QJD Peking Duck, Woodbine & Steeles, Markham " - Relishing a wonderful family dinner on a special day and trying to decipher a Michelin guide puzzle at the same time!


This world-renowned, iconic Beijing based Peking Duck specialist, spread its wings overseas a few years ago by opening a couple of offshoots here in Canada. First in Vancouver then followed by a Toronto ( Markham ) branch. At that time, when most upscale GTA Chinese restaurants offer more-than-presentable Peking duck for around $60 a bird, QJD made news by charging a whopping $120 for a similar product!

When Michelin decided to make Vancouver its second destination a couple of years ago. QJD Vancouver was awarded a 1*, making it the sole Chinese restaurant in Canada that received such honor! QJD Toronto, with similar opulent decor, menu offerings and pricing was expected to receive equal recognition. Sadly and mysteriously, it was completely ignored in the guide’s two year history! Yes! No ‘macaroon’ and not even mentioned in the ‘recommendation‘ section! Instead, during the same period, some ho-hum, western owned, pseudo-Chinese food outfits, ( Mimi and Sunny’s ), managed to steal the spotlight??!! Maybe Toronto Michelin inspectors’ taste buds got short-circuited during their restaurants go around?

Back to tonight’s dinner.

Our party of 7 arrived outside of the restaurant and were met with one of the grandest, most impressive, gilded and imposing restaurant entrances I have ever come across here in Canada! Upon seated in our cozy, semi-private room, we were looked after by a dedicated team of warm, friendly and attentive lady servers. The food we ordered were some of the best tasting Chinese food creations I have come across here in the GTA this year. A few real stand-outs include a uniquely composed “ Stirred fry mixed nuts and diced eggplant dish “. So simple yet so spectacular tasting!! Another humble stirred fry dish of ‘ Winter bamboo shoots with diced Chinese Ham in brown sauce ‘ was so flavourful, we ordered a plate of scallion pancakes just to wipe up the sauce! The amazing fried rice was, hands-down, amongst one of the best executed fried rice dishes in the city. Smokey, aromatic and fueled with some amazing chili bean paste and diced duck and duck liver sausages. No wonder this rice dish was fit to be served to diplomats like Chow-En-Lai and Henry Kissinger! The house-specialty Peking duck was well cooked, carved and presented. Though the flavor profile and finishing of the lacquered skin was good, however, IMHO, it was a touch overpriced! Other dishes like the Sweet & Sour fried whole Pickerel and Braided Fish Maw with crab meat and creamy crab roe sauce were enjoyable though a touch under-seasoned.

BTW, the bottle of Zind Humbrecht Goldert Gewurztraminer Grand Cru paired wonderfully with the Peking Duck!

Based on the gratifying and pleasurable outcome of our meal, made possible by some creative and skilled cooking. It begs me to question why such high caliber and tasty cuisine of QJD Toronto, which mirrored it’s Michelin 1* sister in Vancouver with comparable standard food, can be totally ignored by Toronto’s Michelin Guide?! What were those inspectors thinking?!
















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Perhaps “they” visited on a bad day … or haven’t got around visiting yet …