Michelin chefs pick T.O.’s best new restaurants: Jeff Bovis, Wynona

The last year was a a busy and exciting one for the Toronto food scene, in which we saw electric openings that ranged from highbrow to low, including modest local joints and grand, attention-grabbing eateries.

To highlight the standout newcomers, we asked Michelin-recognized chef Jeffrey Bovis, recently awarded a Bib Gourmand for Wynona— a lovely and unpretentious bistro serving delicious homemade pasta and excellent meat dishes  — to tell us what he thought was the best new addition to the city’s dining scene. Read on to find out which exciting spot he selected.

Chef Bovis’ pick: New Century Restaurant

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“We eat out a lot in Markham and I really like dim sum, like a lot,” chef Bovis recently told us. “New Century Restaurant is a solid addition to the dim sum scene this year. My favourite dishes are the usual suspects when it comes to dim sum — har gow shrimp dumplings, Cheung fung as well as rice rolls with shrimp and other fillings.”

New Century Restaurant

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An expert in Chiuchow cuisine, which proudly blends the dishes of Southern Min (derived from the cooking style of China’s Fujian province with an emphasis on umami taste) and Cantonese cuisine, New Century is garnering rave reviews for its blend of fresh ingredients and balanced flavours. Although the restaurant first opened in 2021, it recently came under new management and the renovated space is an elegant upgrade from the original. The menu boasts a litany of delightful dim sum, like steamed baby octopus with curry sauce and fried beef ribs in honey sauce. Classics — like Peking duck — are prepared with exacting technique and are a culinary highlight. Regulars also come for the roasted suckling pig, stir-fried king crab and rice noodle rolls. Sweeten the deal with a rich fried sesame ball filled with bitter melon filling. You’ve got the best seat in the house, whether you’re seated in the private room, or in the buzzy well-appointed dining space with an interior design that retains a casual, vibrant vibe, with its lofty ceilings, delicate chandeliers and hues of gold and light blue that dominate the space.  398 Ferrier St., Markham

To find out which spot Michelin chef Eric Chong selected, click here, and if you’re curious about what new restaurant  Tobey Nemeth and Michael Cabello of Edulis  chose, click here.

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