The best of Markham and Richmond Hill

[suckfail]

Hello,

I've been living in Markham for about a year now, and I've prowled the internets and the old thread on chow about the best places to eat in Markham (which seems to be dated around 2007). Basically, I'm trying to find the best food in Markham/Richmond Hill (the overly prevalent Chinese, and not) that covers everything (cheap, and expensive).

I could list everywhere I've gone, but it would be long. Suffice to say, I've tried all the majors that I could find mentioned a lot: Akina, Kaze, Wasabi (mistake), Tsuikiji sushi, Madras, The Host , Royal Teahouse, Ding Tai Fung, The Sugar, Pho Viet, etc.

While some places have their moments, I'm still having trouble. I'd say I'm not really overly impressed with the findings in this area. There are some restaurants I like downtown (Daybreak, Mengral Thai, Diner's Thai, Kaiseki Sakura, Hiro Sushi, etc), but it's too far for me to constantly go from where I am in Markham now.

I need your help, all of you. Because I trust you chow users. I want to find places that are *consistently* good, that put effort into their food, and basically don't suck 90% of the time. I know some of you know where they are in the area. Please, share, so I don't die. If you have a suggestion that is outside the region ever so slightly (i.e. borderline north york/scarborough), then by all means please still suggest it. But don't suggest things clearly in downtown, or far away, as it will just make me sad.

I'm looking for:
- The best dim sum (all day seems non existent, so I'll settle for weekend) restaurant(s)
- The best sushi (AYCE and not) restaurant(s).. as a side note, Aoyama south on victoria park is amazing, but it's expensive, and not overly close.
- The best Chinese (non-dim sum) restaurant(s)
- The best general (like, "north american", if you want to group it) restaurant(s)
- The best Thai restaurant(s)
- The best Indian (AYCE and not) restaurant(s)
- The best Vietnamese restaurant(s)
- The best Korean restaurant(s)

Yes, I eat out a lot.

-----
Aoyama
2766 Victoria Park Ave, Toronto, ON M2J4A8, CA

Royal Teahouse
10 Apple Creek Blvd, Markham, ON L3R 5Z1, CA

[bryanayrb]

for dim sum there's a lot of options already mentioned.. at the end of the day i'd just pick the one where you have the best chance to get a seat because the dim sum is fairly consistent for any of the restaurants making good turnover during that time (casa victoria, ambassador, etc.)

sushi.. better luck driving to Zen/Cafe Michi/Aoyama. the ichiban at leslie/16th isn't bad though. AYCE i go to sushi on 7 just out of convenience but i try to avoid eating AYCE as much as possible. japanese food there's j-town food court for curry/katsu rice, niwatei ramen and izakaya ju are pretty good too (but pricy). ju has some exceptional yakitori.

congee queen on mccowan/7 is my preferred congee/noodle location at the moment. for a bowl of rice and some other dishes i find Top Choice inside the Peachtree plaza @ Kennedy/7 pretty decent. reasonable prices, all dishes come hot and their tofu fa dessert is actually one of the best i've had

north american i'd echo that bluestone is alright. usually go downtown for this kind of stuff though.

thai i also recommend little bangkok.

unfortunately for vietnamese most places are run by chinese and do the same mediocre lipton chicken broth pho. if anyone knows a spot with that dank pho broth let me know =)

korean i always drive out to north york. there's simply no reason not to. Song Cook's @ Yonge/Steeles is probably the most impressive korean joint in the city right now for a dinner. then you have specialty restaurants (joon's for tabletop cooking, owl 24hr, buk chang soon tofu)

hope this helps. i probably eat out around half my meals a week around this area so if anyone knows of better alternatives to my choices i'd be more than willing to give it a shot ^^

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Top Choice Restaurant
8362 Kennedy Rd, Unionville, ON L3R9W5, CA

[suckfail]

I've seen a lot of people recommend Little Bangkok, but I've been there twice now and I don't really get it. The food is okay I guess, but it's small portions and high priced, which would be okay if I was blown away by it like some of the downtown restaurants, but I'm not..

