Bliss Restaurant & Bar
5875 Airport Road
Mississauga, ON
905-678-5433 or email bliss.torontoairport@hilton.com

With its faded blue shell, passersby may not know that the Airport Hilton has recently completed phase one of its transformation into a contemporary and innovative space. Although these new changes may appeal to business and leisure travelers, food enthusiasts would be more interested in the new in-house restaurant and lounge. Designed by Cecconi Simone Inc., the open design of Bliss Restaurant & Bar incorporates the warmth of muted earth tones. The addition of personal TVs imbedded into the banquettes and sheer linen dividers help provide a sense of privacy to those who want to escape from their busy surroundings.

Continue reading A Blissful Discovery by the Airport »

My co-worker loves congee and thinks it’s great comfort food. Although I agree, I’ve never heard of anyone actually having a craving for it, let alone who wasn’t raised on it.

Congee, a rice porridge typically eaten for breakfast in many Asian cultures, can be of various styles and consistencies that can be accompanied with a variety of ingredients. Like chicken soup, it’s served as therapeutic nourishment for those under the weather as it’s light, and easy to digest. It’s also an inexpensive meal in a bowl that’s tasty and sating.

Continue reading Comforting Congee »

Being raised in a town devoid of much Chinese food outside of the family restaurant, it was always a joy when my parents made the trip to Toronto to bring back a bunch of goodies, especially if it was from a Chinese bakery. I would be eagerly anticipating the rice flour steamed cakes and coconut buns from Kim Moon Bakery (442 Dundas Street West), a longstanding soldier that continues to thrive in the Spadina/Dundas Chinatown.

Continue reading Egg Tarts and Beyond »

Senses
328 Wellington Street West
416-935-0400

I’ve gone on record as saying that I don’t like foie gras. That was before I had the foie gras as prepared by Chef Patrick Lin at Senses.

Working on the “try it ten times” theory as espoused by Vogue food writer Jeffrey Steingarten, I continue to try foods that I’ve had bad experiences with in the hope that I’ll eventually learn to at least like them, if not love them. After trying the duo of foie gras on Senses new menu, consider me a convert. Chef Lin’s technique of offering the tasty liver both pan-seared and poached in Peking duck consommé is a testament to both an exquisite ingredient and his skill and creativity behind the stove.

Continue reading A Multicultural Feast at Senses »

Marinated duck’s tongues are finger lickin’ good and can be found at Dynasty Chinese Cuisine (131 Bloor Street West) or The Grand (655 Dixon Road, Etobicoke), the later serving them encased in aspic with wolfberries.

This is the second part of a series dedicated to dim sum. In part 1 dishes served in steamed wrappings were featured. This post will focus on the bites that are braised, baked and fried. So grab a cup of tea and be prepared for another feast.

Continue reading An Ode to Dim Sum, Part 2 (of 2) »

A perfect snack or mini-meal. Pan fried radish cakes are tossed in a hot pan with spicy XO sauce. The former, a slightly gelatinous cake, is mildly sweet and its pillowy soft interior is dotted with specks of salty Chinese dried sausage and shrimps, the latter, is a luxurious and fiery combination of conpoy, cured ham and red chillies. This version of “stir fried turnip pate with supreme spice sauce” can be found at Dynasty Chinese Cuisine (131 Bloor Street West).

Dim sum means “to touch the heart,” and like Spanish tapas, is composed of many small dishes. Similarly, these bite-sized treats can be served hot or cold; they are also steamed, baked or fried. Originally a Cantonese custom dating back to the Sung Dynasty (960-1279), dim sum is linked to the Chinese tradition of drinking tea. Hence the term “yum cha” (to drink tea) is often referenced when partaking in this mid-morning meal.

Continue reading An Ode to Dim Sum, Part 1 (of 2) »

It’s no secret that the GTA has, arguably, the best Chinese restaurants in the world. The popularity of this cuisine is obvious from the scores of dinner choices around town. Perhaps less popular however, is Chinese breakfast. This is not surprising as for some the thought of starting the day with plain congee is unappealing. A porridge made from boiled white rice the consistency of glue (with slightly less taste), congee is meant to be a canvas for the salty condiments it’s served with such as fuyu (fermented tofu), salted duck egg, sweet pickles, and pork floss (think cotton candy, but pork). There are, thankfully, much tastier options, specifically Taiwanese-style breakfast foods, which can be enjoyed anytime of the day.

Continue reading The Toast of Taiwan »

E-Pan
369 Spadina Avenue
416-260-9988
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and soda: $50

I have a special place in my heart for Chinatown. Particularly on hot summer nights when the smell of black bean sauce, fryer grease, half dead crabs and that special rotting garbage smell of durian all combine to remind me of my youth. Twenty years ago, I wandered these streets, young, naive and fresh off the plane from the land of pork chops and two overcooked veg. Living in Chinatown was a huge culture shock, and my roommates and I delighted in wandering Spadina and Dundas West, watching the restaurant ladies pushing bins of raw chicken feet from the many slaughterhouses, and bringing home odd fruits or noodles, seeking guidance from our neighbour Mei Ling on what to do with the stuff.

We managed to eat at a lot of restaurants along the Spadina strip as well. The fluorescent lights and plastic table cloths were de rigeur at all of these joints, and not much has changed. The food is always cheap and usually good, but ambiance is generally low on the list in this part of town. Which is why I was so surprised by E-Pan.

Continue reading The 21st Century Comes to Chinatown »

It is almost time to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, and this year, it falls on September 25th. This celebration of the end of the harvest season also honours abundance and togetherness. Falling on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, the mid-autumn festival often parallels the autumn equinox of the lunar calendar. Most festivities have traditional foods that are associated with them, and for this celebration of fall, the moon cake takes centre stage.

Traditionally, moon cakes are made with lotus seed paste and a salted duck’s egg yolk (or two, three or four) encased in the paste. This dense mixture is then encased by pastry ingrained with a symbol of ‘mid-autumn festival’ on the top, or the name of the company who manufactured them - my mom deems Wing Wah as the moon cake gold standard. Nowadays, with consumers being more demanding about variety, there are different flavours and fillings available, as well as healthier options such as low sugar.

Continue reading It’s Moon Cake Time! »

Hung Fook Tong
Unit 56, 505 Highway 7 East
Thornhill 905-881-1688
Dessert for two with all taxes and tip: $15

There was a time when it seemed like Chinese dessert places were popping up like mushrooms. When one place closed another would open. Even people who are acquainted with them can’t always decide which one, but tonight my sister and I settled for an old favourite, Hung Fook Tong.

There’s nothing spectacular about the décor but I’d say that for any of the other places we could have chosen. We’ve been here before and we know it’s good, which is why we’ve returned. The menus are written in both English and Chinese but please don’t take the English literally; a good number of the desserts end up sounding more like a patch of an overgrown yard or a square foot of a forest instead of anything remotely edible. Placing the order is easy enough though, we just mark it down on the sheet provided, choose hot or cold, and choose to add glutinous rice dumplings. It’s simple and sweet unlike the superfluous translation on the menu.

Continue reading Puzzling Desserts »