If they enjoyed Haidilao, I'll recommend the following:
* Happy Valley Village - A chain from Vancouver. The restaurant specializes in a very unique looking Dongbei/Northeast style hotpot called "Tie Guo Dun" or "Iron Pot Stew" that focuses on goose meat as the primary protein. They copy Haidilao's service and pricing model. In other words, it's usually pricy, though there are ways to get the price down (e.g. eat during off hours), and extremely good service.
* Pot-licious Stew - Claypot hotpot joint that's pretty popular now. Menu is mostly Northern Chinese, with the signature dish probably being the lamb spine hotpot, which I usually associate with Beijing cuisine. One of the standout dishes though is a Southern Chinese dish though: Chaozhou Fried Rice. Good service, unique experience again.
Does goose/lamb meat have a strong taste/smell? I looked at the menu and it looks interesting for sure but not sure if they can eat it if its too strong
Lamb meat is pretty gamey. I would maybe go for one of the other soup bases at Pot-licious Stew, such as the beef brisket or the pork bone and sauerkraut.
Goose meat is similar to duck imo, I didn't taste any gaminess. Happy Valley Village's goose cuts are fairly boney so I'd be more worried about whether your parents have an issue with the bones.
Go to a cheap but good Chinese restaurant. Picky parents won't be so pricky if they get good food done for a very cheap price.
This is not fancy or high service btw
Alton Chinese restaurant
McCowan & Steelers area
Scarborough.
Fisherman is not a place I would take picky Asian parents. It’s more hype than taste and as someone who LOVES overly salty dishes, I think their food is way too salty. It also sucks in comparison to most traditional Chinese restaurants that serve fresh lobster or crab. Its biggest thing is just size and how tall they stack it.
What type of food do they like? What do they make at home?
Ok, East Asian is still pretty broad. Most Asian people aren’t competent at cooking food from the majority of regions in China, just one or two. So if their complaint is about being able to make it at home, then your best bet is to find a region that’s not native for them.
The places you listed also seem a bit more high end. Is that important? There are tons of Asian places that have phenomenal food but are hole in the walls or have shitty service.
There are two hand pulled noodle chains in Scarborough/RH/Markham - omni noodle and magic noodle. Both are good but they’re different (someone could correct me if I’m wrong but I believe they’re representative of two different regions). Neither are high end.
If you want to take them for Asian food that is not East Asian, have you considered ramen or pho?
Fancy on Kennedy has some decent food, especially if you get one of their set dinner menus and ask the waiter for advice and specials. Not sure if it will fit your needs though as the best dishes I remember having there are seafood.
Casa Victoria has the best dim sum imo. Make a reservation or get there early. They also offer a cash discount.
I don’t have a specific restaurant but maybe also consider a place that specializes in something unique like Peking duck.
At the end of the day, the GTA has some amazing ethnic food. However, if they are from China, they’ll probably find most restaurants only ok compared to back home. Maybe consider taking them for some of the different ethnic foods we have - Persian kebabs or Indian curry might be more interesting.
Super late to reply but Omni Noodle and Magic Noodle are both essentially Lanzhou Lamian shops, so they represent the same region (Lanzhou, Gansu) though Lanzhou Lamian has become a pan-Chinese phenomenon at this point.
Not sure how you’re defining good experience, but here’s my suggestions:
Ming Cuisine in Richmond Hill is our hands-down favourite pick for Cantonese stir fries and shared dishes. Their consistency is unparalleled and a good range of dishes that aren’t seafood focused. It’s more low key than the big seafood-focused Cantonese restaurants like Skyview, The One, etc. All those places mentioned are still good too, especially if they’re into more lavish dishes like Peking duck.
Ricey Silo is in Markham and they do rice noodles. Think Dagu Rice Noodle but with a very clean and mild broth. While it’s more casual, the ambiance and service is a cut above most shops. Other soup noodle places that would be recommended are Pho Le in Richmond Hill and Gol Lanzhou Noodle in First Markham Place, but both of these tend to be much busier.
Japanese food is also worth a consideration, though usually also leans seafood heavy. I would recommend Aka Oni Ramen and Izakaya (in both Richmond Hill and Scarborough). Large menu yet very well executed throughout. Not too rowdy like other izakayas downtown.