Maybe it's just me.

-----
Little Bangkok
227 Main Street Markham N, Markham, ON L3P, CA

[ManAbout]

I have always found the Asian Legend in Commerce Gate to be consistent, good value. Will it win any awards? No, but when you go there, you know what you are getting. There are some so called Chinese food experts on this board who turn their nose up at Asian Legend. But, I have been to Asian Legend with someone who was visiting from Hong Kong(Chinese person) and in her opinion it is as good and as authentic as what you can get in a decent restaurant in HK. She was more than pleased with the food.

[bryanayrb]

Asian Legend is alright but it's nothing special. It isn't really comparable to what you could find in HK for Shanghai style food with a 5 minute search online. It's a good spot to just satisfy your craving (:

[suckfail]

Thanks for everyone's advice in this thread.

As I've been here for over a year now, I'm going to update this with my finds for what I feel is "the best", more or less. Many of my finds were suggestions by this thread, or other threads, so thanks for all the help!

- The best dim sum - Ambassador Cuisine. Although there are many other good ones that are cheaper (Dragon Dynasty, Spring Villa, etc..) I liked Ambassador the best.

- The best sushi - for AYCE, it's Yang's on 7 without question. The rest are mediocre to terrible. Avoid Akira next to oriental food mart, one time I went there and the fish had a gasoline smell to it... For non-AYCE, I stick by Aoyama in the area.

- The best Chinese (non-dim sum) - I actually never went to one.. so I can't comment.

- The best general (like, "north american", if you want to group it) restaurant(s) - Bluestone Bistro.

- The best Thai restaurant(s) - This one is really hard, good Thai food can barely even be found in downtown.. but I'd say for fairly "north american" Thai, Thai One On is the best for price. For a malaysia/thai mix, there's Restoran Malaysia of course, the one in first markham place (sorry I forget the name), and South Asia Malaysia on Midland is also quite good, though I suggest take out as dining in is not the best.

- The best Indian (AYCE and not) restaurant(s) - Honestly I only goto AYCE for indian now, and it's always India's Taste on denison. It's very good, and very cheap (I believe $13/pp).

- The best Vietnamese restaurant(s) - Pho Viet at Warden and Steeles. I didn't like Pho88 or any of the other Pho ones as they were rather dirty, and taste was.. okay at best. I also enjoy Golden Elephant on Steeles from time to time.

- The best Korean restaurant(s) - There wasn't really a winner here, but Gal's would I suppose be the closest, though it's heavily weighted to Japanese. Seoul Garden isn't bad if you want bbq, but for bbq I almost exclusively goto Miga in Mississauga.

I'm also going to put in a special mention for Star King. Although the food is fairly normal asian mix, I find myself going there fairly often just because the waiters have always been pleasent, the food consistently the same, the service fast, and the prices are very good.

And as a side note, if you frequent Congee Queen on Don Mills (thornhill location) at all, stop it, and goto the one on highway 7. It is far less busy, and much better quality.

Hopefully this information helps others.

-----
Aoyama
2766 Victoria Park Ave, Toronto, ON M2J4A8, CA

Seoul Garden
4350 Steeles Ave E, Markham, ON L3R9V4, CA

Bluestone Bistro
4261 Hwy 7, Markham, ON L3R, CA

Congee Queen
895 Lawrence Ave E, Toronto, ON M3C3L2, CA

Miga Restaurant
399 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K2P1Y3, CA

India's Taste
900 Ray Lawson Boul, Brampton, ON L6Y5H7, CA

Golden Elephant
4733 Steeles Ave E, Toronto, ON M1V5N3, CA

Thai One On
861 York Mills Rd, Toronto, ON M3B1Y2, CA

Star King
7050 Warden Ave., Markham, ON L3R 5Y3, CA

[T Long]

Thanks for reporting back! My anal retentive comment is that despite the title of your thread, you sure do comment on a lot of places in Scarborough. Btw, I do share your love for Star King which has been bashed here by CH's best.

