Making a Chinese Connection in Toronto

By Sandra Scott

One of the things that makes Toronto so fascinating is its multiculturalism. John and I gave our granddaughter, Elizabeth, a trip to Toronto as a graduation gift. Of course, that meant we had to go, too. We could not afford to take Elizabeth to China but it was easy to expose her to Asian culture in Toronto.

Toronto, always a busy, happening city, was especially busy during our visit, so instead of staying in one of the hotels near the center we stayed at the InterContinental Yorktown. It turned out to be an excellent choice with the Metro station around the corner and the Gray Line hop-on bus stop right outside the hotel’s front door. Plus two of the museums we wanted to visit were within walking distance of the hotel.

The Bata Show Museum has a fascinating display of shoes worn by Chinese girls and women who had their feet bound. Across the street from the InterContinental Hotel the Royal Ontario Museum has many multi-cultural exhibits. One gallery has temple paintings from the Yuan Dynasty, and in another there are artifacts that span 7,000 years of Chinese history.

We were especially fortunate to be in Toronto for the China’s Terra Cotta Army exhibit. First discovered in 1974 in northern China, Warrior Emperor Ying Zheng’s terra cotta army is spellbinding. About 2,200 years ago, China’s first emperor was buried with nearly 8,000 full-size warriors and horses. They are considered the Eighth Wonder of the World.

We noticed the Dynasty Restaurant just down the street from the hotel, which seemed to be in keeping with our Chinese cultural tour. While Elizabeth was familiar with Chinese cuisine she had never had dim sum. We ordered several different dim sum dishes served in traditional bamboo streamers but I was disappointed that they were not served from a teacart in the traditional manner. We all agreed that chao siu bao, the barbecue pork dumpling, was our favorite.

It was a beautiful, balmy evening when we returned to the InterContinental Yorkville, so we decided to sit on the terrace of the hotel’s Proof Vodka Bar. The plan was to just relax before going to our room; however I picked up the bar menu and saw a cocktail called Wild Blueberry and Lychee Martini.

“John, look they have a lychee martini. I love lychee nuts.” To which John replied, “It must be healthy because it has blueberries.” And, Elizabeth asked, “What is lychee?”

“You have never had lychees? Lychees are a wonderful fruit that is native to China. I love them but they are not very common in this part of the world. You can’t have the cocktail but you can have the lychee from mine.”

Megan, our server, explained that the cocktail was made with Soho Lychee Liqueur, Stoli Blueberry Vodka, poured over fresh wild blueberries and topped with a whole lychee. Perfect for Elizabeth to try. The cocktail and lychee were declared yummy.

Thus it was we ended our Chinese cultural trip sharing our lychee nuts at the InterContinental Yorktown with Elizabeth while we enjoyed the Blueberry and Lychee Martini. Perfect!

Visit  http://toronto.intercontinental.com .

Sandra Scott is a frequent contributor to travel publications and to Creators Syndicate
and has co-authored two books on local history. She lives in Mexico, NY.

Photos by J. J. Scott.

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