Dim sum dining with cart service is a dying breed in Toronto, as more and more restaurants have switched over to a list-based dining experience. Fortunately, there are a few notable places where you can still witness these magical culinary carts being rolled out in front of you; and where you order by using your pointer finger, not a pen and paper.
Here's a collection of notable restaurants in Toronto that still serve their dim sums on carts.
See also:
The best dim sum in Toronto
The best dim sum in downtown Toronto
Pearl Harbourfront
A nice combination of great views and excellent food, Pearl Harbourfront is arguably THE go-to place if you're craving a slightly unusual combination of pushcarts and upscale atmosphere. The pan-fried pork dumplings and the har gao shrimp dumplings are wonderfully fresh, just keep in mind that the trolleys don't usually come out until the restaurant gets a bit busier.
Dim Sum King
With a large open space (lots of room for carts to move around), good variety of food, and staff that speak passable English, it's little wonder that Dim Sum King is very popular among many office workers for traditional dim sum lunches during weekdays. Located in Chinatown, the atmosphere is one of controlled chaos, and the clientele is fairly multicultural.
Century Palace, 398 Ferrier Street
A throwback to the earlier years of old-school dim sum, this well-hidden restaurant is located in the obscure New Century Plaza. Finding it takes a bit of skill as you navigate the confusing corridors of this shopping centre, so my advice is just to follow the noise. Service is subpar, and the quality of the dim sum is so-so, but the early bird prices of $2.40 a pop on weekday mornings attract a large crowd.
Dragon Dynasty
One of the most popular and well-kept dim sum secrets in Scarborough, this has been a go-to dim sum place for many Chinese families and the quality really shows. The baked bbq pork buns are lovely here (it's got that bit of sweetness that is key to a good bbq bun), as is the delicious rice roll (cheong fun). Love the cute chef-like hats on the aunties' uniforms.
Sky Dragon
If you're looking for rooftop dining with budget-friendly dim sum, look no further. Unfortunately, its "top floor" location actually translates to being perched on top of the sad-looking Dragon City Mall in Chinatown. The dim sum is about average, nothing that will rock your socks off, though the BBQ pork bun has a sweetness that I particularly enjoy and don't really get anywhere else.
Ginger & Onion
This traditional and slightly outdated restaurant serves up fresh, fast, and loud dim sum. The chicken feet here are pretty damn good, and the shao mai dumplings are quite dense. Definitely a family favourite for many on the weekends. The only downside? You'll most likely encounter tablecloths, chinaware, and various accoutrements that have seen better days.
Mong Kok
You can't miss Mong Kok: it occupies a large area in the wonderfully ugly New Kennedy Square mall in Markham. Unlike Sears though, its days are definitely not numbered, as evidenced by the huge crowds that go here every weekend to sample their cart-style dim sum. The service is usually pretty good despite all the noise, and they offer a few unique items not offered elsewhere, such as quail eggs.
New Treasure
It's a bit hard to recommend New Treasure. The overall quality of the dim sum here is, truthfully, pretty mediocre, with many dishes tasting blander than I expected. On the flip side though, it's conveniently located pretty close to the Dundas bus terminal, and the prices aren't going to dent your wallet too much.
What did I miss? Leave your favourite place to eat dim sum off a cart in the comments.
Writing by Darren "DKLo" Susilo. He hangs out on the twitter and his own mansion. Photo by not peppermint in the blogTO Flickr pool.
by Darren "DKLo" Susilo via blogTO
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