gracecheung604 | write on time: Lee in Toronto - Oyster Caesars and more!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Lee in Toronto - Oyster Caesars and more!

Another great restaurant we visited while in Toronto is Lee. When this first opened, it was to be the more casual sister to Susur's other namesake restaurant. Now that Susur (the restaurant, not the chef) is no longer there, we decided to give this a try. Bent is the other location recently opened by Susur and his two sons at 777 Dundas. It's on my to-do list for the next TO trip! 
decor 2The decor here is lovely and very Asian-influenced. I much prefer to the all too familiar, sleek and chic design of other restaurants. This is Fugu,a Japanese puffer fish...normally not this large, they do swell up with air and water as a natural defense system. And those pointers are dart-like sharp!
Oyster Caesar

We started off with an Oyster Caesar. According to the website, this is the list of ingredients: made with Iceberg Vodka , Clamato, Plum Tomatoes, Basil Sprouts, Celery Sprouts, Lime, Capers, House Spices, Horseradish, Gherkin, Valentina Hot Sauce, Cracked Black Pepper, Worcestershire sauce, all topped with an Fresh Shucked Oyster. This cocktail will set you back $16. I think what would be best is to order this at the bar, and watch/count to make sure that all the ingredients are indeed used! 
Black Cod

From the Seafood section, we ordered the Caramelized Black Cod marinated in a miso mustard and some Briased onions. It sits atop a large slice of steamed turnip cake, dim sum style. The fish was so sweet and moist, with a very nice finish on the tongue. It flaked off readily and the turnip cake did a bang up job of soaking up the Miao marinade. The fresh peashoots gave the dish a nice touch of earthiness. The portion was quite thick, but the $29 price tag is still a little steep.
Char Sui 2 For our main, we got the Peking & Char Sui Duck. This was a gigantic dish and well worth the $29 price tag. The foie gras pâté was rich and creamy and was easily smeared onto the pancake to start. The duck was nicely seared and sliced perfectly to fit into the freshly steamed pancake. With some crispy wontons for texture and some pickled veggies and green onions for garnished, this came together as a great version of the traditional dish.

Chicken Curry
And here we have the Top Chef Green Curry Chicken. On one end, you see the poltenta cake that some of the chicken sits on. The curry is very mild, with a hint of tomato. The chicken was a bit dry for my liking, but that is always my complaint when it comes to chicken breast, so more my issue that the restaurant's. It's topped with some mint and some toasted pineapple as well. I didn't lovet this dish even though I really wanted to. The first two dishes really did wow me though. 

Take note: 

  • Not open on Sundays
  • Dishes are not traditional Asian fare, definitely fusion cuisine here
  • Nice loungey atmosphere, be sure to ask for a table on the quieter side if you're there to do more than drink.

Lee Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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