[caitlink]

Where is Star King and what kind of cuisine does it serve? i have eaten at most of the places mentioned above but have not heard of Star King. Thx.

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Star King
7050 Warden Ave., Markham, ON L3R 5Y3, CA

[T Long]

Star King is in the same plaza as T&T and Pho Viet at Warden and Steeles. It's a Chinese operated Vietnamese and Thai place....probably totally unauthentic but for me tasty comfort food at a reasonable price/service in quite clean/comfortable surroundings (compared to similar operations). Place use to be a Kelsey's.

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Star King
7050 Warden Ave., Markham, ON L3R 5Y3, CA

[suckfail]

Agree with everything you said.

[skylineR33]

Star King - Probably some of the worst Thai/Viet food I had in Toronto area. That's around one year ago but things may have changed. But the food is a joke to me back then.

[T Long]

I don't think much has changed foodwise. They've printed up some new menus but its really the same stuff and most of the Hollywood pics from the Kelsey days have been taken down and replaced with what looks like B list HK stars posing with the owner....kind of a turn off really...I liked the previous pics much better. So I think you would only be disappointed if you ever returned.

[suckfail]

Haha ya those pics are pretty bad. skylineR33 if you didn't like it before, you still won't now. Calling it the worst is probably a stretch, at least I feel. I am in no way saying it's great, but I have had way worse.

Again, I mentioned it for the same reasons T Long outlined in his post - it's just easy to go there, and consistently the same.

I have been to many asian food restaurants in Markham and area, and one common theme in many of theme is TERRIBLE seating for 2 (i.e. you're literally sitting right next to others) and very loud, as well as often rude or crappy service. Because star king is in the old kelsey's or whatever, it's almost all booth seating. The food is acceptable (to me), and the service seems to be consistently the same - not rude, and fairly fast.

I'm sure others who read this are looking for the same things as me, so I figured I'd put it on the list.

[skylineR33]

I have different experience, I have been to MANY of Asian restaurant in Markham/Richmond hill and they are good for 2. I can easier named you dozens. My food at Star King are certainly not acceptable to me. For example, the grilled chicken from my Vietnamese vermicelli (檬) tastes sour (not from the fish sauce sour) and without a hint of grilled aroma. Well, maybe it is acceptable to you.

[TexSquared]

Disagree on Thai One On. We have one here in Pickering. The locally owned Red House Thai/Malaysian across the street serves better (and more) food at lower prices. I don't think I've ever seen Thai One On busy, while Red House is often packed during lunch and dinner hours.

And most people on this board know I am not a chain-hater at all. Often I prefer the chains. But not this one.

[suckfail]

Yea I dont know about any others, my comment was specific to the markham location.

I promise the markham one is decent. Since each is run by different people the pickering one very well may suck.

[suckfail]

I should mention where I wrote "Akira", I meant "Akina".

[T Long]

Another alternative to the Congee Queen on Don Mills is Congee Delight at Finch and Don Mills. Food is comparable, but much more civil atmosphere and it's almost as comfortable for 2 (lots of booths) as Star King. In North York though....not Markham or RH;}

[spicyrutabega]

I 3rd the vote for Little Bangkok. Their spicy steamed fish cakes are amazing.

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Little Bangkok
227 Main Street Markham N, Markham, ON L3P, CA

[suckfail]

Has anyone been to Sariwon? It's in richmond hill. I read a few threads about Korean food places, and it seems to be indicated as "the best" in the area (for non AYCE anyways).

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Sariwon
7388 Yonge St, Vaughan, ON L4J, CA

[T Long]

Don't know about best, but it is a bit more upscale. Btw, its not in Richmond Hill. It's Vaughn or Thornhill.

[shekamoo]

the majority on this board would say it is the best for korean bbq in the area. service can be spotty to the point of being unacceptable

[gutsontoast]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but the Food Court at First Markham Place is worth-visiting. Specifically there's a Lamb Stew Noodle dish that's a contender to your very best Pho for the title of Greatest Soup Noodle in town.

