Tucked away in Kensington Market, Sunnys Chinese offers a playful nod to Hong Kong diners with vibrant flavors and a cool retro vibe, perfect for sharing spicy, elevated dishes and indulging in lavish desserts like their famed French toast.
"The cooking goes big and doesn’t hold back. For this dish, the dry rub consists of cumin, hot chili and Sichuan peppercorn. This is then grilled, sliced into strips, and plated in a mound. Gosh, this is wildly good. So many parts of the thigh are crispy, charred black without being bitter, and the combo of fragrant cumin, spicy chili oil and crispy bits is a knock-out." - MICHELIN Guide
"Congratulations to David Schwartz, chef at Bib Gourmand Sunnys Chinese and the 2023 MICHELIN Guide Toronto Young Chef Award Winner! Presented in partnership with Mercedes-Benz, the Young Chef Award winner demonstrates a unique identity and culinary creations embodying the pioneering spirit of Mercedes-Benz." - MICHELIN Guide
"This was exemplified by the special award winners including Young Chef David Schwartz of Sunny's Chinese presented by Mercedes-Benz Canada CEO Andreas Tetzloff." - MICHELIN Guide
"In the belly of Kensington Market, down a hallway that nearly looks like a dead-end, you will find the door to this high-energy hotspot. There’s no turning back, as the packed-out room is constantly buzzing with groups huddled around Chinese homestyle dishes pulled from Sichuan to Guangdong. Spicy, fiery, crispy, smoky – the high-wattage cooking is a total delight, as the kitchen pulls no punches at every possible junction. Tripe and beef shank coated in chili oil is a good start before launching into the charred silver needle noodles. Best of all might be the grilled chicken thigh coated in cumin, chili and pepper. To finish, the crispy Hong Kong French Toast with black sesame jam and oolong condensed milk short-circuits all manner of restraint." - Michelin Inspector
"Run by chefs David Schwartz and Braden Chong, Sunnys is designated as the younger sibling of Mimi, but aside from a shared origin, the two restaurants are entirely different. Whereas Mimi is robust and romantic, Sunnys is light and lively. Tucked within the bohemian confines of Kensington Market and down a nondescript hallway (with only a cardboard sign on the door), Sunnys plummets diners into a retro-chic Hong Kong cafe, complete with a rambunctious vibe that extends from the dining room to the patio oasis. Slide into a banquette or grab a seat by the chef’s rail to delve into playful dishes from Sichuan, Shaanxi, and the northern provinces of China. Standout selections by head chef Joseph Ysmael include the Husband + Wife Beef, an addictive inferno of tripe and shank cuts bathed in chile oil and finished with peanuts; chewy silver needle noodles that sing with a backbone of soy sauce and overtures of earthy black mushrooms; gnawable lamb ribs perfumed with cumin; and a favorite, plump cubes of mapo tofu topped with salty nuggets of dry-aged beef, Sichuan peppercorn, and garlic chives. Save room for the soft-serve dessert: a swirly-twirly, soybean-based wonder that gets a bear hug of crushed cinder toffee and a drizzle of mature soy sauce caramel." - Tiffany Leigh
