Forestview Chinese Restaurant

Pretty disappointing food with really pushy servers…
The FOOD: All your standard dim sum items. I never really expect luxury or super-​fresh quality at dim sum, but Forestview seems to suck the flavor out of everything. Most of the dishes were dry, bland, or a bit on the cold side. The best flavor was the siu mai, the ubiquitous pork dumplings which were thankfully devoid of gristle. The lo baak guo (turnip cakes) were gooey, the lo mai gai was nearly flavorless, and the har gau the most boring dumping ever tasted with a sad shrimp inside of an overly thick wrapper. Overall, pretty bland and boring.
The SERVICE: All the standard old Chinese ladies pushing the carts, but they were more aggressive here than anywhere I’ve ever had dim sum. Practically forcing dishes on the plate, the women would shout «very good… must try». Even with some rudimentary command of a few words in Mandarin and Cantonese it was tough to handle. I know dim sum has fast-​paced service, and the waitstaff are not known for pleasantries, but this was downright unpleasant.
The ATMOSPHERE: I don’t get it with the plastic table cloths. I cannot think of a less classy way to set or clear a table. Cheesy chinese décor. No sign of a forest though!
OVERALL, towards the bottom end of dim sum I’ve experienced in my life. It’s cheap, but you won’t really enjoy the food or the service.

After watching the Toronto episode of the Layover on Saturday, our goal was to hit up one of the tasty restaurants Anthony Bourdain spoke about during the show. The last time we had dim sum was in San Francisco over a year ago, so Dim Sum it was! We made the 40 minute trek to Chinatown and went to Forestview Chinese Restaurant. The place was packed, but luckily we were sat right away.
This was my 1^st experience at a Dim Sum restaurant where the carts just roll by and you don’t get a menu. The first cart strolled by us about a minute after we sat down. Unfortunately we didn’t understand the women who were pushing the carts too well. They pointed… we pointed… they said it was good… we sometimes said yes. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it did not. One case where it didn’t, some type of squid dish? Not really sure. But it was fishy and a little tough, boo.
One dish we were 100% certain of what it was, chicken wings. They look plain, but man were they delicious! They were super crispy and juicy. They had great flavor, but I couldn’t pick out what it was. They were devoured pretty quickly.
What we thought were spring rolls were shrimp wontons, this was definitely one the better dishes. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the wrap was super crispy without being greasy.
We took a risk on these dumplings, which had an oniony shrimp filling. The wrap was very gelatinous! The flavor was good, but the texture totally threw me off, blech.
Some shrimp that went by looked promising but were bland. Our last dish was Pork Shumai was one of the things I understood… done! It was a good ending to a decent meal.
Forestview was a very interesting experience, but I don’t think we will be returning. The food wasn’t that great, and the language barrier made it hard to figure out what was being carted around. But I’m glad we went this one time.

So here’s the deal… I’m from out of town (MN), which is a desert for #legit dim sum. When I hit dim sum… and I hit it HARD… I expect propane steam carts with old Chinese ladies pushing’em (yelling at you!), the smell of excess propane in the air and a slightly dodgy interior (reminds me of HK dim sum).
I found this place (thanks Google Maps!) in the heart of «Chinatown» on Dundas Street. Got lucky and found a place to park a block away… and we quickly made our way to glorious dim sum!
Our flight got in around 12:30pm and arrived around 2pm… not bad considering customs, traffic and the parking situation. Dim sum is all-​day and given out off-​hours arrival, we were seated quickly. Within minutes of hitting the chair, the first cart rolled out and we hit the usuals… shrimp and pork dumplings, chive dumplings, BBQ pork buns, pot stickers, phoenix claws, spare ribs, congee and a couple others I don’t know the English name for!
What I loved about this place is everything was piping HOT, not cold… items didn’t fall apart as you try to pick it off the bamboo container… all great signs of legit dim sum. My mouth is watering just writing this… sigh…I wish this place was in Minneapolis/St.Paul!!!
If you’re in T. Dot…find your way to Dundas Street and hit this place up!

Good for dim sum when downtown as they are casual and the food comes quickly. The food is tasty with the deep friend shrimp rolls being a stand out — crispy, piping hot and absolutely delicious with the dipping sauce along side. The spare ribs were dangerously addictive although they were about half fat so you have to eat around the fat to get to the meat.
Many large groups of people descended on Forestview while we were dining and the kitchen did an admirable job of rolling out huge quantities of very attractive and fresh looking dishes, including fish with many others enjoying their soup that day. Luckily our waiter did not seem to understand English as I asked for something not on the dim sum menu with my eyes being bigger than my stomach, so keep that in mind if you are not simply ticking items from the dim sum menu. We will be back to Forestview!

