金爵园 Kom Jug Yuen Restaurant – Toronto, ON

CLOSED late (?) 2016

371 Spadina Ave

Kom Jug Yuen located in Old Chinatown claims to have the best BBQ Pork (Char Siu) in North America.  The restaurant hangs a plaque presented by the mayor agreeing.  So is it the best?

The restaurant is a dive. It’s old and shabby with equally old furniture. It has low ceilings and the wall are covered with papers screaming the numerous food options. Everything needs steam cleaning. A new coat of paint would do wonders.

Kom’s BBQ pork sets itself from their competition with a sauce that coats the pork. Most do not have a clingy sauce. Would the sauce help or detract?

I’ve had BBQ pork in many places in North America as well other parts of the world, estimating over 100, each with its own recipe. I can say that Kom’s for my palate is the best I’ve had. The flavor is savory and sweet and saturated to the core. The cut is the proper ratio of meat and fat keeping the meet moist and tender. It’s an overall great textural and taste sensation for the BBQ lover. The one thing I didn’t like was the sauce itself. It edges slimy but once the tongue works past it into the meat, the sublime taste and textures explode.

While the BBQ pork is world class, the same can’t be said for their BBQ ribs. It seems the same sauce is used on the ribs but it doesn’t work. In this case, the slimy characteristic of the sauce makes the ribs slimy. I like bark on my ribs and the sauce seems to dissolve or prevent the formation of bark on the ribs. It's a big pass on the ribs.