I've been going to this restaurant for the past 11 years..once a week..I was a kid back then and now I'm 22 but still loving it. Food at dim sum and dinner is great..and the peking duck is the best in toronto for me. Been to other places but it just doesn't measure up.

Service wise they are soooo friendly! They always have one hostess there (Ann) that I see every week and she always has a smile on her face..

We also have one server that mostly takes care of us and he is exceptional as well. He always talks to us and makes us feel more welcomed. His name is Weng =)

All in all I do not see anything wrong with this place.. I have been to many others as well.. dont get me wrong.. but nothing reaches these standards (maybe except Lai Wah Heen but their SOO much more expensive!!) Only nothing I hate is that they are always busy.. I do not like waiting in line..lol.. but thats not something they control =)

I hope everyone gets the chance to try this place.. this is what you call real Chinese Cuisine! =)

link|

flag|

0

Went to dinner, food was good. I especially enjoyed the Peking duck.

Service was horrible.

Wasn't especially busy, we had made reservations prior. Took them 10 mins to get us seated as there was only one person leading people to their seats.

We didn't get our tea until the 3rd request.

Didn't provide us with dinner napkins even after request.

Lastly, upon receipt of the bill 3 of our 4 dishes were charged at prices higher than the menu price. They had no explanation.

Overall: Would not recommend people to go to this restaurant.

link|

flag|

0

Just went for Ambassador dim sum this Saturday. It's not nearly as packed as Sundays, but you should still make a reservation regardless. Yes, the Ha Gow (what's this longstanding "Har Gow" business) is excellent as per usual, a seasonal (and similar) Satay beef/enoki dumpling is also very good, the Steamed Noodle Roll with Fillet Steak is leagues better than the beef noodle roll you'll find anywhere else, and for dessert make sure to try the Steamed Four Kinds of Sweet Dumplings (there was egg custard, taro, red bean paste, and...something else delicious).

Really, just order what you like cuz almost everything they make is good (skip the mango pudding though).

by the way, they take reservations for dim sum.

link|

flag|

0

You won't regret Ambassador for Dim Sum. Escpecially good are the X.O. Noodles, Hot and Sour Seafood Soup, Har Gow, Dried Shrimp Pancake, Curried baby Cuttlefish, and don't neglect their pasteries -- the deep fried red bean patties as well as their lotus seed paste balls with sesame seeds are both excellent, as are the egg custard buns.

I know this is going to sound strange, but they actually make slightly better food on Weekdays because it ends up being made to order and there's no chance of it sitting around. If you do go on the weekend, aim for either between 10:30 and 11:30 or 1:00 onwards to avoid the rush. They do carry around specials on the weekend that they don't have on the regular menu (like soft-shell crabs when in season).

Ambassador is hard to fault even when they aren't at their best. I took a group of friends there for my birthday last year and I was disappointed as it was the least good food I'd had there and was approaching what I'd call an "off day". But, it was still so good that they all now have Ambassador as their standard Dim Sum place over wherever they were going before (Bright Pearl and Dragon Dynsaty being among the places deemed not as good).

But, that said, I wouldn't recomend Ambassador for dinner. It goes from absolutely outstanding and really rather cheap to not as good and overpriced. They often do the same dish worse at dinner than for Dim Sum (i.e. their X.O. noodles are not so good at dinner time). I'm not sure why this is. The only exception is that they do make what might be the best Peking Duck in Toronto on the dinner menu.

link|

flag|

0

Ambassador has dim sum on the level of Lai Wah Heen for much less money. All the standards are here. Ethereal dumplings, soup, seafood, rice noodles, and some simple kitchen dishes too. What's missing are the extra signature dishes that Lai Wah Heen has, and the huge fancy multi-regional menu of the more expensive place. Sadly, they didn't have the Shanghai Soup dumplings when we went this time, but the egg custard tarts made up for it. They were warm.

Oh. There are also no carts here. But that lets them pack more people into the place.

link|

flag|

0

Authentic Chinese!!

I booked a private room there several months ago for a party of 30 people. The restaurant provided the most professional, pleasant and efficient service I've ever seen from a Chinese restaurant. I don't know what the service is like in the main dining room, but I was thoroughly impressed with my experience. Now, that's high-class!

link|

flag|

0