A Hot Day at Hot House Cafe

During the summer, the perfect destination besides the beach would be the patio! This summer, a friend and I decided to take on a quest to seek out great patios in downtown Toronto. Although that quest ended very shortly, we were happy with our first find. Located at the corner of Church and King Street in the St. Lawrence Historic District, Hot House Cafe's patio isn't too noisy nor too isolated. As we were seated, I had a feeling I was going to enjoy my visit!

Calamari  $9.95 and Lemonade 

Calamari is my favorite appetizers after tuna tataki, so there was no surprise that I ordered it as soon as I saw it on the menu. I had to say that the calamari was a tad disappointing. The dish was soggy and seemed like it had sat for a while before being served as it wasn't warm. 

Large House Salad  $9.95 

The house salad came with a balsamic and dijon mustard vinaigrette dressing that was refreshing and appetizing. The vegetables were fresh and crisp and tasted good even without the dressing. Overall it wasn't anything too special but was definitely enjoyable.

"High Class" Dim Sum at Crown Princess

When Crown Princess first opened in downtown Toronto, I wasn't sure of the authenticity of the food and was less intrigued as I was under the impression that it was pricey. After hearing positive reviews, I decided to give it a try instead of resorting to the usual Chinatown joint.

Har Gow    蝦餃皇     $5.30

Although known as the classic dish in dimsum, shrimp dumplings, or "har gows", have never been much of a favourite to me. However, I thought these were pretty good since the skin was thin and chewy, with big fat juicy shrimp wrapped inside.

Pan Fried Turnip Cake   經典煎蘿蔔糕  $4.30

I was most disappointed by the turnip cake. It tasted rather bland and had very few pieces of meat in it. This was definitely not on par with what I expected from this restaurant.

Vegetable and Pork Dumpling Chiu Chow Style  潮汕粉粿皇  $4.30