Happy Chinese New Year and (CNY) Gong Hay Fat Choy everyone and welcome to the year of the Tiger.  CNY is celebrated with family visits from relatives and the distribution of red pockets to the junior members of the family from the married elders.

Let’s go through some of the Chinese New Year traditions and some traditional Chinese cuisine during this celebration.

A reunion dinner is held on New Year’s Eve where everyone in the family from all over gets together to celebrate.  The New Year’s Eve dinner is usually decadent and traditionalyl consists of fish and chicken.

Traditional Chinese New Year dishes include:

Buddha’s Delight: Vegetarian dish served on the eve and New Year’s day.

Fat Choy: hair like algae vegetable

Noodles: Long uncut noodles represent long life and longevity for the new year.

Bakkwa: Salty sweet, dried meat similar to jerky.

Red pockets are then distributed to family members during the reunion dinner.  The pockets are usually filled with money in lucky denominations to signify good luck, happiness and good fortune.

Other traditions include possible gift exchanges, market fairs, and fireworks!

In the video this guy Yutai is a bit lost but he rambles through a lot of the traditional Chinese New Year dishes.

Rich Land Chinese Cuisine
328 Hwy 7 Unit 25, Richmond Hill
905.882.1388

Dim Sum menu

This review is for dim sum brunch/lunch only. The restaurant serves a very different dinner menu.

Among the multitude of Chinese restaurants in the Richmond Hill area, Rich Land Chinese Cuisine delivers quality food and service to stay in the competition. The food is authentic Chinese (say no to deep fried chicken balls), with mainly Cantonese dim sum served in brunch to lunch hours.

For those who are strangers to Chinese dim sum, it is a category of Cantonese cuisine in which food is usually crafted into small almost bite-sized portions, often served in bamboo steamer. I think dim sum meal is best enjoyed in a party of 3 to 4 people, such that everyone will get to try a piece of each variety.

Our family of 3 stepped into this Chinese restaurant for a dim sum feast for a late Sunday lunch. Each of us ordered our favorites on the dim sum sheet provided. The dim sum’s are categorized into Small ($2.60), Medium ($3.60), Large ($4.60), Special and Large ($6.90) for different price levels. The variety was above average for this slightly upscale dim sum restaurant.

Deep friend mini fish (whitebait) with spicy salt SP $6.90

Our dim sum lunch started off with my deep fried favorite whitebait fish. For those of you who are wondering, yes, the black dots are the eyes of the tiny fishes. I know the fear of eating the head of an animal, but you will never be able to tell between the head and the tail when you take a bite. It was all just deep fried goodness.

Clockwise from top right:
Shanghai style steamed buns with pork M $3.60
Jumbo shrimp steamed rice noodle roll L $4.60
Steamed bean curd roll with oyster sauce M $3.60

We all absolutely loved the steamed rice noodle roll with JUMBO shrimps. The large shrimps were cooked to perfection and they tasted very fresh. The rice noodle was thinly sliced and had a very smooth texture. For the price of $4.60, this is definitely a must-order item on the menu.

The steamed bean curd roll was 1 of the 6 vegetarian items on the menu (which has 68 in total) and had a mixture of mushrooms and other fungi like wood-ear that created a chewy texture that is rarely observed in vegetarian food. Don’t be intimidated – mushroom is fungus too.

On the subject of veggie, vegetarians might want to skip traditional dim sum restaurants and try vegetarian Chinese restaurants like Graceful Vegetarian Restaurant instead. They will provide much more variety than these traditional ones.

Clockwise from top left :
Deep fried taro dumpling S $2.60
Baked barbecue pork puff M $3.60
Boneless chicken feet in spicy sauce SL $6.90
Steamed superior shrimp dumplings L $4.60

When it comes to the exotic chicken feet, I do admit that I’m not a big fan myself. I don’t mind their form factor but there is something about the texture that is just not my cup of tea. However, my family did find Rich Land’s boneless chicken feet very appealing and tasty. Without the bones and shape to remind you what they originally are, would you venture a bite?

In terms of disappointment, the taro dumplings really did not deliver a tasty bite. The taro was not sweet enough to contrast the taste of the meat filling, and the meat was not seasoned enough step up to the plate either. You can most certainly find better taro dumplings than these.

To finish our lunch on a good note, we were served with another two of my favorites: barbecue pork pastry and shrimp dumplings. The barbecue pork was marinated very well and the pastry was light and fluffy. The only small adjustment I’d make is perhaps adding a little bit more meat into the filling. On the other hand, the shrimp dumplings were amply filled with a lot of the seafood.

Depending on your taste, the price ranges from $2.60 to $6.90 a plate. Our party of 3 ordered 11 plates that came to a total of $17/person including tax with a small box of leftovers. We will definitely return to the restaurant for dim sum or try their dinner menu. The clean environment, colourful traditional Chinese decor, and excellent food will not disappoint.

