To the original topic of the thread. Chinese food has a deep and rich history and is incredible complex, varied, and refined. There is no reason that it couldn't be "classy" in the upscale restaurant sense of the word. Although frankly I'm not a fan of "classy".
Ksun, I appreciate your posting a more up-to-date picture of the contemporary restaurant scene in China; However, I actually think that the food in Toronto is pretty decent by Chinese standards.
There is a conservative aspect to food in Canada in general I would agree but frankly it doesn't take getting sick too many times in places like China from the food to start to see the pay-off of "fresh" versus bland but sanitary. The fact is that much of the food ingredients and food preparation would not pass basic standards here in Toronto. Street food, meat handling of any kind, and even fruits and vegetables in East Asia are often and generally questionable. My wife is from Taiwan, a society very proud of it's food and food culture. She used to get sick all the time before coming to Canada and thought this was from having a weak immune system. She does not get sick here and we have come to realize that this has a lot to do with food related contamination and pathogens in Taiwan.
There are also two cultural generalization to Chinese food culture that bother me, although I appreciate that they might be stronger or less strong regionally. The first is that the Chinese love everything new. New things are invested in, appreciated, well patronized. But beyond the initial investment nothing is maintained. Those shiny new Shanghai restaurants you posted will probably soon be demolished or run into the ground. The second is that price equals quality. Expensive food is good because of the price, not because of the taste or quality.