Best ethinic eats near 401 or 407

[SanBart]

Hi all,

Taking my son to a soccer tournament in Markham in Sunday and we'll wrap up at 4 and would like to take him afterwards for a great ethnic meal as we drive back to home east of the GTA -- we can take either 401 or the 407.

My son is 9 and loves to try new food -- Vietnamese, Cantonese Dim Sum and Portuguese are some of the recent cuisines he's loved.

All things equal, I'd prefer to eat in the eastern part of the GTA so we can drive across Toronto before traffic gets worse in the evening and I would prefer places not too far removed from the 401 or 407, though I'd make an exception for something exceptional.

Thanks!

[TorontoTips]

Good for him! I love when kids are adventurous!

Depending on price and personal tastes, I'd recommend:

- Authentic Chinese (upscale but not fussy) at a place like Emperor (Sunday's offering includes a cheap delicious lobster special and lots of real Cantonese food) - Emperor - 9019 Bayview Ave. just N.of Hwy 7

- Yummy real Chinese in an authentic, laid-back atmosphere (beef ho-fan noodles with beansprouts, and deep fried ham sui gok, are both must-try) at Richmond Court - 550 Highway #7 East, Unit A7-8, Richmond Hill, ON

- Filipino food is fun and different (lumpia, sisig, patas, fried chicken are all great) at Casa Manilla - 879 York Mills Rd. North York, ON 2 lights east of Leslie on York Mills.

- Trying izakaya which is delicious Korean marinated beef, chicken, sliced short ribs, etc. that you grill at your table, plus sushi & veggies - all you can eat. "Chako Izakaya" is a good spot that would be fun for your son - 2190 McNicoll Ave. just west of Midland Ave. Scarborough, ON

- Kaori Sushi for very good sushi + authentic Korean (bibimbap, kalbi, etc.) is a little more expensive, but not stuffy, and very good. Ignore any bad reviews you read, it's a solid spot. - 30 High Tech Rd. Richmond Hill, ON

- Dragon Pearl Buffet would be fun for him, too. As much for the cool decor as the wide variety of good-quality asian food (including peking duck in pancakes, sushi, stir-fry, seafood and more) plus a great room featuring some seating in a giant boat, and showmanship of cooks shooting mile-long noodles into woks, and frying giant "Dragon Pearls". - 865 York Mills Rd, East of Leslie, Toronto, ON (pushed-back from the street, facing the side-street).

Good Luck and enjoy! :-)

[LJS2]

Northern Dumping Kitchen in the Times Square Plaza at Leslie and Highway 7 might be worth a look. Its just a few blocks north of the 407.

[SanBart]

And it's pretty close to the soccer pitch!

Charles Yu had a recent review on the non-dumpling items; do you have some favourites, dumpling and non-dumpling?

[prima]

I really like their pan-fried pork dumplings, the green onion pancakes and stir fried rice cake with preserved veggies and pork. After having several dumpling-focused meals at Yummy Yummy and Northern Dumpling Kitchen over the last 3 months, I've realized if I'm going out for dumplings, and I have to make a choice, I'd rather eat pan-fried dumplings when I'm dining out, instead of the boiled or steamed dumplings, which while good, are pretty close to the boiled, previously frozen, store-bought dumplings I make at home.

Also, John's BBQ restaurant is also located at Times Square. King of Char Siu (special order that can be placed when you sit down at the table, that takes maybe 15 minutes) is delicious. Charles mentioned some other dishes that John's does well in this previous thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/796340

Save room to try some of Ruelo's macarons while you're at Times Square. :-)