#FOOD: LAI WAH HEEN AT TORONTO DRAGON FESTIVAL | LIVE CARVING

Today, September 5, 2026, Lai Wah Heen, Toronto’s longstanding destination for refined Cantonese cuisine, will participate in the Toronto Dragon Festival at Nathan Phillips Square, joining a citywide celebration of Chinese culture, food and tradition.

LAI WAH HEEN AT TORONTO DRAGON FESTIVAL

A centrepiece of Lai Wah Heen’s participation will be a ceremonial whole roasted pig presentation, featuring two whole roasted pigs prepared especially for the occasion.

At approximately 6:00 p.m., Lai Wah Heen Executive Chef Heyden Sin will take the stage for the ceremonial presentation and live carving.

The restaurant will also showcase contemporary creations inspired by Chinese ingredients, flavours and visual traditions, including:

Tanghulu Foie Gras
Swan Pastry
Aged Mandarin Chocolate Bonbons
“Whispering Grove,” a mocktail by Oliver Leung of award-winning bar Suite 115

Together, the presentation offers a snapshot of Lai Wah Heen’s approach today: preserving the techniques, flavours and symbolism of Cantonese cuisine while finding new ways to share that heritage with a contemporary Toronto audience.

DETAILS
WHAT: Lai Wah Heen at Toronto Dragon Festival
WHO: Gary Yue, Owner; Heyden Sin, Executive Chef; Nick Lui, Manager
WHEN: Saturday, September 5, 2026
WHERE: Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto
KEY VISUAL: Two ceremonial whole roasted pigs and live carving by Executive Chef Heyden Sin
LIVE CARVING: Approximately 6:00 p.m.

ABOUT LAI WAH HEEN
For decades, Lai Wah Heen has been recognized as one of Toronto’s defining destinations for refined Cantonese cuisine. Located in downtown Toronto, the restaurant is known for its commitment to traditional Cantonese culinary techniques, premium ingredients and craftsmanship, while continuing to introduce the cuisine to new generations of diners.
ADDRESS: 108 Chestnut Street, Toronto, ON M5G 1R3
WEBSITE: https://laiwahheen.com/
INSTAGRAM: @laiwahheen

#FOOD: LAI WAH HEEN PRESENT “THE TREASURE OF FORTUNE”

As Toronto welcomes filmmakers, storytellers and film lovers from around the world this September, Lai Wah Heen is staging a premiere of its own.

For a limited time during Toronto’s film festival season, Executive Chef Heyden Sin presents The Treasure of Fortune, an extraordinary five-course culinary experience priced at $8,888, including a 500-gram tin of caviar and the spectacular Supreme Eight-Treasure Gourd-Shaped Goose (至尊八宝葫芦鹅) on a bed of truffle as its main-course centrepiece.

Available exclusively by three-day advance order, the creation brings together two Cantonese banquet traditions alongside one of southern China’s most celebrated luxury dishes: a traditional Guangdong pigeon preparation designed to release hot broth dramatically when opened; the technique and symbolism of Eight-Treasure Duck; and the abundance of prized ingredients associated with Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Replacing duck with a premium whole goose, Chef Sin transforms these inspirations into an original composition filled with eight exceptional shan zhen hai wei (山珍海味), or “treasures of the mountains and delicacies of the seas.”

More than a collection of rare ingredients, The Treasure of Fortune is a story told through food.

Cinema tells stories through image, movement, performance and the vision of its director. Chinese cuisine has long told stories through ingredients, technique, symbolism, ritual and form.

This September, those two forms of storytelling meet at the table.

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ONE DISH. THREE INSPIRATIONS. EIGHT TREASURES. THREE DAYS IN THE MAKING.

Every production begins behind the scenes.

For The Treasure of Fortune, the process starts with one of the most technically demanding feats in Chinese cooking. Chef Sin meticulously debones an entire premium goose by hand while preserving its skin intact. Working through limited openings without tearing the exterior, the skeleton is removed while maintaining the structure necessary to transform the bird into its eventual sculptural form.

