Dining Out: Dim Sum Brunch at Luna Private Banquets

Starting my vacation week with a round of dim sum with Minji and Daniel at the newly-opened Luna Private Banquets:

Steamed shrimp dumplings (har gow)

Steamed pork and shrimp dumplings (siu mai)

Steamed BBQ pork buns

Deep-fried turnip patties

Steamed giant soup dumpling

Braised beef tendon

Steamed charcoal salted egg yolk buns

Everything we ordered — which is standard yum cha fare — was tasty, but pretty average for a good dim sum restaurant. We noticed that the size of each dumpling we ordered is smaller than average, but the portion per steamer is bigger. (For example, most dim sum places have four bigger har gow per steamer, whereas Luna has five smaller ones.) The only dish here that I found particularly notable and different was the deep-fried turnip patties, which are usually pan-fried. (Here, they cube them and deep-fry them so they're deliciously and addictively crunchy, and serve them with peanut and XO sauces.) That having been said, I personally prefer Casa Victoria and NKS Banquet Hall for dim sum, where the quality is excellent and the portions are bigger for the same price or cheaper.

The main draw here is that they only have private rooms, which means it's not deafeningly loud like at other dim sum places. However, the drawback to this is that they have a 1.5-hour seating limit per party, so if you're looking to spend an entire afternoon leisurely eating dim sum and drinking tea with your friends (like my mom does, for example), this is not the place for it. The hostesses at the front are somewhat rude and will ignore you even if you are right in front of their face, so be prepared to interrupt them to get anywhere with getting a table. (And yes, we had a reservation.) Strangely enough, once you get seated, all the servers are absolutely polite and attentive, so just get past the crappy people manning the front desk. Reservations are absolutely necessary, though, lest you want to wait an hour for a table, even on a weekday. (There were at least 15 people waiting for tables when we got there at 1:00PM on a Monday.)

The space looks upscale — sleek and modern with some traditional Chinese touches — which does set them apart from other dim sum restaurants which often look outdated, but this on its own is not enough for me to come here instead of my other go-to dim sum spots.

Luna Private Banquets

7225 Woodbine Ave., Unit East B

Markham, ON L3R 1A3

(905) 513-8989

Dining Out: Iced HK Milk Tea, Dong Po Rou Benny, and Korean Bulgogi Breakfast Poutine at Sugar Cafe and Lounge

Had the most impeccable brunch with Minji and Daniel (and baby Lillian) at the newly-opened Sugar Cafe and Lounge:

Iced HK milk tea

The iced HK milk tea, which features an iced tea mould in the shape of a cat in a lion dance costume (yes, just wrap your head around that for a sec), is the single cutest iteration of an iced tea I have ever seen in my life. (You're supposed to make a wish, kiss the "gold coin" on the top of its head, and then push the whole mould into the cup so it can dissolve into the rest of the tea. If I win the lottery, I will give this milk tea its dues.) Not only is it adorable, but it has a great deep tea flavour and a creamy consistency that somehow never seems diluted despite the ice. (The tea mould is truly genius.)

Dong Po Rou Benny: two thick cuts of classic Chinese pork belly with spinach on Japanese milk bread, topped with hollandaise sauce

Korean Bulgogi Breakfast Poutine: Beef bulgogi with a poached egg, cheese curds, and garlic home fries, topped with hollandaise sauce, sriracha mayo drizzle, sesame seeds, and green onion

Both Minji and I ordered the Dong Po Rou Benny, and it was phenomenal — the pork belly was soft and tender and intensely flavourful, which worked beautifully with the mellow flavours of the (perfectly) poached eggs and hollandaise. The Japanese milk bread toast is perfect here to absorb all the sauce and drippings to provide a perfect bite each time. It also comes with your choice of house salad or garlic home fries, but we decided on salads (which includes spring mix, sun-dried tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta with a delicious tangy-sweet creamy dressing) since we wanted to share the Korean Bulgogi Breakfast Poutine — which we were all absolutely delighted with. It not only came with a generous amount of (perfectly) marinated beef, but also includes actual cheese curds (!!!), and an incredible combination of Asian-influenced flavours. The hollandaise, mayo, and egg yolk provide an excellent amount of sauce that gravy would normally provide in a poutine, and the garlic home fries are just crispy enough that they never get soggy underneath all those toppings. Honestly, these two dishes are perfect examples of Asian fusion done right.

