Kwan Dim Sum, located on Yonge, just north of St. Clair is one of the latest midtown Chinese restaurants. Opened just a few months ago, the restaurant has been getting amazing reviews for its dim sum lunches. Based on the photos alone, the dim sum looks both “traditional” and, at the same time, a little unique. However, what makes it stand out even more, especially from Chinese restaurants in Markham, Agincourt and “Chinatown” is its dinner fare.
Fish toast – a special that day
The menu is very streamlined and does not have many basic “favourites” one might see in Markham. There’s no stir-fried beef with Chinese mustard greens (gai lan) or choy sum or steamed fish, for example. One also won’t find any Canadian Chinese choices like chop suey or egg rolls. Instead, one will see more “modern” classics and trendier items such as salt and pepper beef tenderloin cubes, scallop mousse with truffle sauce and seaweed and seafood pumpkin soup. It’s kind of fusionish, but more Chinese (I’d say that it’s probably 80-85% Chinese, 15-20% “western”) – even my parents, who can be a bit adamant about what is considered “Chinese” liked the dishes. There is also a daily specials menu.
Salt and Pepper Beef
Starters are separated into two categories: Appetizers and soups. Choices include truffle spring rolls, moo shu (beef, chicken or pork) and Peking duck (two courses, as per tradition – one served on steamed rice tortillas and the second on iceberg lettuce). On the soup side, there are five to choose from. At our visit, we didn’t pick an appetizer from the main menu, but opted for fish toast, which was on their specials list. It wasn’t what I thought it would be – fish served on a crostini with a little bit of sauce – but instead, breaded fish, drizzled with mayonnaise and served over a few grated carrots. This was fairly good and I hope that it would be offered again, either for dinner or on their dim sum menu for lunch.
Chiu Chow Style Szechuan Chicken
For the mains, we ordered from the regular menu, including the salt and pepper beef tenderloin cubes and an old favourite of mine, Chiu Chow style Szechuan chicken. The beef cubes, which are breaded, were served with onion rings on a long glass platter with fried garlic flakes and do not come with a sauce. One might think that it would be a little dry, but any kind of sauce would not only drown the garlic flavour, but would kill the crunchiness of the garlic flakes. I liked this dish very much (presentation wise, it could have probably used a bit of leafy garnish to get a better colour contrast). The Chiu Chow chicken was also excellent. However, the presentation was not a little different from what it might look like at other restaurants. The crunchy spinach chips were there, but there were only a few pieces – more of a garnish. Typically, the dish is served surrounded (as per the menu description) with the chips. In addition to the beef and chicken, we also ordered snow pea leaves (aka pea shoots or dow mew in Cantonese) and Shimeji mushrooms and a noodle dish, chicken ya-ca mien. The snow pea leaves and mushrooms were pretty “standard” items – something one might find in many other Chinese restaurants – and in my opinion, could have been a little less saucy. The noodles, which were tossed with chicken and shredded veggies like carrots and celery, were excellent. However, if you’re looking for a more “traditional” chow mein type dish, then this is not for you. It’s more of a “lo mein.” Serving sizes are good (but don’t expect Congee Queen portions). We did not order dessert, but were given a complimentary chilled coconut pudding, served in a glass ramekin and a mini lotus seed cookie (loved the cookie, but the pudding would probably have been better served plated).
Snow Pea Leaves
The restaurant’s decor is very modern, and like its menu, is more westernized. It also lacks the loudness of your typical Markham restaurant (which is, in itself, already a bit more refined than what one might get in Chinatown), which is a good thing. What needs to be criticized is, however, the menu itself (not the food), which looked like a take-out menu, printed in-house on thicker stock legal-sized paper. A restaurant of this calibre and price point (mains are between $15 and $25 per plate) should have something…nicer. This is definitely a place to return to. Look for a dim sum review soon.
Kwan is located at 1496 Yonge Street. Reservations can be made by calling 416-901-6618. Hours: Monday to Friday from 11:30 AM to 10 PM; 11 AM to 10 PM on Saturday and Sunday.