Fresh and wonderful. Pushed carts around room so I didn’t have to guess want I liked. Had most every thing on menu and was delicious and hot. We were one of few westerners there (which I viewed as a favorable sign). Big room of 200+ was all full for Sun lunch and service was reasonable. Other reviews likely represented language barrier. We enjoyed and will very likely be back in this crowded «dim sum» area.

This is an old-​fashioned Hong Kong style dim sum house – with carts and grannies. The food isn’t great but it’s as hearty as it’s been during all the years I’ve visited. The service is okay. You won’t always see what you want, but the trick is to yell out and ask for what you want, and someone will get it for you right away or as soon as it’s ready.
The atmosphere is loud and busy. Of course it’s never as loud and busy as it was back in the ‘90s. Many of its patrons are now retirees.
I usually go with the family and old neighbors. We usually get the regulars and sometimes we would try new things. Nothing particular. We usually end the meal with a bowl of doufuhua (tofu pudding).
Price wise, it’s very affordable, especially during weekdays. Each dish costs a little more during weekends and holidays. Dim sum prices also increase after 3 or 4 pm.
The Chinese broccoli with garlic and oyster sauce dish is alright, but a little pricey. Vegetable dishes are pricey here. I would not recommend the fried noodles, because they’re very oily and often taste burnt. Go for all the steamed stuff.
The food isn’t particularly good, but it also isn’t particularly bad. I would say it’s generic Chinatown dim sum reminiscent of the pre-​2000s. No gourmet this, gourmet that. It’s just food that we’ve enjoyed eating all along.

All day dim sum — how awesome is that? I always get stressed missing dim sum time, so this was perfect.
Walked in, and was immediately greeted. Ordered Chrysanthemum tea and took a seat by the aisle. Sweet elderly ladies walked by with their food laden carts — we had the har gow, shu mai, spring rolls, and sticky rice. The delicious fried donut wrapped in rice noodles (see picture) — you need to order that separately. Bill total — $ 19! Crazy good.

Extremely authentic dim sum! We went for a wonderful Saturday morning dim sum, and the place was packed with the predominant language being Chinese (which did make it difficult for us at first). Still, plenty of hot tea and assorted hots trays later we were pleasantly stuffed.

We were hungry after spending a few hours visiting the AGO for the Bowie exhibit, so walked to Chinatown looking for Dim Sum. Rol San was packed so we thought we’d try a new place. I won’t go so far as to say it was a mistake; we didn’t get sick or anything. It wasn’t a good choice either.
Service was slow or non-​existent. The options on the dim sum carts were limited. The few items we did choose to eat weren’t very good. Bland. Not worth it.
We left after having only a couple of dishes. Disappointing.

Some of the worst food I’ve ever had. Tea was disgusting and came out black. Food was cold and flavorless staff were unfriendly. We spent 5 minutes here and after trying a few things we left. Absolutely would not recommend this place ever. When we left our bill was $ 21 between 3 people and they made a point in asking for a tip. We decided to go to another restaurant to actually have a decent dim sum experience.
Here’s your tip: fire your staff and shut down.

Went here with my family during brunch (~11−12pm) on a Sunday. I grew up eating at different dim sum restaurants in the GTA Chinatown. I never ate dim sum in Asia so my «dim sum palette» standards are not high.
Food: The dim sum here was good and tasted the way that I am used to it tasting (my grammar is horrible), nothing different about it that made me feel unfamiliar towards the dishes. Had the har gow, shumai/​shaomai, lotus leaf rice, crispy fried squid, rice noodle rolls, tofu skin roll, and phoenix claws.
Atmosphere & Service: The tables and utensils were clean. Service was good, the servers call out the name of the dish that they are carting (is this the proper word?).
Pricing: I can’t comment on this unfortunately, my parents handled the bill and I did not bother to look at it, maybe next time.
You could say this review is based solely on their food.

Back at it again!
Amazing food, with affordable prices and Delicious food!
Can’t find a restaurant better, just the style is old but the food is blessed

Back again this morning (sunday) at 8:30am, about 40 people in the place we waited half hour for cart service to start. Drank tea and read newspaper, like everyone else. Same crowd as before. Older Chinese couples, waiting for the hot of the press congee and steamers.
The order:
Sui Mai — perfect hot, sooo fresh $ 2
Chicken Feet — lovely red black bean sauce, flying of the cart with the crowd at this time in the morning $ 2
Spareribs — lovely garlic steamed sauce and not fatty $ 3
Bean Curd roll (meat one) — perfect gooey goodness $ 3
Har Chueng Fun — Sweet soya over lovely noodles, shrimp not as good. morning crowd all having beef one $ 3.50
Noodle in soup — The best dish, broth so flavourful, perfect pork dumpling — she gave us about 20 strips of ginger in soup and the splash of red vinegar $ 3.50
Jasmine tea x 2 pots.
$ 17 today, don’t know why but they didn’t charge for tea or tax, we paid cash. $ 3 tip.
love it!
note: we took some friends at noon a few months ago not as good, i think this early morning thing is the way to go
note 2: free parking on dundas till 1pm if you can get spot.

