Chef Tony Seafood Restaurant

It was only a time that we returned to Chef Tony after a solid Dim Sum service.  As mentioned time and time again, Dim Sum and Dinner are 2 different animals (and I'm not talking about what is on the menu) in a majority of Chinese restaurants.  We knew our meal was going to be on the pricier end of the spectrum when we were presented with iPads instead of traditional menus.  We ended up ordering a selection of dishes which included the signature, regular and pricey items (lobster).

Seemingly unfazed by the pungency of black truffle, we tried yet another dish graced by its presence.  The Marinated Chicken trimmed with black truffle flakes exhibited initial strong Earthy notes, but gave way to succulent pieces of meat.  In fact, the breast meat was almost juicy.  Flavourful and well-seasoned on its own, the meat was further enhanced by the abundance of truffle.  Next we moved on to a pair of Roasted Squabs.  Rendered and delicately crispy, the skin gave way to moist and just seasoned enough meat.  Some portions were a touch dry, but forgivable as they were the less meaty portions of the bird.  We did find the squabs rather small though.

For the kiddies, we got a more home style type item being the Steamed Minced Pork with water chestnuts and black bean paste.  Due to being hand-chopped, the meat retained much of its natural texture.  Furthermore, it was rather lean which meant the pork patty wasn't exactly buttery and fatty like many other versions.  I actually preferred this as it didn't have an artificial texture.  With a good amount of black bean, the dish bordered on salty (but it was meant to be eaten with rice anyways).  Also for the kiddies, we got the Seafood Fried Noodles.  With the sauce served on the side, the fried noodles remained toasty and crunchy.  The accompanying seafood was on point while the starch-thicken sauce was quite mild.

Onto the most expensive and thankfully the tastiest dish of the night, we had the Stir-Fried Lobster with Eggplant.  As much as I thought it was a bit too sweet to begin with, the sauce actually was balanced off by an equal amount of vinegar, spiciness and saltiness.  The lobster itself was prepared expertly where the meat was buttery with the classic lobster bounciness.  Lastly, we had the Beef Shortribs with pumpkin.  This took awhile to prepare and it was well-worth it.  They made this to order and the result was flavour-infused tender pumpkin pieces accented by buttery short ribs in a gingery and sweet sauce.  On the other hand, the short ribs could've used a bit less tenderization.  Although our meal as hardly representative of all of their more expensive and signature items, we were able to get a feel for their dinner service. It was good and certainly worth a revisit.

The Good:
- Generally on point execution
- Superb service (especially for a Chinese restaurant)

The Bad:
- It comes at a price
- Not a fan of the parking situation