Located on the second floor of the Double Tree Hilton, I knew from the moment we walked in we were in for a treat. My friend and I were visiting Downtown Toronto to attend a science conference and we...dressed like scientists. I was a bit embarrassed but the staff didn't miss a beat and greeted us like we were VIPs and immediately offered to take my Starbucks coffee and poured it in a tall elegant glass for me to enjoy. This level of service stayed throughout our meal, with our plates always clean and our cups always filled with hot tea.
I'm definitely not used to paying too much for dim sum and so I had a bout of sticker shock when perusing the menu (I also forgot to mentally convert CAD to USD so that certainly didn't help). I was also a bit skeptical that fancy fusion dim sum would be any better than their traditional counterparts, but Lai Wah Heen proved me wrong.
The two things you should absolutely order are the sticky rice in lotus leaf and the Berkshire pork fried dumplings. The sticky rice was and is thus far the best I have ever had. Perfect filling to rice ratio with not a single grain over or under cooked and bursting with bits of marvelous pork, sweet Chinese sausage, and a perfectly salted egg yolk. The fried dumplings came in the form a cute little mice with garlic chip ears. They were beautifully light and crispy on the outside without sacrificing any of its glutinous mochi skin chew. The filling tasted different than what I'm used to but the Berkshire pork came in superb bite-sized chunks.
Granted, not everything was a home run (I don't recommend the siu mai or the rice noodle rolls) but judging from the other pictures Yelpers have posted, there is plenty to try on the menu that I have a feeling will be good as the sticky rice and deep fried dumplings I loved. All and all, I would recommend this place as a must-try for anyone visiting DT Toronto.