Azyun Restaurant — Restaurant in Markham

It baffles me that people give this place 5 stars. I really wanted to give this restaurant a chance but as every dish came to our table, I realized that they would not meet my expectations. (TL;DR at the bottom if you want a quick summary)

We went for the Set Meals for Four, which costed $100 and included a sides platter, 2 choices from Option #1, 2 choices from Option #2, and 2 choices from #3.

First, the sides platter came to our table and contained noodles, edamame, eggplant and snow pea leaves. It was okay, the only notable part was the eggplant, but it was so heavily seasoned that it barely retained any resemblance in taste or appearance to eggplant.

We were first served the Fried Chicken from Option #2. It was very crispy but there was so much batter, I felt like I had to eat through mouthfuls of batter before I could even get to the chicken. Then when I finally did, the chicken was somewhat juicy but lacking in flavour. They gave us 5 pieces of chicken for 4 people, so we asked for extra sauce to which the waiter replied, "For sure!" which made us think it was free/on-the-house. We later discovered they charged us $3 for the sauce and did not bother mentioning beforehand that it would cost extra. The sauce was far too spicy, but was the only thing that made the chicken remotely interesting unfortunately.

Next we got the Truffle Fried Rice from Option #3. The general consensus from everyone I was eating with at the table was that it was heavily drenched in truffle oil but that was it. There was barely any other flavours or textures in it besides rice and tiny bits of mushroom. The cherry tomatoes almost felt out of place as it didn't really compliment the taste of the dish.

The Octopus dish from Option #2 came afterwards and we were hesitant to choose this at first, but their Roasted duck was sold out so we decided to order it instead. The vagueness of simply the word 'Octopus' on the menu had us ask the waitress for clarity, and perhaps we should've taken it as a sign when she didn't even know how it was prepared until she went to ask the chef. The dish arrived at our table and we were given 3 tentacles to share amongst the 4 of us. I understand in terms of plating, that aesthetically it would look better with 3 as opposed to 4, but the portions just felt odd since they had previously given us 5 pieces of fried chicken. Anyways, the way the octopus was prepared completely charred the outside of it, to the point where it tasted burnt. The inside was almost mush, verging on dry. The only redeeming aspect of this dish was the hummus sauce, paired with the veggies. There was a good umami flavour from the sauce which the tentacles sat on.

Next up was the BBQ Pork Rice from Option #3. What stumps me is that it's actually served with pork belly, whereas I know BBQ Pork as 'cha siu' in Chinese. Anyways, the rice was actually pretty good this time around, reminding me of the traditional chinese takeout boxes I get from the BBQ stalls in First Markham Place. The pork belly was pretty good as well, just slightly a bit dry and not juicy enough.

Now... the Braised Tripe from Option #1. It tasted like traditional braised chicken feet flavouring, mixed with the tomato-y appearance of shakshuka. On the side was fried mantou crisps, which in theory sounds like a good idea, but in execution, didn't have enough rigidity like bruschetta bread, and was slightly chewy, barely reminding you that it's actually mantou. We did not like this dish at all. The flavours and choices made did not work.

Lastly, the Mackerel from Option #1. It was fine, I don't think it's hard to cook mackerel and the overall flavour was fine. I don't think I would recommend it though.

TL;DR - Food is lacking balanced flavours, service is quite good, aside from the waiter failing to tell us that asking for extra sauce would cost us $3. I would not recommend going here for Asian fusion, walk a few steps over to...

Azyun Restaurant in Markham was once a shining star in the local dining scene, part of what many considered the trifecta of culinary excellence in the area, alongside Smash Kitchen and Bar and NextDoor Restaurant. Unfortunately, like its companions, Azyun seems to have lost some of its former glory. My recent visit on a Wednesday evening around 7 pm was a telling sign: the restaurant was nearly empty, with only one table finishing up on the patio and another occupied inside. The emptiness might have been a red flag, but the silver lining was the service, which remained prompt, attentive, and, most notably, warm. The waitress who served us was genuinely kind, taking the time to answer all of my questions politely and professionally, even when the meal itself left me with mixed feelings.

Our order included an assortment of dishes: Triple Cooked Truffle Fries, Chilled Noodles, Marinated Eggplants, Pho-Spiced Beef Tartare, Indonesian Shrimp Toast, and Truffle Fried Rice, all totaling $99 after tax and tip. Unfortunately, the culinary experience fell short of expectations.

The Triple Cooked Truffle Fries, in particular, were a major disappointment. Truffle, often used to evoke a sense of luxury, can easily become a culinary crutch when not executed properly. In this case, the truffle flavor was overpowering, likely due to the use of a cheap truffle oil or paste, which typically relies on the synthetic compound 2,4-dithiapentane for that artificial truffle essence. The fries themselves were soft and lacked the crispy exterior and tender interior that triple-cooked fries are known for. Instead of delivering a sophisticated and indulgent experience, they were a soggy letdown.

