nwa World Traveler
October 2007

Cosmo Toronto

Canada's sophisticated city celebrates culinary talent and a world of fine cuisine.

By Tom Sietsema

When it comes to dining in Canada, Montreal delivers a thick French accent. Vancouver, as befits a West Coast port, reels in plenty of seafood, frequently served with an Asian touch. Toronto, on the other hand, celebrates the whole world - and it boasts a stable of star chefs who could easily compete with the best across the border in the United States. Here's where to discover some of their flair:

If you think all hotel food is created equal - safe but unexciting - Lai Wah Heen in the Metropolitan Hotel puts that tired stereotype to rest with a dim sum menu that underscores the city's Asian character (Toronto has not one, but several, Chinatowns).

The restaurant offers little plates of exquisite tastes, delivered by efficient servers in crisp white jackets. The standards - barbecue pork buns, shrimp dumplings - are accounted for and well executed, but Lai Wah Heen also encourages exploration. Foie gras, truffles and animal-shaped nibbles distinguish this kitchen's dim sum from the pack. Diced conch hides in a pretty pear-shaped turnover; orange fish roe sparkles in a delicate beggar's purse (usually known as a mini crepe) of bok choy and seafood; and minced shrimp and asparagus are tucked into a steamed wrapper coaxed into a fish shape, its fluted edges serving as fins and black sesame seeds as eyes.

Stylish snacks aren't the only draw. Lai Wah Heen's black lacquer chairs, blond wood pillars, low lighting and framed Chinese calligraphy are an elegant bonus, given the menu's gentle prices ($3.50 - $8 per plate).

Need some pampering? Book a table at Splendido, one of Toronto's most romantic places to refuel and unwind. Candles light the room, pools of space separate the tables, vials of roses spring from a center display and waiters offer women a stool for their purses. (Alas, men have to keep their wallets in their pockets.) A trolley with several kinds of champagne greets diners upon arrival - of course you'll have a flute. In a city not known for stellar service, this place bucks the trend.

The cooking follows suit. Chef David Lee is the kind of talent who buys the best products and treats them with respect. His beef, lamb and pork come from a small and celebrated local butcher, Cumbrae Farms, while his fruit and vegetables are plucked from the Ontario Food Terminal. "I like the flavors to speak for themselves," David Lee says - and so they do.

Succulent lamb loin might be joined by ravioli plumped with a purée of sweet peas and a bit of cheese, while a decadent play on surf and turf finds a single silken, sushi-grade scallop sharing a plate with smoked pork belly. These and other dishes are remarkable for their unfussy elegance.

David Lee's food is staged in a tranquil dining room whose walls are graced with mirrors and modern art. Splendido's best performances, however, come from behind the big, curtain-framed glass window in the rear: the maestro's kitchen.

Jamie Kennedy is Toronto's golden boy chef, with a trio of sexy restaurants in his portfolio. The latest can be found on the third floor of a museum devoted to ceramics, in the city's fashionable Yorkville district.

Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner is cool and inviting. Soaring ceilings and tall windows give the room an airy and open feel. Slate-colored table tops, red leather place mats and sleek stemware lend a contemporary touch.

At first glance, the food choices play it safe. Beet salad? Check. A burger? Yes. But mixed in with dishes that appeal to ladies who lunch - chilled chive soup, sheep's milk tartlet - are such delightful curiosities as hopper with halibut. Inspired by Kennedy's mother, who grew up in Ceylon, Sri Lanka, the entrée combines a rice flour-and-coconut milk crepe, fish and a rainbow of condiments, including lime pickles and shallots fried in ghee (clarified butter). Eating this dish is like riding a culinary roller coaster. What a thrill!

You're apt to sip as well as you eat here. Following the name of each dish on the menu is a wine suggestion, thoughtfully offered in four sizes, from a three-ounce splash to a full bottle, and reflective of the region: Only Ontario grapes need apply.

From the moment you step inside the all-white interior at Susur, you know you're in for an evening of surprises. What other high-minded restaurant decorates its dining room with 13 Colonel Sanders dolls, arranged in a row on a ledge, or informs patrons that dinner begins with weighty dishes and works its way to lighter ones?

The amuse-bouche looks like something you'd find in an art gallery: chicken liver mousse on a thin cookie spiked with Asian spices; a shot of electric gazpacho; a spoonful of silky soy milk custard; and a dollop of tuna tartare capped with minced avocado.

Born in Hong Kong, Chef Susur Lee takes the traditional and gives it a modern twist. In his hands, a dish you might see in Shanghai - strips of marinated pork belly - might be partnered with something you'd taste in Alsace: red cabbage tossed with bacon and red wine. A Chinese hot-and-sour broth might be dressed up with a Spanish-sounding chorizo-tomatillo tartlette.

"I like nature, and I like what's modern," says Lee, who combines both in a palate-cleanser of plum-ginger sorbet presented in hollowed-out bamboo. "I want people to eat with their eyes." In reality, his five-course tasting menu, which ends with an elaborate, tiered display of sweet dim sum, is a feast for all the senses.

If You Go

Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner
111 Queen's Park
416-362-1957

Lai Wah Heen
108 Chestnut St.
416-977-9899

Splendido
88 Harbord St.
416-929-7788

Susur
601 King St. W.
416-603-2205