Chef Susur Lee's Shang is meant to be the result of his experiences through Ontario, Singapore and Hong Kong, but oddly we couldn't imagine any of his dishes in any of those cities. The house signature dish for example, a Singapore Slaw, an artful pile of crispy taro, sliced thin raw veggies and nuts, mixed at the table, is neither Western salad nor anything you'd find in Asia. It's Lee's own creation. As such, some things are hits and some are misses. A Beijing cucumber salad reminds us of nothing one would ever be served in Beijing but is crunchy and flavourful mixing lotus root, avocado (not a fruit used in China) and persimmon. A yellowtail sashimi lost a little something when wrapped up making each chunk a bit too thick to be easily tasted and taro beef puffs were a bit too fried to have enough succulent taro inside. But a steamed white snapper with ginger and Chinese cloud ear mushrooms was delicious. The experience here is really more art than food. It is more about the diner going on a journey inside a mysterious city that is Susur Lee's creative cooking mind than Lee's bringing any real city to the diner.

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