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| - First and foremost, this is the only restaurant in all of Toronto that serves Taiwanese food I can actually stomach.
Befitting it's name in Chinese, Lai Wah Heen (LWH) is indeed a "luxurious meeting place". Upon sitting down at the table I immediately feel at ease. I can definitely draw parallels between the decor and the food: it's elegant, simple but rich in aesthetics and design. The black granite is complemented with a display of beautiful Chinese calligraphy and paintings with white backdrops. I spent quite a long time admiring the artisanship of the paintings (gave me a few ideas of how to furnish my condo).
I firmly believe that the litmus test for quality for any Chinese restaurant is its Green Tea. Few restaurants in Toronto have been able to hit the bar for quality green tea, with LWH being one of them. Having grown up in a culture where Green Tea is not just for consumption, but a form of art expression, my bar for quality tea is quite high. The green tea is infused in the right temperature, and steeped for the optimal amount of time. The bitterness of the tea is carefully tempered, making sure it wasn't oxidized too much during the drying process.
LWH serves over 8 types of tea. I would highly recommend the Monkey Picked Oolong Tea Lychee Scented Red Tea, Jasmin Scented Silver Needles and of course, the Dragon Well Longjin Green Tea.
LWH's new chef Sam Tse does not disappoint at all.
It never ceases to amaze me how Dim Sum chefs are able to transform what used to be commonplace fast food into a sophisticated cuisine that is worthy to contest that of the Japanese.
I thoroughly enjoyed the food.
This is the one restaurant in Toronto where I will highly recommend the Peking Duck. It is divided in two courses, with the first being a whole duckling fried and served with finely shredded scallion and cucumber on steamed rice crepes. For the second course we chose the Crystal Fold, which is consisted of wok-fried minced duckling, assorted vegetables and fried noodles wrapped in fresh lettuce leaves. Impeccable.
In addition to Peking Duck, I would also recommend the Taiwanese Triple Cup Chicken. This is a staple of Taiwanese food and gives you a quick introduction to the cuisine if you aren't familiar with it. It is served in a hot clay pot flavoured with soy race, rice wine and vinegar.
I also highly recommend the Moo Shu, Foie gras & diced duckling fried rice, Stamed soft bun filled with custard lava, Wok-fried diced Atlantic codfish & minced truffle with egg white.
For dessert I would recommend the Supreme grade Imperial Swallow's Nest and Chilled Sweet Soup with tapioca, lychee & mango.
I have nothing to say about the service but that it was irreproachable.
The bill came to around $100 per person, but I was definitely a bit liberal with our orders. Just got a little too excited that's all. I know there are prix fixes for around $60 for lunch, but have yet to try them. Someone please write a review for them.
This is definitely a restaurant you want to try if you want to be conversant with the Toronto food scene.
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