I’ve spent a good portion of my life in Chinatown, waiting for a seat at Rol San. That’s because I’m obsessed with dim sum. It’s a family thing. Somehow, none of the employees there know me on a first name basis yet, but that’s fine. I don’t go to Rol San to make friends. I go there for dim sum. At Rol San, I’m a behemoth, like a blue whale that needs to consume countless tiny sea creatures to sustain itself.
I’m aware that there are other dim sum joints in the area, but none of them quite cut it. I always go back to Rol San. The reliability is the best in Chinatown. Still, lineups can snake out the door on weekends, and the waiting can get tedious. I often yearn for another option that can hold its own, so when a new all-day dim sum place opened up nearby, at 416 Spadina, I was intrigued. The newcomer is literally called Number Two Restaurant. Pride, it would seem, is not one of its downfalls.
It took a lot of will power to forgo Rol San and give Number Two a shot. An abundance of will power. I’ve simply been disappointed too many times. But last week, I took the plunge. My initial impression of the place was both heartening and disheartening: Number Two was completely empty inside. No waiting, but wasn’t anyone else curious? Apparently, there are others with a too-strong attachment to Rol San.
Once inside, I order a few dim sum classics. Here’s how it all stacked up.
Pan fried short ribs, $2.68
This is one of my favourite dishes at Rol San. The short ribs there ($4.28) are peppery, garlicky and delightfully chewy. They’re delicious, even if they’re too fatty and gristly. Number Two’s ribs are much skimpier than Rol San’s, but they’re almost half the price, so I can’t complain. The taste is another story. They’re distinctly sour; the beef is dry and it tastes old. My hopes for the place drop to about nil, and the dish goes unfinished. Thankfully, other dishes pull through.
Winner: Rol San
Har gow, $2.28
Following the short ribs, I’m expecting the worst. Things start looking up, though, when the shrimp dumpling — an obligatory dim sum order — actually holds together under chopstick pressure. Things start looking better when the dumpling doesn’t give my mouth first-degree burns. Yes, it must be said, sometimes Rol San’s dumplings are just too steaming hot. Number Two’s har gow is solid. The shrimp is juicy and the texture of the dumpling wrap is pleasantly firm. It’s at least as good as Rol San’s ($4.28), but way cheaper.
Winner: Number Two
Seafood dumpling, $3.28
The seafood dumpling at Rol San ($4.28) has always been kind of like my XM Radio service: not that good, but not bad enough to cancel the subscription. I almost always order this dish, and Number Two’s seafood dumpling looks promising. Rol San’s is fashioned into a kind of unwieldy crescent shape, while Number Two’s is shaped more like the har gow. It’s more compact and manageable, but it’s marred by a strange and pervasive marshy taste. My instincts want to say it’s the over-steamed green vegetable inside (some kind of broccoli? Nobody at the restaurant can confirm it) and not the shrimp or the scallop. It doesn’t really matter, though: my seafood dumpling subscription at Number Two is officially cancelled.
Winner: Rol San
Deep fried shrimp with chives cake, $3.28
This dish is dim sum gold. If you haven’t tried it yet, go now. The crispy deep-fried exterior gives it the lowbrow appeal of potato chips; combine that with the universal appeal of shrimp. Plus, chives are the bomb. Rol San’s cake ($4.28) is a tough contender, but I’m going to go ahead and say that Number Two’s is better. It’s almost the same, but the exterior is more golden-brown, and it’s crispier. Not everyone will dig that, but I did. It’s less greasy here, too, though the mayo that comes with it is a bit too sour and isn’t as good as Rol San’s.
Winner: Number Two
Shiu mai, $3.28
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of shiu mai. It seems to always come out looking like a hopelessly over-steamed mess, with the texture of a soggy meatball. Doesn’t taste terrible, though. I order it here because it’s a dim sum staple, and I’m curious. It ends up looking pretty much exactly like Rol San’s ($3.98), and tastes pretty much exactly the same, too. Once again, it’s cheaper, which gives Number Two the cake.
Winner: Number Two
Steamed B.B.Q pork buns, $2.28
Despite having been a dim sum fan for years, it took me forever to give this dish a try. Mostly, I thought it looked boring. Under normal circumstances, I won’t order this for myself, but if a companion orders one, I’ll probably ask for a bite. Annoying, I know. These ones taste almost identical to Rol San’s ($2.68), but Rol San’s buns are a bit stickier, which is good, and they hold together better. That’s a big factor, because these things can turn into a bit of a mess. But is it worth the extra 40 cents? Tough call.
Winner: draw
Consensus: Ron San
Out of the admittedly meager selection I tasted at Number Two, I still haven’t been swayed out of my love for Rol San, though Number Two puts up a valiant effort. It’s significantly cheaper than Rol San, and some of the dishes are better. But huge misses, like the short ribs and the seafood dumpling, make Number Two a bit too much of a Russian roulette game.
It’s also got some “new restaurant” issues to deal with. The tea has to be asked for. So does soy sauce and hot sauce, and when they come, there’s not nearly enough. These kinks can be easily ironed out, but Number Two really needs to get some curried cuttlefish (probably my favourite dish at Rol San) on the menu, or at least some non-fried squid options.
I’ll give Number Two this, though: if the lineup at Rol San is out the door, and I’m feeling a little bit antsy, or, if I’ve been chilling out at Acadia, my new neighbour, too much, and need to ease up on the spending, I’m going back to my new number two dim sum restaurant, Number Two. I have a feeling that will be sooner rather than later.
Rol San, 323 Spadina Ave., 416-977-1128; Number Two Restaurant, 416 Spadina Ave., 416-593-4788