R&D (restaurant)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Founder | Alvin Leung, Eric Chong |
| Headquarters | Toronto , Canada |
Area served | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Key people | Alvin Leung (Co-owner), Eric Chong (Co-owner and Executive Chef) |
| Products | Asian fusion cuisine |
R&D is an Asian Fusion dining establishment located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The restaurant is co-owned by Alvin Leung, celebrated for his three Michelin-starred venue Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, alongside Eric Chong, who gained fame as the first winner of MasterChef Canada. Their partnership merges inventive culinary approaches with broad market appeal.[1]
History
Founded in 2015 within Toronto's Chinatown district, R&D was born from the collaboration between Leung and Chong. The two connected through MasterChef Canada, where Chong, the champion of the inaugural season, received guidance from Leung post-competition, which led to their joint enterprise.[2][3]
The name R&D symbolizes Rebel & Demon, representing the chefs' distinct personalities and their backgrounds in engineering—while also alluding to research and development.[1] Chong embodies the "Rebel," defying familial expectations to pursue cooking, whereas Leung is famously known as the "Demon Chef".[4]
Chong began as sous-chef under executive chef Nelson Tsai,[1] before stepping into the executive chef position a year after the restaurant opened, shaping its culinary vision.
Cuisine and notable dishes
R&D specializes in Asian fusion fare that combines elements of Chinese cuisine with Canadian ingredients, enhanced by French and Korean culinary methods. A highlight of the menu is its 'Canadian interpretation of classic Chinese dim sum', featuring items such as char siu bao "Mexico buns" dusted with icing sugar and fun guo stuffed with chicken and black truffle.
Eric Chong's hallmark creation is the wok lobster (@WOK_LOBSTER), a butter-poached lobster chow mein inspired by the dish he presented during his MasterChef finale.
Recognition
At Toronto’s first Michelin Guide event in 2022, R&D was awarded a Bib Gourmand, an honor it retained through 2023 and 2024. The Bib Gourmand designation celebrates restaurants delivering "exceptionally good food at moderate prices."
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedCN15 - ↑ Wrobel, Maggie (27 May 2014). "It ain't easy being MasterChef Canada: How Eric Chong went from cooking homemade soufflés to being a $100,000 winner". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ↑ Van Paassen, Kevin (10 April 2015). "From MasterChef to Toronto restaurant owner: How Eric Chong's career went from 0 to 100". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedSCMP22