|
|
|
|
| |
| Date Visited: August 9, 2011 |
| |
| The Lee Garden Restaurant on Spadina Avenue in Toronto has been,
for dozens of years, a staple of traditional Chinatown. It's an establishment that
features a diverse loyal clientele that comes back time and time again. |
| |
 |
|
| |
| The formula for a good dining experience involves long lineups, and
our patience was tested in this visit to a place we once frequented. Though it was a
weekday, there was a queue at the door... but the migrating flavours kept our noses
occupied. |
| |
| Lee Garden is a place that bustles with plenty of hearty conversation
and pungent sensual aromas. It's a Chinese restaurant that serves a lot of cuisine
familiar to western audiences, but they also serve more conventional dishes, which is a
good sign. |
| |
| We ordered a banquet that includes dishes like seafood chow mein and
curried chicken, to more complex fare like deep-fried soft shell crab. The service was
quick and to the point, by waiters who thrive on the happiness of their diners. |
| |
| One minor blip during dinner was that long lineup; even though the
people in queue were also waiting eagerly for their tables, it felt like we were dining
in front of an audience. Our table was right beside the small wall that divided us from
those who waited - it was so close that one of the waiting customers was standing right
behind one of us, checking out what we were eating! |
| |
| One suggestion for this wildly popular place: put up a higher
divider or expand into the next shop so the waiting and dining areas are fully identified
and separated. I love a lively, jolly restaurant that serves delightfully delicious food,
but I also love my personal bubble. |
