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| - Grass Mountain Villa is in the corner of a very busy plaza at a major intersection. With its small entrance tucked in the corner amid many other attention grabbing visuals, this restaurant could be easily bypassed just by virtue of being nearly invisible.
Tip: Its hard to spot the roadside sign on Finch. Instead, seek out the screaming yellow No Frills facade, and stop! GMV is along the same strip of that plaza.
Service and dining room set-up caters to patrons of all ages and purposes. Staff was attentive, available, and didn't hover. Many (!) menus in both English and Chinese (e.g. lunch specials, dim sum, dinner, etc.). Tables are white-clothed and adequately spaced for elbow room and semi-private conversations. Some tables are round for larger parties, and square for fewer guests. Chairs are cushioned, but quite low, and could be uncomfortable for diners taller than 5'8". Judging from the "double happiness" symbol mounted on the wall, Grass Mountain Villa also does banquets. I reckon the space would allow for an intimate wedding reception of approximately 80 guests. This aspect gets = 3.5 stars
With that out of the way, now, FOOD!:
dim sum: 4.5 stars
noodles: 1.5 stars (but not really dim sum, anyway)
Grass Mountain Villa serves a range of good to excellent items for dim sum. Personally, I think they hit the mark for each item when it comes to showcasing cooking ingredients, tastes, and styles. The variables that must be kept in mind, however, when ordering is time and technique.
Here's what to expect:
- Standard 'fast' dim sum items were served absolutely piping hot and fresh. The steamed curry cuttlefish and shrimp paste with squid were cooked perfectly and the squid was cut in big rectangles. While served hot and fresh, slower/harder standards are not stellar with respect to technique. For instance, the steamed rice rolls (pulverized rice liquid steamed into a flat sheet, wrapped around shrimp or other ingredients and then re-steamed) were sticky and thick.
- Costly/unique ingredients (e.g. baby yu-choy) are cooked using basic preparations (e.g. just boiled or steamed and served straight-up) and ordered only "by chance" (i.e. not on the menu) as waitstaff walk with trays of plastic bowl-covered plates. As a result, items are not always super hot. Ingredient quality is the key here, and the taste still shines though I prefer my hot items hot and cold to be cold.
- Items that are time-consuming and technique heavy tend to occupy the "large" or "special" price boxes on the dim sum card, where they may be considered "medium" at other joints. To justify this, I suppose, GMV puts a practical and tasty twist on these items. For instance, if you like duck tongues (mother dearest does) a plate comes with marinated duck gizzards too. Oh, and my favourite item was the steamed chicken with thick pickled ginger.
$55 for 8 items is not cheap when it comes to dim sum, but very reasonable at Grass Mountain Villa.
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