Service was notably excellent, too — our server was welcoming and cheerful without veering into annoying, and accommodating and attentive without hovering. She was always prepared for our needs, made delightful conversation without being cloying, gave compliments without seeming over-the-top — this woman is stacked with people skills and extremely experienced in customer service and genuinely deserves generous tips (unlike many, many, many other servers out there, who feel entitled to a minimum 18% tip for doing the bare minimum). According to our receipt, her name is Michelle, and SHE IS WONDERFUL. I will absolutely come back here, and hopefully soon — their entire menu looks incredible, and we had a truly delightful time today. And what sets Sugar Cafe apart from other brunch places is that brunch service doesn't end until 4:00PM every day (except Mondays, 'cause they're closed). This is especially nice for those of us who work Monday to Friday but really like to sleep in on weekends...

Sugar Cafe and Lounge

Times Square Richmond Hill

550 Highway 7, Building E, Floor 2, Unit 281

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3Z4

(647) 802-1268

Dining Out: Canada Day Dinner at Congee Queen

Celebrated Canada Day proper with a little fam jam this evening at Congee Queen — our go-to restaurant for not only special occasions but national holidays, too!

Thai-style green mango and tiger shrimp salad

General Tao chicken

Fried oysters with belacan sauce

Stir-fried beef and Chinese broccoli

Shrimp dumpling noodle soup

'Cause nothing says "Happy Birthday, Canada!" like a table full of delicious Chinese food. (Eaten at a restaurant, of course. There is no holiday or special occasion that could make my family actually cook at home.) Hope all my fellow Canadians had a lovely Canada Day!

Dining Out: Father's Day Dinner at Orient Bistro

Took my dad out for Father's Day dinner with the fam at Orient Bistro:

Crispy chicken

Jumbo shrimp with salted egg yolk

Sautéed garoupa filet with Chinese broccoli

Stir-fried oysters with Belacan sauce

Braised tofu with mushrooms

The food was delicious — the unanimous highlight was the salted egg yolk jumbo shrimp, which were plump and juicy with a great crispy texture on the outside and excellent flavour — but the portions definitely left something to be desired, especially considering the prices. Our general rule of thumb when ordering at Chinese restaurants is one dish per person, but we actually ordered five dishes for four people tonight so we thought we'd have plenty of leftovers; alas, there was nothing left to take home save for a small box of vegetables. Dinner was just shy of $200 before tip, and for that amount, we could definitely have gotten way more food with the same (or better) quality and way nicer presentation at a multitude of Chinese restaurants within a 5km radius. To be fair, my dad picked this location because it was the most central for all of us, but I'd definitely suggest going to NKS Banquet Hall or Starchiva Delight for a special occasion Chinese dinner next time.

Orient Bistro

Headford Place

10 Vogell Rd.

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3K4

(905) 237-1188

Dining Out: Mother's Day Dinner at Starchiva Delight

My dad invited my mom and I out for a little pre-Mother's Day dinner at Starchiva Delight:

Soy sauce chicken

Sweet and sour pork

Grouper fillet tossed with king oyster mushrooms and snap peas

Stir-fried grouper in black bean sauce

The food was delicious, flavourful but not too salty; the prices were reasonable for the portions; service was attentive and very friendly; and aside from the requisite dessert soup, they also gave us (genuinely tasty) chocolate mousse cake and vanilla cheesecake, which is honestly unheard of at a Chinese restaurant. Most importantly, even my mom had nothing to complain about.

Starchiva Delight

8750 Bayview Ave., Unit 14 - 15

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4V9

(289) 588-3083

Dining Out: Wonton and Beef Brisket Noodle Soup at Wonton Hut

There's one place that I go to eat at least twice a month and that is Wonton Hut.

Wonton and beef brisket noodle soup

For some reason, I never post about it, maybe because it's so ingrained into my dining routine, like fast food for some people. But they make, in my opinion, one of the best wonton noodle soups in all of the GTA. Honestly, better than the ones I've had in Hong Kong. (To be fair, it's owned and run by Hong Kongers, but still.) I always get the wonton noodle soup, sometimes with flat rice noodles instead of the typical Chinese egg noodles or with beef brisket added in, but it is ALWAYS delicious. Their wontons are made in-house and are huge and plump and filled with whole shrimp, and the broth is flavourful and perfectly salted. Anyway, the weather is gloomy AF today (it is April and we quite literally have had an ice storm and freezing rain — indeed, Canadian spring is a joke), so I decided to get a bowl of wonton and beef brisket noodle soup (with some Chinese broccoli on the side) — one of my ultimate comfort foods.

