A CINDERELLA STORY
MasterChef Canada winner opens restaurant with two of the judges,
R&D (out of 4)
Address: 241 Spadina Ave. (near Dundas St. W.), 416-586-1241, rdspadina.com Chef: Nelson Tsai
Hours: Monday to Wednesday, 5 to 11 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations: Yes Wheelchair access: Yes Price: Dinner for two with cocktails, tax and tip: $110
Eric Chong knows he is fortunate.
At age 23, Chong is co-owner of R&D, Toronto’s hippest new Chinese restaurant. He won televised amateur cooking contest MasterChef Canada last year, netting a $100,000 prize (it went into the restaurant) and a business partnership with two of the three judges.
All this for a chemical engineering graduate who only wanted his father’s approval to switch to a cooking career. “I skipped a couple of steps,” acknowledges Chong. That Chong’s main partner is a Michelin-starred chef adds further Cinderella sparkle to the tale. Alvin Leung, whose Bo Innovation in Hong Kong has three rosettes, suggested they open a restaurant while Chong was travelling in Asia after his win. It took Chong by surprise.
“I was pretty scared of him during the show. I didn’t think he’d look twice at a guy like me,” Chong says.
Michael Bonacini, another MasterChef Canada judge, helps with infrastructure.
(Third judge Claudio Aprile told the Star: “Due to several other projects I’m involved in, I was not in a position to participate in R&D. I’m very proud of Eric, Alvin and Michael.”)
Even without the back story, R&D is worth talking about. It sets a new bar for style in Chinatown and brings us a sometimes surprising yet approachable take on Asian and Canadian dishes. More fun than Luckee and less brash than DaiLo, it shows early poise and future promise.
While the chance to meet Chong may be part of R&D’s attraction — he graciously leaves the kitchen to pose for pictures with fans — so, too, is the design by Commute Homes. The one-time glass factory (and, briefly, Strada 241) retains its tall ceilings and wobbly wooden floors. Up front is the bar and lounge, with plush seats and stirrups of lighting. In the middle is the open kitchen with stools for diners. In back are swank leather banquettes and street art on the walls; scattered numbers represent good luck. Fish-carved chopsticks bring the funk to the table.
Leung, himself a former engineer, is known as the Demon Chef. He is the “D” in the name while Chong is the Rebel or “R.” Together, they devised the sharingplates menu and hired as chef de cuisine O&B veteran Nelson Tsai, who has years of experience versus months for Chong. Indeed, Chong is the rare owner who is outranked in the kitchen.
This leaves Chong free to cook. He uses his grandfather’s sticky dough to shape steamed fun guo ($8) but modernizes the crunchy carrot-bamboo filling with a trove of minced Chinese black truffle.
He rolls pasta dough over an Italian chitarra tool to make long, square noodles. These, similar to his winning main course on MasterChef Canada, are stir-fried with lobster meat and Thai-seasoned coconut milk balanced by tart lime segments ($25). Despite minimal lobster content when I try it — Chong says he’s since increased the portion — it is a dish with good “wok hei,” the slight char on the noodles desirable.
There are other good tastes. Soup dumplings ($6) cradle spicy, fatty lamb. Baked char siu bao ($8) look like almond cookies and taste like barbecued pork heaven.
The cilantro-green onion-lime slurry drizzled onto shucked B.C. oysters ($10) makes a convert out of me. And who would’ve guessed pesto and bamboo strips could work so well together inside an egg roll ($7)? A cheeky Asian-Canadian take on southern fried chicken ($25) has lipnumbing Sichuan peppercorn lurking in the maple syrup drizzled over Hong Kong-style egg waffles. With buttery mushrooms and al dente snow pea leaves (both $10), it makes a fine meal.
Depending on the day, the food can ar- rive at a relaxed pace or all at once. There’s no need to rush into tough brisket ($20).
Or the cross-cultural failure of octopus with chimichurri ($14). Cocktails can promise more than they deliver, such as the roast duck flavour undetectable in an old-fashioned ($15). And avoid anything with cubed potatoes: poutine ($9) is too slippery to eat with chopsticks and brunch hash ($13) is ruined by nearly raw poached eggs.
Smoked jasmine tea brings a campfire taste to crispy milk ($8). Coconut creme brûlée ($8) flops due to a stubbornly thick caramel lid.
The big finale is the deliciously shareable banana split ($14). MasterChef Canada viewers might remember Chong’s version with red bean and green tea ice creams. Now, he uses three flavours — tart sour cherry, subtle chocolate tamarind and luscious peanut butter-condensed milk — to even better effect under puffy banana fritters, candied walnuts and aerosolized coconut cream. He took the judges’ advice and added sliced strawberries for juiciness.
A year ago, says Chong, an interview request about his new restaurant would’ve seemed like “some sort of prank call.”
“I would have never guessed that I would have a restaurant this soon in my culinary career, let alone opening one with the help of two of the MCC judges,” he says. apataki@thestar.ca, Twitter @amypataki