|
414 College St. This well-placed rough diamond is set in the slightly suspect College/Bathurst club-diner zone. The seating space is unassumingly large and airy, with a pleasant sidewalk patio. It's presented in Chinese kitsch complete with harsh light, aquarium and tinny radio music. Inconsistent warbling emanates from the spacious private Karaoke dining lounge in the basement. Reassuringly, the clientele is almost all Chinese. Diners are mystified by 3 separate menus, each with somewhat different prices, as well as popular late-night and lunch specials. Wide price range; large portions. Selections explore a complete range of Hunan and Chinese fare, with a strong taste of Canto-Toronto. The appetizers and soups are generally disappointing. Crab meat corn soup carries a crisp bite, but the promising egg drop soup is virtually tasteless. Perhaps the crab meat rolls are real crab; who knows? Note the call-for-seconds "gold finger", a moist riceflour-fried mix of tender fish and fresh greens. The tea-smoked duck is a welcome rarity, baked to a tender twang reminiscent of northern China. The crust is crunchy and bursts with succulent meat, while the tender inside is drenched in steaming juices; but the unadorned and cautious flavour lacks any subtlety. The visual feast of eggplant in peanut sauce renews this tired vegetable. Sliced and steamed, the heaping platter is adorned with gently cooked Chinese vegetables. But the overall effect is thoroughly spoiled by the torturous bottled peanut sauce, coarse and oily. Hunan Style Fried Rice is potent and aggressively spicy, with several separately prepared meats. Spiced chicken, pork and beef combine to make the dish the surprise star of the evening. The unsticky blend of white and wild rice absorbs the radiant flavour right to the core of each fried grain. The crisp bean cake casserole is heavy and over-sweet, in usual Chinese form; too dense for dinner, too filling for dessert. The crust is much tougher than it should be. There are almost no desserts; ignore the ancient, rock-hard almond cookies and the over-priced ice cream. Laughable wine list; B&G must suffice, if it's in stock. Alcohol menu is woefully uninspired. Attentive and knowledgeable service. Limited street parking. $85. |