Chef 88 Elite Fine Dining

Always wanted to try this place for dim sum. This place changed its name to something else which confused me. The plates still have their old name so I knew I was in the right place. Everything we ordered was sub par nothing to our standard. The shrimp used in the shrimp dishes were all frozen. Not fresh. Congee was tasteless. Everyone in this place was old. If I wanted regular dim sum I could have had it locally at home. Nothing special about the decor. Service is what you expect from these places as well. Would not recommend if you are looking for fine dining or extra ordinary dim sum.

We came here for a special occasion and ordered the special combo of the week which cost $188 and opted to upgrade to lettuce wraps for an additional $15. The Pumpkin Soup came with seafood, which sounds like it wouldn’t work, but it did. We were huge fans! The Peking Duck was fantastic. Pro tip: the wraps for the Peking Duck dry out relatively quickly so be sure to eat that when it comes out. The lettuce wraps were a close second. The minced meat was really tasty without being overly salty. We really enjoyed the vegetables that they added into the meat as it gave each bite an extra crunch. They used pork neck to make their sweet and sour pork which was a bit interesting. The meat was slightly tougher and the breading was cooked in a way that made it extra crunchy. The eel was as expected. Delicious. But watch out for the tiny bones. The Abalone was really fresh and cooked perfectly and packed a lot of flavor. We got an assortment of desserts that included Mango Pudding, Cookies and Red Bean Soup. It was the perfect way to end the night. All in all our experience was superb and was enhanced by the excellent service we received.

Great Dim Sum place at Markham area!! I came with a group of foodies, we ordered a lot of dim sum, the size of them were big and tasty, we got our belly all full. I like that they also have some different kind of dim sum that other places don’t have. Servers are friendly and attentive, our empty plates got cleared out promptly. Place is spacious and clean, they even have patio during warm weather too. Get the VIP card for better discount and it’s only $20

Perfect quiet morning when it first opens to have dim-sum💕. The way I like to enjoy it, from the rush.. which is not too long after it opens. Overall GREAT dim sum, everything so perfectly steamed where the textures of the food were perfection.. I have a lot of faves but man.. the pork shui mai and shrimp dumplings (hao gao) so damn good! The shrimp had a an amazing texture of a snap and a bit of a bounce when you bite into it ..💕 This is my place for dum-sum. Love everything we ordered.

Another good HK restaurant with good dim sum in the morning. Inside seating is not small compared to outside look of the entrance . We came in Friday morning, but missed 11 early bird rate. The dim sum quality is above average with big portion, the price is above average too though. Service here is not bad, will come back try more dishes.

I always drove by this place and have been meaning to try it out. We were out grocery shopping and spontaneously stopped by this place to have late dim sum. The restaurant was quiet at 2pm on a Thursday. I normally choose to have dim sum at this time to avoid the lunch chaos and long wait times. Surprisingly everything was delicious, hot and better than we expected. I'm glad we got to try out a new place as we always go to the same spots for dim sum and the wait times are ridiculous if you dont know anyone working there to bypass the long queue.. which is probably why I frequent my usual spots so I don't have to wait long. We ordered 9 items to share among 2 people, which is a lot but we love variety and took home more than half to enjoy later. The staff were super friendly and attentive. We would definitely come back for more.

Held an 80th birthday celebration here and the food and service was phenomenal. Daniel, the manager, graciously accommodated our unanticipated last-minute changes. Despite being a full-house on a Saturday night, the staff was attentive. The icing on the cake was when a number of them sang Happy Birthday to my mother in English and Chinese. They went above and beyond! As for the food, I've had dim sum and one dinner at Chef 88 previously, and every meal has been excellent. It's tough to be consistently good over a long period of time, yet this restaurant manages to do so impeccably. We decided to create our own menu instead of one of their standard combos, and a selection of photos are below (forgot to take pictures of a few dishes). We're really happy with our selection - every dish was made with care and attention to detail. Flavors were subtle, fresh, and most importantly, tasty! We look forward to come back in the near future. There's lots of competition in the area; For us, Chef 88 stands out of the crowd.

Decent Markham restaurant that serves up good Cantonese dinner dishes. We ordered the roasted Peking Duck and Stir Fried Lobster combo for 6 people. Food was freshly made. Mixed seafood soup was good. The roasted duck cooked perfectly and seasoned well. The second course was bitter melon roasted duck, and it goes well with white rice. Sea cucumber with stir fried vegetables was alright. Steamed sea bass fish was cooked perfectly, soya sauce was not overpowering. It came with complimentary red bean dessert soup, cookie and mango pudding. Overall, a good value Cantonese dinner meal for ~$50 a person.

After researching hundreds of places in Markham & Scarborough, I settled on Chef88. It did not disappoint! Portion sizes were huge, food was fresh and HOT, and most importantly, quality was that of dim sum in downtown Toronto! The staff were all so friendly. Pricing also incredible. We will be back! Can't wait to try the outdoor patio! We live in Courtice but it's well worth the 35 min drive.

The Toronto suburbs are known for excellent Chinese food like dim sum so this well-rated place had my expectations raised high. While most of the dishes were very good, for the above average pricing, this was not the best dim sum I've ever had. Our party of 4 ordered 11 dishes and 2 kinds of tea. With tax & tip, we paid $100 CDN ($75 US) and that included a slight early bird discount (so about US$5.50/dish). The beef balls, har gow, and siu mai were larger than most places but flavors were average. The tastiest dishes were the chicken feet and sticky rice wraps. The standout dish for me was the deep-fried taro/sesame/mochi concoction, which I've never seen before. The bbq buns were small and meh. The egg yolk custard matcha custard bun, while sounding exotically delicious was too sweet such that the salty egg yolk flavor was overwhelmed. Service was pretty good for a Chinese restaurant and decor was typical (bright & crystally). One positive was that you could choose from a selection of 5 Chinese teas. This IS a 4 star place but I'm still searching for the 5 star dim sum restaurant.

3.5 STARS Heard really good things about this place, especially during covid times. The place is really nice inside. Been here twice. Service is good. Super friendly wait staff and hostess. Food is alright. Nothing outstanding. Have not been here for dinner, but have heard good things about it.

Alright I guess. Compliments to le chef(s)? Meh. I've had better. 7 out of 10. Interior decor isn't too bad. Mannerism of certain servers can be improved though. Overall, would I go back? Don't know. This place won't certainly be the first choice on the list.

Another good HK restaurant with good dim sum in the morning. Inside seating is not small compared to outside look of the entrance . We came in Friday morning, but missed 11 early bird rate. The dim sum quality is above average with big portion, the price is above average too though. Service here is not bad, will come back try more dishes.

It was super busy when I went on a Sunday morning on a long weekend. Although the place was pretty full, we only waited about 10 minutes. We got har gow, siu mai (of course) as well as the shrimp rice roll, molten custard bun, beef balls, bbq pork, Chiu chow dumplings. Everything was pretty good, no complaints. The portions were good and price was fair.

My family and I are from the US and frequent Markham for the food. We always have dim sum at least twice during our visits and chef 88 was one we haven't tried yet. We thought their dim sum was just okay. Nothing special. The matcha egg yolk bun was disappointing as the filling was way too buttery. Bun was also dry.

This is the biggest disappointment ever since McDonald's announced they're removing their Big Breakfast back in 2021. Decor was rather casual but I'm not hating on that. There are SO MANY FLIES that kept orbiting our dimsum. We had to cover our dishes with napkins to prevent them from coming. Then when we removed the napkin to take an item, they made a beeline for it. Food was generally meh. - shrimp dumpling (ha gow): shrimp was big but didn't taste shrimpy - dumpling in soup (goon tong Gao): it had the right ingredients but conpoy taste and shrimp taste were not strong, no mushroom taste, and overall too salty even with the red vinegar - Chiu chow dumpling: meat to veg ratio was too little (I know it shouldn't have a lot of meat but there was 1 speck of meat), had too much jicama, chili oil was not spicy - turnip cake: overall enough ingredients but too salty - matcha custard bun: bun had zero matcha flavour or aroma, custard was not viscous because it had so much oil that the yellow was separating in the liquid The only dish we liked was the spiced salt fried silver fish, which was too oily so we had to use napkins to soak the oil before eating. Service was abysmal. We asked to change the bowl we had when we were seated because it was dirty. The server, flora, did not respond. She continued handling another table's bill. Then she came back with a new bowl and spoon but did not take away the old bowl. It really stayed there the whole time. While my mom and I were deep in conversation about my neighbour's counter, the hostess came up to us in mandarin to talk about a promo of their crab claw. The thing is: WE TALKED IN CANTONESE WITH HER WHEN WE CAME IN. So my mom told her, please use cantonese. She continued in mandarin. My mom said louder not to use mandarin, to please use cantonese. She STILL spoke in mandarin. This continued for literally FIVE TIMES to the point where my mom yelled speak cantonese. Jesus. Also, the steam containers were DISGUSTING. There were wet remnants of the previous dish still stuck on the sides. See my pics. OK so we finally finish our meal with all the flies orbiting the dimsum. We ask for the bill and 3 large boxes. The server okayed us and went. The hostess came back with the bill. My mom asks where are the 3 boxes? She said they're coming. And just STANDS THERE staring. My mom said, I'll pay when I'm done packing. So the original lady we asked boxes from comes back with 2 large and 1 small. My mom said, I requested 3 boxes. She looked at our table of napkins covering the dimsum, and said "well, it's not a lot of food..." and proceeded to try and LIFT OUR NAPKINS. My mom asked "what are you doing?? Don't touch them. Please get a large box, we don't need the small". The hostess got mad and shot her hand out to snatch the small one. Eventually she came back with a big one. My mom finally packed stuff up and we paid $90 on a $75ish bill ($66ish pre tax). The hostess asked us if we wanted change. Uh... Yeah? You aren't getting a 34% tip lmao. So tldr: - food was mediocre at best - service was absolutely terrible despite 60% empty - food dishware was dirty - FLIES We were so disgusted by the place that we didn't even visit the washroom. We're never coming back. This place was BAD.

