Upon first glance with all of its food critic awards on the window, Cha Liu seemed like a good choice. The decor was nice, as was the server...
..Though once the food arrived it was apparent how overpriced it was for dim sum. Authentic "hole in the wall" dim sum places in Scarborough and the GTA tend to give much better value. The food itself was mediocre. The fried taro and pork balls were tasty, but small. The chicken and mushroom rice was a tiny portion that came with two heads of baby bok choy and a few slices of mushroom. The chicken tasted like it was turning and was clearly low-grade.
And when it came time to pay, my payment method was visa. The bill came up to $9.06 and the manager insisted that it had to be brought up to at least $10 for credit purchases. I offered to match him and add it to meet the minimum. He finally agreed with uncalled-for attitude. I let him know that the value was poor for portion sizes and he immediately returned my card, raising his voice. He told me to "get out" and I did so (with pleasure) after trying to offer my card once more.
It was overall the WORST dim sum dining experience I've ever had. My chinese family has been going for over a decade and we have never experienced such terrible management. If the food was at least decent it would be a redeeming factor.
Guess it's not a coincidence that the location is closing down in July.