Lucky Red reopens as a licensed, late-night snack bar
Lucky Red reopens as a licensed, late-night snack bar
By Jackie Pal | April 14, 2015
By Jackie Pal | 04/14/2015
After Banh Mi Boys co-owner David Chau shut down his Spadina Avenue spot, Lucky Red, last September after just a few months in business, he admitted that the concept was rushed and needed to be refined further before it could compete in Chinatown’s changing dining scene. On April 1, the now-fully-licensed restaurant reopened as a sit-down restaurant and cocktail bar. Its revamped menu is full of bar food favourites, each with its own twist: sticky tamarind wings, eleven-spiced fried chicken, a Vietnamese take on tartare and a game-changing nacho dish that subs in fried pork dumplings for chips. (And there are baos too, of course.) Cocktails with Asian flavours and a selection of local and imported beers round out the drink list. Fans of the fried s’more bao will be happy to know it’s still on the menu, but for those who want to try something different: durian tarts.
318 Spadina Ave., 416-792-8628, luckyredshop.com , @LuckyRedShop
312325 (Image: Jackie Pal) https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-01-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-01.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-01.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-01/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-01 0 0
(Image: Jackie Pal)
312327 https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-03-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-03.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-03.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-03/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-03 0 0
312326 The Thai Beet salad is packed with shredded young papaya and daikon, pickled beets, sliced red pepper, mint and crushed peanuts ($6). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-02-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-02.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-02.jpg 800 1200 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-02/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-02 0 0
312329 The Lucky Wings: chicken wings marinated in a fish tamarind sauce and lightly fried, then finished with fried garlic and serrano chilies ($7). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-05-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-05.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-05.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-05/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-05 0 0
312328 Soi Mung rice balls inspired by Italian arancini are made with arborio rice mixed with sausage and dried shrimp, then topped with pickled corn, Sriracha mayo and bonito flakes ($6). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-04-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-04.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-04.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-04/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-04 0 0
312330 The Nacho Koreano: fried and flattened pork dumplings are topped with gochujang sour cream, kimchi and green onions ($8). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-06-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-06.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-06.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-06/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-06 0 0
312331 The "Hambaoger": beef patties on steamed bao, topped with shredded lettuce, pickles and special sauce ($8 for two). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-07-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-07.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-07.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-07/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-07 0 0
312332 The fried chicken is made to order and seasoned with 11 spices ($13 for four pieces). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-08-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-08.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-08.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-08/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-08 0 0
312333 Bò tái chanh, a Vietnamese dish, is reinvented at Lucky Red as a beef tartare topped with fried shallots, peanuts and herbs ($8). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-09-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-09.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-09.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-09/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-09 0 0
312336 Fried bao are stuffed with giant, torched marshmallows slathered with Nutella spread ($6). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-12-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-12.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-12.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-12/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-12 0 0
312335 The Lucky Red is a boozy elixir made with rum and ginger beer spiked with soy sauce and lime ($10). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-11-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-11.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-11.jpg 1200 800 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-11/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-11 0 0
312334 The Sakura blends Dillon's gin and elderflower liqueur with Sriracha and lavender syrups ($11). https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-10-150x150.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-10.jpg 800 1200 [] https://torontolife.com/food/lucky-red-reopens-licensed-late-night-snack-bar/slide/toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-10/ toronto-restaurants-lucky-red-10 0 0
West: 78
East: 4
and let the whiners start whining.
Huh? You thought you’d make a non-sequitur comment about whining, Caroline, by posting a whiny comment?
(Assuming that you are Caroline, since you appear to be a sockpuppet account of the only person around here who doesn’t grasp what Darren is doing or why).
i think you misunderstand. i’m with darren and the whiners i’m referring to are mytwocents and john a who, literally, never post anything except whining about what darren is doing, not to mention i upvoted darren. in other words, i’m one of darren’s “goons” as john a refers to people on here. whiny and paranoid is a bad combination and john a shows why.
I did misunderstand. Apologies, Caroline.
You never post anything except for whining about me posting on Darren’s posts.
You guys never really post anything either. Every time I see the same nonsense repeated over and over in every thread. Darren posts the tally, John posts a response making fun of the tally, you post a response defending Darren.
I don’t know why I waste my time reading these things.
Actually, many of us do post, here and elsewhere, on matters unrelated to Darren’s tally. Given your concern over wasting your time, mojo, why you feel the need to complain about the interest of others in the tally is beyond me.