The other dishes, unfortunately, didn’t do much to lift the overall impression. The Chilled Noodles were excessively sweet, a one-note dish that lacked balance, while the Marinated Eggplants were drenched in oil, overwhelming the delicate flavor of the eggplant itself. The Pho-Spiced Beef Tartare was an intriguing concept but ultimately missed the mark. The intense flavors of hoisin and clove drowned out the natural taste of the beef, resulting in a dish that felt confused and disjointed.

The Indonesian Shrimp Toast was perhaps the biggest disappointment of all. When I cut into the toast, I found barely any shrimp, which is usually the star of this dish. Traditionally, shrimp toast features a generous layer of shrimp paste sandwiched between slices of bread, but this version seemed to stray far from that. I inquired about this with our waitress, who was incredibly polite and patient. She took the time to check with the chef and explained that their method differs from the traditional approach—something about mixing the shrimp into the bread. Unfortunately, this technique didn’t translate well on the plate, resulting in a bland and unremarkable dish that relied too heavily on an overly sour dipping sauce for flavor.

Even the Truffle Fried Rice, which I had high hopes for, was far too salty. It was as if the dish was trying too hard to impress with its bold flavors but ended up overwhelming the palate instead. Despite my attempts to enjoy the food, each dish seemed to fall short of what I had anticipated.

It’s disheartening to see Azyun struggle to maintain the quality that once made it a standout in Markham. The empty restaurant could be a reflection of several issues—whether it’s a lack of innovation, declining food quality, or insufficient marketing. While the prices weren’t unreasonable considering the quantity of food, the overall experience simply didn’t measure up. Still, the attentive and kind service offered a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing meal. Azyun might have once been a star in Markham’s dining scene, but it now seems to be struggling to keep up. I’d give it a 2/5, acknowledging the room for significant...

Ok Google reader whoever you are. Prepare yourself for an essay (maybe I'll leave a TL;DR at the bottom so you can scroll down now I guess).

I first visited this place back in 2018 for a friend's bday. She and her partner had their bdays around the same time so it was a basically a joint bday celebration. We ordered basically all the cocktails on the menu and we were also able to try most of the tapas on the menu at the time. The ones that stuck out to me back then were the truffle fried rice, smoked duck, fried chicken as well as their take on tofu. Oh and the cocktail that came w/ a pork belly skewer haha.

It must've been a memorable experience because I never forgot about this resto (even though I forgot to write a review).

Fast forward to present day. I recently came again for a private event. One of my close friends got married and instead of hosting his reception at a formal venue with festivities he and his wife opted for a lowkey, casual dinner here with all of their closest friends in attendance.

We booked the whole resto (basically 2 long tables) for dinner time starting at 7pm. Idk what set menu(s) or special combo deal he arranged with the resto owners but I do recall it being very affordable for all the incredible food and drinks we were able to sample. I'd say we got to try around 80-85% of the whole menu (food & drinks combined)!

The menu has obviously changed slightly since then but some of the classics have remained (like the fried chicken and the truffle fried rice).

Of the appetizers/banchan the one that stood out surprisingly to our entire party was the brussel sprouts. I have no idea what sauce they put on the brussels but it was so yummy. The sprouts had incredible char/cook on them so they tasted super meaty. I couldn't believe I was eating veggies LOL.

Of the mains, the ones that stood out the most to me were the shrimp toast, fried chicken (of course), braised rendang, cherry bbq pork belly rice and uni risotto. I think my top 3 in order was:

Uni risotto (SUPER creamy and SO MUCH UMAMI) Fried chicken (the skin shattered like glass) Shrimp Toast (I don't think I've had such a bougie shrimp toast before LOL)

Dessert was interesting. I enjoyed it! I thought it tasted great before I looked at it on the menu and realized it was supposed to have ube and pandan in it. Didn't taste much ube or pandan but that's probably the point because of the strong berry sauce accompanying the cheesecake.

I tried a multitude of the cocktails but my fave HAD to be the Donkey's Villain Arc. Taste-wise it was perfect to me (easy to get drunk on). Victoria's Dirty Little Secret was the most instagrammable imo but taste-wise a lil too heavy on the whiskey for me (I prefer Whiskey Sour as a cocktail).

Shoutout to our server, Christian, who attended to all of us throughout the night (both tables). Very knowledgeable and patient with the drink suggestions!

Plates of food kept coming out to us piping hot. One might think that because everything was shareable we wouldn't get full but that was far from the case! Everyone was stuffed, had a great time and the food was fantastic!

TL;DR here if you skipped down here

Great service from Christian our server, nice big portions on the shareable plates, interesting flavour combinations in the dishes and very warm hospitality from the chefs for allowing us to stay slightly past...