Loading ...Cynthia Cheng
Just north of the 416 border is perhaps one of York Region’s hidden gems. Best Dragon Seafood Cuisine, a Chinese restaurant located in a mall on 100 Steeles Avenue West, serves traditional Cantonese fare in a unique fashion. Some of their banquet/set dinner dishes aren’t found anywhere else, and a lot of thought went into the presentation of the dishes too, including the delicious dessert seen on the left.
Shaped like a fish, this is no creature of the sea. Rather, it is mango pudding. The white sauce around it is condensed milk – commonly used for mango pudding desserts at Chinese restaurants. Other restaurants tend to serve mango pudding made in heart-shaped gelatin molds (commonly seen at dim sum).
Their birthday buns, are also served with a unique presentation. Rather than being served in a large steamer, the buns, which are filled with a delicious sweet red bean paste, were housed in a larger bun-shaped pastry, which in turn is surrounded by tiny buns. Since the buns are wrapped inside the giant bun, only guests who have had the dessert at the restaurant before actually know that there are smaller buns inside. The smaller buns came as a surprise – most thought that the big bun was, well, a big bun to be sliced into smaller portions.
In terms of non-dessert food, I highly recommend their Beef Wellington-like dish. The stewing beef and chestnuts are wrapped with flour dough and baked in the oven. When cooked, the server breaks the bread at the table and serve the filling – the bread itself is as hard as bricks and pretty much inedible.
It’s very interesting to note that though this place is a seafood restaurant, it is the non-seafood dishes which are more creative and interesting. The food they serve is also somewhat different from standard Chinese fare, especially when it comes to multi-course dinners. The standard courses of suckling pig and sauce, soup, chicken, Chinese vegetables, steamed fish and so forth are available, of course, but one can get that just about anywhere. Why bother, when you can order more unusual dishes? Also, don’t be fooled by the plain decor – Best Dragon isn’t the fanciest of restaurants, but it certainly is good!
Best Dragon Seafood Cuisine: 100 Steeles Avenue West, Thornhill. Phone: 905-731-3288
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