Wonton Hut

Markham Town Square

3760 Highway 7, Unit 2A

Markham, ON L3R 0N2

(905) 604-9060

Dining Out: Condensed Milk Toast, Deep Fried Peanut Butter French Toast Bites, and Matcha Parfait at Sugar Marmalade

Minji, Daniel, and I wanted to get some late-night dessert and Minji was craving condensed milk toast (pregnancy cravings trump all), but it was also 10:00PM on a Saturday night. So where to go? Sugar Marmalade, of course.

Condensed milk toast

Deep-fried peanut butter French toast bites

Matcha parfait

But one condensed milk toast is never enough, so we also got the deep fried peanut butter french toast and a matcha parfait (you know, for variety). I don't even wanna know how much sugar and cholesterol we consumed tonight, but MY GOD, IT WAS WORTH IT. I hadn't been back to Sugar Marmalade in years and I forgot how good they are for Hong Kong fusion desserts. I'll have to re-visit more often. You know, to make up for the lean years...

Sugar Marmalade

First Markham Place

3235 Highway 7, Unit 19-20

Markham, ON L3R 8P9

(905) 604-8211

Dining Out: Chinese New Year Dinner at Xiang Zi Hot Pot

Starting the Year of the Snake with a family dinner at Xiang Zi, where we miraculously got a reservation for tonight:

Lettuce stem salad

Spicy cucumber salad

Premium item: Abalone

Sliced pork belly and tender beef

Sliced New Zealand lamb

Sliced Angus beef

King oyster and enoki mushrooms

Daikon, winter melon, and lotus root

Pork blood jelly, Chinese sausage, pork intestines, and fish and beef balls

Pork bone broth

Because is there anything more appropriate than hot pot to celebrate Chinese New Year?

Wishing everyone a prosperous and healthy new year!

Xiang Zi Hot Pot

Uptown Market Shopping Centre

3989 Highway 7

Markham, ON L3R 5M6

(905) 305-9888

Dining Out: End-of-Year Dinner at NKS Banquet Hall

Went for an end-of-year dinner with my mom and her bestie at NKS Banquet Hall:

BBQ pork and roast duck platter

Fried stuffed tofu puffs with broccoli

Poached white cut chicken with ginger scallion sauce

Cantonese stir-fried ginger scallion lobster

Steamed bass with scallions in soy sauce

I don't know it's because I had novovirus last week and was forced to eat really bland foods for days on end, but this meal was extraordinarily delicious. NKS Banquet Hall — which is primarily known for dim sum — is truly underrated for their dinner service. I've only been here once before for dinner — which was for Mid-Autumn Festival last year — but I've been thoroughly impressed with everything I've tried here. Everything this evening was just spectacular and I have a feeling this is going to be our new go-to special occasion dinner restaurant. A great way to end the Year of the Dragon!

NKS Banquet Hall

New Kennedy Square

8360 Kennedy Rd., Unit B06

Markham, ON L3R 9W5

(905) 948-8668

Dining Out: New Year Special at Uncle Qiang BBQ 犟贰叔

Happy New Year!

I rang in 2025 with Chinese takeout, bubble tea, and a Harry Potter movie marathon with my friends Minji and Daniel, which, frankly, was the best idea, ever. Since I got home at 4:00AM, we decided to go for a late lunch at my new fave, Uncle Qiang BBQ, where they are currently having a New Year Special Combo for $119.99:

Hand-smashed cucumbers
Flavoured sausage
Black pepper beef brisket
Pickled Chinese cabbage with chili oil
Chinese sausage and black pepper beef brisket
Garlic prawns
Miso beef brisket
Miso beef brisket and pickled cabbage
Egg fried rice
Uncle's Special beef
Uncle's Special lamb
Cheese corn

2025 is off to a great start.

Uncle Qiang BBQ 犟贰叔

350 Highway 7, Unit 105

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3N2

(905) 751-7518