By Eve Thomas
Chef Eric Chong is seated at one of the most coveted spots in aKin: a gleaming green marble slab that serves as both a table for four and a functional chef’s counter where each dish is carefully plated.
“It tends to be the first place booked,” says Chong, also co-owner of lauded Toronto restaurant R&D and the first-ever winner of MasterChef Canada. “It’s totally immersive and interactive. We really encourage asking questions.”
Whether they’re at the chef’s counter by the buzzing open kitchen, the private dining room downstairs or one of the main room’s 28 seats, one can imagine guests having a lot of questions. After all, since it opened last November in Toronto’s St. Lawrence neighbourhood, aKin has offered a wildly inventive 10-course blind tasting menu (the first Asian fusion tasting menu of its kind in the city) served in the span of about three hours. Each dish is a deconstructed and refined take on classics from across Asia, like congee reimagined with dehydrated pork powder or Korean melon milk reborn as a clarified cocktail.
As with R&D, Chong co-owns aKin with another famous chef (and MasterChef Canada judge): multi-Michelin-starred Alvin Leung, aka the “Demon Chef,” the man behind Hong Kong molecular cuisine mecca Bo Innovation. Chong muses, with a laugh, about his longtime mentor: “He’s extremely creative because he rarely has to do it himself! I try to consider the logistics of doing it every day.”
That said, there isn’t a hint of compromise at aKin. Ingredients are the best of the best, whether that’s imported Wagyu beef and sea urchin or Canadian delicacies like B.C. geoduck and peak-season Ontario corn. And delightful details extend beyond the menu. There’s custom plateware from Toronto’s Goji Studio, led by Ken Yau, Portuguese Cutipol flatware and aprons from Vancouver’s Search & Rescue Denim. Commute Design Studio is behind the main signage, walls and floors (no small feat in a two-storey building that was previously an abandoned Indian restaurant in need of new electrics, plumbing and a staircase). Even the presentation of the bill is thoughtful: it arrives on a tiny bonsai.
While each element is picturesque, Chong is careful to note that every detail in the space is in service of the food itself; even the pendant lighting can be rearranged with the tables, so the spotlight is always on the dishes.
And the vibe he wanted to present from the beginning? Comfort. If comfort and fine dining seem contradictory, Chong hopes aKin changes minds. Beyond the green velvet accents and leather banquette seating, there are creature comforts on offer—aKin-branded reading glasses, phone chargers and even blankets. “There’s no reason anyone should feel nervous or anxious,” Chong says of going out for a gourmet meal. And certainly, if anyone finds the gold-flecked decor or a menu-less meal daunting, they’ll be won over through a feast for the senses and leave with a new perspective.