Update: Luna has soft opened.
Has anyone tried yet? Someone posted their menu on Reddit and it looks to be as expensive as Mott 32
Yeah, the Reddit post is HERE for those interested. The person who posted the review went there on day 1 and has pics of the menu which shows pretty outrageous prices which the poster said wasn’t worth it. It’s not he same owner as the original LWH.
The reviewer didn’t seem to review the food at all.
If LWH is charging a whopping $39 for a plate of humble Stir Fried Gai Lan. Doesn’t matter what the reviewer wrote about the food. No way I am driving down from Richmond Hill to eat there!!
Up north, classy, upscale Casa Victoria is charging only $20.88 for the same dish!! For $18 more, is LWH 's Gai Lan leaves made of Gold ?!
BTW, what is even more outrageous was the price of that 8 pieces of ’ BURNT skin ’ Crispy Roasted Pork belly at a whopping $88!!
Last week, I happened to buy a generous serving of 1 pound plus, Crispy Roasted Pork Belly with ribs from ’ Tong Ha, Silver Star Blvd ’ in Scarborough! So juicy and flavourful, smoky aroma, well seasoned meat and super-crunchy skin!..so enjoyable! Mind you though, the price of the pork did NOT include sprigs of micro-green decoration or the few slices of El-Cheapo Peking Duck style crepe!
I was rather gobsmacked when I saw their prices. I was hoping to dine there for nostalgic reasons (LWH was one of my late sister’s favourites) but not at those prices.
Yeah, agreed. The closest the Reddit poster got to reviewing was when he wrote in the comments section:
“I tried to be neutral to give people a chance to make their own decisions. Personally, I would rather go to Yu Seafood at Yorkdale, Mimi, Lee or Mott, before returning to LWH, if I was looking for a meal in Toronto. Nothing really stood out and the price scared me away from trying other stuff out… I probably will not go back in the foreseeable future. They need to sort out their price points or alter their food quality to match.”
So, basically, the food quality failed to meet the outrageous prices. It’s only a soft opening so he’s hoping there’s room for price adjustments.
The other interesting tidbit is who is the new owner? They seem to have acquired only the Lai Wah Heen name because the old owner/chef Canson Tsang is not connected to the new LWH. The new owners may be the same owners of either The One Fusion or Lobster Port, so, if true, they have GTA Cantonese food experience.
At the bottom of the menu, it states “Ming and Liang” which may indicate they are the chefs. Rumor is the chefs are from Guangzhou in China.
‘high end’ Chinese food has its detractors
But in all seriousness very sad and unnerving as I live 5 min walk from these
This can happen anywhere … any neighbourhood …
Lots of illegal guns floating around …
I will not categorise ’ Mimi ’ as a high-end Chinese restaurant…hip and eclectic, maybe?!
Hence the quotation marks on High End @THECHARLES
Mimi wouldn’t offer take-out to Annex locals who asked nicely, fwiw.
Or, hip and a rip-off? Haha
Seriously?!?? How pretentious.
Someone just told me owner of Skyview took over LWH.
Good luck to him! Hope this venture won’t turn into a money pit?
BTW, unless this owner managed to recruit some high calibre chefs from Hong Kong, Macau or the Mainland?! If his effort in recruiting the kitchen team relies solely on the existing pool of LOCAL talents, then, no way their creativity and skill set could come up with quality dishes that would commensurate with the pricing they are charging!!..which are essentially Michelin star restaurants pricing?!
Yes, confirm the owner of both The One and Skyview now owns LWH.
…So! For Peking Duck say, he decided that LWH would charge 3X that of The One and Skyview even though the staff essentially are from the same stable!!
Apparently, LWH’s new Chef was hired from a top hotel in Guangdong, China. Initial reviews about the food haven’t been positive so far with most comments about the sky high pricing (same as we’re doing here!), but it’s only a soft opening so they’re likely in reconnaissance mode.
They’ve been quite successful with the longevity and consistent quality of both Skyview and The One, but this is quite different as they appear to be trying to expand their client base beyond Chinese customers. Maybe they’re trying to establish LWH to become the next Mott 32. Otherwise why buy and rejuvenate the Lai Wah Heen name if not to piggyback off its reputable brand?