Elegance Chinese Cuisine

When one sees the name Elegance Chinese Cuisine, one expects to walk into a restaurant full of elegance, otherwise why own a name like that?  We went there on a weeknight and naturally it was probably a little bit more quiet than usual.  There were only ten tables that I could see that were occupied so finding a seat that evening wasn’t a problem at all.

Peking Duck

We wanted to try some of their more delicate dishes so we went with their Peking Duck skin and wrap, A Stir Fried Lobster with Ginger, Steamed Baby Bok Choys and Shrimp Mixed with Tofu and Egg White Sauce.

Diced Peking Duck with Wraps

 Traditionally the Peking Duck will always arrive first as they will skin the duck in front of you and that it is often used as an appetizer  The duck skin was crispy and the duck meat was marinated well and had just the right amount of fat in it.  The wraps were hot and plentiful as no extra wraps were needed.

Stir Fried Lobster

The rest of the duck meat was diced and brought back out so that it could be used as the main ingredient for the wraps.  The tradition use of hoisin sauce and green onions along with their cabbage wraps made this a much more enjoyable dish to have.    

Shrimp Mixed with Tofu and Egg White Sauce

The lobster was comparable to its competitors.  The meat was tender and the sauce was able to penetrate into the meat making all the lobster meat succulent and delicious. 

The two vegetable and fungi dishes were simple, tasty and were a good compliment with all the meat dishes that we had ordered that evening.  Despite the amount of egg white sauce in the latter dish, the shrimp remained tender and fresh.     

Baby Bok Choy

Overall, the dishes were all pretty good.  The dishes were fresh, colorful and plentiful to go all the way around.  Staff was always by our side although that could have been the fact that it was a quiet weeknight at the restaurant.   Prices were reasonable for the quality of the food that was presented. Dim sum I’m told is pretty good here so the next time I visit, we will try some dim sum at this place and report back to you.  Dinner overall was satisfactory with plenty of smiles all around the table. Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.

Elegance Chinese Cuisine

20 Gibson Drive

Markham, Ontario

Jacob's Steakhouse

So what is the big deal about Jacob's Steakhouse.  Well to coin a phrase from the Toronto soccer team a while back, it's a bloody big deal.  This clubhouse boasts some of the best international steaks from all around the world.  Although the price is often out of the range of the average person, it is certainly worth a once in a lifetime adventure to eat at this restaurant.

Beef Tartar

We made reservations for 4 for a Saturday evening and were given our seats right away.  The waitress who attended to us took the time to explain to us all the different types of international steaks and even took some of the raw meat to our table to show us what was the difference between a regular steak all the way to a Japanese A5 steak.

VanGroningen Farm Ribeye

After scanning the menu, we wanted to order a couple of North American steaks, 1 Australian steak and 1 Japanese steak.  We went with an 18oz US Prime Black Angus Bone in Striploin, a 12oz Van Groningen Farms Ribeye, a 10oz AAco Westholme from Australia Tenderloin and a 4oz A5 Black Tajima-Kagoshima California Cut Striploin from Japan.  We also got a Caesar salad and a Beef Tartar to round out the selection.

USDA Prime Black Angus Bone in Striploin

The Caesar salad was freshly made before us.  A waitress would make the salad in a teak bowl standing by your table.  The salad was given some punch with the addition of a couple pieces of anchovies to spice up the flavor.

AAco Westholme Wagyu Tenderloin

The Beef Tartar was outstanding.  If nothing else was ordered for the evening, just the one serving alone of beef tartar for one person would have been enough.  The taste was amazing.  It had a certain tangy taste to it and the meat was super fresh.

A5 Black Tajima-KagoshimaCalifornia Cut Striploin

The steaks all arrived at the same time.  Although it would not have been foolish to start from the cheapest steak and work one's way to the more expensive one, we were concerned that by the time we got to the most expensive Japanese steak, that one we would be full or two, the steak would have gotten cold.  The Japanese steak was by far our favorite. Made to medium rare, the meat was so fatty and juicy that like the waitress said, the meat would just melted in one's mouth.  Surprisingly, the Australian steak was equally as good.  It didn't melt as much as the Japanese cut, but there was still a certain aura to it.  The 2 North American steaks were good but were typical and comparable to many of the other North American steaks I have had in the past.

We ordered a bottle of wine to enjoy this meal with.  For 4 people, it was $750 tax and tip included.  Not cheap but certain well worth it!!!

Jacob's Co and Steakhouse
12 Brant Street
Toronto, Ontario

416-366-0200