Those who have dined at Chinese restaurants in Richmond Hill and Markham know of the diaspora of Chinese cuisines that exist north of The Six. One of the pillars, Yu Seafood, for which dining is an event with hospitality and a diverse menu to match, has now dipped its toes in the tepid waters of Toronto. Make no mistake, opening a Toronto restaurant of this size, in Yorkdale mall, at this time, is not an easy task. And yet, Yu Seafood opened its doors to great fanfare to raise the bar of dining at Yorkdale.
When was the last time you went to a Mall? In this Amazonian-age of online shopping, venturing outside requires strategy, thinking about parking, line-ups, crowds. Dining is not even a consideration. The options are typically fast-food courts or fast-casual stops to consume as fillers during an exhausting shopping excursion. Until now.
We know Yu Seafood’s Richmond Hill location for its range of lobsters that, on-order, can reach up to 18 pounds! Owner and mastermind, Tony Chen, shares that Yu Seafood is the first restaurant in North America to serve their signature crispy fried garlic lobster. This fanciful crustacean, alone, is reason enough to inspire our visit to Yorkdale. Rather than visit for shopping, we’re visiting for dining, and maybe some browsing and shopping afterwards.
Even during rush hour, we easily arrive at the west side of Yorkdale, slip into a parking spot and within moments, arrive at the entrance to Yu Seafood. The concierge greets us and directs us to the elevator. As the doors open, we enter another world.
Teams of servers whisk by with massive trays of unusual dishes replete with all the colours of the culinary rainbow. Around us are families; across from us, it’s “girls night out”, clinking glasses in celebration. There are four of us in this family and we’re seated at a banquette around a table large enough that we don’t bump elbows, but close enough that we can still have a conversation. There are Dim Sum and Cocktail menus displayed on our tablet, but we’re here for two reasons: duck and lobster.
Peking duck is a luxury. Restaurants that serve it do so with their own style. At Yu Seafood, it is a three-course extravaganza that begins with the table-side carving, followed by minced duck and lettuce wraps, and crisp duck sushi.
The portioning of duck is generous, and each slice is comprised of the two essential elements we crave: crispy skin and tender meat. The duck meat is, in fact, noticeably tender. We layer our thin sesame pancakes with morsels of duck and select from a choice of cucumber, spring onion strips and melon, and add a dollop of burnt orange caramel, hoisin or plum sauce. Each folded sandwich is a satisfying medley of flavour and texture and not at all heavy or greasy.
The minced duck is light but rich, not too unctuous and, wrapped in a refreshing crunch of lettuce, is a meaty and savoury parcel. Duck sushi is pressed, torched and drizzled with a kocho sauce—typically made with chili peppers and yuzu, but here it is mild and infused with arugula. These pop-your-mouth bites are another contrast in textures from the smooth structure of the rice to its crisp compacted crown of duck.
Each dish is so artfully constructed. Nothing is heavy. The only adjustments we need to make are too remove dishes from each course to make room for new ones.
Lobster is prepared in eleven different ways. It’s our choice: wok-fried, baked, simmered, steamed, and with various spices to elicit different flavour profiles. Ours is wok-fried with ginger and spring onions. Each chunk of lobster is easy to separate, but we are given plastic gloves in case we need to get messy without fear of disparaging looks. Each meaty morsel is seasoned liberally, not aggressively, for an uncommon, lip-smacking presentation of lobster for us to enjoy family-style.
Sweet and sour pork is traditionally made with pork shoulder and is one of the most recognizable Chinese dishes. But, for those who do not eat pork, Yu Seafood has offered us a vegetarian option made with king oyster mushrooms. It’s the flavour and texture without the guilt. Inclusive menus have become an essential consideration for any restaurateur catering to large groups. This savoury dish, lightly breaded and gently tossed with pineapple, bell peppers and a tangy lacquer, checks the box for me.
The à la carte menu is chock full of specialty ingredients and dishes that require multiple visits to appreciate. Our recommendation tonight is a pot of boiled sliced beef and silken tofu with hot chili simmering in a pot served with soup bowls, a ladle, and a caution that it is spicy. Well, my palate is a risk taker, so I bite.
While it is certainly spicy, it’s the kind of spice that has a flavour quotient, as opposed to just a venomous heat. It is the perfect antidote to a cold day, because it warms and awakens the senses, and is addictively good. Each ladling delivers more tofu, more beef, with a piquant accent that sends each of my taste buds into perpetual pirouettes, but is wholesome and very satisfying.
We needed to emancipate ourselves from the humdrum routine of our own cooking, and the usual suspects for dining out were not feeling very stimulating. The menu at Yu Seafood could take us in any direction, but all roads lead to tantalizing ends.
There’s no rush to leave, but while we’re here and reinvigorated, perhaps we’ll browse the mall and do a little shopping.
Yu Seafood, Yorkdale Mall, 3401 Dufferin Street, Parking Lot J, Unit 601A, Toronto, 416-613-3618