First time I was there I almost missed this delicacy as it was on a very small cardboard sign and hard to spot. However having tasted it--it is such that Chinese salaryman will readily risk staining their neat suits for a lunch of soupy goodness. The broth is spiced with Chinese herbs and the 'Lamb' is really a gamey-meaty-goat.

The 'food-court' is really misleading as it doesn't really possess the 'dingy-ness' of mall food-courts. There's a crap-ton of different Chinese cuisines and due to competition or whatever, neither of the restaurants there really disappoint. I remember eating there like 5-6 years ago so the fact that these shops are still there is a testament to their consistency and quality.

[ekim256]

Never been to First Markham Place - is the food court big? I want to find these noodles, but I don't suppose you remember the name of the restaurant?

[gutsontoast]

I actually don't remember the name of the specific place, but there's a giant green counter. It's the 'widest' shop in that food court. You can't miss it.

As for the size...it's pretty big. There's approx a dozen 'stalls', each offering a different array of Asian cuisines. There's 2 sushi places, 2 viet places, 2 Korean places, a few Malay/Thai places and the rest are Chinese places specializing in a certain style (noodles, stir-fry, Northern-Peking style, Shanghai style).

There's something for everyone. You can get a simple BBQ Chicken on rice for cheap ($5-8 + drink) to Pho to Spicy Tan-tan Noodles. Nothing sophisticated but it's my lunchtime haunt.

[perogy]

hi suckfail -

my fave indian in markham is definately 'zaika cuisine' (7690 markham road - near boston pizza, future shop, shopper's etc). my screen name is misleading, i am east indian! so, i know my stuff. anyways, it's my fave, it's very inexpensive and the people there are very nice.

i also really like tangerine, which is a hakka restaurant and happens to be next door to zaika. it is always rammed - every night of the week, no matter what time. that's why i ended up trying it! and it was really good. i notice they now have locations in scarborough and whitby. must be doing well.

http://www.tangerineasiancuisine.com/

for thai, i really like 'little bangkok' at ramona and #48, in markham. especially if you eat in the restaurant - the presentation is beautiful.

http://www.littlebkk.ca/

for general restauants (and there really aren't amazing options, unfortunately) - i quite like:

blacksmith's bistro (unionville main street) - more of an upscale bistro. very good, expensive, great service, excellent dining space.

falcos (markham main street) - italian. family run, house made pasta. very cute atmosphere. i had one bad meal there, but every other time, it was good.

al dente (markham main street) - italian. good except, i don't think the menu has changed since the 90s. so, i myself, am sick of the options! but the food is good and the service is lovely.

calabria bakery (mccowan and #7) - great little restaurant/cafe for lunch and take-out...italian fare.

bluestone bistro (#7 south of warden) is pretty good though the service is usually only soso. but the menu changes quite frequently (seasonally) and there are daily specials. the food itself is good. continental fare.

and the list ends there, sadly.

[Charles Yu]

Took a looooong drive and tried out Zaika Cuisine today. Had their Goat Saag and Kashmiri Rogan Josh. The goat was so-so but the Rogan Josh has a 'funny' taste that does not resemble your typical Kashmiri Masala and saffron used to cook this dish. All in all, kind of disappointed! Should have save some gas and went to my local 'Bombay Bheel' instead!. In general, I find their dishes more 'complex' and tasty. However, my favourite Indian in that area is still Chauhan's on Denison Street.
However, after giving Zaika's take out menu another look, I might give it another chance?!

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Masala Restaurant
205 Duke St, Dryden, ON P8N1G9, CA

[perogy]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that your experience wasn't great. That's a shame. I haven't had either of those dishes but had good luck with many of their veggie dishes. And I liked the chicken vindaloo.

Feel bad that you made the looong drive too.... ;(

[tracyyme]

2nd for 'little bangkok'. I think that's a nice place to go to for Thai food. Haven't found anything as good yet.

[dmartins123]

anybody know if that fish and chips place on hwy7 after warden is any good? i think its called mr. fish and chips...

[kawigamog]

Yes it is good, I have heard others prefer Dannys farther east on 7 but they both are good and have been around Unionville 10 yrs plus

[Wil]

It's good, I prefer Dannys near Kennedy/HWy 7, but Mr is good too.

[linwood]

Gal's sushi at Hwy 7 and Warden has good Japanese/Korean food at reasonable prices. The $7.99 lunch special bento boxes are a great deal!

[dmartins123]

I don't know if its the best, but Stars of Thai at Woodbine and Hwy7 is a great spot for authentic Thai food. Its close to work and go every so often at lunch and it never disappoints; great deal too at lunch. I recommend everyone checks it out.

[suckfail]

This one kind of wasn't on the original least, but does anybody know of good breakfast places in the area? Like standard eggs benedict and what not. I tried eggspectation at 7 and kennedy once, and that was a pretty big mistake. The potatoes were off and the rest was not worth mentioning.

[shakkar]

we went to Sunset grill ,close to costco in Richmond Hill.Its an all day breakfast place and really enjoyed our meal/breakfast.Nothing fancy but good old eggs and nice crispy bacon.

[quincess]

For breakfast... try Uncle Joe's on Main Street/Markham Road just north of Hwy 7. They aren't the breakfast with fancy fruits like in Cora's, but they are cheap, huge portions, and just good simple breakfast.

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Uncle Joes Family Restaurant
124 Main St N, Markham, ON L3P1Y1, CA

[Wil]

3 coins at Yonge and Major Mac is an old school diner place, it's good, not as good as the old days, but still good.

[Charles Yu]

Their breakfast with bacon, sausages, easy over eggs, hash brown and toasts is pretty good.

[FrankD]

I like everything at a 3Coins breakfast except their dishwater coffee. Have tea or hot chocolate instead.

Big Daddy's on Elgin Mills, just west of Bayview, isn't quite as good as 3 Coins, but the coffee's better. Generous portions, unlike the franchise spot on the corner at Bayview and EM, where they skimp on portions, and don't include coffee with the breakfast ($1.99 extra!).

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Big Daddy's Restaurant
460 Elgin Mills Rd E, Richmond Hill, ON L4C5E7, CA

[Sandybandy]

My Richmond Hill favs are:

MI-NE Sushi - on Yonge, north of Elgin - always have a good experience here and leave happy : )

Sweet Basil - on Bayview near Elgin (Note: lunch ONLY...good lunch specials and for some reason the food is better at lunchtime? Never enjoyed dinner there...)

South China Food - in a little plaza at Yonge and 16th, behind the Country Style donuts. Tiny place with only 1 table, so takeout or delivery is the way to go. The people who run the place are super nice. I love their veggie pad thai and I always get it spicy.

Hannah's Shawarma - Bathurst and Rutherford - my husband loves the chicken shawarma pita there...I don't enjoy their falafel as much as the one at Sababa but a lot of people love it because of the size and the toppings.

Will post again if I think of more!

[Charles Yu]

Sweet Basil's food caters too much to the 'western palette'. Did not enjoy my experience at all.

-----
Sweet Basil Cafe
19 Campbell St, Belleville, ON K8N1S6, CA

[mrsleny]

Is this the same case with Asian House on Keele near Rutherford? The menu seems to be Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese!

Thanks kindly!

[Pigurd]

sweet basil is wayyyyyy too sweet... i.e. pad thai, thai ice tea.... and their tom yung is super sour? the chef's taste bud must be quite numb

[Miike]

I've noticed this place missing from most of CHOW (Ontario).

This is place is small and generally packed during the dinner hour. Hai Tang Cafe it is located around 16th and Buttonfield. I know my Chinese food fairly well and it's tasty and comfortable here. They serve Chinese home-ish food. Wok Hey is pretty good on the stir-fry dishes. It's also pretty cheap. The place is not so much hidden but unknown.

[skylineR33]

Maybe people find it not very good so rarely mentioned here ?

I found this place very cheap in price but quality is mediocre for this type of HK cafe style food. I would rather go to King Congee which is in the opposite plaza of Tim Horton if I am in that area, it is also very cheap but better.

