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Jurisfoodence: Cha Lau Dim Sum
A R T S & CU LT U RE
LUKE JOHNSTON &
DAN MOWAT-ROSE
Staff Writers
Lunar New Year just wrapped up this past
week, and with that spirit in mind your intrepid
food sleuths undertook to scout a Toronto downtown dim sum hotspot. Cha Lau is an authentic
and budget-friendly option for dumplings, steamed
dishes and other “small plate” Chinese goodies.
Venue: Cha Lau Dim Sum Restaurant - 476 Yonge
Street (2 blocks south of Wellesley Station)
Cuisine: Dim Sum
Food: (shared) Beef and Chinese mushroom dumplings, Chinese olive and pork dumplings, ultimate
shrimp rolls, shrimp and mango rolls, beef spare
ribs, sesame balls, duck pastry, egg tart. Also,
beef brisket noodle soup (Dan) and chicken noodle
dumpling soup (Luke)
LLBO Licensed? Yup. However, Dan had filmed
“Drunk Cases” the night before and was in no condition to imbibe anything other than tea or water.
Pi c tu r e d : b ee f b r is k et s o u p ( t o p ) , c heun g f un g ( b o tt o m ) .
The Pick:
Dan: Ok Luke, I consider myself a food adventurer. But seriously, I’m not a “dim sum person”.
I know people love this stuff, but honestly I just
don’t understand the appeal. Whatever though, it’s
your pick this week, and I resign myself to being
gingerly guided through what is almost guaranteed to be a grim misadventure. Also, please do be
gentle. I had a bit of an over-commitment while
filming for Mock Trial last night and will not be
removing my sunglasses or attending class today.
Luke: It was clear to me from the outset -- when
you walked in with pallor the colour of steamed
rice -- that this week’s column was going to be a
misadventure. I really like dim sum, but I know
that it’s not for everyone. In many ways, dim sum
flips western food conventions; the palate doesn’t
always know what to expect from bite-to-bite.
Part of the adventure, for me at least, is trying
entirely novel taste and texture combinations.
At the restaurant:
Luke: Ready for a variety of squishy and sticky
delights my friend? You look like hell!
Dan: Just order whatever man. I am literally
sweating out whiskey right now.
Luke: Ok, Ok. Let’s slow down a bit. First off, I
like the ordering system here. While you take
deep breaths and re-evaluate your life-choices,
I’ll enjoy reviewing the extensive menu, which is
loosely divided by appetizers, soups, dumplings,
fried items and desserts, with items ordered by
checking boxes on a ticket.
» continued on page 15
Monday, February 24, 2014