Chef 88 Elite Fine Dining is a great restaurant that you can eat at for a big party or just a casual lunch. It is a dim sum place with many options. We got fried rice with chicken, shrimp dumplings, egg tart, matcha buns, chow mein with beef, chicken dumplings and fried taro cake. The fried rice was nice, but I think it needs more seasoning. The shrimp dumplings and chow mein were delicious! The chow mein was very flavourful and had a nice crunch. The shrimp dumplings had chewy outside and nice, flavourful shrimp inside. The egg tarts were so tasty, the crust was flaky and the egg was creamy. The matcha buns were good. They even had some gold on top! But inside was super hot liquid custard it dripped down my sleeve. It was really tasty though. I did not eat the chicken dumpling or taro cake. Overall chef 88 is a great restaurant. - MS I think my daughter liked this place more than I did. The dim sum was tasty but I found the chow mein too sweet. Also the noodle was different from other Chinese places I have been to. I also felt the final bill was way higher than expected. I was shocked how much we paid for lunch. I've been to other places that offered similar quality but 20% less expensive. - SS

Good service as the server always provide greetings. Good dim sum. It has some special beverage for summer. It has parking and it is accessible for people in walker. Tips: Mon to Fri morning has 15% off before 11am .

I don't usually get a chance to go out for dims um often. The Chinese restaurant are usually super busy and have long wait times to get seated. Luckily this place takes reservations, and they seat you pretty on time. As you'd expect from any other dim sum restaurants the environment is hectic and fast pace. Food started to flow within minutes of ordering. We got a bunch of dishes but I will only recount a couple that are still fresh in my mind: Baked BBQ pork bun - Thin wall of bread with large amounts of filling. +1 Fried salt pork glutenous dumpling - Sweet from the glutenous rice, savoury from the pork filling. +1 Fried sesame ball with black sesame filling - Crispy outside soft inside, good flow in the filling. +1 Siu mai - hot, huge with large chunks of shrimp +1 BBQ pork with ho fun - Large portion, pork was a bit too chewy for my liking. Fried shrimp balls - came deflated and smaller portion than expected. Overall lots of good choices, will come back to try some more!

Great Dim Sum and consistent quality. Service was prompt and attentive, our hostess was very pleasant. Importantly clean, always a must when choosing a Chinese restaurant. It was pleasantly not very busy... so lucky for me. Very good customer service. It's in a strip mall so plenty of parking. Best part is we always order extra, so we have leftovers for dinner. Cheers

So far the ambiance is pretty decent, it is nice, bright, and airy. I recommend to come during the week instead of weekends which we did, as we were able to get a seat right away. I can see here that the food comes pretty fast, and the servers are so nice and friendly, and the dimsum is superb. I highly recommend the ham siu kok (deep fried savory dumpling), the chicken pie (very fresh and crumbly perfect pie crust), and the molten black sesame dumpling for dessert. Will definitely come back again in the future!

Perhaps we came at a later time, so the restaurant was quite empty at 7:30 p.m. There wasn't a host at the host stand, and going into the restaurant, we had to wait a bit to be acknowledged. They seemed confused when we inquired about our reservation. A few employees had to converge, but eventually they sorted it out and we were seated. Our Lunar New Year meal: * E7. Stir-fried mixed seafood in a bird's nest * G8. Deep-fried, crispy chicken *H8. Braised beef short ribs in red wine sauce * J2. Sweet and sour sliced pork * J4. Deep-fried crispy pork * Baby bok choy * Maggi and Hong Kong-style lobsters (note that there is a surcharge for the Hong Kong-style lobster) * Deep-fried oysters (eight included) * Dessert soup, almond cookies, and mango jelly Even though we sat at a table for ten, the lazy Susan quickly filled with dishes, and empty or nearly empty dishes were removed to make room for new ones. For the most part, the dishes were good. What we didn't like was that the bird's nest was made with noodles rather than taro, so it was bland and didn't taste like anything.

Came on a weekday but just missed the early morning special by a little. Next time!! 9-11am there is a 15% off discount if paying by cash. Due to being a table of two, we were sadly only able to order a limited number of dishes but can't wait to come back to try more items!! We were quickly seated and got a sheet to mark our orders on. We got iron goddess for our tea. Some tables had a mini tea light candle going to keep their tea warm. The tables are pretty spacious and for a yum cha place it was not very loud. We were easily able to carry a conversation. We got the har gow, siu mai, beef tripe (XO sauce but there was very little so mostly just ginger flavour I would say), bean curd roll, rice roll with dough fritter, and the matcha lava bun. All portions were good and tea was decent. My favourite would definitely be the matcha bun. The matcha flavour was quite subtle and the filling was not too sweet and definitely lava flowed out a lot. Took a quick glance at their dinner menu and seems quite a lot of combos and options so might try that sometime too.

Got a chance to eat dim sum at this place while visiting Markham, ON. Good food but I take a star down for the fact that you order the dish instead of the way food being displayed on the carts and pushed around by servers. To me, seeing trays going around between tables show authenticity of a dim sum place.

Dim sum on a patio. Count me in! Was dog sitting a dog and on the hunt for a restaurant that had outdoor dining in the mid of October. As we all know, it gets pretty chilly in Toronto, but surprisingly that weekend was extra warm, so I wasn't sure which restaurants still had their patio open. Drove by Chef 88 and to my surprise, their patio was bustling with patrons! The restaurant was BUSY! Luckily, not a lot of people wanted to dine outside on their large patio, so I scored a table instantly and was able to bring the dog with us! To my surprise, there were also other diners who had their furry friends with them as well! The food here was amazing! This was my first time dining at this restaurant and definitely will not be my last. I got a lot of the classic dim sum dishes such as siu mai, har gow (which were huge btw) and chicken feet. All the steamed dishes were so flavourful and fresh. Came steaming hot to the table. One of the high light dishes was the char siu with noodle soup, saucey sweet pork paired perfectly with a clear noodle soup - YUM! Congee and rice rolls were also great. The staff were friendly and loved the dog at the table! Not sure how long their patio will be open for, but I'm glad I found this place and know that they are dog friendly. Will be back for sure!

Big dining with patio, food very delicious and Big portions, price is little high, service is ok , weekend the line up is long ,but can reservation first

I have heard a lot of good things about this place and excitedly came here for dim sum. However, I was very disappointed. We arrived before 11 am (no reservation). There were already many people waiting around the entrance door. We were told it would be about 20mins of waiting, but we did not mind at all. Yet, 20 mins in, 30 min, and for over 1 hr - we still did not get a table. When asked, I was told that it was because we wanted an indoor table, not patio (It was a bit cold day, and we wanted warmth). After asking so many times, kept checking in with the lady who managed the waitlist around the door, we were finally seated. 1 hr and 15 mins of wait. We ordered: . CRYSTAL SHRIMP HAR GOW 百樂水晶蝦餃皇 . MUSHROOM AND ZUCCHINI DUMPLING 意大利瓜野菌餃 . STEAMED BEEF BALLS 香茜陳皮牛肉球 . STICKY RICE WITH LOTUS LEAF 鹹蛋黃珍珠雞 . BABY CUTTLEFISH WITH CURRY SAUCE 咖喱墨魚仔 . SNOW PEA LEAF & KING MUSHROOM RICE NOODLE ROLL 皇子菇豆苗腸 . DEEP FRIED BEEF SHORT RIBS 韓燒牛仔骨 . DEEP FRIED SQUID TENTACLES 妙油五香炸龍鬚 . DEEP FRIED SEAWEED SHRIMP ROLL (4 PCS) 紫菜蝦卷 To be honest, almost everything was average at best. The only item that was good was Beef Balls. Other than that, the food was served lukewarm, which made us assume that either they are disorganized or understaffed. The lid on the noodle roll was disgustingly greasy. The server carried too many plates (held them tilted), and when they arrived, the food was pushed to one side. Snow pea leaf & king mushroom rice noodle roll was very hard to eat, as the mushroom was cut into long big chunks, and the snow pea leaf had long stems uncut. As a result, we had to eat the rice rolls and the inside vegetables separately. What is the point? The mushroom and zucchini dumplings as well - the vegetable cuts were too big, and the wrapper was so fragile that when I tried to pick up pieces with chopsticks, the vegetable inside fell off from the wrappers and scattered inside the bamboo steamer basket. (the same thing happened to Har Gow) The vegetable had a bland seasoning as well. Some pieces stuck to one another, making them more fragile and messy. Amateurish and inconsiderate quality and presentation. Seaweed shrimp rolls were dry inside oh I will stop complaining here, but the food was overall, very disappointing especially because I had high expectations. The only positive that helped subside our frustration was Daniel (manager)'s services. He was running around the tables , fixing problems in orders, answering customers' requests, with witty, charming, and pleasant communication skills. He was doing his best in the crazy busy day by being a bridge between frustrated customers and their disorganized kitchen. After coming home, I read the others' positive reviews again trying to process my experiences there. Then I noticed that many of the positive reviewers were talking about their dinner menu, not dim sum. I should have come at a dinner time? I am not sure. But if I am to come again, it is not for dim sum but a dinner menu for sure.

Amazing food, very attentive friendly service, and nice restaurant setting. Been to it on a Sunday lunch ; was really crowded with a high level of noise. I think it's an acceptable price for other qualities provided

Arrived early here and got a spot to dine in without a reservation. The staff are friendly and professional. The food is good for the most part. Had the fish maw soup, which does require eating with vinegar and a bit of black pepper. If you were to have it alone without the vinegar and black pepper, it might be a bit overpowering. The stirfry clams and tofu meat hotpot was good. The crispy chicken was overcooked and dry. It wasn't moist and juicy like it is in many other restaurants. The dessert soup was nice and not overly sweet. It was a nice end to a relaxing Saturday evening. Haven't tried the dim sum yet so not sure how it is. Maybe next time.

