There are plenty of ways into this year’s Chinese Restaurant Awards list: a hotpot dinner, a plate of roast pork, a table full of dim sum. MOTT 32, with restaurants in Vancouver and Toronto, takes the No. 1 spot on the 2026 Elite 30 Canada, while Richmond, B.C. accounts for 11 of the recognised restaurants.
Announced on September 23rd at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver, the Chinese Restaurant Awards recognise Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants across British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec. Flavourful House in Richmond Hill takes second place, followed by Vancouver’s Dynasty Seafood Restaurant in third. Six restaurants are new to the list, including Richmond’s Long’s Noodle and Yuan’s Garden Restaurant, and Calgary’s Master Beef Hot Pot and Kingwell Roasted BBQ.
The rankings come from the 21-member Canada Taste Advisors Panel, chaired by founding judge Lee Man. Taste comes first, the overall dining experience second. Fair enough. The Awards’ online guide also names recommended dishes at each restaurant, so you can sit down with a bit of a game plan.
The 12 Signature Dish Awards also expand beyond Vancouver for the first time this year, recognising dishes across Canada (sounds like a good excuse for a road trip!). But travel isn’t necessary: there’s plenty to work through close to home, including Chinatown BBQ’s made-to-order roast suckling pig, Kalvin’s Szechuan Restaurant’s braised pork hock and Hei Hei Rice Roll’s sliced fatty beef rice roll.
Four individual honours recognise Lee Man, Braden Chong of MIMI Chinese and Sunnys Chinese, Wu Zhen Jun of MOTT 32 Vancouver, and Franky Yeung of Jumbo Lobster Restaurant and Fishman Lobster Clubhouse. The 17th annual ceremony also introduced the inaugural Elite 12 United States Awards, with the Elite 25 Asia and Essential 25 Asia announcements to follow in October.
Here are the full Canadian rankings, individual honourees and 12 dishes to start making plans around:
Elite 30 Canada Awards 2026 | RANKED
Six restaurants are new to the list, marked in orange below.
MOTT 32 | Toronto, Ontario & Vancouver, B.C. | Modern Chinese
Flavourful House | Richmond Hill, Ontario | Cantonese
Dynasty Seafood Restaurant | Vancouver, B.C. | Cantonese, Dim Sum
Jumbo Lobster Restaurant | Richmond Hill, Ontario | Cantonese Seafood & Dim Sum
Landmark Hotpot House | Vancouver, B.C. | Hong Kong-Style Hotpot & Cantonese
Bamboo Grove | Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
Chang’An Restaurant | Vancouver, B.C. | Shaanxi / Xi’an
aKin | Toronto, Ontario | Modern Asian (tasting menu)
Sea Harbour Restaurant | Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese / Dim Sum
The Fish Man | Richmond, B.C. | Sichuan / Cantonese Seafood
Lai Wah Heen | Toronto, Ontario | Contemporary Cantonese / Dim Sum (New)
iDen & Quan Ju De Beijing Duck House | Vancouver, B.C. | Northern Chinese / Peking Duck
Fishman Lobster Clubhouse | Scarborough, Ontario | Cantonese Seafood
MIMI Chinese | Toronto, Ontario | Modern Chinese
Jiangnan Wok | Richmond, B.C. | Jiangnan / Huaiyang
Golden Paramount Seafood Restaurant | Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese / Shunde
Nian Yi Kuai Zi | Markham / Scarborough, Ontario | Sichuan
Din Tai Fung | Vancouver, B.C. | Taiwanese / Shanghainese Dim Sum
Sunnys Chinese | Toronto, Ontario | Regional Chinese (New)
R&D | Toronto, Ontario | Modern Canadian Asian
Long’s Noodle | Richmond, B.C. | Shanghainese (New)
Lanxuan Restaurant | Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese & Dim Sum
Oncle Lee Kǎo | Montreal, Quebec | Montreal Chinese
Miss Qu Barbecue & Restaurant | Scarborough / Richmond Hill, Ontario | Sichuan / Chongqing Jianghu BBQ
Loon Fong Hot Pot | Richmond Hill, Ontario and Richmond, B.C. | Hong Kong-Style Hotpot
Master Beef Hot Pot | Calgary, Alberta | Hotpot (Alberta beef) (New)
Max Noodle House | Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese Noodles & Congee
Yuan’s Garden Restaurant | Richmond, B.C. | Shanghainese / Huaiyang (New)
Kingwell Roasted BBQ | Calgary, Alberta | Hong Kong style BBQ (New)
HK BBQ Master | Richmond, B.C. | Hong Kong style BBQ
Individual Award Recipients
Premier Visionary Award of the Year
Lee Man | Founding Judge of the Chinese Restaurant Awards | Vancouver, B.C.
Rising Star Chef of the Year
Braden Chong | MIMI Chinese & Sunnys Chinese | Toronto, Ontario
Dim Sum Chef of the Year
Wu Zhen Jun | MOTT 32 | Vancouver, B.C.
Master Chef of the Year
Franky Yeung | Jumbo Lobster Restaurant & Fishman Lobster Clubhouse | Richmond Hill & Scarborough, Ontario
Signature Dish Awards | 12 Winning Dishes
Braised Pork Hock
Kalvin’s Szechuan Restaurant, Vancouver, B.C.
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall with Bird’s Nest
Day&Night Angus Beef · King Crab, Scarborough, Ontario
Claypot Rice à l’Orange
Belle Isle, Toronto, Ontario
Deep Fried Chicken Wing with Sour Plum
Landmark Hotpot House, Vancouver, B.C.
Ginger Fried Beef
Silver Dragon, Calgary, Alberta
Lobster Mountain
Jumbo Lobster Restaurant & Fishman Lobster Clubhouse, Richmond Hill & Scarborough, Ontario
Pork Ball and Pork Tripe Ball Rice Noodles
UNCLE, Richmond, B.C.
Roast Suckling Pig (Made to Order)
Chinatown BBQ, Vancouver, B.C.
Sablefish with Pickled Greens
Rockies & River Restaurant, Calgary, Alberta
Garlic Sichuan Chili Québec Lobster
Oncle Lee Kǎo, Montreal, Quebec
Sliced Fatty Beef Rice Roll
Hei Hei Rice Roll, Richmond, B.C.
Sweet & Sour Pork with Pineapple
Sanbo Chinese Restaurant, Richmond, B.C.
Find the full guide, recommended dishes and information about the judging panel at chineserestaurantawards.com.
Dining and Cooking