Revered by friends and relatives for their enjoyable, well executed, well presented and well priced Modern Asian ( Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, Japanese and Korean ) Fusion fare. Our party of 6 decided to take advantage of the fine Spring weather and the astoundingly low gas prices by making a long trek down from Richmond Hill for a casual family dinner outing.
The intriguing and diverse menu features a variety of interesting selections which include quite a few rarely encountered offerings, using some of my favorite ingredients, Ox-Tongue and Ox-Tail….…and all these, under one roof!
However, this was nothing when compared to the huge and overwhelming, stand alone dessert and drink menu!! The humongous amount of sinful, mouthwatering choices offered were absolutely reprehensible!! Crepes, Pancakes, Japanese wiggly souffle cakes, dessert soups, slushes, shakes, mochis………etc and the list goes on and on and on!!! Absolutely mind blowing!!
With the size of our party and economy of scale in play, we proceeded to scrutinize the menu in detail and ordered a profusion of different dishes…….the result? The majority were stand out winners, a few so-so, middle of the road fare but most importantly, no disappointments!
Imitation Shark Fin Soup, HK style - Delish and loaded with umami
Japanese deep fried tofu with assorted mushroom - Excellent tofu but bland
tasting sauce
Deep fried Chicken cartilage - well seasoned, crunchy and greaseless
Deep fried Squid Balls - An absolute winner! Tasty and addictive!
Main Dishes
Braised Oxtail stew with rice - Only disappointment of the
evening. Underwhelming, one dimensional taste profile.
Spicy Mentaiko Udon with Scallops - Savory, spicy, creamy and enjoyable
Seared Striploin Omurice with Black Pepper Sauce - Tender, well executed
Steak. Delicious sauce
Sliced Char-Siu Pork Tonkotsu Ramen - Surprisingly good from a fusion kitchen
Taiwanese style savory minced pork on rice with Popcorn Chicken - Good but
nothing to write home about.
Desserts
Mango Snowflake - Shaved ice kicked up a notch with a creamy transformation!
So good!
Mango Japanese ‘wiggly’ Souffle Pancake - Ultra light and delicate. Equally
Superb!
Passional fruit rice enzyme drink with Lychee Noix de Coco
All in all, a delightful and enjoyable casual dining experience. With so many more intriguing choices awaiting discovery. Definitely a repeat visit candidate!
It can be worse actually. I was supposed to accompany a friend to Mississauga last month and somehow I couldn’t go and it took them almost 3 hours to get there this from Central downtown! Not a week day no extra closures makes me rethink if my approach is fine that walk if it’s less than an hour, TTC if more and last pick is Uber or Lyft.
Public announcement extra closures West bound on Gardiner for a year.
Generally, I find pan-asian cuisine in Toronto to be underwhelming which I guess is par for the course since they cover breadth rather then depth.
Specifically, in regards to Petit Potato, we went there many years ago and it was meh and we haven’t been back since. So maybe ‘better late than never’ (stated in the title) is a good thing if they’ve improved since then.
Another pan-asian cuisine restaurant called Coconut Grove that focuses on South / South-East Asia opened up about 6 months ago at Fairview Mall. Never been but my wife went once and said it was OK.
Agree! There are obviously hits and misses at this place. However, their choice of desserts are impressive and ultra-tempting!
Next time, I might just go there, order a few small, snack size dishes and load up on desserts! Ha!
I have been driving between southwestern Ontario and Toronto for 27 years.
I keep changing my route, and I now time my departures more than ever to avoid traffic. I don’t like Uber or Lyft. I take the occasional taxi if I’m running late to meet someone.
I mostly go to restaurants within 30 minutes on the TTC or an hour’s walk from my apartment.
Whilst lining up for an eye appointment with my wife at ’ Clarity Eye Clinic ’ in Vaughan a while back. I overheard the pair of gentlemen in front of me complaining to the receptionist that it took them 7 hours!!..Yup! 7 hours total driving time, to and from Hamilton, just for the eye appointment last time!!
