Air Canada Business Class - Toronto to Los Angeles

I arrived at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport about 3:00 PM.  You go through Immigration Pre-Clearance at the airport which saves the time and hassle of doing it once you land at your destination.

They do have a Global Entry line in addition to the regular line.  Luckily, I do have global entry and was through in about 5 minutes.  My travel companion however, does not have Global Entry and the process took about one hour.

Flying in business class allows one to use Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounge.  Once getting through security, there is an elevator to the right of the escalator that takes you to the gates.

The Maple Leaf Lounge is one floor up.  After exiting the elevator, you are let off directly at the entrance of the lounge.  The lounge attendants were friendly and greeted me warmly.  Once showing my boarding pass, I was allowed entrance.

The lounge is one long corridor with some seating to the left of the entrance.  The remainder of the lounge is located to the right.  They do have shower facilities in the lounge, however I did not have a chance to take a look.

Food choices were pretty limited with several types of salad, hummus, chips, cookies, muffins and other snack items.  There were no sandwiches or other types of protein available during my visit.

There is a fairly well stocked selection of drinks, beer and spirits.

I only spent about 25 minutes in the lounge so didn’t have a chance to really look around.

Air Canada #795

Toronto (YYZ) to Los Angeles (LAX)

Monday, May 26

Depart:  4:35 PM

Arrive:  6:50 PM

Aircraft A320-200

Seat:  2A

Upon boarding, I was welcomed aboard and quickly found my seat.

Business Class Seat

Extended Tray

Arm Rest

Earbuds

After getting settled in, I was provided with earbud type headphones.

Pre-Flight Drink & Nuts

I was also given a warm towel.

Warm Towel

A pre-flight drink was offered along with a ramekin of nuts.

The seat is a little wider than economy, and being located in the bulkhead there is a lot more legroom.

Extra Legroom

The seat also has a little cubby hole to either store a laptop bag, purse or secondary carry-on luggage, as well as being a space to stretch your legs out.

Menu

Menus were already at the seat prior to boarding.

A little over an hour into the flight, meal service started.

Salad

Dressing

A pre-packaged salad of sorts began the meal.  The bulk of the salad was rolled into a cucumber slice which was sort of inventive, however it was sort of messy as well.  After unbundling the salad, lettuce was flying all over the plate.  It seemed like it was spring loaded.

A small loaf of sourdough bread was also served.

Salmon Entree

The main course was salmon which was cooked pretty well.  The fish remained moist, however it was served with pre-cooked rice and frozen veggies which were sort of mushy.

Dessert

Dessert came in the form of a warm cookie and a small tub of ice cream which had seen better days according to the frostbite on the lid.

Service throughout the meal was pretty good as drinks were refilled constantly.

Cracked Glass

I was given a glass that had a long crack in it however.  Upon showing it to the flight attendant she did not apologize and it did take several minutes before I got a new glass.

This seems like something that should have been spotted before it was loaded onto the plane, unless the crack occurred once all dishes had been boarded onto the plane.

Each seat had its own IFE.  Movie selections weren’t the most current, but it kept me entertained for the 5 hour flight.

Overall, the flight was pretty good.  I appreciated the extra legroom and slightly wider seats.

Lee Restaurant - Toronto, Canada

Given Susur Lee’s accomplishments, any meal at his restaurant Lee will command very high expectations.  After all, Susur’s first restaurant Lotus was named best in the country.  He has also had one of the Top 50 restaurants in the world, as well being one of the Top Chefs of the Millenium.  He was also on Top Chef Masters, and placed in a tie for second several years ago.

Lively Dining Room

Lee is situated on busy King Street.  There are large plate glass windows offering an open view of the craziness on King Street, as well as a small outdoor patio which is nice when the weather cooperates.

Given Susur’s accolades it is somewhat surprising that Lee has such a lively atmosphere, rather than the quiet and subdued feeling in most fine dining establishments.

Singapore Slaw with Tuna Sashimi

The signature Signapore-style slaw ($20) with tuna sashimi ($10) contains a list of 19 ingredients which they name as the slaw is mixed tableside.  I couldn’t quite get all of them but does include bean sprouts, ginger, carrots, peanuts, pea shoots, sesame seeds, and noodles.  Although the list of ingredients is long and impressive, the only thing that stood out to me was the sesame seeds, the occasional sharp tang of ginger and the overall sweetness of the dressing.  Everything sort of got lost in the mix.

