Crown Princess is just south of one of Toronto's chicest intersections. That may explain why this is no ordinary Chinese restaurant. It's fancy, although personally, I think it's an oxymoron to say fancy Chinese restaurant.
Crown Princess is definitely going for a regal atmosphere. It's rich in gold and purple, with chandeliers. Still, at the end of the day, I don't think ornate decor should translate to ridiculously jacked up prices unless the quality of the food was just as impressive.
Let's see how it fared...
On a stupendously hot Friday I hit Crown Princess for some dim sum. Keep in mind that Chinese food is one of my LEAST favourite foods. Further, I haven't eaten said food for months. I was sort of looking forward to some dim sum.
I arrived sweaty, hungry and slight cranky. I met my buddy there and we took a seat. I quickly cheered up in the comfort of air conditioning and the joy of a Diet Coke. Service was pleasant but rough. The restaurant was clean, as were the chopsticks and plates. (Most Chinese restaurants I've been to require the patron to give their utensils a quick hot tea rubdown.)
We ordered our dim sum and they arrived hot and yummy. Of the many dim sum places downtown, it was definitely less greasy and heavy. We were happily satisfied.
Their dishes also got points for presentation:
We finished with some dessert - the mango pudding arrived in the shape of a fish. That made me giggle.
The bill came to about $50 for two people; that's more than what I'm used to paying but we had a GROUPON. Hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray.