Showing posts with label potsticker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label potsticker. Show all posts

Lee’s Dumpling House (Toronto) for delivery

Note: Prices in post are based on regular menu prices and may be higher when using delivery services

I had to do a double take as my husband and I walked by Lee's Dumpling House on Old Orchard Grove, "OMG! There's a dumpling place in the neighbourhood, how did we miss it?" Was I going out of my mind and somehow in all the times we have been doing our walks, had ignored this little establishment? Turns out, Lee's is a new addition, taking over Kibo Sushi's old location, so we haven't been missing out. Phew!

The doughy wrapper on the pan-fried mini pork soup filled dumplings ($9.95 for 7 pieces) are a little thick, but it makes for a hearty bite and there is actually broth captured within each one. Perhaps what I most appreciated, was the time these spent in the pan as we could actually see and taste the golden crust stamped on the bottom of each xiaolongbao. 


An equally beautiful yellow hue could be founded on the chicken potstickers ($9.95 for 6 pieces), the wrapper on these thinner so the gingery filling could shine through. We added an extra $1 to have them finished in a chili sesame sauce, which gives it a different nutty quality. 


Lee's steamed pork and cabbage dumpling ($8.95 for 8 pieces) are pricy compared to the traditional Scarborough dumpling houses I frequent like New Northern Dumplings. Still, the flavours were on point, the filling well seasoned so each bite was salty enough even without the soy or chili dipping sauce that comes with the order. 


We'd skip the pork wonton soup ($8.95 for 12 pieces), which was a lot of soggy wrapper and not much else. Considering all the other dishes were so flavourful, the seaweed broth that arrives with the soup  seemed so tepid and forgettable. Who needs soup when you already have soup filled dumplings?


While Lee's green onion pancake ($5.95) did get soggy by the time it was delivered, this reheated quite nicely in the toaster oven the following day and makes for great leftovers. The pancake was expertly made with its many layers and incorporated a tasty ratio of salt, onion, and dough. 


Welcome to the neighbhourhood Lee's Dumpling House. There will be many more tasty meals to come. Maybe an in-person visit is in order, once the pesky lockdown finally goes away. 

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 399 Old Orchard Grove
 Delivery: Uber, Doordash, Skip the Dishes
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Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never order again
  • 6 - decent for delivery and takeout, but there's better
  • 7 - this is good, for delivery and takeout
  • 8 - great for delivery and takeout, it's almost like you're in a restaurant
  • 9 -  wow, it's like I'm eating at a restaurant
  • 10 - I'd happily order this for delivery or takeout instead of dining in any day!


Is That It? I Want More!

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CLOSED: Asian Legend 味香村 (North York)

Location: North York, Canada
Address: 5188 Yonge Street
Type of Meal: Dinner



In the past, all my visits to Asian Legend were at their Scarborough location (read more about it here). But, my husband and I were craving soup filled dumplings, so decided to drop by the closer North York location instead. Not quite as large, it still has ample seating and was very busy during our weekend visit (make reservations if you’re planning to go with more than two people).

Of course we had to get what we came for - the steamed soup filled pork dumplings ($5.99). These tasted the same - decent wrapper thickness and a good amount of soup encapsulated in each one. But, we also opted to try the steamed soup filled crab and pork dumplings ($7.99) as well. I didn’t bother taking a picture of both because they look exactly the same.


At first I felt dubious about the addition of crab and weather it’d be worth the extra $2. But, am happy to say that you can certainly taste and see the extra ingredient. Overall, it brings an extra depth of flavour to the dumpling; an aromatic seafood essence. Since I eat mine without vinegar, I could taste the crab’s natural flavours mixed in. But, if you’re going to top the dumplings with a lot of condiments, I wouldn’t bother going past the traditional pork.


Their pork potstickers ($4.99) were not as juicy as the Scarborough location. The wrapper also could be improved as a couple were splitting apart (hence letting all the juices run out). Additionally, it lacked the more developed crust of their sister location.


The Singaporean style fried vermicelli ($10.99) had some great flavours to it with the generous dusting of curry powder. Indeed, it’s a much smaller portion than my previous experiences and found there wasn’t much of the staple ingredients of shrimp, BBQ pork and egg.


Overall, the taste of the dishes are similar as they seem to follow similar recipes. However, the execution of dishes (the potstickers) and value-for-money (the noodles) definitely falls behind their Scarborough counterpart. But, if you’re craving Shanghainese comfort food and don’t want to travel far, Asian Legend’s North York location may help tide you over.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10

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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!