Rating: NNNNN
HAPPY SEVEN (358 Spadina, at Cecil, 416-971-9820) This Cantonese seafood haven stays open every night till 5 am. The white menu offers standard Spadina fare, but once the stern staff get to know you, you get the pink menu, which contains a secret world of unusual delicacies. Best: straight-from-the-tank tilapia with fermented black bean sauce sea scallops in tiara taro nest with broccoli and mushrooms for the adventurous, honey-skinned mahogany-fleshed fried pigeon deep-fried frog legs stir-fried chicken with apple definitive hot-and-sour soup. Complete dinners for $20 per person ($10 at lunch), including all taxes and tip. Open daily 11 am to 5 am. Beer and wine. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
ROL SAN (323 Spadina, at St. Andrew, 416-977-1128) Retro Cantonese cuisine in a pleasant space a notch above the usual for the area. In the rear, past an open kitchen, a second room reminiscent of a cheesy Hong Kong discotheque decked out with posters of Charlie Chaplin and Princess Di handles the overflow for weekend dim sum. Always packed expect a wait at the door. Best: steamed live sea bass in black-bean sauce minced pork with long beans dim sum such as shrimp-and-chive crispy dumplings and multi-textured seafood har gow in briny broth. Complete dinners for $30 ($15 for daily dim sum brunch and lunch), including all taxes, tip and a Chinese beer. Open Monday to Thursday 10 am to 4 am, Friday 10 am to 5 am, Saturday 9 am to 5 am, and Sunday 9 am to 4 am. Fully licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN
SANG HO (536 Dundas West, at Spadina, 416-596-1685) Super-clean and straight-from-the-tank seafood at this classic Cantonese chinoiserie. Warning: lineups at dinner, but the place is almost empty at lunch, when they offer remarkably cheap rice with meat and veg toppings. Best: shrimp with spring onions and garlic tilapia or red snapper gingerly steamed, then deboned tableside and served with a light black bean and garlic sauce off-the-wall-menu specials like razor clams, mussels, snails in a thicker black bean sauce unfortunately, very few purely vegan choices available. Complete dinners for $20 per person ($7 at lunch), including all taxes and tip. Open daily noon to midnight. Beer and wine. Access: seven steps at door, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNN
