#FOOD: CHEF EVA CHIN AND YAN DINING ROOM CAP-OFF YEAR OF NATIONAL HONOURS

Yan Dining Room, led by Executive Chef and Culinary Director Eva Chin, closes out 2025 as one of Canada’s most celebrated and influential new culinary destinations. In its first full year of operation, the restaurant has earned top national honours, shaped a new dialogue around modern Chinese cuisine, and established itself as a hub for meaningful culinary collaboration.

This year marked Chef Eva Chin’s emergence as one of the architects of a new culinary movement in Canada. As the co-creator of Yan Dining Room with restaurateur Colin Li, Eva spearheaded the development of Toronto’s leading neo-Chinese tasting menu – a concept that blends Chinese history with modern technique and Eva’s global, coastal sensibilities. Her cuisine draws from her Chinese, Singaporean, Samoan and Hawaiian heritage and reflects her belief that food can be a form of lineage, reclamation, and cultural storytelling.

“Yan is our way of imagining the future of Chinese cuisine,” says Chef Eva Chin. “We’re honouring centuries of technique and memory, but we’re not afraid to push forward, to blend history with innovation, to challenge assumptions, and to evolve what Chinese dining can mean in Canada.”

A Year Defined by Accolades

Chef Eva Chin and Yan Dining Room have garnered widespread acclaim from critics, industry leaders, and diners alike. This year’s recognitions include:

• #2 — Toronto Life Best New Restaurants 2025
• #31 — Toronto Life Most Influential People 2025
• #43 — Post City Chef-Approved 50 Best Restaurants
• #7 — Air Canada Best New Restaurants 2025
• Air Canada Best New Concept
• Foodism Rising Star Icon of the Year

These accolades underscore Eva’s rising influence as both a culinary innovator and one of the most compelling voices shaping Canada’s modern dining landscape.

A Standout Year of Creative Collaborations

2025 also marked an exceptional year of creative partnerships for Chef Eva Chin, each celebrating regional flavours and the diverse culinary talent across Canada. Highlights include:

–Lunar New Year collaboration with Chef Nuit Regular, one of Toronto’s most influential chef-restaurateurs whose restaurants PAI and Kiin are recognized by the MICHELIN Guide. The dinner celebrated the intersection of Northern Thai flavours and Yan’s evolving neo-Chinese culinary philosophy.

–Daango collaboration with Chef Christopher Siu, MasterChef Canada winner and acclaimed pastry artist. Together, they created a menu that blended Siu’s refined baking skills with Eva’s coastal storytelling and modern Chinese sensibilities.

–Good Behaviour collaboration with Chef Michael Lam and Eric Chow, a playful comfort-meets-technique mashup that reimagined nostalgic flavours through Yan’s precision-led culinary lens.

–No. 8 collaboration with Chef Stephen Baidacoff and Chef Nick Lin, whose restaurant No. 8 was named a 2025 Air Canada Best New Restaurants finalist. The partnership explored the future of Asian-Canadian gastronomy through a highly technical, chef-driven multi-course experience.

–Short-Grain Rice collaboration at Dachi in Vancouver, a one-night dinner with Chef Katy Cheung of Michelin-starred Burdock & Co. (and a Top Chef Canada 2025 competitor) and Chef Jiwon Seo of Dachi. The menu explored Chinese and Korean flavours through the lens of Southern barbecue, marking the Vancouver debut of Eva’s neo-Chinese approach.

Each partnership further established Yan Dining Room as a space for cross-cultural dialogue and innovation.

With industry accolades, nationwide recognition, and a collaborative footprint that spans some of Canada’s most influential chefs, Yan Dining Room enters 2026 with extraordinary momentum. The restaurant remains committed to evolving its menu, deepening its storytelling, and continuing to champion meaningful culinary expression.