Dim sum was excellent. This was the first time we tried their brunch menu. We ordered a number of dim sum: shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, rice noodles, the special fried wontons, and a stir fry noodle with beef. Best item on the menu would have to be the beef stir fry noodle. It's definitely got that wok made, flavorful punch. In the Chinese culture, this is what makes a dish delicious. The flat noodles were dry, onions and green onions all cooked to the perfect crunchiness and beef was well marinated. The only thing was that you will have to wait until 11am in the morning to enjoy this dish. Prices were on the higher end though, so come prepared with a plentiful wallet. Overall, this was another great experience here at Chef 88! I will return!

This is a great Chinese restaurant to visit if you're in the area. During covid we got their frozen dim sum and it was so fresh and tasty. Tried the sit down dinner on the weekend and order a la carte. Service is fast and friendly. We tried the lobster yee mein, honey ribs, soy sauce free range chicken and soft fry grouper. Everything tasted great. They have some good set dinners for large groups. A la carte dishes a bit pricey but overall I like the quality and taste. Will visit again.

Satisfying my cravings for Peking Duck! ___ A very enjoyable evening meeting up with friends and indulging on Peking Duck @_chef88elite. A whole duck is rolled out table side and carved in front of us. Each sliced with a nice balance of crispy skin and meat. I appreciate how they give a generous amount of papery thin wrappers and condiment. ___ I love seafood and they have a large selection to choose from on the menu. Deep Fried Shrimp with salted egg, fresh Steamed Sea Bass, and Deep Fried Salt and Pepper Soft Shell Crab. ....all so good! ---- So happy we got all of my favourite dishes. Everything was so flavourful and I plan to be back to try more seafood!! ..

I always drove by this place and have been meaning to try it out. We were out grocery shopping and spontaneously stopped by this place to have late dim sum. The restaurant was quiet at 2pm on a Thursday. I normally choose to have dim sum at this time to avoid the lunch chaos and long wait times. Surprisingly everything was delicious, hot and better than we expected. I'm glad we got to try out a new place as we always go to the same spots for dim sum and the wait times are ridiculous if you dont know anyone working there to bypass the long queue.. which is probably why I frequent my usual spots so I don't have to wait long. We ordered 9 items to share among 2 people, which is a lot but we love variety and took home more than half to enjoy later. The staff were super friendly and attentive. We would definitely come back for more.

Dim sum on the patio, that's the first time I've done it, and it won't be my last. They claim they have the largest patio for Chinese food in Markham. Now that I've been there, I don't doubt them at all. They invested in this space with concrete tiling across this patio space and sturdy umbrella, table and chair setup. It's unusual to find Chinese food served on the patio, so this is quite a unique space. The ones I see these days are primarily makeshift white tents extending into a parking area. It's so much better. We ordered our usuals and ordered some of their dishes that are unique to Chef 88. Such as their green tea salted egg steam buns and durian pastries. I enjoyed the green tea salted egg buns, but beware, the yolk is very liquid and drips when you peel it apart! The durian pasty was alright; I'm more indifferent towards durian, the pastry didn't blow me away. The food quality is solid given that this restaurant also operates as a banquet for events and weddings. I'm surprised that a mature Chinese waitress that served us is also fluent in English. The only thing that fell below par is their dough stick rice rolls. It was leaning cold when it arrived at our table and not something I'll order from here again. It could be why Chinese restaurants don't tend to serve on patios as it's hard to keep the food hot. It's only an issue with the dough stick roll for us though. We did call to book a table on the patio in advance. I highly suggest that. I don't believe walk-ins are available for their patio space. My family is usually late to arrive at our scheduled time, but the wait wasn't too bad at all. They gave us a beeper and alerted us when it's time for us to return. There's a Dollarama next door, so you can shop around while you wait. The only feedback I have is that they missed two of our orders, to our benefit since we're full and ordered too much. The menu is a printed three double-sided panel, where you pencil in the quantity right in the checkbox. They gave us only one spare rib when we ordered two and missed the fried rice noodle. So we went ahead and upgraded to the lobster e-fu noodle instead. It's a solid dim sum spot to enjoy with the fam. I would be interested in checking out their dinner menu in the evening to try their Peking duck.

Considering the price per person I paid here for the same amount of dishes I pay elsewhere is $25 compared to an average of $12 - so basically double the price - this place is just OK. They serve everything in those fancy square steamer boxes so you know it's going to be more expensive however, I prefer Skyview better. The line up here is crazy and I feel like they definitely capitalized on the fact that they were one of the few many dim sum spots that had the space to offer patio during covid pandemic summer. We went extra early and they sat us inside. All their tables were sectioned off with plexiglass dividers. We went extra early and they still didn't give us the "early bird" special prices that most dim sum places give. Food is just like all the other dim sum places. Nothing too special for the price.

