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| - This place was LEGENDARY not only among Toronto's Chinese populations but also American Chinese who come to GTA for binge-eating weekend tours as THE place for Fukienese food.
BEFORE
The food was excellent -- **drool** over fish-noodles, in broth or stir fried; prawns with minced ginger; beef stew, lamb stew with dried bean curd, stir fried savory sticky rice, and excellent desserts (taro paste with ginko nuts).
There were many "rules" to follow, annoying to some but all part of the "experience":
-- you couldn't be seated until the entire party arrives, no reservation of course
-- never mind privacy, 9 out of 10 times you'd be sharing a table with another party or multiple other parties
-- there is one dish that you were not allowed to take leftover home. Secret recipe?
-- the lady of the restaurant wasn't exactly warm or chatty. Remember Seinfeld soup nazi? Some of us joked that she was the Chinese female version. But she was always fair and consistent; I liked her.
-- super efficient service, that small kitchen and 2 or 3 waitresses on duty moved fast and turned tables quickly
It would have been worth at least 4.5 stars.
Fast forward, the restaurant changed hands about 2 years ago although the new owner kept the same name and pretty much the same menu.
NOW
The food is okay, definitely not as good as before for some of the dishes, but worth a visit when you have a craving for Fukienese food.
Service somewhat improved as in, you might see a smile once in a while now. But I missed the "old" experience.
3 star now.
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