My family has been coming here since before I was born. We've stayed with them this whole time from when it used to be called Sam Woo and have gone through many changes in ownership.
It was "renovated" recently in that it changed hands again. Interior looks the exact same but the biggest difference was the food. We went for dim sum. It wasn't great but not bad.. but it wasn't really to our tastes given what we were used to. Some things got better (the bbq pork buns were great - juicy inside with a soft fluffy bun) and other things were worse.
Then we went for dinner. The experience would have been two stars but I'm giving it three for sentimental reasons. We spent $600 ish for about 20 people and all of us agreed that the meal was quite unsatisfying given the quality of food and we probably won't come back until it changes hands again. Nothing really stood out and some things were downright bad. The fried oysters for instance. literally just huge fried oysters and it looked so unappetizing that no one at our table ate it. Fried noodles were served at the end when it should be e-fun and they were mediocre. The beef with maggi sauce got worse because they use lower quality beef now. It used to be so soft and tender, now it's really hard to chew and not as flavorful. The worst was the peking duck. The duck was fine but the wrap was horrible. What should be fluffy and soft and light was soggy and chewy and broke apart as we were trying to eat it. they've always done Peking duck well and it's my favorite so it was really sad. It just seems like cost cutting everywhere.
the one saving grace was their sweet and sour pork. Still the best in Toronto I feel. It comes out hot, is crispy but when you bite in the meat is still tender. Perfect balance of sweet and sour.
again, we've gone through many changes in ownership but it was never a bad change. This time though, we're keeping some distance.