First time trying this place. Order for was for delivery so I can't comment on the service, lineup, or experience of the facilities. Price for delivery is the same as dine-in. Overall tasty dim sum, but would say the price per dish is higher than most places by at least $2-3 each. Menu is slightly more extensive and upscale than typical yum cha. They have variations like the durian pastry and matcha egg yolk bun. The har gao and siu mai is better than most places. Nice big pieces and full of flavour. Although for $6.28 a basket, I expect nothing less. The overall taste and flavour of everything was pretty much spot on except that some items were a little bit more on the greasy side. The Lo mai gai (sticky rice in lotus leaf) was a lot smaller than most places, and although you get 3 I think if you combined them you would get 1 full sized portion. The matcha egg yolk bun was some of the best I've had, however it was gushing oil when we bit into them. I took a look after the bite and I'm not sure if it's normal, but I saw clear oil-like liquid separated from the yolk inside the bun. Not exactly the consistency I was looking for. The congee is a definite do-not-get! Although, I assume the majority of people wouldn't get congee at dim sum. It really fell short. There was hardly any preserved egg, and the congee itself was bland and under-seasoned. What surprised me the most was the baked bbq pork bun. It wasn't as crispy as I had hoped, but I knew that if we had it fresh out of the oven it would definitely have been a 10/10. Reminded me a little of the ones you get at Tim Ho Wan in HK. Definitely some tasty dim sum if you can get past the higher price point. I think if we chose to dine-in, the freshness and tea would have probably improved the overall experience. Don't get me wrong. The 4 stars is based purely on the taste and presentation from a delivery order. The value is something you'll have to decide for yourself.

Popular place, even on a Friday afternoon in June. We ordered their set dim sum meal which was enough for two people. The food and decor is good, however the customer service seemed a bit slow due to being understaffed.

A Chinese dim sum restaurant that opens at 9am, serves piping hot food quickly, and pipes enchanting Muzak softly throughout its (rather large) indoor and outdoor space. Sure, the patio furniture is all mismatched, looks out to nonstop traffic on Kennedy, and has random lights strung haphazardly overhead. But the servers are very friendly and the food is good. Highlight: the baked BBQ pork bun (different from the bbq pork bun, though both are great). Lowlight: the beef tendon with house sauce (sauce was mediocre and the tendon was mushy).

I came here on a busy Friday afternoon. It was pretty crowded despite it being a week day but we only had to wait for 10 minutes before being seated so I can't complain. We ordered 9 items for dim sum and the total came up to around $80 which isn't so bad, though it is on the pricier side. The matcha molten yolk bun was delicious. The molten yolk was creamy and very tasty, though I didn't taste the matcha at all. The siu mai was very average and kind of on the smaller side. All of the food came out steaming hot and fresh. The service was a little spotty but if you chat up the waitresses and workers, they do warm up to you. They were pretty fast bringing out the food and cleaning up any empty food plates too. Parking should be a breeze since it shares the large lot with the plaza next door. If you want to park close to the restaurant, the lot closest there does get pretty busy though, especially during the weekend.

Can't get enough of good dim sum @_chef88elite !! We've been going there since this past summer and enjoyed their dim sum each time!! We tried their move big patio in the summer (still heated n opened for winter) and dine in during colder weather!! Check out pics of yum we had! My fav continued to be the burned my fingers molten egg yolk from the "golden matcha molten bun"!! Warning: this golden matcha molten bun is so addictive that you might go back just for that daily. Tips to enjoy this bum: small bites to avoid hot lava like egg yolk from flying all over your hands or clothing or someone across from you!! What are your favorite dim sum dishes? 1661 Denison Street T1, Markham For more yummy food adventures, follow me @eatntravelrepeat

Another dim sum day with slight variety: Har gow, siu mai and cha siu sow was the same amazing quality as last time: lean meats and juicy filling. Satisfied with their consistency quality! The honey wings were so sweet and crispy. Lots of juicy fats and they were hot from the fryer! Highly recommend! Cha siu sow a bit different flavour than cha siu bao, the pastry a bit underbaked this time. Pretty presentation though Cha siu rice, presented impressively on a bright coloured plate and basket and broccoli. sauce is lighter and less sweet than the bao filling. Durian puff has a very light durian flavour. It's more like a fried egg roll with sticky mochi inside. Not really a puff The outdoor patio scene is wonderful-they invested in adding many tables, tents, tropical plants, heat lamps, lights and music. Great place to have lunch with the family!

We came for family day dim-sum. The place was PACKED as predicted but I didn't expect for tables to be put so close together, there's barely any space for staff/customer to walk through. With that said, the service was surprisingly quick, which is why we probably got a table in a short amount of time with no reservation. The quality of food did not suffer even though it was served so quickly. Staff at dim-sum places are normally very rude, but the wait staff here are surprisingly attentive and for the most part... smiled :D

3.5 stars. Very large space with social distancing measures in place. Got seated right away on a weekend for a group of 4 which is a huge bonus. Friendly and attentive staff. Lots of dim sum options at a reasonable price. The only miss was the beef tendon - colour was bright red and the quality wasnt there. Recommend the bbq pork pun w the pineapple bun topping.