“The difficulty isn’t simply removing every bone from the goose, it’s doing it without damaging the skin or changing the natural structure of the bird,” says Executive Chef Heyden Sin. “The skin becomes the vessel for everything that follows. We still have to fill it with the eight treasures, shape it into the húlú and take it through several different cooking techniques. If the skin is compromised at the beginning, there is no way to create the finished dish.”

THREE CULINARY INSPIRATIONS, REIMAGINED AS ONE

The Treasure of Fortune does not originate from a single recipe. Instead, Chef Sin brings together two Cantonese banquet traditions alongside one of southern China’s most celebrated luxury dishes, reinterpreting their techniques, ingredients and sense of occasion in one ambitious creation. The first draws inspiration from a traditional Guangdong preparation in which a pigeon is filled with hot broth. When the bird is opened, the soup is released from within in a dramatic tableside moment. Chef Sin carries that element of surprise into The Treasure of Fortune, creating a similarly theatrical release of the goose’s deeply flavoured juices.
The second inspiration is Eight-Treasure Duck, the traditional foundation upon which the dish is built. Chef Sin replaces the customary duck with a premium whole goose, an ingredient particularly prized in Guangdong for its fuller flavour, succulent meat and rich natural juices. For this style of preparation, goose delivers a tender, juicy result without the gamey quality sometimes associated with duck.

The third influence is Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, one of southern China’s most celebrated luxury dishes, known for bringing together an abundance of prized ingredients from mountain and sea. Its spirit informs the extraordinary treasures concealed inside the goose.

“The dish combines three major ideas,” says Sin. “We took the dramatic release of soup from the pigeon preparation, the technique and symbolism of Eight-Treasure Duck, and the luxurious ingredients associated with Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. We modified those traditions and brought them together to create something new.”

The result is not simply an elevated interpretation of one historic recipe, but an original composition drawing from distinct culinary traditions, each recognizable in its inspiration yet transformed through Chef Sin’s own point of view.

A CAST OF EIGHT, DRAWN FROM MOUNTAIN AND SEA

Inside the goose is an extraordinary cast of eight treasures.

The Four Mountain Treasures include first-harvest Tibetan cordyceps sinensis, seasonally sourced Italian white truffle, wild Yunnan black tiger paw mushroom and Tianshan snow lotus seed.

The Four Ocean Treasures include prized 15-head Japanese Yoshihama dried abalone, premium aged fish maw, wild Galapagos spiky sea cucumber, and imperial scallop with coral-grown grouper skin.

The treasures are brought together with heritage wild gourd rice and Japanese Koshihikari rice, then perfumed with long-aged chenpi.

Among ingredients selected for their rarity and extraordinary value, however, it is the mandarin peel that carries perhaps the dish’s most personal story.

A STORY PASSED FROM MASTER TO PROTÉGÉ

Before taking the helm at Lai Wah Heen, Chef Heyden Sin trained under Chef Fei, one of the most celebrated figures in contemporary Chinese gastronomy, whose restaurants have collectively earned five MICHELIN stars.

Their relationship has endured long after Chef Sin’s apprenticeship.

To this day, Chef Fei shares with his former protégé a portion of his personal reserve of long-aged chenpi (陈皮), or dried mandarin peel, which Chef Sin refers to as his master’s “mother” peel.

That same chenpi finds its way into The Treasure of Fortune.

Alongside seasonally sourced Italian white truffle, prized dried abalone and other ingredients associated with extraordinary luxury, the peel represents something considerably harder to acquire: knowledge passed between generations, an enduring relationship between mentor and protégé, and a culinary lineage connecting Chef Sin’s kitchen in Toronto to the masters who shaped him.

“Chef Fei still sends me his mother mandarin peel, and that means much more to me than simply having access to a rare ingredient,” says Sin. “It connects me to the chef who taught me and to the traditions I learned from him. To use it in a dish like this is a way of carrying that knowledge forward.”

In a dish built around the meaning of fortune, it is also a reminder that not every treasure can be measured by its price.

SHAPED FOR FORTUNE

Once filled, the goose is hand-shaped and tied into the form of a húlú (葫芦), or bottle gourd.

The silhouette is deliberate.

An enduring auspicious symbol in Chinese culture, the húlú is associated with prosperity, longevity, protection and good fortune.

The symbolism continues through the eight treasures and even the experience’s $8,888 price. The number eight is strongly associated with prosperity and good fortune in Chinese culture, making the price itself part of the story.

The goose then undergoes a meticulous multi-stage cooking process, including master-stock steaming, maltose glazing, air-drying and flash-frying before its final preparation with a concentrated abalone reduction.

The objective is a remarkable contrast: an abundant, deeply flavoured interior enclosed within crisp, shimmering, deep-mahogany skin.

The process cannot be rushed or mass-produced.

Each goose is prepared individually. Each requires three days of preparation. Each is, in effect, a commissioned culinary work.

FIVE COURSES OF RARITY AND SPECTACLE

The Treasure of Fortune extends beyond its signature goose into a complete five-course dining experience.

The $8,888 price includes all five courses and a 500-gram tin of caviar, with the Supreme Eight-Treasure Gourd-Shaped Goose serving as the evening’s main-course centrepiece.

After three days of preparation, the sculptural húlú-shaped goose makes its entrance and is presented whole at the table. When opened, its rich juices are released in a dramatic reveal inspired by the traditional broth-filled pigeon preparation of Guangdong.

The goose is then ceremonially carved, exposing the eight treasures concealed beneath its lacquered skin. Seasonally sourced Italian white truffle provides the final flourish, shaved tableside as the dish is served.

The presentation transforms the final stage of preparation into a shared moment between chef and guest, the culmination of three days of work that, much like a film, ultimately arrives before its audience as a finished creation.

AN EXCEPTIONAL VINTAGE FOR AN EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE

Guests may further elevate the experience with a bottle of 1989 Château Margaux, available as an optional pairing for $3,888 per bottle.

One of Bordeaux’s original Premier Grand Cru Classé estates, Château Margaux was named a First Growth in the historic 1855 classification. Its celebrated 1989 vintage emerged from an exceptionally hot, dry growing season that produced grapes of remarkable ripeness.

Cabernet Sauvignon-led, the wine is distinguished by its richness, complexity and opulence, with floral character, smooth tannins and notes of chocolate and cinnamon. Now more than three decades into its evolution, the vintage is considered ready to enjoy while retaining the structure and concentration to continue aging.

Only two bottles will be available, making the pairing nearly as limited as the culinary experience itself.

CHINESE STORYTELLING, THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS

The Treasure of Fortune arrives at a fitting moment.

Each September, Toronto becomes a global meeting place for cinema and the cultures and stories it carries. Chinese cinema has introduced international audiences to a rich visual language shaped by colour, symbolism, ritual, memory and tradition.

Chinese cuisine possesses a visual and symbolic language of its own.

An ingredient can represent prosperity. A shape can communicate longevity. A number can signify fortune. A recipe can preserve history. A technique can connect several culinary traditions. And an ingredient passed from mentor to protégé can carry a story across generations and continents.

The Treasure of Fortune celebrates food and film as two distinct forms of cultural storytelling, one unfolding on screen, the other at the table.

THE TREASURE OF FORTUNE

A Five-Course Culinary Experience Featuring the Supreme Eight-Treasure Gourd-Shaped Goose | 至尊八宝葫芦鹅
Price: $8,888 CAD
Includes: Five-course menu and one 500-gram tin of caviar
Optional wine pairing: 1989 Château Margaux, $3,888 per bottle
Wine availability: Two bottles only
Availability: Limited quantities during Toronto’s international film festival season
Advance order: Must be ordered three days in advance
Location: Lai Wah Heen, Toronto

Due to the sourcing of its ingredients and the extensive preparation required, extremely limited quantities will be available.

About Lai Wah Heen
Originally established in 1995, Lai Wah Heen is a Cantonese fine dining restaurant in downtown Toronto, re-imagined under owners Gary and Ming Its culinary philosophy draws on the evolution of Cantonese cuisine through trade, migration and cultural exchange, pairing traditional Cantonese technique with contemporary approaches and Canadian ingredients, including produce grown specifically for the restaurant at Dragon Farm.

Website: laiwahheen.com
Instagram: @laiwahheen

Hours of Operation
Monday – Thursday | 10:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Friday | 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Saturday | 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Sunday | 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Reservations can be made [HERE].

#FOOD: TIFF 2026 PLACES TO DINE – LAI WAH HEEN, MINAMI, MIKU, 156 ONEFIVESIX, NO VACANCY, LYLA, ODD DUCK

This September, the city’s film festival season takes centre stage, and Toronto’s dining scene is getting in on the action. From cinematic cocktails and film-inspired dishes to limited-time tasting menus and lavish seafood spreads, a star-studded lineup of restaurants is serving up experiences worthy of the red carpet, including exclusive menu features from Lai Wah Heen, Odd Duck, 156 ONE FIVE SIX, Miku Toronto, Minami, No Vacancy, and Lyla, with each restaurant putting its own creative spin on the season.

Lai Wah Heen
IG. @laiwahheen
📍108 Chestnut Street

Lai Wah Heen is staging a culinary premiere of its own during Toronto’s international film festival season. Executive Chef Heyden Sin’s The Treasure of Fortune is an extravagant five-course experience priced at $8,888, including a 500-gram tin of caviar and the Supreme Eight-Treasure Gourd-Shaped Goose as its main-course centrepiece.

Prepared over three days, the whole deboned goose unites three Cantonese traditions: the dramatic release of broth from a traditional pigeon preparation, the technique and symbolism of Eight-Treasure Duck, and the prized mountain-and-sea delicacies associated with Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Shaped into an auspicious bottle gourd, it is filled with eight treasures, including Alba white truffle, Japanese dried abalone, fish maw and Galapagos sea cucumber. The goose arrives whole for a dramatic tableside reveal before being ceremonially carved and finished with freshly shaved truffle.

Guests may elevate the experience with a rare 1989 Château Margaux, offered as an optional $3,888 bottle pairing. One of Bordeaux’s celebrated First Growths and top vintages, the Cabernet-led vintage was shaped by an exceptionally hot, dry growing season and is distinguished by its richness, complexity, floral character and remarkably smooth tannins. Only two bottles are available.

Five-course experience: $8,888 CAD, including a 500-gram tin of caviar
Optional wine add-on: 1989 Château Margaux, $3,888 per bottle
Wine availability: Two bottles only
Availability: Limited quantities during Toronto’s international film festival season

Advance order: Three days required
Available from September 10–20.
Link to Reserve HERE.

Minami Toronto
IG. @minamitoronto
📍225 King St. W

This year Minami is honoured to return as an Official TIFF Hospitality Partner and is setting the scene for with a festival-inspired lineup of Japanese dishes and cinematic cocktails. Features include Wagyu X Tartare with black truffle, caviar, sour cream, yuzu, sesame, Japanese black vinegar, and crispy sushi rice; and Aosa Lobster Tempura with yuzu Saikyo miso, wasabi, ume katsuo ponzu jelly, and charcoal oil. The cocktail program takes its cue from the silver screen with Reel It In, made with Redbreast Whiskey, and the aptly named The Sequel. From September 11–16, Minami will also welcome the return of the Visa Infinite Studio, an exclusive evening experience for eligible Visa Infinite cardholders. Set against the excitement of TIFF, the Studio will offer a curated program of food and drink, signature cocktails, entertainment, and special experiences.

Minami TIFF Menu
Wagyu X Tartare
Aosa Lobster Tempura
Minami TIFF Cocktails
Reel it In | $22
The Sequel | $19
Available from September 10–20.
Link to Reserve HERE

156 ONE FIVE SIX
IG. @onefivesix_156
📍1100 Queen Street West

For the film festival season, MICHELIN‑recognized 156 ONE FIVE SIX introduces a trio of limited‑edition features inspired by the works of Korean filmmakers Na Hong‑jin and Yeon Sang-ho. The “Familiar Stranger” highball ($21) honours the upcoming world premiere of Paradise Lost, blending Toki Whisky, peach soju, shiso oleo and soda into a playful reinterpretation of the classic highball and a nod to the film’s tension between the known and the uncanny.
Two dishes draw from Hope and its remote Hopo Port setting. “Hopo Coast” translates the film’s stark, coastal atmosphere into a refined seafood plate of poached and chilled lobster, cucumber noodles, medley tomatoes and yuja pine nuts. “Midnight in Hopo,” offers a Korean‑style potato pancake layered with mussels, myeongran aioli, prosciutto, horseradish and dill, mirrors the film’s darker, late‑night mood while pairing a familiar Korean staple with maritime flavours.
Together, the trio offers a culinary homage to Korean storytelling, blending memory, place and atmosphere into dishes and drinks that feel both cinematic and deeply rooted in Korean tradition.

Available September 10-20

Link to Reserve HERE

156 ONE FIVE SIX Menu Features:
Hopo Coast | $36
Midnight in Hopo | $20
Familiar Stranger | $21

Miku Toronto
IG. @mikutoronto
📍10 Bay St.

In celebration of Japanese cinema, Miku Toronto invites guests to experience a meal told like a film. Inspired by kishōtenketsu, a traditional Japanese storytelling structure built around introduction, development, transformation and resolution, the $85 Pre-Screening Menu unfolds in three cinematic acts—beginning with an opening scene, building to its leading role, and culminating in a final cut of Miku’s signature sushi. Like any great film, the experience is designed around pacing, contrast and anticipation, with each course revealing a new chapter in the story.

Available September 10–20.
Link to Reserve HERE.

Miku Toronto Pre-Screening Menu | $85 per person
OPENING SCENE
Appetizer Trio
Hokkaido Scallop & Atlantic Salmon Sashimi (2pc)
Ebi Fritter (2pc)
Aka Miso Duck
LEADING ROLE
Choice of Entrée
Saikyo Miso Sablefish (3oz)
—or—
A5 Japanese Wagyu Striploin (2oz)
THE FINAL CUT
Sushi Selection
Aburi Nigiri (2pc)
Aburi Salmon Oshi (1pc)
Aburi Ebi Oshi (1pc)
Miku Roll (1pc)
Red Wave Roll (1pc)
Guests can also add a Sapporo for $7 with the purchase of the Pre-Screening Menu.
SAPPORO — $7
With purchase of the menu.

No Vacancy
IG. @novacancyto
📍74 Ossington Ave.

No Vacancy, Canada’s 100 Best’s Best New Bar, No. 14 on Canada’s 100 Best Bars list and No. 82 on the extended North America’s 50 Best Bars is also joining the star studded lineup. In celebration of film festival season and the world premiere of Always Lalisa, the new documentary following BLACKPINK superstar LISA, No Vacancy is spotlighting its aptly named BLACKPINK cocktail for $25. Made with vodka, an olive oil wash, activated charcoal, Plymouth Gin, vermouths and yuzu bitters, the striking cocktail offers a fitting nod to one of the season’s most anticipated music documentaries. Available at No Vacancy on Ossington throughout the festival season.

No Vacancy Menu Features

BLACKPINK | $25

Available September 10-20.
Link to reserve HERE.

