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Chinatown

My Dad is going to be really sad about that Lee Garden closure. Does anyone have another similar Chinatown recommendation?

He's at an age that contemporary settings and food trends are a negative when looking for a restaurant. Also, Lee Garden was Westernized Chinese food but in a good way particularly as you get to older age. Less oil, salt, and additives then most and emphasis on better ingredients and balanced proportions, not large portions and over abundance of meat etc.

In terms of Chinatown, there is the "New Sky Restaurant" at 353 Spadina Ave which is recommended. They're also one of the more popular spots though, so expect consistently long lineups.
 
Symbolic of the change in generation(s), the former Kom Jug Yuen Restaurant spot is now a "Coco" bubble tea shop. There continues to be a large increase of other new cafes and snack places along Spadina, closer to College.
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...-own-rock-walk-michael-wekerle-says-1.4122721

Spadina Avenue's bars deserve their own 'Rock Walk,' Michael Wekerle says

Coun. Joe Cressy's 'Spadina Rock Walk' motion to go to council next week

By Mike Smee, CBC News Posted: May 19, 2017 5:00 AM ET

Spadina Avenue's iconic rock venues may soon get special recognition with their very own sidewalk shrines, if a famous Canadian business figure and a Toronto city councillor get their way.

The El Mocambo, Grossman's Tavern and the Silver Dollar Room would be among the honourees, CBC Toronto was told Thursday. Coun. Joe Cressy is pushing the idea along with CBC Dragon's Den star Michael Wekerle.

The project will take the form of a walk-of-fame. But Cressy, who represents the neighbourhood, said he envisions images embedded in the sidewalk in front of each bar, rather than the traditional plaques.

"Is it a musical image? Is it a maple leaf? Do we use pennies from the past?" Cressy mused. "We'll have an art competition to help us design this."

The concept was first proposed by Wekerle, who's been dubbed the "rock star of Canadian business."

He said over the years, the street's unassuming venues have hosted some of the biggest names in rock and blues music, acts like the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and U-2.

"Lots of really great history," Wekerle told CBC Toronto Thursday, "and the tying in of the Rock Walk really pulls it all together."

He's been talking with city staff about the project in recent months, and has also volunteered to cover some of the costs, Cressy said.

Cressy has prepared a motion that calls on staff to formalize those talks, to pinpoint venues and locations for the commemorations, and delve into what they should look like.

He said he hopes to have work underway within the year.

Cressy says his motion will come up at the council meeting that starts next Wednesday.
 
http://m.metronews.ca/#/article/new...adina-and-dundas-rexall-standard-theatre.html

Historic site at Spadina and Dundas will become a Rexall

Published on Jun 19 2017
David Hains METRO

It's been a Yiddish playhouse, the site of riot over a memorial for Lenin, and a controversial burlesque house. Now the historic site at the northeast corner of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West will become a Rexall Pharma Plus.

Rexall spokesperson Derek Tupling said the company has "a strong track record when it comes to local heritage buildings," citing the recent rehabilitation of the Brunswick House. He added the company is committed to working with Heritage Toronto on the project.

The company has already posted jobs for its new location, which is just south of another Rexall at Spadina Avenue and College Street. Tupling was unable to give a timeline on the site, but described it as being in early stages.

Rexall will only take the ground floor, which is about 7,000 square feet. The company is also looking at replicating exterior signage for what used to be a pharmacy onsite, and in recognition of Chinatown, will install their first bilingual signs in English and traditional Chinese.

The three-storey building was most recently a Royal Bank, but throughout its 95-year history it has been a famous theatre, a concert venue and burlesque house.

After being financed through shares sold to the local community, the Standard Theatre at 285 Spadina Ave. opened to great enthusiasm in August 1922. Designed by the prolific architect Benjamin Brown, the theatre quickly became a cultural and political hotspot for Toronto's burgeoning secular Jewish community. It played host in the 1920s and '30s to comedy acts, Shakespearean plays and concerts.

By the 1960s and 70s it was a racy burlesque house that sometimes offended Toronto the Good's precious sensibilities. The building was later renamed the Mandarin and reflected the neighbourhood's evolution into Chinatown, before it became a bank.