Solid 3.5 stars for both dim sum and dinner takeout. Dim sum - love how many options they have, both the classics and some different dishes to offer dim sum lovers a nice variety. Not one of the cheapest dim sums but for quality and variety, not bad with 10% off if paying by cash. Dinner - loved their peking duck when we ate it at the restaurant pre pandemic. As a takeout option it's still tasty but of course the skin isn't crispy anymore. Ordered a bunch of other dishes and all were solid. The bbq pork was surprisingly delicious and the black bean clams were delicious and plentiful. Sweet and sour pork was a bit too fatty for me but my husband loved it. Came with red bean soup dessert and some mini pastries. Because of their large menu, we have so many dishes we still want to try. Will be back soon!

It is ridiculous, bring us the bill total:$62.xx, so give $7.xx tips. But the waitress still asked for more tips looks like beggar. Is the restaurant under paid their salary? Give us wrong tea not our asking, charge all persons for tea. Food: 3 stars Service: 1 stars Ambiance: 2 stars

We have known this place to usually do decent priced take-out trays, but decided to give this place a try for their dim as a family of 9 adults and 2 babies... For starter, this place isn't too far off my work office which is good and I noticed this particular location spot used to be different restaurants that didn't pan out, so hopefully we have a staple here in the neighbourhood in Markham. + is that this place does take phone reservation for dim sum which is sometimes not too common and this place was PACKED!!! It started slowing down where you see more available tables after 1:30PM... Just to give some pricing guidelines as everywhere and DIM SUM places especially have increased their pricing dramatically... Small: $4.48/ Medium: $5.68/ Large: $6.68/ XL $7.68/ SP: $10.88/ J: $11.88 Here was what we ordered: 4x XL Har Gow (Translucent wrapped with shrimp) 3x L Siu Mai (Minced meat w/shrimp) 2x L Steamed Beef Balls 1x L Chicken Feet w/ Black Bean Sauce 1x L Beef Tripe w/ XO Sauce 1x L Sticky Rice w/ Lotus Leaf 1x M Bean Curd Skin Roll w/ Meat and Veggies 4x L Steam Shrimp and Chive Rice Rolls 3x L Steam Beef and Coriander Rice Rolls 1x L Congee 1x M Deep Fried Spring Rolls 1x XL Deep Fried Almond Crusted Shrimp Balls 1x SP Deep Fried Squid Tentacles 2x SP Deep Fried Beef Short Ribs 1x Fried Rice Noodles w/Beef, chives, bean sprouts 1x Yeung Chow Fried Rice Pretty much all of these are standard dim sum items that remain consistent in texture, flavours and presentation.. We didn't end off ordering the staple desserts like egg tarts, sponge cakes and other newer ones like durian pastry flake or the salted egg yolk buns... No, we didn't end up finishing these items and had to pack away...All I can say is Covid really impacted pricing to these Asian restaurants where dim sum pricing used to be reasonable, but now its a luxury treat...Eg: har gow priced here as $7.68...Pre-Covid I'd say this was $3-4 depending on time of when you dine and such and paid cash... Service is the standard, you can get attention when you alert the staff members...Also for tea charge each person is $2PP...Not sure if they charge babies too who don't drink teas but the set-up is there... Food: 4/5 Service: 3.5/5 Pricing: 2/5 There may be a lot of other dim sum options to choose from in Scarborough/Markham alone so I'd try others...

Yum The pics say it all Great customer service Loved the molten matcha yolk buns, I'll go back just for that Portions are big Piping hot food

Food is good but not the service. They have patio for dining outside. When we sat down and asked for turning on the heat, the waiter (maybe manager?) said it is not working. Then I said it is very cold, he replied it is what you expected to dine out, and asked us to order take out instead of dine in. At that time, we have sat down already! He ignored us and went away. After a while, my father told him he is cold and the waiter switched on the heat finally! It is working! Then, he pushed us to order as they closed at 8pm. Only 2 tables at patio and he packed the food for another table. When I asked for a take out box to pack, he gave me the box and I packed by myself. He saw that I've problem to close the box but he didn't offer any help! If he is so unhappy and unwilling to work, he should stay home or close patio! I used to highly recommend this restaurant but very disappointed this time!

DO NOT COME HERE ON THE WEEKDAYS! Dim Sum is trash on the weekdays, and the BBQ Duck is frozen so the meat is kind of like rubber. Most dim sum on the weekdays tastes like it's microwaved. Weekend is better! Tastes fresh and portions size are doubled.

My wife surprised me by choosing Chef 88 Elite for my birthday brunch. The last time we had dim sum was in January 2020, pre-COVID closures, and I've been craving it since. This was only our second time dining at a restaurant, once on a patio. We were lucky to have a table for two, far away from other diners. We liked the partitions that separated the tables, with sufficient spacing in between. There was also hand sanitizer on each table. Dim Sum is available from 9 am - 4 pm, and while there is a 10% discount (excluding holidays), I find the menu items are pricey. Their patio is open until 8 pm, but with the cooler weather, they'll need some space heaters. Service was efficient and the food was fresh and hot. The only item we didn't care for were the deep-fried squid tentacles, which were very chewier than usual. Note that 10% service charge is added to the bill. I think they should inform you of this upfront! Cash, debit, MasterCard & Visa are accepted. Small - $3.88 Medium - $4.88 Large - $5.88 X-Large - $6.88 SP - $9.88 Tea - $1.88/per person

If you're into a low sodium diet, this would be your go to. I on the other hand, take everything in moderation. I would prefer my meal to have some taste. All else is good. Service is what you would expect, and definitely clean by Chinese standards. Portions are generous. My only reluctance to return is not wanting to dine like I have sodium restricted diet.

