131 Bloor Street West, Second Floor

416-923-3323

For the Winterlicious Food Festival, my friend and I visited Dynasty Chinese Cuisine. The place was described as having authentic Chinese cuisine in a casual setting. It is true that Dynasty seemed casual, but it was also noisy, and at the same time, slightly too upscale for me.

Dynasty is conveniently located right on the edge of Yorkville on the north side of Bloor, between Bay and Queen’s Park, across from the Chapters on Bloor. The menu is over 15 pages and there are many vegetarian selections as well as an assortment of fish, chicken, pork, and meat dishes.

Some menu highlights include a daily dim sum and many specialties including Peking Duck, General Tao’s Chicken, Shark Fin Soup, and live fresh seafood.

Service is friendly. Reservations are recommended. Average cost per person including tip is roughly $40 not including drinks of appetizer. [OUCH]

Entrees range from $13.95-$68.00 per person. Portions are small but decor, ambiance, and food presentation are stellar.

For our meals my friend ordered an order of pork ribs in a plum dipping sauce. For his entree, he ordered cashew chicken which was aromatic and colourful. I ordered the vegetarian dumplings that came without any sauce so I used the dijon mustard that was already on the table. For my entree, I ordered braised tofu with vegetables. I skipped the white rice that came with the meal. What is braised anyway? The dish looked like plain tofu stir-fry that lacked any flavour. The sauce was a plain soya sauce. Although it was tasty and not greasy, I was disappointed that my stir-fry lacked any flavour.

Live lobsters and crab can be observed from the dining hall and will always intrigue young children to stray away from their parents and sit by the table and stare at the fish with great curiosity. We happened to be sitting at the place where children started hovering around us watching the mysterious creatures as they swim about in complete and utter congestion. Cash, Interac, and all major credit cards accepted