This place is culinary proof that fine Chinese dining is not an oxymoron. It’s home to Toronto’s Asian cognoscenti, who cut deals over dim sum lunch or linger over lavish banquets in this two-tiered room of understated elegance with splashes of Chinese calligraphy adorning the walls. Lai Wah Heen’s vast menu is made easy for the decision-challenged with prix fixe options, from dim sum to dinner. Cantonese flavours prevail, but other regional Chinese cuisines flicker across the menu pages, as do some unexpected Western additions, such as pan-seared foie gras. A faint trace of oolong tea reverberates through moist slices of smoked duck draped over clean bites of asparagus. Lai Wah Heen offers numerous clear broths crowded with won tons, dumpling and even tripe. Amplified lobster flavour pulses through a bisque dotted with clumps of lobster meat and morels. Wuxi-style ribs fall off the bone, in a subtle sweet and sour slather. But it’s often the simplest of foods that please most: fresh, pleasantly chewy rice noodles tossed with shredded duck, sliced shiitakes, sweet peppers and bean sprouts, in a coating of soy and sesame oil. Traditional dessert hounds might opt for double-boiled sweet coconut soup with frog jelly, but modern upstarts can choose from an array of Senses pastries. The extensive wine list is prefaced by a helpful paragraph on wine pairings and stocked accordingly, but it still satisfies those who can’t fine dine without a 1982 Château Margaux. Indifferent servers. Mains $24–$52.