Usually, when I visit a restaurant for dim sum, I’m going for the small dishes filled with bite sized morsels for sharing amongst a table. Things change at Jumbo Lobster where seafood is king. Especially since they only have 24 dim sum dishes (one being French fries) on their menu.

It’s a restaurant made for large gatherings, even a table of four is too tiny. Otherwise, it’d be difficult to order one of their two lunch menus where charges are based on the size of the lobster: $35/lb for 5lbs+ and $36/lb for 10lbs+.  While the price difference is minimal, the surcharge for the 10lb+ meal allows diners to have the lobster prepared two ways and arrives with additional dim sum dishes (eight vs. five).

The 10lb+ lunch menu (or L2 for $36/lb) includes lobster, eight dim sum, congee, fried rice, and a vegetable dish. Out of the stir-fried green onion and ginger and deep-fried dry garlic lobsters, I preferred the traditional onion and ginger as the crustacean’s flavours were more pronounce and felt juicier and plumper.

Despite the mountain of ingredients filling the deep-fried garlic version, it just tasted salty with a hint of sweetness. I can see the dish being favoured by children as it sits on a bed of French fries, which were kind of stale given they’re prepared ahead of time.

Any lobster tomalley is reserved for the lobster roe and shrimp fried rice, which was prepared well. The dish had decent wok hay, and the rice dry enough so there were distinct granules of grain. It was so good that our table finished the entire plate.

To balance the heavier items, there’s a generous portion of poached snow pea tips with goji berry, which were stir fried until tender but still crispy and fresh.

After ordering it does take about 30 minutes before dishes arrive - an anomaly at dim sum where things normally start flying in as soon as the menu is whisked away. In fact, the first item presented isn’t even dim sum, rather a large bowl of chicken congee that’s piping hot and contains tons of bone-in skin-on chicken. It’s a hearty and flavourful way to begin.

What I enjoy about Jumbo Lobster’s dim sum is that they make each item smaller to include more in a dish, making it easier to share. For example, a dish like shrimp dumplings generally arrive in fours but there are six at Jumbo Lobster.

The exception was the steamed rice rolls, which may be slightly longer but contained two rolls instead of three. Nonetheless, they were thin and silky and likely one of the items made in house.

Dishes like the steamed buns seemed like they were purchased frozen wholesale as they were all perfect spheres making the filling indecipherable. Wanting a pork bun, I played Russian roulette and was left with salted egg yolk instead. To their credit, it’s a solid interpretation of the dessert – a creamy molten centre with small egg yolk pieces mixed throughout. Sadly, the sweet and salty filling is not for me.

Much to my chagrin, it’s the same filling used in their deep-fried sesame balls, which were warm and crispy but not filled with lotus paste.

As for the staple dishes, their siu mai just contained pork but were rather juicy. Contrasted against the beef balls that were too dense, even when eaten hot from the steamer.

And while Jumbo Lobster provides a decent portion of meat in the pork spare rib, it lacks flavour as there’s more pumpkin than black bean sauce. The table seemed to prefer the beef belly with special sauce instead.

We were thoroughly sedated after our meal and were quickly pushed out after 1.5 hours to accommodate the bustling Sunday crowd. And for the financially savvy: paying with cash will net you a 10% discount. But, if plastic is your thing, stick with debit as credit card payments command an additional 3% surcharge. Whatever you do, just gather a group of at least ten, you’ll need them to get through the mountain of lobster.

Amongst the block bordered by Avenue, Wilson, Yonge, and Lawrence there are a lot of Italian restaurants. And they offer similar carb heavy menus filled with pasta and pizza, a few even displaying prominent pizza ovens. And that’s why it took me a while to visit Via Mercanti. At first glance, it didn’t seem unique. Yet, it has a bright and airy laid-back vibe that’s different from others in the neighbourhood.

While their menu consists of similar offerings, their pizza list is more extensive and has exclusive options such as their namesake double layered pizza. For my preliminary visit, I opted for the familiar bufalina pizza ($29), a tomato-based pie topped with fior di latte, buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto slices, and basil.

The well blistered dough was pillowy soft having that requisite chewiness but a delicate flavour. What really shone through was the fresh tomato sauce, a hint of sweet saltiness from the tissue thin pork, and the creamy cheese. Some diners may find it too bland, but I liked the lightness of the pizza, which balanced the heavier pasta dishes.

Ideally, you’ll eat family style so you can order the gnocchi norcina ($32) and Bolognese together as the sauces compliment each other. The finely minced mushroom, crumbled sausage, and black truffle paste covering to the soft potato dumplings was delicious but cloyingly heavy, so a couple spoons were more than enough.

Yet, after trying the blander Bolognese ($25), the simpleness of the slightly acidic sauce made me want another taste of the gnocchi. In fact, grab a dumpling and swirl it into the tomato sauce and the rich rosé-like creation was even better.

On its own the Bolognese was disappointing. Being a meat-based sauce, there wasn’t much meat - some beef but none of the pork and pancetta that gives it a hearty edge. It was also too tomato heavy becoming a tomato and beef ragu than Bolognese. And no, they are not the same thing.

Via Mercanti’s appetizers are also substantial for sharing. There was plenty of calamari, but not many shrimp, in the frittura di pesce ($26), lightly dusted and fried until golden but not overly crispy. It’s a little plain neutral but delicious with the hot tomato dipping sauce.

The tiramisu ($15) was a solid interpretation but needed more lady fingers as there were spots where I had a spoon of the mascarpone cream and nothing else. Perhaps it’s designed to appease children as the espresso flavour was also too light.

Indeed, Via Mercanti is a family friendly restaurant that you can bring a crowd. Their dining room is surprisingly spacious with a few tables accommodating 10+ people. And there’s a laid-back friendliness to the staff, exuding a welcoming attitude but not bothersome, providing you with time to relax and settle in before diving into the next part of the process. All in all, I enjoyed the vibe, even if not all the food. 

Located in Union Station, Blue Bovine Steak and Sushi House is not the easiest place to find. Most eateries are found on the lower levels, but Blue Bovine is situated street level with no storefront. The easiest way to locate the restaurant is head to the Front and Bay Street corner, look for a large bronze bull statue, and walk up the steps through those doors.

Their happy hour menu, available weekdays from 3pm to 6pm in the lounge, is a big draw for tourists and commuters alike. By the time I got there at 5:30pm, the place was bustling and in full swing.

For those who are peckish, the happy hour menu includes a good selection of sharable plates.

The Chef’s selection maki roll ($16) arrived as a run-of-the-mill spicy tuna. For a restaurant that touts itself as a “Sushi House”, I’m surprised that the rice was too cold and pressed into such a thick layer than the tame tuna filling became lost. Perhaps leaning into the “Steakhouse” side would be better.

Certainly, the wagyu beef slider ($10 each) was more impressive. The beef patty was flavourful and juicy, but complimented nicely with crisp lettuce, tomato, and sauce. I instantly wanted to order the larger burger ($45) after the slider.

The karaage chicken ($14) was substantial compared to other options. Chunks of dark meat was lightly breaded and fried. While not outstanding, they were at least hot and hearty.

In fact, get an order of the karaage or sliders and tack on the truffle fries ($12) to create a full meal. The fries were crispy, hot, and had a prominent but not overwhelming truffle taste. A fancier chicken fingers and fries perhaps.

If the duck spring rolls ($14) were crispier it would help provide the crunchy contrast that’s needed to combat the ground duck filling. While it was light and fluffy, there wasn’t much but the ground meat, so the spring roll felt mushy. Adding Peking duck accompaniments into the filling like carrot, scallion, and cucumbers may help.

