Chinese Food in Toronto

The most popular types of Chinese dishes are dim sum, hot pot, and noodles. Other common dishes include steamed buns (baozi), tofu/soy products, fried rice, fried noodles (often called chow mein in North America), soup (particularly egg drop soup or Hot and Sour Soup), beef & lamb, pork, chicken, seafood, BBQ meat (particularly pork), pickled vegetables, and various preserved/processed foods.

There are eight different types of Chinese cuisine, which include Anhui (徽菜 huīcài), Cantonese (粤菜 yuècài), Fujian (闽菜 mǐncài), Hunan (湘菜 xiāngcài), Jiangsu (苏菜 sūcài), Shandong (鲁菜 lǔcài), Szechuan (川菜 chuāncài), and Zhejiang (浙菜 zhèicài).

Chinese food tends to have stronger flavours, larger quantities of vegetables compared to Japanese cuisine, and is typically served in large groups. Japanese cuisine tends to be milder in flavour, with delicate flavours where everything is carefully prepared.  It is often more expensive, with smaller portions that are usually consumed in a more formal setting.

Typically, Cantonese food tends to have been seasoned with garlic, black pepper, rice vinegar, five-spice powder, star anise etc., while Mandarin dishes are typically saltier due to soy sauce. In addition, there are different ways of preparing and cooking, and different ingredients used in these dishes.  For instance, Cantonese cuisine has a sweeter sauce whereas Mandarin cuisine has a soy-based sauce.