The food here was pretty good, and the portions were much larger than in NYC! It’s on the second floor, and while it could do with some upgrading, it still looked all right. It seems like this place has been here a while with its wear and tear, and many elderly folks frequent this place. I definitely feel like it’s underrated. It isn’t a tourist hotspot, but I think that gives this place a but of authenticity you wouldn’t get otherwise!
As for service, the staff was very kind and the women pushing the carts around we’re friendly as well. They seemed a bit pushy when trying to get you to try food, but if you stand your ground you won’t get pushed around too much!
This place isn’t too special, but it would be somewhere I’d go back to.

Some of the worst Dim Sum I’ve ever had.
The place is relatively cheap and of the few places left in Chinatown with traditional cart service so maybe that’s why people still go there.
Both the Har Gow and Chung Fun featured tasteless shrimp that was either very old or had been frozen way too long. The rice flour used for them was so poorly done that it was a thick, almost unedible goo when we tried them.
The Siu Mai were blobs of poorly cooked meat that didn’t even hold their shape in the bamboo steamer.
The fried Turnip Cake had some extra stuff in it, but was cold by the time it got to our table and we had no idea what was in it since the flavour was so bland. These guys should learn from Seafood Dim Sum King across the street and have a separate table at the front that freshly fries up things like the Turnip Cake right in front of the diners.
Anyway, the good reviews here are obviously from people who have no access to good Dim Sum like the vast array of places in Markham, Richmond Hill and Scarborough. Either that or they work with Homer Simpson at a faulty nuclear power plant and their taste buds have been permanently neutralized.

This is my favourite all-​day Dimsum place in Chinatown!
The place is spacious, the food is good, the price is low, and the best part is that they serve a great selection of dimsum items ALL DAY! So no matter when you’re craving these tasty little breakfast items, you’ll have a place to fulfil your cravings.
However, don’t expect too much in terms of service which I think is typical to Chinese restaurants.

It’s my friend’s favourite Dim Sum place so we have to go here when I’m having lunch with him in the Spadina area. It’s located a few doors down from one of MY favourite Chinese restaurant, Asian Lengend. I’m not sure what it is about this place that makes Forestview his favourite restaurant. It’s cheap maybe? This first time that we went, I paid for lunch and the bill came to $ 15 bucks total. We were stuffed!
It’s an authentic Chinese restaurant with the cart ladies, the plastic table cloths and tables full of folks eating and enjoying their lunch. The cart ladies try their best to understand what you want. They also have manager types standing at attention to make sure that everything is running smoothly.
**It’s very loud which I don’t mind, I just thought that it’s worth mentioning in case you want something a bit more quiet**

I was here for a banquet, and all I can say is that this is really OLD SKOOL chinatown.
It reminded me of my childhood when there weren’t as many options as there are today.
There is really no attempts at modernizing anything, from the menu, to the service, to the holy F$#@ what kind of bathroom is this?
Sadly, I can’t say I know of too many middle of the road price range type Chinese banquet places in downtown Toronto, the only real option seems to be high end at the Metropolitan.
It seems to be either Scarborough, Markham, Richmond Hill or bust.
If this is the best view of the Forest, I might have to chop down all the trees.

i don’t see why this place got such a low review…
After eating in Scarborough, Markham, this OLD Chinatown was the best of all meals…
This place is on the 2^nd floor, referred to us by people I randomly stopped in the friendly streets of Toronto Chinatown… we were not disappointed…
The carts come around as usual, we ordered and they brought us water tea and refilled as needed…
Everyone was quite nice, they at least smiled…
The one thing that we learned there was when we paid the bill, we are accustomed to leaving the tip on the tray or folders or just on the table after we have received our change… here, it is different, they pay the tip with the bill, at least that is what they told us… or maybe they just saw my sister putting away all her large bills and thought she wasn’t going to leave a tip…
all in all, great place for a family lunch and it was Mother’s Day…

I am sure that there are better places in Markham and Richmond Hill, but in terms of convenience, you can’t really go wrong with Forestview.
Is it the best dim sum I’ve ever had? No, and yeah the portions are a bit small… but!
1. They have carts! What KILLS me is when dim sum places do not have the carts but resort to the menu. Yeah I know, Shanghainese vs. Cantonese-​style dim sum… but I love my carts.
2. The prices are reasonable. Dim sum isn’t really meant to be super expensive.
3. The har gao, shui mai, char siu bao, ham sui gau, cheong fung, lo mai gai, seafood congee and etc were all fresh and tasty.
4. The service, including the ladies pushing the carts, is very good! If you need a drink, extra mustard, have a question, or your bill, the staff is very accommodating.
I hope they stop renovating soon and reopen!