New Eats: R&D

MasterChef Canada winner Eric Chong and Michelin-starred Alvin Leung have opened R&D in Chinatown. The name, which stands for “rebel and demon,” is also meant as a nod to the chefs’ engineering backgrounds.

Those roots have come in handy in the kitchen, where Chong and Leung have put methodical research and development into their menu, combining Asian flavours with modern Canadian influences. We devoured the General Sanders’ chicken (Kung Pao sauces, Sichuan maple syrup and HK egg waffles—a plate that’s meant to be shared, though we had a hard time doing so) alongside a killer 510 Caesar featuring vodka infused with black garlic and mushroom, Worcestershire infused with hoisin, and a little Lapsang tincture, too. The modern, open dining space itself with dramatic drum lighting and graphic street art works.

When inner demons result in delicious food like this, we’re all for their unleashing. —Karen Kwan

R&D, 241 Spadina Ave., Toronto, 416-586-1241, rdspadina.com