[suckfail]

There's been a lot of good suggestions in this thread. I think we're missing Thai though: does anyone know good Thai places around here? I've tried Thai One On (take-out), and it wasn't bad. What I saw of the dining area didn't look superb though.

I've also tried Lemongrass, which was alright the first time, but really lacking the second time I went in flavour.

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Thai One On
7750 Kennedy Rd, Markham, ON L3R0A7, CA

[skylineR33]

Lemongrass and Saigon Star are from the same food group. When was your last time trying Lemongrass ?

I found Lemongrass's quality comes back recently compared to a year or so ago, whereas Saigon Star is not as good as before. The dishes I like at Lemongrass includes the charbroiled pork neck meat and the grilled chicken, as well as their signature dish curry crab. The noodle dishes there are very bad such as Pad Thai.

[suckfail]

Both times I went was in the last 2 months. Now that you mention noodles, I think that was my problem: the first time I had curry and a few other things, but no noodles. The second time I think 2 dishes I got were indeed noodles, so that might explain it.

[Wil]

Stars of Thai Cuisine is underrated, stuck in the Kinkos plaza opposite (North side of Hwy 7) of First Markham.

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Stars of Thai Cuisine
3150 7 Hwy, Unionville, ON L3R5A1, CA

[MeXx]

Miu Garden for Chinese. The dim sum isn't bad (went yesterday) and there's already good reviews about their evening dining. I have yet to try dinner there though.

[Wil]

You didn't mention it, but for Malaysian if you haven't tried yet there is Restoran Malaysia at Bayview and Major Mac

Vietnamese there is also Saigon Star, although I don't think it's as good as it once was.

Oh for everyday chinese, try TanChiKee

[suckfail]

You're right, i forgot Restoran Malaysia. I have tried it, and it was quite good.

[theel]

The Curry Crab is still quite good at Saigon Star. Doesn't always come out piping hot though. It is so popular they have quite few ready to go in the back, just ladle on the sauce from a giant vat. Hard to beat the Monday dinner special at Emperor ($19.99 Peking Duck). It is a pretty darn good duck too by Toronto standards and the staff are all very nice. Sababa (Steeles just west of Hilda) has great falafel and a very good shwarma. Their fresh made pita is also great.

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Sababa
390 Steeles W, Thornhill, ON L4J6X6, CA

[suckfail]

As an update, I tried Sushi on 7 finally last night. It was pretty good, but I personally didn't feel it was so far above Akina or Kaze. To me, it seemed kind of similar in quality. The service, however, was definitely better.

Question: when you guys talk about "Yangs", which one do you mean? I get many hits for Yang's Kitchen on google, which I assume you are not talking about. Chowhound brings up several hits for Yangs, but I don't know which one you mean.

In addition, does anyone have suggestions for good dim sum? I have read that Spring Villa is good, but I don't really want to go at 8am to get a seat..

[Charles Yu]

The 'Yang's' at 9665 Bayview Avenue, Richmond Hill

For Good Dim Sum, you can try out, Yang's, Emperor, Regal Palace, Empire court and Casa Victoria.

[suckfail]

Thanks!

[TeacherFoodie]

Charles - are these still the best places for dim sum? How would you rank them?

[ctl98]

This post makes me smile because although I live in midtown, we'll often drive to Markham/Richmond Hill to eat!

Our regular haunts:
1. Emperor for their sunday lobster special and monday duck special.
2. Inatei for really good all around Japanese (not the best sushi but they have a big menu, all competently prepared).
3. Izakaya Ju for yakitori. Been there 3x and have had good experiences all 3 times.
4. Go for Tea for well...tea, and yummy condensed milk toast.
5. The only Jap AYCE I will willingly go to is Sushi on 7.
6. The chinese pastry shop in Times Square has the best pineapple pork buns.

Those are the ones I can think of right now.

We also drive to Zen (a lot!) and Aoyama once in a while. And Shawarma Empire. But these are all in Scarborough.