Wild King Garlic Shrimp

The Wild King Garlic Shrimp ($29) come five to an order.  These are very large shrimp, probably U12 and are perfectly cooked, firm yet still tender.  The sauce of tomatoes, mangoes and green papaya are well balanced, but just a bit on the sweet side for me.  The potato pea croquettes taste more like something that would be found in an Indian restaurant, but was expertly cooked.

Slow Braised Beef

The Slow Braised Beef ($25) is a generous portion of very tender beef that falls apart at the nudge of a fork.  Unfortunately, the meat itself was not well seasoned and was lacking in flavor.  The sauce did help to uplift the flavor profile, but what is a good dish could have been spectacular with a few flecks of salt.

Korean Style Marinated Beef Striploin

The Korean Style Marinated Beef Striploin ($35) was the overwhelming winning dish of the night.  The steak was cooked to a perfect medium.  The blue cheese and dill sauce added a sharp flavor contrast to the beef.  The roasted pears adds a hint of sweetness, while the garlic mushrooms give the dish even more body.  The arugula adds a peppery bite to the dish.

Dessert Trio

The Trio of Desserts ($32) was a disappointment on several levels.  We were not told that the dish would consist of 3 full desserts, nor were we told the cost.  I thought it was going to be more of a dessert sampler type dish.

The special was a Blueberry type cake, which was nothing special at all.  The Warm Molten Chocolate Cake was okay.  The jackfruit adds an interesting flavor to a classic dish.  The Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar was akin to a grown up cross between a Twix Bar and a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.  The dish is rather rich.

Given that I was fully stuffed and the normal portion sized desserts, the overall enjoyment of the desserts was not there.

Although the shrimp and striploin dishes were complete winners, the overall meal was somewhat of a disappointment, which is sort of what I expected coming in.  With the high expectations, it would have been a miracle for the meal to live up to my expectations.  Am I glad I ate here?  Yes, since I’ve been wanting to try Susur’s food for many years.  Would I come back here?  Not likely given the other interesting choices in Toronto.

Park Hyatt Toronto

Park Hyatt Toronto

The Park Hyatt Toronto is set in swanky Yorkville, where the likes of Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Prada and the like are located.  The area is differentiated from the rest of Toronto as the sidewalks are lined with black granite tiles.  This part of town is some of the most expensive retail space in North America.

Upon entering the Park Hyatt, the front desk is located slightly to the left.  The front desk agent was very friendly, and upon giving her my information merely stated that my room was ready.  She did not acknowledge that I was a Hyatt Gold Passport member, or even that I was a Diamond member.  No amenity was offered, no late check-out, or even where breakfast was served.  Although I applaud her enthusiasm, her lack of acknowledging those loyal to Hyatt was somewhat disappointing.

The lobby is somewhat small and is in need of some updating, as it feels somewhat dated.

The hotel is split into two towers.  I was given a room in the tower with the rooftop lounge.

Park Suite

I used an expiring Hyatt suite upgrade certificate when making my reservations, and was placed into a Park Suite.

Hallway

The hallways of the hotel seem somewhat tired and dated.

Guest Sink

Guest Toilet

Upon entering the room, there is a half bathroom to the right.  There is a large sink with the toilet oddly placed behind a wall.

illy Coffee Maker

An illy coffee maker is to the right of the entryway, with plenty of coffee capsules available.

Living Room

Living Room

Living Room

The living room includes a sofa, lounge chair, desk, coffee table and flat screen TV.  The room feels somewhat cramped due to the amount of furniture.

I also had a surprise waiting for me after entering the room, as I heard someone else inside of the room.  At first, I thought I had been given a room in which another guest occupied, however the person in the room was the housekeeping supervisor who was doing a last minute check of the room.  She was very friendly, and offered several bottles of water.

There is a door that separates the bedroom from the living room, which is great from reducing light and noise.

 

Bedroom

Bedroom

The bedroom is somewhat small with limited space to negotiate around the bed.  The bed is comfortable however.

Sink

The master bathroom contains a sink with almost no counter space.

Shower/Tub Combo

Toilet

There is a shower/tub combo that looks very dated.

Closet

The closet is oddly located inside of the bathroom, and one can walk through the closet and exit through another door and end up at the front door.

View

View

View

I had requested a room with a view of the CN Tower which was granted.  The view from the room is spectacular.  The room of the Royal Ontario Museum across the street can be seen.

Breakfast is served in the Annona restaurant.  There is no option for a buffet, and is menu only.  The menu is somewhat limited, but the dishes are high quality with small portions.

I was informed that many professional teams stay at the hotel when in town, which is somewhat surprising.  The hotel could use a renovation to give it a fresher and more updated look.  Front desk service could also use some improvement based upon my stay.