Mabu

Bathing Teddy Bears and Other Charming Gimmicks, at Mabu Cafe | The New Yorker

"A new Hong Kong-style diner in Chinatown with a flair for charming gimmicks, this outpost delivers spectacle alongside comfort: there’s a dessert served in a miniature bathtub—its tub not edible nor take-home—holding an adorable Teddy bear molded from frozen coconut milk with grass-jelly cubes, sago pearls, and taro balls, meant to be bathed with more coconut milk from a little pitcher. The show continues with white bunnies of firm, creamy milk pudding corralled by a tiny plastic picket fence over crushed-peanut “gravel,” and a tom yum goong whose crimped instant ramen spills dramatically from a ceramic mug reminiscent of a Nissin Cup Noodles; even the bathroom hides behind a pale-blue Smeg fridge amid retro décor of old thermoses, typewriters, and vintage Chinese soaps on TV. The digital wait list tends to run long. I get the sense that anyone chasing strict authenticity may be disappointed—this is an outpost of a Toronto restaurant, and a neighboring couple quibbled with aspects of a cheesy baked bread bowl stuffed with things like creamy curry chicken or Bolognese plus spaghetti, macaroni, or rice—yet it’s a good introduction to cha chaan teng culture, with milk tea and mid-century Western dishes refracted through a Cantonese palate. The most delicious dishes for me skewed Asian: chewy instant noodles topped with chicken, scallion oil, and a fried egg; sweet, sticky barbecued pork over lard-slicked rice; a neat stack of steamed choy sum in glossy oyster sauce; and bouncy fish balls in curry. I was charmed by the “Grills in Hot Plate” selections—sizzling cast-iron platters ringed with soda-jerk-style paper crowns—piled with combos like a fried pork chop with sausage, macaroni, corn, grilled onion, and sliced tomato, and I was surprised by how comforting a casserole of rice, beef, tomato, onion, and corn felt under a blanket of melted cheese. For dessert beyond the cutesy animals, a crackly-topped pineapple bun can be split and stuffed with vanilla ice cream or, better yet, a fat slab of butter, and I went crazy for the Dirty Caramel Cookie Cream Bun: a soft, slightly crusty roll sandwiching gobs of luscious cookie-butter pastry cream and crushed Biscoff, then coated in more crushed Biscoff—wonderful and wacky. Dishes $6.99-$26.99." - H, a, n, n, a, h, , G, o, l, d, f, i, e, l, d