Showing posts with label steamed curry cuttlefish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label steamed curry cuttlefish. Show all posts

Casa Imperial Fine Chinese Cuisine 名門金宴 (Toronto)


At first glance, you wouldn’t think Casa Imperial is a Chinese restaurant, much less one that serves authentic dim sum. Set in an altered mansion, the baroque details, gilded frames, and sparkly chandeliers suggests the place would serve more high tea than jasmine tea.

Even though they do not offer an early bird special, the restaurant is still fairly busy, especially on holidays and special occasions – skip Mother’s Day unless you like waiting around and fuming. As for their pricing, it’s in line with the regular menus found elsewhere: $3.80 for small, $4.80 for medium, and $5.80 for large with $1.50 per person tea charge.

My must-have dish is a siu mai (L). The conpoy (dried scallop) topping the pork and shrimp dumpling adds little to the experience and gives the dish a boring beige appearance. Nonetheless, the siu mai itself is tasty; a balanced combination of filling to ensure it’s hearty but not hard.


For something a little more Instagramable, the scallop and spinach dumpling (L) has a nice pop of colour. It’s also fairly flavourful with enough seasoning added to the shrimp filling and wrapper, compared to other places.


Casa Imperial certainly isn’t afraid to lay on the spice, there’s plenty of it in the curry sauce marinating the steamed baby cuttlefish (L). The seafood is enveloped in salt and heat, to the point that you may want to ensure there’s a neutral rice dish to pair with the cuttlefish.


Something like a steamed rice pot, as the sticky rice with conpoy and chicken in lotus leaf (L) already has a lot going on in the fragrant parcel. Aside from the chicken and dried scallop, there’s also pieces of Chinese cured sausage and salted egg yolk, traditional fillings that have been substituted by cheaper minced pork at other restaurants.


The crispy bean curd rice roll with shrimp and pork (L) is such a great combination of textures. Soft silky rice rolls surrounds a shrimp and pork sausage like filling that’s encased in a crunchy bean curd sheet. It’s a little heavy, so make sure there’s at least four of you to share.


Our meal seemed to include a lot of things that spent time in the deep fryer. The crispy meat dumplings (S) and chicken wings with lemon grass (L) both arrive hot, hot, hot! While they’re nothing to rave about, they’re still solid offerings, especially when they’re so fresh from the fryer.


It’s not every day you’ll find fruit mixed with shrimp. In reality, the peach in the crispy spinach nest shrimp roll with peach (L) is simply the puree dipping sauce on the side. The puffy spinach laced batter is pretty, but also fairly oily… I personally still enjoy the plain Jane bean curd sheets. Yet, this combination was better for my denture wearing grandmother, who had no difficulties biting through the airy crust.


Same with the soft black sesame dumpling coated with cashew nut (L), a ball of sticky glutinous rice filled with a warm oozing black sesame paste and covered with powdered and crushed cashews to keep everything from sticking together. It’s a nice way to finish after all the deep fried dishes that graced the second half of brunch.



If you’re not a fan of leftovers, Casa Imperial’s portion sizes are larger than normal, so you’ll want to order less and add on later. Or you’ll just have to get a bigger group together – four or six works best – so that each person gets a mouthful of the dishes. It’s the sampling and varied bites that makes dim sum such a great experience. Even if the oil-based paintings doesn’t make it feel like you’re in a Chinese restaurant.

Overall mark - 9 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 4125 Steeles Avenue East

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Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

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Fancy Chinese Cuisine 利嘉盛 for dim sum (Markham)


I may have found a new go-to place for dim sum: Fancy Chinese Cuisine. However, I’m hesitant to label the restaurant with the title as its predecessors over the last few years gradually were replaced – mainly as the wait times during their special pricing hours became unbearable. 

Fancy also has the special (between 8:30am – 11:30am or after 1:30pm) where anything classified as small, medium or large is $2.98. Nonetheless, even if you dine during the prime lunch period (11:30am – 1:30pm) prices aren’t much higher: medium dishes are $3.28 and large/special sizes a mere $1 more for $3.98.

These relatively stable prices means there’s less people rushing to get in before 11:30; most visits we were seated within a short wait when arriving before 10:00am. Finally! A place that caters to my impatient personality.  

