New Northern Dumpling - Go for the Lamb Skewers

Lamb skewers: there were 5 to start but I forgot to take my camera out!

New Northern Dumpling
633 Silver Star Boulevard Unit 120
Toronto, ON M1V 5N1
(416) 321-2289

As the summer begins, I think about the Asian night markets that open for a weekend in July.  Mainly because of the huge variety of snack foods and I always get lamb skewers.  But, the line ups and crowds definitely make it hard when you're toting a baby along.  So in comes New Northern Dumpling.  Their lamb skewers are yummy and so worth the price ($5.99 for 5)!  I know that it's supposed to be a dumpling place but the lamb skewers out shone the dumplings in my opinion.  Light cumin flavour and more spicy than other Northern Chinese restaurants.  Although the restaurant name highlights dumplings, they actually have a huge menu that includes many items that are not dumplings.

We ordered a pork and fennel (dill actually) dumpling that came 15 per basket. A definite value and the taste was pretty good. The filling was nicely seasoned and you can taste the dill. But, the wrapper was a bit too thick and hardened too quickly. That would be where I took points off.

We also got the soup filled ones but they were too small that there wasn't much soup, came 8 per basket. I think whatever amount of soup there was, it got absorbed by the skin.

Pork and fennel (dill) steamed dumplings

Juicy!

Soup dumplings: Too small

We also ordered a vegetable noodle dish which turned out to be a very big bowl of noodles.  It was different since there was cucumbers in the soup which I didn't expect to see.  The noodles had a nice chew to it and we quite enjoyed it.

 

Vegetables Noodles

Service was nice, nothing to complain about but English is limited.  For those that don't speak Mandarin, the menu contains pictures for most of their items and as you can see above, ordering is done by marking the menu.

We quite enjoyed our meal and I think we would return for the lamb skewers and to try some of their other dishes.  Based on the pork and fennel dumpling I would say this place is decent for dumplings, but Northern Dumpling Kitchen is still my favourite dumpling restaurant in the GTA.

 

 

Dim Sum at Crown Jewel - A Pleasant Morning

Crown Jewel Fine Dining
325 Bamburgh Circle
Toronto, ON, M1W 3Y1
T: 416-502-2888

http://www.crownjewelrestaurant.ca/

 

Pear-shaped fried meat dumpling!!  The first time I had eaten such a cute shaped dumpling was at Premier Ballroom and Convention Centre (although I've had the traditional shaped one many times before), I'm glad to have found another place that does the same, and just as well.  Crown Jewel serves 3 per dish vs Premiere's 4, but they are definitely bigger.  The glutinous rice dough was nicely fried and had that hint of sweetness while the inside filling was nicely seasoned.  The filling inside was seasoned with 5-spice powder making the taste a little different but still good.

Yummy!

The other dishes were okay, nothing that requires too much explanation.  Everything tasted pretty good and for $2.90 per dish before 11am, it's a pretty good deal.

Har gow (shrimp dumplings)

Siu mai (pork dumplings)

Very good as well, some of the chicken pieces could be more tender though.



Shrimp Rice Rolls: A good amount of shrimp was provided per roll :)

Service was quite good and they spent some time arranging the place settings.  Food came out pretty fast.  I did notice that some things weren't steaming hot when they arrived but was still in the right temperature zone for eating. 

Decor is nice, nothing too fancy but like most fancier dim sum places, they have the banquet style chair covers.  Place is smaller than other dim sum locations like Premiere.

When we were done, I noticed another table had a plate of bbq pork buns, and they look like the ones where it is baked with the sweet crust on top, similar to Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong which was soooo good if you like the savory sweet combo.  I think I'll have to try it next time!

Hong Far Cafe vs Dickens Cafe at Richlane

Dickens Cafe: Chicken steak lunch special (very tender)

Hong Far Hong Kong Cafe
Phone: (905)-770-9236

Dickens Cafe
Phone: (905) 237-4726   

Located at Richlane Mall
9425 Leslie St, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3N7

I've been eating at a lot of HK Style Cafes recently, two of the most recent ones (they've been around for awhile though) were located in the same mall or building; Richlane Mall at Hwy 16 and Leslie.  One was called Hong Far and the other Dickens.  They are definitely 2 different styles of HK Cafes so I can see both doing well and given their number of years of operation, I think they have a loyal customer base.

Dickens is your upscale HK cafe that serves some typical cafe dishes like baked rice but also has steak dishes with sets that include garlic bread and a soup.  Hong Far is the more Chinese fast food/noodle and rice bowl cafe type establishment.

I actually like both places as each establishment has their own character and really depends on your mood.

Dickens is noticeably more pricey but the dishes are presented in a nicer fashion and it did taste a little better than other cafes.  I ordered a baked fish dish (a standard for me) and it was covered with a spinach mushroom sauce which was quite good.  You often don't get mushrooms in these places so i was surprised.

Dickens Cafe: Baked fish on rice with spinach and mushroom cream sauce (afternoon tea special)

The unfortunate part is the service near the end was lacking.  In this western style HK cafe, they serve the accompanying coffee/tea drink after the meal, very much like an English establishment would do.  They don't tell you this.  We waited for someone to ask us what we'd like but no one did and then it took a while to get someone's attention to put in our drink order.  It's also pricier to upgrade your drink to cold here.

Hong Far is definitely friendlier and the one reason I'd give it an extra star is because they offer a little bit of veggies with their dishes.  I ordered a fried pork chop with fried fish skin udon noodle soup.  Most other similar HK restaurants will serve you a bowl of noodles, without any greens except for a few bits of green onion, if that.  But here, I have a small amount which was really appreciated.  The pork chop was also tender and the amount of noodles was decent.

Hong Far Cafe: Pork chop with fried fish skin udon noodle

 

Hong Far Cafe: Hainan Chicken Rice (rice is actually fried rice)

Hong Far Cafe: Left- Hot milk tea, Right- Iced lemon tea (extra charge for iced drinks)

The beverages were okay.  If you get a hot beverage it comes in the classic HK cafe cup and saucer that you see often, definitely cute if you're into nostalgic tableware.

 

I'd definitely go back to both.  

June - I'm Dreaming of...

French toast at Phoenix Restaurant (Bayview location)

In May I was looking to have some really good French toast but have been disappointed the couple of times I ordered it for breakfast (very thin slices were served).  However, I did order them at HK cafes (not western breakfast/brunch establishments) that were a little more "old-school", so... I should have known better.  We've been going to some old-school HK-cafe-type places recently, but in my mind, I'm thinking of the thick slices of bread served at more "modern" places like Pheonix or Yogi Noodle.

@ Chi Star House Restaurant (only 1 slice of thin bread)

 

@ Golden Flower Cafe in Richmond Hill (1.5 slices of thin bread)

On the very last day of May, we went to Phoenix Restaurant and I got my thick French toast (pictured at top).  It was a little pricey, but that's what I was craving and it tasted ok.  Light and billowy on the inside and the salted butter they topped it with was a pretty good addition.

So in June,

I'm dreaming of...

...making my own thick, thick French toast with a medley of fruit and real maple syrup!

I'm also dreaming of...

...afternoon tea, the fancy kind with tiers of little treats.  I had spied a new tearoom that opened up called Annvita.  Actually, it's been months since I saw the sign and have been anticipating it's opening.  Well, it has opened and I'm planning my visit soon!

June is also about strawberries for me,

I'm dreaming of...

...lovely summer desserts made with strawberries, just eating them fresh with a bowl of vanilla ice cream, or pickling strawberries (saw a recipe from the new cookbook Seven Spoons) which I think would be interesting!