It earned heritage designation in 2007 for its "abstracted classical detailing" and general cultural value, according to the city.

Kaitlin Wainwright of Heritage Toronto says she would like the building's community-based roots to continue. "I would hope that part of this renovation is creating a space where the community not only goes for goods and services, but also where they see themselves reflected," she said.

Major chain stores have had an increasingly important role in preserving Toronto's built heritage. These companies are often able to afford the higher rents, undertake a major renovation, and make use of the large square footage.

Wainwright says this unique position means chain stores have a civic responsibility.

"The private sector absolutely has a role to play" when it comes to heritage conservation, she says. This idea isn't new, she adds.

"Since we started building things in Toronto [heritage preservation] has been a sticking point and a negotiating point.
 
My Dad is going to be really sad about that Lee Garden closure. Does anyone have another similar Chinatown recommendation?

He's at an age that contemporary settings and food trends are a negative when looking for a restaurant. Also, Lee Garden was Westernized Chinese food but in a good way particularly as you get to older age. Less oil, salt, and additives then most and emphasis on better ingredients and balanced proportions, not large portions and over abundance of meat etc.

In that case, I can recommend Sky Dragon, Dim Sum King or Ho King. The first two are dingy enough to comfort the 70/80+ Toisanese age group. Ho King has the old North Americanized Cantonese classics that even my parents enjoy as they've been here since the 50s. The service at Ho King is cheerless though...
 
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Chicken Liver Chow Mein? *ick*

AoD

This is not a common Chinese dish (I have never had it) but there is nothing ick about it. The French has foie gras, andouillette (sausage made with pork, intestines or chitterlings) not to mention salad with chicken livers - I had it in Lyon, which was delicious. The Greeks make soup using goat interestins and the stomach.

North Americans tend to have extremely conservative diet as if anything other than large chunks of pure meat is gross.

Have you eaten pork intestines dishes, fried or boiled in oil? with noodles? Popular dish in China and tastes very good.
 
Yes I have and no thanks to offal.

AoD

People grow up liking different things. For me, the idea of eating raw vegetable (except carrots), sometimes even broccoli is pretty icky.
North American cuisine in my opinion is still too simple and lack varieties (various burgers/sandwiches being the centre of it, plus steak). Asian and European cuisine uses a lot more ingredients just due to the longer history (especially poor times).
 
People grow up liking different things. For me, the idea of eating raw vegetable (except carrots), sometimes even broccoli is pretty icky.
North American cuisine in my opinion is still too simple and lack varieties (various burgers/sandwiches being the centre of it, plus steak). Asian and European cuisine uses a lot more ingredients just due to the longer history (especially poor times).

It's really not an issue of complexity or simplicity, as likely as it maybe in the generic North American industrial food context, it's more a matter of personal food taboos.

AoD
 
I really, like really, wonder if the theatre space at 285 Spadina is still intact. It was accessed up a flight of stairs, and being a large open multi-storey space may not have lent itself to partitioning. I was only there once - in the early 70s; it was derelict-ty even then. Someday I'll go have a look round.
 
The Hsin Kuang Centre's exterior (Spadina Ave at St Andrews on the southwest corner) is completely scaffolded and shrouded. I wonder what's up? Good things I hope.

I remember when it opened 1971-ish. It was a - worthy - tourist attraction. The basement restaurant was unparalleled for its cool tiled elegance.

It's decline was sad to see. The inside was a horror 10 years ago. There was a restaurant operating on the 2nd floor at the time; the only reason there was access. I believe the restaurant closed about 3 years ago.

I don't know why upkeep - even a broom and mop - is such a foreign concept to some Chinese landlords. The decline was completely preventable.

I'm also upset about the near empty St Patricks Market on Queen West, or whatever it's called now. There isn't even seating for patrons. It has such good bones, history and location. There is posted there a number to call for rental enquiries. Whomever is running it isn't very energetic. Or perhaps they're waiting for a condo developer to come along. Sorry I digressed.

Funny thing, my wife calls St Patricks Market: 'Storks Chicken'. Memories die hard.
 

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