I have had my fair share of Chinese BBQ pork (char siu) growing up and often times it’s a hit or a miss. The bad versions include meat that is dry, the colour of the pork looks too artificially pink or it hasn’t been roasting long enough to develop enough deep flavour.

The best char siu I’ve had at a restaurant was in Hong Kong with extremely tender meat (I wish I remembered the name of the restaurant), and the best home made char siu I’ve had was in my recent BBQ style cooking class at George Brown College. There was no artificial dye, it was tender and full of flavour. Aside from these stand outs, John’s Chinese BBQ restaurant hits several points to make an outstanding BBQ pork. There is deep flavour inside and out, there’s a beautiful bark (my favourite pieces) and the glaze has the right amount of savoury and sweetness to it. From what I can recall, this is the best char siu from a restaurant in Toronto that I have eaten so far.

I have been to the family restaurant several times and has always been with a large group . The servers often push for the set menu which is only written in Chinese, which speaks about the typical clientèle that come here. If it is possible, come with someone who can read the Chinese characters, it will help with reading the set menus since the servers are not too willing to translate it thoroughly. The regular menu is in English but are missing the set menus in there, which is where the great deals are.

During our last visit, we ordered a set dinner for 8, which comfortably fed our hungry group of 6. The food arrived quickly and the service was attentive. Some of the standout dishes include the Peking duck, steamed fish and mixed vegetables with scallops and shrimp. We had 6 quality dishes plus dessert for only $128.80!

Aside from the BBQ items, the dishes were pretty comparable to other fine dining Chinese restaurants in Toronto. What keeps us coming back is the char siu and other BBQ items. They have take-out for the BBQ items which is convenient for those on the go.

Overall:

The restaurant specializes in Chinese style BBQ and does an excellent job at it. The set menus and the BBQ items are the way to go when visiting the restaurant. The char siu is delicious and memorable, the main reason that drives me back to the restaurant.