Lyla
IG. @lylatoronto
📍60 Sudbury St

For the city’s upcoming film festival season, Lyla is getting into the cinematic spirit with a trio of food and drink offerings inspired by this year’s films. In celebration of Nanni Moretti’s It Will Happen Tonight, Lyla’s $42 1942 in Capri brings a little Italian romance and glamour to the occasion, with Don Julio Añejo 1942, Campari, Cocchi and Guerra coming together in a celebratory aperitivo made for a pre-screening toast or a night out after the credits roll. For Conversation with the Sea, the coastal Mediterranean hot spot is serving a conversation with the sea of its own: the Grand Plateau brings together caviar bites, oysters, cocktail shrimp, ceviche and bluefin tuna crudo in a celebratory seafood spread designed for sharing before a screening or over a festival-season dinner. Finally, in celebration of A Talent for Murder, Lyla is serving a killer Italian‑inspired order that nods to the film’s dramatic flair: Tagliolini All’Aragosta pairs butter-poached Atlantic lobster with delicate tagliolini, VSOP lobster bisque and lobster glaze, available with a half or whole lobster for an indulgent choice worthy of a festival night out.

Lyla Menu Features
1942 In Capri | $42
Grand Plateau | $95
Tagliolini All’Aragosta | Half Lobster $69 or Whole Lobster $109

Available September 10–20.
Link to Reserve HERE.

Odd Duck
IG. @oddduckwandp
📍93 Ontario St S

To celebrate the film festival season, MICHELIN-recommended Odd Duck debuts its limited-edition “Director’s Cut” cocktail, inspired by the 1922 silent-film classic Blood and Sand, starring Rudolph Valentino. The restaurant gives the iconic Blood and Sand cocktail its own “director’s cut,” preserving its signature Scotch, cherry and citrus profile while reimagining it with Monkey Shoulder Scotch, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, sencha tea and blood orange, topped with a silky blood orange cold foam.

Odd Duck Menu Features
Director’s Cut | $19
Available September 10–20
Link to reserve HERE.

#FOOD: ICONIC LAI WAH HEEN ENTERS A NEW ERA

As Lai Wah Heen marks one year since its return following a two-year hiatus and extensive renovation, husband-and-wife owners Gary and Ming are guiding the next chapter of a restaurant that has helped shape Cantonese fine dining in Toronto for more than three decades.

Rather than reinventing Lai Wah Heen, Gary and Ming have built on its established identity through a philosophy rooted in the belief that, though traditional, Cantonese cuisine has never been static. Shaped over centuries by trade, migration and cultural exchange, the cuisine has continually absorbed new ingredients and influences while preserving the techniques and principles at its foundation. For Lai Wah Heen, this means continuing that evolution, bringing traditional Cantonese technique into conversation with new ingredients, contemporary ideas and the experiences of a new generation. Today, that philosophy extends across the restaurant. Executive Chef Heyden Sin, Executive Dim Sum Chef Victor Huang and Executive Pastry Chef Ying Long bring contemporary perspectives to Cantonese technique; Oliver Leung draws on the flavours, memories and everyday rituals of Hong Kong for the cocktail program; Beverage and talent director Peony Cen approaches wine through the principles of the Cantonese table.

Central to the culinary program is Dragon Farm in Norfolk County, Ontario, where seeds sourced from China are grown in Canadian soil specifically for Lai Wah Heen’s kitchens. Acquired and developed by Gary in 2020, the pesticide-free farm grows Chinese vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and specialty produce, creating a direct connection between the restaurant’s Cantonese roots and its place in Canada.

Reservations for Lai Wah Heen can be made HERE.

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About The Culinary Program

À La Carte
Lai Wah Heen’s culinary program is led by Guangzhou-trained Executive Chef Heyden Sin, who studied under his uncle, Chef Guo Hui Tan, one of Guangzhou’s Top Ten Chefs and an early pioneer of molecular gastronomy in Cantonese fine dining. Sin went on to build his career across luxury hotel kitchens in China and South Korea, including Conrad, Ritz-Carlton and Hilton, before bringing that foundation in traditional Cantonese cooking and contemporary technique to Lai Wah Heen.

Sin’s à la carte menu explores traditional preparations, premium seafood and Canadian proteins alongside ingredients grown specifically for the restaurant at Dragon Farm. San Bei Norway Black Cod ($65) takes its cues from the aromatic three-cup preparation with sesame oil, yellow wine, soy and basil; and Canadian Prime Short Rib ($77) brings together Hong Kong oyster sauce and Cabernet Sauvignon reduction.

Tasting Menu
11 Courses | $180 per person
Sin’s 11-course tasting menu moves through dim sum, seafood, premium proteins and pastry, balancing traditional Cantonese technique with contemporary presentation. Highlights include Koi Fish Dumpling, with scallop and prawn hand-shaped into a delicate koi and served with spinach consommé, and Lobster Har Gow with lobster, prawn and uni.

Chef’s Table
Sin also leads Lai Wah Heen’s Chef’s Table, an intimate, interactive experience inspired by the Cantonese Merchant’s Feast and shaped around the season and the best ingredients available, including produce harvested from Dragon Farm. Dishes are prepared and demonstrated throughout the meal, giving guests a closer look at the ingredients and techniques behind the cuisine.
Dim Sum

Lai Wah Heen’s dim sum program is led by Executive Dim Sum Chef Victor Huang, who brings more than two decades dedicated to the discipline. Huang trained under acclaimed dim sum master Xiao Hong Huang before working alongside Sin under the mentorship of Chef Guo Hui Tan. He later served as Executive Dim Sum Chef at The Shilla Seoul, bringing traditional Cantonese dim sum to one of South Korea’s leading luxury hotels.

Offered à la carte and as part of Lai Wah Heen’s set menus, dim sum balances traditional handwork with premium ingredients and intricate presentation. Highlights include Hokkaido Uni Siu Mai ($32), pairing heritage pork with sea urchin and scallion oil, and Lobster Har Gow ($33), with lobster, green pea and green onion.

Afternoon Tea & Pastry

Executive Pastry Chef Ying Long leads Lai Wah Heen’s pastry program, reimagining traditional flavours through French pastry techniques, Cantonese herbal traditions and seasonal Canadian ingredients. Before becoming a pastry chef, Long worked as a jewellery designer for luxury jeweller Chow Tai Fook, a background that continues to influence her attention to detail, form and presentation.

Lai Wah Heen’s High Tea reinterprets afternoon tea through a Cantonese lens, bringing together dim sum, savoury dishes and pastry Monday through Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Guests can build platters of five to nine selections, with highlights including the Pear-Shaped Crispy Dumpling, Roasted Duck Spring Roll and Lychee Shrimp Balls, alongside Long’s signature Swan Pastry filled with sweet lotus paste.

Beverage Programs

Cocktails

Lai Wah Heen’s new cocktail program was curated by Oliver Leung, co-owner of Suite 115, ranked No. 13 on Canada’s 100 Best Bars 2026, alongside Suite 115 Designer and Senior Bartender Jasmine Zhu. Rooted in the flavours, memories and everyday rituals of Hong Kong, the menu brings together Leung’s culinary approach to cocktails with Zhu’s design-led perspective.

“As someone who grew up in Hong Kong, I don’t see Hong Kong culture as something that needs to be recreated; it is something I carry with me,” says Leung. “These first three cocktails are a celebration of Hong Kong through the things that feel familiar to me. The drinks we grew up with, the condiments on the table, the fruit we ate as children, and the rituals that quietly shaped our idea of home. Just as Cantonese cuisine is deeply rooted in memory, balance, and tradition, these cocktails are an attempt to translate those same ideas into a glass. Each drink takes something unmistakably Hong Kong and gives it a new form, while keeping its original spirit intact. For me, this is what Hong Kong tastes like.”

“As both a designer and a bartender, I see cocktails as a form of design,” says Zhu. “Every decision, from flavour and aroma to texture, glassware, and presentation, is made with intention. I approach each drink the way I would a design project: starting with a concept, refining it through experimentation, and paying close attention to the smallest details. This menu reflects my belief that thoughtful design can be tasted as much as it can be seen.”
Highlights include The 852, combining Hong Kong lemon tea and Ribena and served with an egg tart; Ginger & Scallion, inspired by the condiment traditionally served alongside Cantonese barbecue, poached chicken and steamed fish; and Dragon Eye, a floral, spirit-forward interpretation of longan, a childhood fruit whose name translates to “dragon’s eye.”