Food: Overall excellent with 1 to 2 misses; Great variety
Service: Quick, polite staff
Price: Good for the quality and portion; $10-$15 per person depending on your appetite
Parking: Free ground and underground in the plaza

As long as I can remember I always loved this quick little dish. The dish goes very well with rice or noodles. My grandma and my mom made this for me when I was a toddler. Ever since then I’ve been making this for myself. It’s sort of my happy food, because if you know me well enough you’d know that I LOVE EGGS!

What you’ll need (Ingredients)

• 1 whole tomatoe (irregularly diced just a bit smaller than an inch per piece)
• 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 1  scallions (chopped)
• 1 slice of ginger
• 3 eggs (beaten)
• 1 tsp cooking starch
• 4 tsp vegetable oil
• 4 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp of sugar

Let’s start cooking, I assume the above is neatly set aside for you to drop in to your pan. I like to keep a really clean kitchen while cooking.

Cooking the Egg

1. Add 1 tsp of salt in your eggs, beat lightly until dissolved.
2. Preheat pan.
3. Add 3 tsp of vegetable oil.
4. Poor eggs in pan cook to the style of your liking (I like to cook my eggs as I would cook an omelet so I can dice it later with my spatula).
5. Once eggs are lightly browned, empty your eggs on to a plate/bowl/…

Cooking the Tomatoes and Adding the Eggs

1. Preheat pan
2. Add 1 tsp of oil
3. Add 1 tsp of salt
4. Add scallions and and garlic in to pan
5. Stir fry for about 2 minutes in medium heat.
6. Mix sugar, soy sauce, and starch in a quarter cup of warm water.
7. Mix until dissolved
8. Poor mixture in to Pan and stir fry using low heat.
9. Add your eggs and your slice of ginger.
10. Mix for about a minute more
11. Ready to Serve!!!

Variations

• Adding some of your favourite ham to the mixture.
• Adding fresh onions is also a good choice.

Enjoy!!!

I’ve found a video for this dish. The cooking and preparation is similar. However, this is such a home cooked dish that every Chinese household have their own renditions.

Traditional Northern Asian cuisine with 18 years of tradition based in the greater Toronto area.  A steady flow of loyal fan based clientele has helped this emerging chain flourish into 6 locations surrounding the city.  With delectable eats surrounded by a stylish modern décor, we find a great combination that will be please your appetite.  Healthy portions prepared freshly everyday makes this choice an easy one for any occasion such as luncheons, dinner parties, and easy dining for family lunch and dinners.

The selection of deserts is filled with glutinous treats filled with red bean and black sesame.  One suggestion (if you enjoying your visit) is to sign on for their VIP program ($15) during your meal.  The VIP program allows you to save 10% on your meals (even the first one) for an entire year at all locations.  The membership definitely pays for itself after on average 5 visits.

Website: www.asianlegend.ca
Price: $7 – $12 per dish
Locations: Location Finder
Daily: 10:30pm- 10:30am (depending on location)
Email: service@asianlegend.ca
Credit Cards Accepted: American Express, Cash, MasterCard, Visa
Recommendations:  General Tao Chicken(#56), Chunky beef noodles (#120), Steamed soup filled juicy Pork Dumplings (#3), Pan Fried Pork Dumplings (#9)  Desert:  Fried dough ball with red bean paste (#164).

YummyLocal flikr Group Reviews:

Photo by Kancil: General Tso Chicken @ Asian Legend

Photo by Kancil: Mushu Pork @ Asian Legend

Photo by Kancil: Green Beans @ Asian Legend

Photo by Kancil: Pork Dumplings @ Asian Legend

Photo review by sheep sheep: Markham - Asian Legend

Photo review by sheep_sheep: Markham - Asian Legend: three cups chicken.

Photo Review by isabox

Chinese cuisine collides head on with Indian flavor and style!  Indian-Hakka style cuisine originated from southeastern regions of China and has since then been perfected in India where the approach of cooking is similar to traditional Chinese cooking but with a spicy kick!

The results of this unique blend of cultures is a great variety of spicy or non spicy platters and includes a great selection of vegetarian dishes served up with generous portions that will satisfy your cravings.  Though takeout seems to be the popular mode of clientele (10% off) Lin Garden provides a quaint 70’s décor eating atmosphere with attentive and friendly service. Lin Garden is a gem of a restaurant that will work hard to satisfy your hunger without hurting your wallet.

Photo by caliwolv: Chili Chicken from Lin Garden Restaurant in Toronto, a staple for anyone in the area who has ever tried it.

Price: $8 – $11 per dish
Address: 1806 Pharmacy Ave Scarborough, ON
Phone: 416-491-8484

Recommendations: Chicken Pakora, Chili Chicken, Manchurian Chicken rice/noodles, Crispy Beef, House Shrimp.  Vegetarian – Ma Po Tofu, Yu Shuen Eggplant, Fried Green beans.

YummyLocal flikr Group Reviews:

Photo review by caliwolv:  Chili Chicken on rice

Photo review by caliwolv: House Shrimp

Photo Credits:  Patrick Caliwolv