"0"^^ . "0"^^ . . "0"^^ . "4"^^ . "2016-09-26T00:00:00"^^ . . "Whenever I am in Toronto, dim sum at one of the many suburban Chinatown restaurants is generally on the menu. This time around, with afternoon activities planned at Rogers Centre and at Ripley's Aquarium, a nearby restaurant would be more convenient. And lucky for us, Luckee is that restaurant. Located on the ground level of the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel, Luckee offers a different take on the traditional dim sum. First off, instead of push carts, guests order from a well-curated menu, although servers do circulate with daily specials offered. Also, the open kitchen provides a view of chefs at work, while Plexiglass keeps heat and noise to a minimum. There are many spaces within the restaurant, all of them decorated with rich colors and Chinese-inspired designs. Rotating screens with the characters ??? proclaim the delicious meal to be had.\n\nWe shared numerous small plates, each with 2-4 pieces for sharing.\n\nThe good:\n* Har Gow - the flavorful dumplings included rough-chop shrimp in butternut squash skins and were served with wood ear mushrooms.\n* Shrimp Cheung Fun - served with a sweet soy sauce, the dish was simply outstanding, exceeding similar dishes that I had previously tasted.\n* Siu Mai - the Chicken and shrimp dumplings were topped with a thinly sliced scallop and shaved truffles were yummy.\n* Braised Black Pepper Beef Buns - were exquisite. Crispy but fluffy buns were filled with a peppery beef mixture.\n* Crispy Taro and Turnip Cakes - were in a word, amazing. I am so glad we ordered them. Typically, they look like a deck of cards and are filled with diced Chinese sausages and dried shrimp. Here, however, they bear little resemblance to other offerings.\n\nThe average:\n* Lobster and Asparagus Dumplings was topped with edamame was okay.\n* Spring Rolls - were similar to those found at other restaurants.\n\nDid not care for:\n* Steamed Barbecue Buns - the diced barbecue pork (char siu) were steamed in a fluffy, though slightly dry, sweet bun.\n* Fried Rice - unfortunately, lacked flavor.\n\nToo full to try: \n* Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf - sticky rice filled with sliced Chinese sausages, chicken, shrimp, and mushrooms. \n* Xiao Long Bao - dumplings filled with broth and pork.\n\nThe servers were attentive. Since we were a large group gathered around a long table, I appreciated that the restaurant split up the dishes so that there was minimal reaching (except for when I was taking pictures)."^^ . .