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Aoyama
2766 Victoria Park Ave, Toronto, ON M2J4A8, CA

Go for Tea
230 Commerce Valley Dr E, Thornhill, ON L3T7Y9, CA

Shawarma Empire
1823 Lawrence Ave E, Toronto, ON M1R2Y3, CA

[suckfail]

Thanks for the hints! Your recommendations seem to correlate pretty well with what others are saying here, especially Zen and Emperor and Inatai. So I will definitely check them all out. And I love condensed milk toast, so it looks like Go for Tea is a must as well for me.

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Go for Tea
230 Commerce Valley Dr E, Thornhill, ON L3T7Y9, CA

[skylineR33]

For Lobster, the best bet in Toronto is Omei's 4 to 5 ways Lobsters on a 8 to 13 lbs lobster. I found this to be the most impressive dish in Toronto's Cantonese dining scene for live seafood. However, the service at Omei can be spotty.

Just had a peking duck at Yang's last weekend, very good preparation !! Highly recommended.

Chung King at Pacific Mall is also very good for peking duck. It is a restaurant which serves Northern chinese cuisine.

[aliangwb]

Any comparison between Yang's, Chung King and Emperor's peking duck?

[skylineR33]

I like the one with Yang's ($38 which include the 2nd "wrap" course) and Chung King (~$32 with the 2nd course) more than Emperor, but it is more expensive as there is no monday duck special like Emperor. The skin and the meat is better at Yang's and Chung King's, then followed by Emperor.

The second course (the wrap course) is done very well at Yangs, it just taste better with better preparation and is presented in mini crispy nest beautifully , just it yourself !

[BamiaWruz]

I always go by this go for tea place, and now I have a reason to go inside!! Never tried sweet milk toast but I'm interested. The website says desserts are half price between 3 and 6 with purchase of a drink, is that true?
How much does that toast go for by any chance?

[ctl98]

I can't recall how much exactly but I think it's around $5. I've never been there between 3-6 so I can't comment on the dessert prices during that time. We often go there for a late evening snack and it's always green apple tea and condensed milk toast for me! The hubby always orders the watermelon juice and it's very good too.

[BamiaWruz]

Thank you!! I'll give it a try at the discount hours with SO. Can't wait!

[BamiaWruz]

Had the sweet condensed toast. YUM!! Could barely eat it all myself. A good item to share.

The chicken pop corn balls were very peppery and we tried beef hot pot too. A nice atmosphere. Thanks all for the recommendation.

[skylineR33]

Looks like you have missed out a lots of good chinese (Cantonese, dim sum) restaurants in Markham/Richmond hill such as Omei, Yangs, Regal 16, Emperor ....., try to do a search on these restaurant and you will get more details and review.

Maybe you need to be more specific on what type of Chinese food you want because there are tons of different kinds, (ie. fresh seafood, dried seafood, wok hay stir fry, Northern cuisine, Cantonese, Szechuan ...............etc), then people can give you better suggestion.

Aoyama's price point is definitely cheaper than Hiro's, and provides similar quality sushi. So if you are ok with Hiro's price (as it is in one of the restaurant in your reference list), then Aoyama should be fine too. What kind of Japanese food are you looking for ? Inatei is an ok Japanese restaurant in Richmond Hill, maybe you want to give it a try. Again, try to do a search, there are post on Inatei.

[suckfail]

Thanks, a lot of those restaurants I have not heard of before, so that is exactly what I'm looking for :)

As for your question of types, for Chinese I don't know a lot about it, to be honest, so I can't answer that very well. But I will search the ones you listed.

For Japanese, I'm not going so far as to look for okonomiyaki or anything, just Sushi and maybe some udon offerings. Sushi, more or less. Actually I haven't really seen Japanese offerings in the area outside of sushi, teriyaki and yakitori.

[TorontoJo]

Best sushi = Zen.

