| R&D | |
|---|---|
 | |
 The restaurant in 2024 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | April 7, 2015 (2015-04-07) |
| Owner(s) | Alvin Leung Eric Chong |
| Head chef | Eric Chong |
| Food type | Asian Fusion Chinese |
| Rating | Bib Gourmand (Michelin Guide) |
| Street address | 241 Spadina Avenue |
| City | Toronto, Ontario |
| Country | Canada |
| Website | www |
R&D is an Asian Fusion restaurant located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The restaurant is co-owned by Alvin Leung, known for his 3 Michelin-starred Hong Kong restaurant Bo Innovation, and Eric Chong, the inaugural winner of culinary reality competition show MasterChef Canada.
History
The restaurant opened in 2015 in Toronto's Chinatown neighbourhood, in collaboration between Leung and Chong, who met on MasterChef Canada. Chong was a competitor on the show's first season, while Leung was one of three judges on the show. After winning the competition, Chong received an offer from Leung to train with him in Hong Kong and eventually open a restaurant together.
The business's name, R&D, stands for Rebel & Demon - a moniker created to reflect the personalities of both chefs. Chong is labeled the "Rebel" for pursuing a career in cooking despite his family's initial wishes for him to remain in engineering, while Leung is known as the "Demon Chef". R&D's meaning is two-fold, also reflecting both chefs' engineering backgrounds, where 'r&d' (research and development) is an important aspect of the field.
Chong initially started as the sous-chef for the restaurant, while the title of executive chef was given to Nelson Tsai. Chong took over the reins as executive chef a year following the restaurant's opening.
Cuisine and notable dishes
The restaurant primarily serves Asian fusion dishes, anchored by Chinese cuisine and Canadian ingredients. It also draws upon French and Korean cooking techniques. A core part of the restaurant's menu is its 'Canadian take on traditional Chinese dim sum', serving items such as char siu bao in icing sugar-topped "Mexico buns" and fun guo filled with chicken and black truffle.
Chef Eric Chong, and the restaurant's, signature dish is the wok lobster (stylized: @WOK_LOBSTER) - a butter-poached lobster chow mein based on the same dish which Chong served in the final round of his MasterChef win.
Recognition
The business was named a Bib Gourmand restaurant by the Michelin Guide at Toronto's 2022 Michelin Guide ceremony, and retained this recognition in 2023 and 2024. A Bib Gourmand recognition is awarded to restaurants who offer "exceptionally good food at moderate prices".
References
- ^ Abraham, Lois (6 April 2015). "R&D: Collaboration between 'MasterChef Canada' winner and judge set to open". CityNews Vancouver. CityNews. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- Wrobel, Maggie (27 May 2014). "It ain't easy being MasterChef Canada: How Eric Chong went from cooking homemade soufflés to being a $100,000 winner". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- Van Paassen, Kevin (10 April 2015). "From MasterChef to Toronto restaurant owner: How Eric Chong's career went from 0 to 100". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- Mok, Charmaine (17 July 2022). "Hong Kong 'demon chef' Alvin Leung on food art, life and death, heaven and hell, and his new menu The Masterpieces". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "Bib Spotlight: R&D". Michelin Guide. Michelin North America. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "R&D - Toronto". Michelin Guide. Michelin North America. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- Nuttall-Smith, Chris (24 July 2015). "R&D: The MasterChef-helmed restaurant is far from a winner in real life". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- "Consider the Lobster Chow Mein Tonight". Vice. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- "What went down at Canada's first ever Michelin Guide award ceremony". Toronto Life. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
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