Dinner at O Mei - quick review
10 of us went to O Mei for dinner. We ordered the following:
1. Peking duck - 2 ways. Ok. Not outstanding, just average. The size of the crepe is too big & is just spring roll crepe. Need to order in advance.
2. 10 lb jumbo lobster 4 ways. Steamed claw w/ minced garlic, lightly battered w/ spicy salt, pan fried w/ maggi sauce & fried rice w/ lobster roe. Excellent! Worth the trip. $19/lb.
3. Live French turbot. Steamed with ginger & onion. Excellent! One of the best steamed fish in Toronto.
4. Live 'Shun Hok' fish. Steamed with ginger & onion. Will not order again.
5. 'Budda jumps over the wall' soup. Very disappointing. The soup tastes too much of Chinese herbs. $19.99/urn.
I had much better ones at Galaxy many times. There's a set menu of about 10 courses for $368/10 px. inclusive of tax & tips. This is the most popular set menu there. Each px has an individual urn. The broth has a dominant taste of Chinese (Jinhua) ham. It also has a whole slab of sharks fin ( like a half moon of about 4 -5 in.). However, the abalone is smaller than O Mai's.
6. Stir fried 'Kai Lan' with dry 'square' fish. Excellent. Fresh & well trimmed Kai Lan with tasty fish sauce.
7.Vegetable in garlic & broth. Simple but very good.
8. Deep fried tofu with minced dry pork. Bad. The batter is too thick & becomes mushy after absorbing the brown sauce.
9. Braised ox tail w/ lemon grass in hot pot. Bad. Both the taste & texture are not right.
10. Sweet soup
11. Dessert. Soft dough with black sesame filling & white sesame crust in royal jelly sauce is excellent.
Service was ok & acceptable. I'll go back for the lobster, French turbot & try other dishes.
ace123
Aug 04, 2007 08:35PM
Good review ! You can finish that much food ??? Hey, I was at O Mei tonight too !!
5 of us, order the 7 lb Lobster 4 ways, Delicious !!! And 2 other dishes, can't finish it, too much food.
Agree that French turbot is the best steamed fish in the Toronto. It is possibly the best fish dish in GTA, at least it is for me (including all cuisines). It is a MUST for any serious seafood lover to try in Toronto. The dish is ~$65.
Regarding the "Budda jumps over wall", I think it is personal preference. I am ok with the strong herbs and the strong taste in O Mei's version. Another good "Budda jumps over wall" can be found in Junlin (originally is Grand Yatt on Bayview). The set dinner is ~$50 including a urn of it and a selected dish from a menu.
Looks like the meat dish at O Mei is not a good choice compared to seafood ? Agree ?
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We ate a lot! We finished most of them, except the oxtail & tofu which we didn't enjoy at all.
I was sitting at the corner table. The manager, Ringo, is a very funny guy. Whenever he explains the lobster 4 ways. He dances like a chicken. I was pretending not fully understand those 4 dishes & made him dance 3 times. Very good entertainment.
I find that O Mei's version of 'Budda jumps over the wall' lacks the aroma of jinhua ham. The favour of Chinese herbs overpowers the mixed flavour of: abalone, sea cucumber, sharks fin, fish mew, conch, dried scallop, jimhua ham, gogi, chicken, ginseng, premium broth, etc. It's not well balanced. Of course it's really personal preference.
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We were in the middle table.
I also like the one you mentioned with more of the jinhua ham. For me, with $20, it is not bad to have a switch sometime, the ingradient used in it is quite nice after all.
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Yes. The meat dish (ox tail) is a failure.
I had an excellent ox tail in red wine sauce in a HK style restaurant called Canteen in Dragon City, China Town.
I was hoping I could find another ox tail dish as good as that one.
Still searching...
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when I was at omei last week we had the alaskan king crab done 4 ways, the fried rice was amazing. I love this place!
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I am no pro on ox tail but we really enjoy E-Pan's version. Excellent flavours!
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For really good 'live' Shun Hok fish, you should give the 'oil poached' version of Fantasy eatery in Scarborough a try. Since the bones and fins were crispily cooked, one could almost consume the entire fish!! The premium soya sauce base was amazing! Cost around $28 only. I found it yummier than the O'Mei's French Turbot!
As for Chinese kitchen cooking oxtail. So far, apart from the oxtail casserole of the now defunct ' Shanghai one family - Silverstar Blvd '., I have not come across a single good tasting dish in TO. The worst one, of course, was the one from the newly opened 'Many savours' ( see my posting a few days back ). Your mentioning of oxtail dish, ace123, however brought back fond memory of an upscale 'Braised oxtail in red wine and port with winter root vegetables' I had at the Parisian 3 star restaurant 'Grand Vefour'. Now, THATS, oxtail!! Thanks for bringing back the memory!!!
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I'll certainly keep in mind abt ox tail in Grand Vefour.
When I've a craving for ox tail, I'll go to Canteen, 2nd fl of Dragon City in China Town & order braised ox tail in red wine sauce. It lacks finnese. However, it's a homey, tasty satisfying dish. The meat is tender & not too oily. For $8, excellent value.
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I had a really great "Red wine braised oxtail in clay pot" at King Garden on King street, best one I ever have in Toronto ! Have not been there for a while but their dinner is generally good.
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I went to King's Garden many times for dim sum & dinner. Just haven't try the ox tail yet. Thanks for yr recommendation.
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I just remember there is another great "Red wine braised oxtail in clay pot" at 唐家店, Judy Cuisine, at Time Square. It comes with like 6 small buns to eat with it. I like eating at Judy, have not been there for like half a year or so, not sure if it is as good as before ??
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Hello skylineR33. Please, please AVOID Judy's Cuisine!!! We were there last week. The food was LOUSY! The service pushy - keep on recommending the most expensive dishes to us. The only thing worth mentioning on the positive side was their House special chicken. However, since it is served cold, I can always take out one. They opened up another shop at Midland and Steeles. May be this splitting up of staff really hurt the food quality.
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Thanks for heads up. So there is no good place to eat in Time Square !
Except maybe the dessert place for late night gathering.
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Morning skylineR33! Well, not exactly! You can always go to Richmond Court and have a plate of their yummy Fried beef with tomatoes on rice. Full of ' wok hay', one of the best in TO. I have it for lunch take out at least once a fortnight. Anyways, good place for a casual, quick meal. Better than the Macdonalds down the road!! Ha!
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I remember trying the Richmond Court about a year ago, and after having one vegetable dish that wasn't washed properly (full of sand and grits), we never went back since.
At Times Square there is a Vietnamese place that's not half bad (nearby the HDTV store).
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full of sand and grits ? Pretty disgusting ...
The rice dish at Richmond Court is BIG !
Go there once a while for lunch, the "Baked pork chop with rice" is not bad too.
Actually, after a second thought, I think Time Square is not a bad choice for lunch. Goldsor Cafe is not something memorable, but their lunch set is not a bad idea for a quick lunch sometime. As well as a quick lunch at the Pho place "Kam Bo" works for me.
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I actually thought the Midland/Steeles one is okay, except maybe a lot of the dishes are too salty. I'd go just for their house dessert...the walnut soup with black sesame-filled doughy balls. The name escapes me right now...
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