Wine

Beverage and Talent Director Peony Cen

Lai Wah Heen’s wine program is led by beverage and talent director Peony Cen, who is WSET Level 3 certified and currently pursuing Level 4. While most of her wine knowledge and experience has been developed through Western fine dining, Cen being a Cantonese sommelier, grounds her approach to wine in the way she was taught to understand food.

“Growing up within Cantonese culture, the dining table was never simply a place to eat. It was where family gathered, where traditions were passed down, and where care was often expressed without words,” says Cen. “Food carried memories. A particular aroma, a bowl of soup, the bitterness of herbal tea, or the flavour of something slowly braised could immediately connect you to a person, a place, or a moment in your life. That understanding of food has become the foundation of how I approach wine. I do not believe Cantonese cuisine needs to be reshaped to accommodate wine. Instead, I ask what wine can learn from Cantonese cuisine.”

Rather than beginning with conventional pairing rules, Cen considers how acidity can lift the richness of roasted meats, minerality can echo the purity of steamed seafood, and mature wines can connect with dried tangerine peel, tea and aged ingredients. For Cen, pairing is about creating “a conversation between two histories,” with a cellar that respects the traditions of wine while being unmistakably informed by the Cantonese table.

Featured selections include the 2023 Domaine du Nozay Sancerre from the Loire Valley, a Sauvignon Blanc with notes of pink grapefruit, lychee, lemon and yellow peach; the 2018 Domaine Michel Arcelain Bourgogne Côte d’Or Pinot Noir, with red-fruit character and soft tannins; and a 2018 Tempranillo Reserva from La Mancha, Spain, with dark berries, vanilla and baking spice layered over smooth, mature oak.

Tea

Lai Wah Heen’s tea program is led by Tea Sommelier Isaac Paluga, who oversees the restaurant’s Chinese tea collection and service, guiding guests through selections chosen for their provenance, character and relationship to the food.
The program explores some of China’s most celebrated tea-growing regions. Jin Jun Mei, made from tender spring buds in Fujian province, is a naturally sweet and aromatic black tea, while Da Hong Pao, from the Wuyi Mountains, is a revered rock oolong known for its roasted complexity. Snow Tibetan Chrysanthemum, grown at high altitude in western China, offers a delicate floral expression. Closer to home, Organic Fig Leaf Tea is grown at Dragon Farm in Ontario and roasted in Lai Wah Heen’s kitchen to develop notes of toasted coconut, vanilla and maple.

Distinctive Spaces
Designed in collaboration with Alfred Wong of Studio CK, Lai Wah Heen’s 6,800-square-foot interior draws inspiration from the elegance of Hong Kong and Shanghai, with jade marble, gold accents, sculptural lighting and warm textures. Beyond the main dining room, the 115-seat restaurant includes four private and semi-private dining spaces.

Sol (曜), the largest, seats up to 25 guests around a round black marble table and includes a private entrance, bar and washroom; Lune (月) seats 12 in an intimate, naturally lit circular room; Silk Road (丝绸之路) seats 14 in a boardroom-style setting with a projection-ready wall; and Starlit (星光) seats 14 in a semi-private space defined by reflective black surfaces and deep red accents.

About Lai Wah Heen
Originally established in 1995, Lai Wah Heen is a Cantonese fine dining restaurant in downtown Toronto, re-imagined under owners Gary and Ming Its culinary philosophy draws on the evolution of Cantonese cuisine through trade, migration and cultural exchange, pairing traditional Cantonese technique with contemporary approaches and Canadian ingredients, including produce grown specifically for the restaurant at Dragon Farm.

Website: laiwahheen.com
Instagram: @laiwahheen

Hours of Operation
Monday – Thursday | 10:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Friday | 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Saturday | 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Sunday | 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Reservations can be made [HERE].