Fancy also executes dim sum in an OG fashion. Sure, they’re not shaped into Instagram friendly flowers or animals, but they do offer strong flavours and traditional elements. The shrimp dumpling (har gow) and pork dumpling (siu mai; both L) are solid versions of the favourites – the shrimp not overcooked and the wrapper relatively thin on the har gow while the siu mai has the customary juicy pork mixture studded with shrimp.


The shrimp and chives dumpling (L) is also decent: a large size and the chives adding a herby element to the dumpling.


Rather than layering peas or watercress under the steamed beef ball (S), the chef opts for a sheet of parchment paper instead, which makes separating the balls a breeze. The recipe could use a bit more coriander, but the consistency was bang on. Personally, I prefer the beef ball Chew Chow style (M), essentially the same meat balls but served in a broth with watercress. The soup is your typical salty MSG version, but keeps the beef warmer and moister.


With seven fillings available for rice rolls, there’s something for everyone. Having tried the steamed shrimp (L) and BBQ pork (M), they’re both good: enough ingredients so each bite has filling and slits made to allow the soy sauce to permeate further. Although the rice sheets are on the thicker side, the wrapper was still silky and soft.


On the other hand, the fried Chinese dough rice roll (M) was terrible, where the dough fritter was either stale or so over fried that it shatters into oily shards.


Similarly, the conpoy with dumpling in soup (L) was a disappointment. The dish was overcooked rendering the shrimp into small bites of rubber and the actual wrapper mushy.


Normally considered an extra-large dish at other restaurants, you can still order the beef tendon in special sauce (L) at the special pricing. Tendon has a soft chewy gelatinous texture that’s an acquired taste – even for myself, it wasn’t until my adult years that I started enjoying the dish. Fancy’s “special” sauce is a cross between the sweet red sauce used with chicken feet, a spice (perhaps curry?), and tons of garlic. The dish certainly doesn’t lack flavours.


Similarly, the cuttlefish with curry sauce (M) is one of the more powerful ones I’ve had over the last few years.  


The chicken and mushroom steamed rice (L) is served in the typical clay pot. Despite skimping on the soy sauce (a mere tablespoon), there’s sufficient amounts of chicken, black fungus and golden needle (a Chinese herb) to make up for it.


While the mixed meat and seafood congee (L) looks plain, once you dig into the bowl you’ll find a decent portion of fish and pork rind mixed throughout – both white ingredients that simply blends right into the rice. The salted pork and preserved egg congee (L) offers more contrast and I’m surprised by the large pieces of meat and egg within it, it seemed as if every spoon was filled with the ingredients.


Fancy’s dessert offerings, on the menu, does seem skimpy with five choices. However, it’s augmented by options pushed around in carts, so you may want to save room for those. The dumpling with black sesame paste (S) was sweet enough with plenty of coconut, peanut and sugar inside. I loved the sesame casing, which was soft, chewy and fresh.  


How wonderful it feels to have a place to regularly visit again. I appreciate the short waits for a table and my parents love the small touches such as asking whether you want a newspaper with the meal (complimentary and yours to keep afterwards). It’s friendly and comforting, a restaurant you’ll likely find me at most Sundays, on a going forward basis.

Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 7750 Kennedy Road

Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:


Fancy Chinese Cuisine Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

CLOSED: Ginger and Onion 嘉仁宮 (Markham)

Location: Markham, Canada
Address: 7131 Kennedy Road (in Market Village beside Pacific Mall)
Type of Meal: Brunch



I’ve visited Ginger and Onion throughout my childhood and due to its convenient location continues to be my family’s go-to dim sum choice. Admittedly, it’s neither the most delicious or cheapest option, but they are consistent and prices reasonable - $2.80 per dish (certain items such as steamed scallops & oysters cost more) and a $1 tea charge per person.

What attracts me most to Ginger is the variety of dishes they offer - there must be almost 100 types. Since dim sum is served cart style (read more about it here) they often have new "special" dishes adding further choices. They also offer many vegetarian options (a rare occurrence for most dim sum restaurants) so there's always something for everyone.

Of course, you will find steamed shrimp (har gow) & pork dumplings (siu mai) or BBQ pork buns here. These are traditional staple dishes that can be found at any dim sum restaurant. But, there are so many others dishes to try! In this post, I hope to introduce readers to some other common choices and encourage you to order them at your next brunch.