Food was ok. But was really turned off when waitress demanded 10% tip. I gave her cash and said no change. Our bill was $65 and gave $70. ( not including discount when paying cash). So really she would have received more than 10%. We don't mind tipping. But to demand when we our giving enough is ridiculous.

First time at their Markham location and visited on a Tuesday evening around 8pm. When we arrived, we were brought to our table and immediately given recommendations of the combos. There were only a few of us so we didn't think it'd be worth since we wouldn't be able to finish. We hadn't even gotten a chance to look at the menu yet and the lady (Kelly) came to ask if we were ready to order. We replied and said we need a bit more time to decide so Kelly just walked away. A moment later, we raised our hand to let her know we were ready and she simply rolled her eyes and said she was busy. We waved to a second lady but we were also ignored. Eventually, Kelly came back and took our order. Not to mention, we weren't even finished with the beef dish nor ask for the bill yet but the lady still took it away without asking us which is just unacceptable. With the lady's attitude, it felt as if just because we didn't order a combo meal, we weren't worth her time. Total of the 4 dishes we ordered came to a total of $105 (excluding tips). Service is terrible and definitely needs improvement. Food is mediocre. Parking shouldn't be a problem as there is a huge parking lot.

I have driven past this restaurant many times in the morning. Each time the patio was full and people were lined up at the door. What's all the excitement about? Today, my sweetheart and I lined up for dim sum (available from 9am - 4pm) for one of 10 outdoor booths or 25 or so tables. I estimate the patio seats about 200 guests; we were seated after a 10 minute wait. Tea was served at $1.88 per guest. The Chef LOVES the lucky number 88 which repeats itself throughout the paper menu provided. It's subliminal messaging and quickly disengages your brain to focus on the 88 cents when ordering, and less on the proceeding dollar value. Yes, it is a highly successful Asian trick! After scanning the menu, we checked off the following: S - steamed mushroom & zucchini dumpling, M - chicken feet w/black been sauce, M - beancurd skin w/minced pork & vegetable, M - pork & preserved egg congee, S - deep fried spring roll, and an XL - preserved meat w/rice in hotpot. S=$3.88, M=$4.88, L=$5.88, XL=$6.88, SP=$10.88 We couldn't get any of the half dozen staff to refill our teapot w/hot water so my sweetie got up, went to the dispensing machine to do it herself, after which a server took over the task. Before I finished paying our bill by credit card, two guests were already standing beside our table to claim it, along with a staff member with dishware and a plastic table covering. I asked and a manager confirmed...staff share the tips, and there is no benefit of paying cash over debit or credit card. Overall rating of 3: food presentation 5, service 2, food quality/taste 3. The restrooms were clean.

The owner of this restaurant was super smart to maximize on the patch of grass outside his restaurant. Very lucky as this restaurant is on the edge of the plaza and is beside a major road such as Kennedy in order to take advantage of high visibility!! They converted their outside into a full fledged patio with patio stones and gazebos, even some traditional seating booths! I felt very safe eating here during the pandemic as it's been outside and plenty of hand sanitizer and masked staff. I have been here on three occasions during the pandemic and have had seen them work out their kinks in service etc. They hired more staff that know English over time and hence have better service in general. With more staff there is more coverage for sure but sometimes if you sit at the very end of the patio you may have to call servers quite aggressively. I like that they give you back the dim sum menu you marked down and their kitchen order receipt in order to make sure there is no confusion on whether you ordered something and there's no proof to show they forgot your order. The price for dim sum here is definitely higher but since so few dim sum places have outdoor patio and I feel safe here I am willing to pay for that security. Take out dim sum is never the same!! When I feel safe again eating dim sum at a dingy cheap place after Covid I may not have this as my first choice due to price but it's definitely been a treat during the 2020-2021 years!!

Pretty solid spot for dim sum in Markham. I've been here several times in the past year and was satisfied each time. During the warmer months they have an expansive shaded outdoor patio, and while patio dim sum may be a pandemic novelty, it was quite an enjoyable experience. The interior is also pretty spacious with lots of available seating. Price-wise the dim sum is on the more expensive side, but the portions are decent and the quality is great. I highly recommend the matcha egg custard lava buns.

Pro: - Takes reso and somewhat honors it (waited only 10 minutes) - Spacious and well spaced out for Covid - food was super fast (pre made?) - offers ApplePay - ample parking Con: - far from fine dining unlike the name - very unrefined, almond crusted shrimp balls and sesame balls were all oddly shaped - cheap decor and plating - no early tea special - food didn't taste fresh - for $10.88, the squid tentacles dish was very small

Outdoor patio such a great idea. Service is good. Food quality and quantity very good. We drive from Etobicoke to eat here and well worth it.