For those who are standing around with their drinks, the big eye tuna tartare ($12) and prime steak tartare ($12) are easiest to eat having been pre-scooped onto thin crispy crostini. Both were nicely seasoned. Yet, the fried garlic slivers topping the tartare, which is a powerful tasting ingredient, does make both proteins taste similar.

The ½ price bar special, includes almost the entire menu except for select wines. Still, even being half off, cocktails ring in at $11-$15 and large glasses of wine around $22-$25. Hardly budget but at least keeps the drinks at a reasonable price. Pregame or post-work, I can see why Blue Bovine draws a crowd. Now go find it. 

Tucked behind a labyrinth of florists and Chinese herbal shops lies New Century Restaurant. Walking through the pre-millennium constructed mall, I’m reminded of the restaurants I’ve visited as a child. There are shops to see and smells to discover before reaching the enormous colourful restaurant.

New Century will feed a large group. Their lobster, Dungeness crab, and sea bass combo for eight ($798) would satisfy ten or twelve. The individual New Century slow boiled soup is hardest to share but secure some empty bowls and you can divide the hefty portion. In the winter, there’s a silkiness to the piping hot consommé that sooths a dry throat and has an umami essence infused with abalone, ginseng, and pork.

There’s plenty to choose from in the house signature combo platter including roasted duck, soy sauce chicken, BBQ pork, pork slices, and seaweed salad. Saving my stomach for the later dishes, I had a taste of the duck (a good start with crispy skin) and BBQ pork (satisfactory and well flavoured).

With the generous portion of chicken in the combo platter, the slow cooked chicken with abalone broth seemed like overkill. I’ve never been a huge fan of this dish that’s served cold since I prefer chicken hot. Still, I understand it’s the jelly layer between the skin and meat that people enjoy. And to be fair, the chicken was tender, and New Century certainly didn’t skimp on the ginger and scallion oil.

For those who tend to fill-up before the “main dishes”, the stars of the combo arrive mid-meal. The stir-fried Vancouver crabs with silver fish in HK style spicy sauce needs to be eaten at arrival as the crunchy coating is best straight from the fryer. And despite not looking spicy, the dish has a light heat that permeates in the background. Additionally, the crab was fresh and meaty, cooked well so it remained delicately flakey.

The amount of sweet and sticky sauce used in the stir-fried lobsters with scallion in Maggie sauce was well balanced, lightly covering the crustaceans. Both lobsters were substantial; even after eating many pieces, we still had plenty of leftovers.

Although the steamed green basses with green onion and ginger arrived dishevelled looking. Being fileted off the bone before serving helped the hot scallion soy soak into the fish and made it easy to serve. New Century knows how to cook seafood well, the fish were flakey and moist.

The restaurant’s choice of using large serving platters does makes eating difficult. Dishes were comically oversized so three can easily fill up on medium-sized table. Soon it became a game of Tetris piling things onto smaller plates to make space for a new item. Even the snow pea leaves in soup arrived in a gigantic platter that’s normally used for soup. I guess the large dishes does mean New Century has to fill them as we were treated to a huge mound of the greens.

I preferred the snow pea leaves to the stir-fried cauliflower with cured meat. It’s a strange combination that wasn’t for me. But if you like Chinese sausage, the dish did contain a lot of lap cheung and at least the cauliflower wasn’t too soft.

You won’t find much tomalley in the lobster heads as it’s reserved for the finisher - braised thick egg noodles with mushroom and lobster tomalley. The lobster paste adds a pungent aroma and texture to the noodles. While not my cup-of-tea, it was a popular dish for the table.

Despite it being Lunar New Year, I was surprised there wasn’t any special desserts. Still, we were treated to flavourful mango pudding squares and delicate almond cookies. Given both were sweet, so they made the lukewarm red bean soup seem tasteless. Oh well, by that time I was stuffed to the gills and could pass on it anyways.

What a feast! We packed up leftovers that could feed the family again the following evening. One thing’s for sure; you will not leave New Century Restaurant hungry or empty handed.