As Asian plazas pop up across Scarborough, I am marvelled by how some older ones re-invent themselves to attract new patrons. Tucked amongst two new sparkling plazas is the unnamed 3290 Midland Avenue, an institution that I’ve visited throughout my lifetime. Still bustling like in the 90’s, this area is now home to The LC Café, a bright and contemporary Hong Kong café.  

Their deep-fried HK style shrimp toast ($12.99) was an ideal seafood to bread ratio, the toast topped with shrimp paste and a butterflied shrimp. Indeed, the toast was slightly greasy (expected from this dish), but it was well drained so that it remained crispy and wasn’t overly oil logged.

The starter was a better than the LC lobster roll ($22.99), which my husband described as mostly mayonnaise with little chunks of lobster. Its only saving grace, the bun was at least fresh and well toasted.

Feeling hungry, the striploin steak with lobster tail on iron plate ($42.99) seemed like a good choice with soup and salad included to complete the meal. LC Café’s Russian borscht follows an Eastern European recipe and includes chunks of beets, so the soup is sweeter than normal. It’s also thicker while still having the slight kick of spiciness. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer the tomato, cabbage, and beef version any day.

Still, the soup was better than the green salad, which was essentially a handful of spring mix tossed in watered down balsamic vinegar. Without other vegetables or even olive oil, it was a harsh and disappointing salad.

The hot plate was really hot, which means that if you don’t want your steak over cooked, I’d recommend getting it less done. You’ll also want to start tucking into the vegetables and fries as they will start to burn. Scoop some onto a side plate to avoid having them getting overly done.

Not surprisingly, the striploin wasn’t the greatest quality and needed more seasoning so that its flavours didn’t rely so heavily on the Lyon black pepper sauce. It’s strange as the pork chop with lobster tail ($36.99) that my mom ordered was marinated so much that it was too salty. Sadly, there seems to be little consistency on the flavouring of meat.

Even though the dinner arrives with plenty of fries, I wish the restaurant offered a choice of sides as I would have preferred rice instead. At least the lobster tail was a decent size but would be easier to eat if left whole and pulled out of the shell to make it easier to cut.

The LC Café offers pleasant service and comfortable tables, which is a plus. They also didn’t rush customers out of the restaurant, many sitting there after their meals were complete. Long live the older Asian plazas.