to be fatty, but they really perfected it here.

Golden Court Abalone Restaurant
270 West Beaver Creek Road
Richmond Hill - (905) 707-6628

In the same mall, my dad's friend recommended that the best wonton mein to be had was at Jim Chai Kee. As you can see the wonton are bigger than golf balls!

You can choose between two different kinds of noodle – I chose the mai fun over the traditional noodles b/c I prefer the softer texture. They also opened a second location, Hello! Wonton Noodle on Yonge St.

Jim Chai Kee
270 West Beaver Creek, Unit 18
Richmond Hill, Ont
905-881-8778

Many restaurants have special pricing on dim sum during off hours. Unfortunately we were 15 min to late at Sam Woo Seafood Restaurant. Before 11:30 all dim sum is priced at $2 regardless of the size, which was about $3.50 for a medium and $4-5 for a large. I've always had fond memories of their mini lotus glutinous rice. Their filling to rice ratio is perfect. The filling is actually quite moist and filled with a little dried scallop in addition to the ground pork. The end product is very tasty! Their shiu mai is beautifully presented with a large piece of shrimp on top of the dumpling w/a sprinkling of the roe. My favorite dim sum dish: rice noodle wrapped around a fried doughnut was executed beautifully here! The rice noodle here also had chopped scallions and dried shrimp in it. The doughnut was still crisp after being wrapped in the steamed rice noodle which indicated that it was freshly fried.

Sam Woo Seafood Restaurant is located in the Bamburgh Gardens strip mall. They also have a sister restaurant on the other side of the mall, Sam Woo BBQ Restaurant. It's not bad, but I wouldn't personally seek it out. They also have a special late night menu and stay open until 1 or 2am. In the middle of the mall is a grocery store with a pretty good bakery that seems to get great business. At the end of the day, things are marked down to 3/$1 or 4/$1 depending on the item. We purchased some pineapple shaped buns, and have to say that they remained soft & fresh for 2 whole days! Also in that mall by McDonald's is Jin Chung Bakery. We happened to walk in as they were pulling their egg custard tarts out of the oven. I've never had them so warm and fresh before, too bad these factors didn't help on the taste factor! You could taste the fat that was used in the flaky crust, and the egg custard was very bland. They give a small cup of freshly made soybean milk with a minimum purchase.

Sam Woo Seafood Restaurant (more locations in S. Cali & Vegas)
325 Bamburgh Circle
Scarborough
(416) 502-2888

Congee Wong is always on our list of places to hit. Depending on the size of our group and our appetite will determine our order. Since it was just the four of us for an afternoon snack, we ordered the large bowl of seafood congee that includes shrimp, scallops, fish fillets, & calamari. It's so good you don't need to add any condiments! All the seafood ingredients taste so fresh.

Congee Wong Restaurant (multiple locations)
(905) 474-1844
3235 Hwy 7
Markham

Something that my mom always brings back for family and friends here are hand rolled "cigar" cookies from Tung Tung Dan Quen King.

They also make those little egg shaped sponge cakes in a waffle iron like appliance. In my family, we call them "Hong Kong cakes" b/c they are sold all over the streets there. Tung Tung is located inside the Market Village mall at ne corner Steeles & Kennedy.

Tung Tung (multiple locations)
4390 Steeles Ave. East
Markham
(905)948-1288