The steamed curry cuttlefish is simply prepared with the seafood marinated in a thick salty curry sauce and then cooked. The curry isn’t spicy and really is more for the colour and aroma. If you’ve never had cuttlefish, it’s similar to squid and octopus – the texture of squid but the thickness of octopus. The dish worth a try if you enjoy seafood. As a warning, sometimes the head of the cuttlefish can be gritty if not cleaned properly; just spit it out and wash your mouth out with some tea.


If you like steamed rice rolls, you’ll find plenty of options at Ginger. Essentially, soft white rice sheets wrapped with a choice of fillings. Shrimp (pictured below), beef paste and BBQ pork (my favourite) are the most popular. At Ginger, they also offer fish (tilapia fillets) and two vegetarian options that I also enjoy (Buddha delight and Chinese greens with prince mushrooms).


An alternative to the above you may want to try is the shredded chicken rice rolls. They’re smaller but has the same steamed rice sheet wrapped around a much bigger portion of filling. Made of tender dark chicken meat, crunchy black fungus and some other ingredients it’s more protein based and flavourful.


The steamed beef tendon takes some getting used to. As a child, I never liked it and found the sticky soft consistency off putting. But, I persisted through the years and it’s grown on me. The tendon is marinated in a savoury gravy/stew like sauce, then steamed until it gets soft and chewy. Plus, it’s rumoured to have beautifying properties from the natural collagen present in the tendon.


Wheeled around in a large clay pot and then spooned into smaller dishes are braised mixed vegetables with gluten. This may only be offered for dim sum at Ginger but can sometimes be found at vegetarian Buddhist restaurants. A mix of crispy snow peas, napa cabbage, earthy black mushrooms, crunchy white fungus and soft sauce soaked gluten pieces are cooked together in a thick flavourful sauce. Another vegetarian friendly choice.


During cold weather, it’s great to warm up with a bowl of steamed dumpling in soup. A silky piece of dough encapsulates ground pork, mushrooms, dried scallop and imitation crab. Everything is cooked in a flavourful seafood consume. Although it arrives with vinegar and ginger, I recommend you eat it by itself first to enjoy the delicious broth without the tart condiment.


You can also get congee at dim sum. It’s not as good as what you’ll find at congee restaurants but still decent. There are limited flavours (pork with thousand year preserved egg or dried fish with peanuts), my choice is the pork and egg. It’s fairly watery, so not as filling, but generally still has a nice amount of ingredients with it. They top it with green onions and peanuts, if you don’t like either just warn the lady to not add it when ordering.

 

For dessert, the egg custard sago pudding is a good choice. Best eaten warm (look for a cart that is filled with them) it’s a thick custard pudding mixed with sago (small clear tapioca balls) and a lotus paste centre. It’s not too sweet but has a rich satisfying quality to it.


When visiting with more people (I’d say at least four) you should try the large deep fried sesame glutinous balls. You’ll recognize them as they’re huge and arrive three to an order, there’s a smaller version of it that come in fours that’s filled with lotus paste. The larger ones are delicious especially when freshly fried. Although they look huge, it’s hollow inside but can still be quite filling due to the thick slightly sweet shell. All in all, a great combination of textures - a crispy sesame covered exterior but then soft and chewy on the inside.


For the dishes below, you can likely tell the picture is taken from a far. Although I’ve tried them in the past, they’re not my favourite so it’s rarely ordered unless during larger gatherings. With the rising in popularity of offal, here is an inexpensive way to try it.  Both are wheeled around together in stainless steel warming plates and are spooned into bowls as ordered to keep them piping hot.

One is a hodgepodge of offals that’s boiled for hours in a fragrant Chinese master sauce (lo shuy). You’ll often find stomach (tripe), liver and tongue in it. Juicy pieces of turnips can also be found throughout soaking up the delicious sauce (actually my favourite part of the dish). Chili oil is served on the side to give it more flavour should you require.


Another is blood jello. I know what you’re thinking … blood? But, it’s becoming a mainstream ingredient – Toronto’s Buca uses it. At dim sum the blood is mixed with a thickening agent so solidifies. Cubes of it are cooked in a thick savoury sauce and served with blanched chives and a liberal sprinkling of white pepper.


After reading the above, I’m sure there are some dishes that sound appealing and others a bit gross. Hopefully, it’s intrigued you enough to try something different on your next visit. My suggestion is try it once. Even if you don’t like it, persist and trying it again throughout your lifetime. After all, you may just develop a taste for something new and find it delicious.


Overall mark - 8 out of 10



Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!