I get a light-hearted feeling when I enter the lobby of the Shangri-La Toronto Hotel. Tonight, we're here for a special Taste of Shangri-La dinner at bosk, but I feel inspired to suggest we have a cocktail in the lobby first. A musician is playing my favorite show tunes at the custom made Fazioli piano, and the fireplace flickers an invitation to sit and enjoy the social buzz in the room. And well—we are a little early for our reservation.
There is something deliciously romantic about Shangri-La’s Lobby Lounge. Warm and inviting, the Afternoon Tea service is sublime. We have spent many leisurely afternoons here savouring perfectly brewed exotic teas on plush upholstery, allowing time to pass, while imagining we’re in Europe or Asia, or wherever our sense memories take us. A glass of Champagne perhaps? The pianist plays just loud enough to create a mood, yet quietly enough to whisper private conversations.
Taste of Shangri-la is a limited time culinary event at bosk until October 31. Chef Troy Cabarios and his team have created an exuberant Northern Italian menu using products from local Ontario farmers as well as some fine regional products from Italy. The room is welcoming and serene, designed with natural wood furnishings and lovely paintings of nature that reflect the trees surrounding the terrace. Seated at our table by the window, we study the menu and say a silent thank you to the thoughtful person who added (V)-Vegetarian, (GF)-Gluten Free and (N)-Nuts to each of these dishes.
Now this is a lovely welcome. Our server pours a flute of Veuve Clicquot and offers a napkin-wrapped specialty, bread straight out of the oven. The bread is prepared with a selection of ancient grain flours from Manitoba and Peterborough that give a unique depth of flavour and texture. In fact, they even add some of this flour to their pasta. This is the wonderfully chewy, dense bread of previous generations, long before white-sliced. Cold pressed olive oil, a fig balsamic reduction and smoked Maldon salt do justice to these hearty slices.
I'm humming along with the music that wafts in from the lounge, and awaiting my first course. Gnocco Fritto (V) are crunchy hollow pillows wearing jaunty caps of cured beet and apricot preserves, feathered with herbs and dots of flavour. I'm impressed with a wine that is new to me: Pinot Noir, Hidden Bench, 2022, from Beamsville, Ontario. Lively red cherry and cranberry leads into subtle spice and earthy undertones, framed by silky tannins and bright focused acidity.
The brilliant colors of Heirloom Beet Salad (V, N, GF) and green sorel leaves introduce intense flavours of ultra-fresh local produce: salt-roasted Cookstown beets, Warner Farms cranberry gel, Capella Meadows feta, Grimo's Nursery black walnuts, encircled by a drizzle of herb oil, and an added splash of Hewitt's Dairy herb buttermilk dressing. I've been clever in keeping a slice of the wonderful bread to enjoy with the salad. The wine pairing: Brut Rose Cuvee Catherine, Henry of Pelham, from St. Catharines, has notes of strawberry, pink grapefruit and rose petal with a crisp, refreshing acidity. I raise my glass as a toast of appreciation to our local farmers for their produce, grown and harvested with loving care and shared with us.
Chef Cabarios has been influenced in his career by working with some of Toronto's top chefs, and it's clear that local, fresh ingredients are at the core of his culinary philosophy. Add to that a fearlessly creative vision, and we, the diners, have the pleasure of the experience.
I've chosen fish as my main course, and I am loving every bite of gently roasted Fogo Island Turbot (GF). Dressed to the nines with a tangle of leek "hay," (leeks that have been shredded and dehydrated until crispy) presented with an honour guard of local in-season succotash of Welsh Bros. sweet corn, St. Davids bell peppers, sweet potato, silky corn pudding, and, still going that extra mile, the kitchen staff have peeled the cherry tomatoes! Canadian Lobster emulsion serves to coalesce and embolden all the flavours. The Sommelier has outdone themself with wine pairings, and here, has recommended Soave Classico, Garganega, Tessari Grisela, 2021 from the Veneto region. Its aromatic layers of ripe pear, white peach and almond unfold over a stony, mineral backbone with a clean dry finish.
Coffee after dinner is a habit of a life-time for me, and here it is served exactly the way I like it: black with two home-made cookies.
Taste of Shangri-La runs from October 1st to October 31st at Shangri-La Toronto, 188 University Ave, 647-788-8888.