[skylineR33]

Zen is not exactly in Richmond Hill, if suckfail thinks Aoyama is too far, Zen is probably not for suckfail.

suckfail, there is ramen you can find in North York area such as Kenzo and Ajisen, although Toronto in general is not a city for ramen. Japanese curry Pork cutlet rice bowl which is really well-prepared in J-Town. When you say Teriyaki, do you mean Teppanyaki ?? There is a good one called Akasaka in Richmond Hill (expensive though) for Teppanyaki. Or Japanese fusion stuffs ? Akasaka is pretty good at it too.

[suckfail]

hi skylineR33, ya i meant teppenyaki. i've heard of akasaka, but i've never checked it out.

the only Zen restaurant I can find is in scarborough, on eglinton. if that's the one you mean, ya that's kind of too far. I mean, I will check it out, but it's not exactly a weeknight dinner.

do you have any suggestions for good Korean restaurants? you guys are so full of good information.

[skylineR33]

Can't think of recommendation in Richmond Hill/Markham for Korean food. There are some ok ones in First Markham Place. I usually go to North York for Korean food such as Oh Geul Boh Geul and Nakwon. For AYCE, there is a good one for Korean BBQ which called "Chako" at Leslie/Hwy 7.

[suckfail]

ah ya I actually went to Chako before, i forgot about it. it wasn't half bad. i will have to check out the north york one. for a while i was hanging around bloor and christie when i was in a korean food obsession mode. but again, too far now :(

[skylineR33]

Yeah, cannot complain much on a AYCE. I use to go to Mississauga for Korean food, but I guess it is too far away for you too.

[suckfail]

ya, more or less, for sauga. it's not that i can't go there, but i like to go out during the week, and i don't really want to have to drive for more than 15 minutes :)

sometimes i have to though, for krispy kreme. i wish they'd bring one here. that's the other thing i dislike, i can't find good donuts. there's tiny toms, but it's never open, so i haven't even tried it yet.

[aliangwb]

Much appreciated if you could list some Korean joints in Mississauga as I work in that area.

[skylineR33]

Wow, Man Doo Hyang on Dundas are good when I still hung around Mississauga, but that's a while ago.

[aser]

At Yonge & Clarke you have two good K options, Sariwon and Cho Sun Ok.

Sariwon is a higher class spot w/ prices to reflect, but the food is executed well and ventilation is good for a Korean restaurant.

Cho Sun Ok does a great cold noodle dish, nice on a hot summery day.

There is also Miyabi for Japanese food (same plaza as Wasabi), but I only go for cooked dishes. Inatei's shari has decent texture but needs stronger flavour, I find they cut their sashimi way too thick for my liking.

-----
Sariwon
7388 Yonge St, Vaughan, ON L4J, CA

Miyabi
280 West Beaver Creek, Thornhill, ON L4B3Z1, CA

[skylineR33]

Last time when I was at Miyabi, I found out they do not even use Japanese rice in my Gyudon (beef rice bowl), I never visit it since then.

[Royaljelly]

Hey aser, I haven't tried Cho Sun Ok yet, and my wife LOVES cold noodle. Is it located near Tavazo (the nut store)? Also does their cold noodle come in a spicy variety?

She goes hunting for cold noodles, sometimes even in middle winter. The ones she gets from Oh Guel Boh Guel and Han IL House are ok, as well as the Japanese version we sometimes see pop up on the menu at Kenzo ramen.

suckfail, also try the suckling pig at Peaktop on weekends (their dinners are decent too). I also like some of the fried rice dishes at Fantasy Eatery in RH. Empire Court in the Hilton for high end dim sum. Tanchikee has cheaper but very good wok hay cantonese dishes. Wu Yi Villa has some more refined Fujian/Fukienese cuisine.

BTW, there's also a new Chako that opened up on McNicoll just west of Midland (same complex as that huge Rona), I didn't try it yet. The signs at the front said "Izakaya", but isn't it basically a AYCE Korean BBQ joint?

[aser]

It's in the plaza at the SE corner of Yonge & Clark, w/ the Viva bus stop right in front of it. Yes, there's a spicy option.

These are another fellow ch'ers (jlunar) pics....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlunar/s...

[TorontoJo]

Sorry, I had Scarborough on the brain, not Markham!