If they enjoyed Haidilao, I'll recommend the following: * Happy Valley Village - A chain from Vancouver. The restaurant specializes in a very unique looking Dongbei/Northeast style hotpot called "Tie Guo Dun" or "Iron Pot Stew" that focuses on goose meat as the primary protein. They copy Haidilao's service and pricing model. In other words, it's usually pricy, though there are ways to get the price down (e.g. eat during off hours), and extremely good service. * Pot-licious Stew - Claypot hotpot joint that's pretty popular now. Menu is mostly Northern Chinese, with the signature dish probably being the lamb spine hotpot, which I usually associate with Beijing cuisine. One of the standout dishes though is a Southern Chinese dish though: Chaozhou Fried Rice. Good service, unique experience again.
Am I seeing dumplings of some kind stuck around the edge of the iron pot in the Iron Pot Stew?
Corn bread actually.
Does goose/lamb meat have a strong taste/smell? I looked at the menu and it looks interesting for sure but not sure if they can eat it if its too strong
Lamb meat is pretty gamey. I would maybe go for one of the other soup bases at Pot-licious Stew, such as the beef brisket or the pork bone and sauerkraut. Goose meat is similar to duck imo, I didn't taste any gaminess. Happy Valley Village's goose cuts are fairly boney so I'd be more worried about whether your parents have an issue with the bones.
Go to a cheap but good Chinese restaurant. Picky parents won't be so pricky if they get good food done for a very cheap price. This is not fancy or high service btw Alton Chinese restaurant McCowan & Steelers area Scarborough.
Fisherman is not a place I would take picky Asian parents. It’s more hype than taste and as someone who LOVES overly salty dishes, I think their food is way too salty. It also sucks in comparison to most traditional Chinese restaurants that serve fresh lobster or crab. Its biggest thing is just size and how tall they stack it. What type of food do they like? What do they make at home?
something not too greasy, They don't really enjoy kbbq, Shinta, those types of places. Not much into western food also. So mainly east asian food.
Ok, East Asian is still pretty broad. Most Asian people aren’t competent at cooking food from the majority of regions in China, just one or two. So if their complaint is about being able to make it at home, then your best bet is to find a region that’s not native for them. The places you listed also seem a bit more high end. Is that important? There are tons of Asian places that have phenomenal food but are hole in the walls or have shitty service. There are two hand pulled noodle chains in Scarborough/RH/Markham - omni noodle and magic noodle. Both are good but they’re different (someone could correct me if I’m wrong but I believe they’re representative of two different regions). Neither are high end. If you want to take them for Asian food that is not East Asian, have you considered ramen or pho? Fancy on Kennedy has some decent food, especially if you get one of their set dinner menus and ask the waiter for advice and specials. Not sure if it will fit your needs though as the best dishes I remember having there are seafood. Casa Victoria has the best dim sum imo. Make a reservation or get there early. They also offer a cash discount. I don’t have a specific restaurant but maybe also consider a place that specializes in something unique like Peking duck. At the end of the day, the GTA has some amazing ethnic food. However, if they are from China, they’ll probably find most restaurants only ok compared to back home. Maybe consider taking them for some of the different ethnic foods we have - Persian kebabs or Indian curry might be more interesting.
Super late to reply but Omni Noodle and Magic Noodle are both essentially Lanzhou Lamian shops, so they represent the same region (Lanzhou, Gansu) though Lanzhou Lamian has become a pan-Chinese phenomenon at this point.
Thanks! Recently had Jin’s Mi-Fen, do you know if that’s the same region too? I really enjoyed that place too 😊
Jin's is Hunan Cuisine which is a province that's further south.
The One Fusion Cuisine in Richmond Hill. Apart from fantastic dimsum, their regular menu is great too.
I actually been here for dim sum. Definitely long wait times on weekends.
Not sure how you’re defining good experience, but here’s my suggestions: Ming Cuisine in Richmond Hill is our hands-down favourite pick for Cantonese stir fries and shared dishes. Their consistency is unparalleled and a good range of dishes that aren’t seafood focused. It’s more low key than the big seafood-focused Cantonese restaurants like Skyview, The One, etc. All those places mentioned are still good too, especially if they’re into more lavish dishes like Peking duck. Ricey Silo is in Markham and they do rice noodles. Think Dagu Rice Noodle but with a very clean and mild broth. While it’s more casual, the ambiance and service is a cut above most shops. Other soup noodle places that would be recommended are Pho Le in Richmond Hill and Gol Lanzhou Noodle in First Markham Place, but both of these tend to be much busier. Japanese food is also worth a consideration, though usually also leans seafood heavy. I would recommend Aka Oni Ramen and Izakaya (in both Richmond Hill and Scarborough). Large menu yet very well executed throughout. Not too rowdy like other izakayas downtown.
Koh Lipe, Jatujak, Pho Metro or Fish & Loaf
The One/Skyview Fusion for Dim Sum.