There have been a number of Chinese restaurants at this location and when one enters the new Crown Prince, it has become truly grand.
Overall, having enjoyed dim sum at many of the great Chinese restaurants in the GTA, I would have to say that this dim sum experience for me was certainly one of the very best — very close to being on par with Lai Wah Heen.
We began with deep fried octopus tentacles. This was a very successful version as the spices were complementary, the outside was crisp and the inside relatively tender. The lacy cupola made an elegant attractive presentation for a humble dish.
Our next course, shown below, was sticky rice in a meat wrap with lotus leaf. The presentation was lovely, the taste was good, but the more interesting ingredients that I have enjoyed in the best versions of this dish were missing.
Our following course, pork and vegetable dumplings Chiu Chow style, were served with a hot chili sauce. I thought this dish was terrific. The dumpling envelope was thin and very tender. The filling of perfectly chopped vegetables had good texture and was not mushy. The pork and vegetables combined well to provide good contrasting flavours and the chili added a spike that pushed this dish to a special level of taste.
Our next course, a delightful hot and sour soup contained ingredients of various textures that combined good flavour and a hot spiciness that did not overwhelm the taste.
Steamed scallop dumplings were a winner! The dumpling wrappers were very thin and tender. The scallops, barely cooked, were perfect. A very tasty scallop stock filled the wrapper and burst in my mouth when I chewed the dumpling.
The next dish, shown below, was most enjoyable. Steamed fresh crab meat and shrimp dumplings with a bit of chili pepper on top that provided a terrific complementary bite.
Next we had pan fried beef ribs served with “Maggie” sauce — a sweet barbeque sauce with a bit of bite. It was tasty but hard to bite.
Shark’s fin seafood dumpling in soup had an intense seafood broth with a bit of shark’s fin and a somewhat thick and tough dumpling that contained highly flavourful chopped mushrooms and vegetables.
Our next dish, slowly braised chicken feet, was one of the best preparations of this dish I have enjoyed. Very tender chicken feet with everything easily coming right off the bones. A succulent preparation. The sauce was somewhat sweet and had a little bit of a bite from the spices.
When I go for dim sum, one of my most favourite dishes is the beef tendon (ladies it is good for your nails). I just love the texture of tendon and this tendon melted in my mouth as I chewed it. A rich beefy sauce with a bit of spice enhanced the experience.
Tripe is not for everyone, but they do this dish well here. Crunchy tripe, flavoured with a slightly garlicy scallion sauce.
Our last dish was a steamed vegetable and shrimp roll. The filling was terrific and I loved the taste of the Chinese broccoli leaves with the crisply steamed shrimp. The wrapper, however, was just a bit too thick. Nevertheless, this was a good dish.
During the meal I prefer the taste of po-lei tea, a strong tea that goes well with the food and promotes digestion as I have often been advised by my Chinese mentors. The Crown Prince dim sum experience is well worth the journey. This big restaurant is always filled with at least 96 per cent Chinese people with few spare tables — a sure sign of a successful restaurant in the Chinese community and a destination place for all Chinese food lovers.
If you arrive after 11:30 a.m., expect a 10-or-more minute wait.
Crown Prince Fine Dining & Banquet, 3600 Victoria Park Ave, (416) 498-1818
Dr. Josh Josephson is the owner of The Cookbook Store and Josephson Opticians. He is a chevalier of Les Chevalier du Tastevin and the Le Chaine des Rotisseurs, a member of L’ordre Mondiale and a member and former president of the International Wine and Food Society, Toronto chapter.