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Rebecca Gao

Rebecca Gao is a journalist and lifelong Torontonian writing about food, culture, TV and film, tech, and health. She has bylines in publications including Bon Appétit, Chatelaine, Toronto Life and Reader’s Digest. She is currently the associate editor at Best Health magazine.

Latest from Rebecca Gao

“I dropped out to start a café on Ward’s Island. Even after a devastating fire, it’s still my dream job”

“I dropped out to start a café on Ward’s Island. Even after a devastating fire, it’s still my dream job”

Zorah Freeman-McIntyre opened the Island Cafe with his parents in 2010. After a fire destroyed the building in 2024, they’re still a staple of summer on Ward’s Island

Dwayne Johnson is already undergoing another total body transformation for his next role

Dwayne Johnson is already undergoing another total body transformation for his next role

Ten things we learned about the Rock at TIFF’s In Conversation With event

Drake is making a new Degrassi series and we’re here for it

Drake is making a new Degrassi series and we’re here for it

Will Jimmy ride again?

Sort-of Secret: Comma, a Korean restaurant on Queen West serving raw marinated crab

Sort-of Secret: Comma, a Korean restaurant on Queen West serving raw marinated crab

And pairing it with scotch whisky

Thirteen must-see movies at TIFF this year

Thirteen must-see movies at TIFF this year

From buzz-worthy flicks to indie picks, you’re going to want to snag tickets to these

Sort-of Secret: Java Bali Kitchen, a delivery service and pop-up specializing in Indonesian dishes

Sort-of Secret: Java Bali Kitchen, a delivery service and pop-up specializing in Indonesian dishes

Unable to find the tastes of home in Toronto, Zulfikar Fahd decided to do something about it

“It’s designed to make the diner feel like the main character”: A visit to Toronto’s first solo-dining restaurant

“It’s designed to make the diner feel like the main character”: A visit to Toronto’s first solo-dining restaurant

Yunnan Noodle Shack in Baldwin Village serves up steaming bowls of noodles and alone time

Sort-of Secret: Delicacy Kitchen, a new Chinese restaurant at Dufferin and Lawrence with an award-winning Cantonese chef

Sort-of Secret: Delicacy Kitchen, a new Chinese restaurant at Dufferin and Lawrence with an award-winning Cantonese chef

Wenqiu Kuang is famous for his qingxin chicken

Ring in the Lunar New Year with special menus from these Toronto restaurants

Ring in the Lunar New Year with special menus from these Toronto restaurants

Including dim sum feasts, afternoon tea and everything you need for at-home hot pot

Order in the Court: Fish Ball Place, Pacific Mall's go-to stall for Hong Kong–style street food

Order in the Court: Fish Ball Place, Pacific Mall’s go-to stall for Hong Kong–style street food

Including all kinds of snacks on sticks

A look inside Toronto’s Bridgerton Experience

A look inside Toronto’s Bridgerton Experience

Including stunning decor, acrobatic performances, period garb and a chance to be noticed by the Queen

Ciao, Frankie Tomatto’s, you delicious, affordable, bonkers buffet

Ciao, Frankie Tomatto’s, you delicious, affordable, bonkers buffet

We lost more than just a restaurant when Markham's all-you-can-eat Italian institution died

Thirteen A-list stars you can expect to see this year at TIFF

Thirteen A-list stars you can expect to see this year at TIFF

Stargazers, take note!

Summer Camp Guide

Summer Camp Directory 2026

Summer Camp Directory 2026

Discover our top-rated summer camps for kids of all ages

Wines of the World

Wines of the World: Rediscover your favourites from Toronto Life’s Best Restaurants

Wines of the World: Rediscover your favourites from Toronto Life’s Best Restaurants

From cabernet and merlot to icewine and chardonnay, these wines are primed to pair and delight

Big Stories

Charm Offensive: The cottage country mortgage broker who lost $101 million of his clients’ money

Charm Offensive: The cottage country mortgage broker who lost $101 million of his clients’ money

Sandy Sussman spent decades wooing the upper echelons of Toronto society, becoming their go-to investment guy. He took their money and made a huge bet on cottage country. When the market tanked, he lost it all. Then he did everything in his power to cover it up

The Monster Cottages vs. the Resistance: Inside the ruthless battle for the future of Muskoka

The Monster Cottages vs. the Resistance: Inside the ruthless battle for the future of Muskoka

From Gravenhurst to Port Cockburn, the uber rich and powerful are buying up shoreline for private island compounds and sprawling mega-resorts, radically changing the face of Muskoka and infuriating environmentalists, locals and long-time cottagers

Dead Reckoning: The executor of their estate was supposed to divide it among their friends and family. Instead, he bankrupted it

Dead Reckoning: The executor of their estate was supposed to divide it among their friends and family. Instead, he bankrupted it

When Sami and June Suomalainen died, it fell to the executor of their wills, a lawyer they hardly knew, to sell their million-dollar midtown home and split the proceeds among their inheritors. Seven years and six lawsuits later, the beneficiaries haven’t seen a cent

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2026

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2026

This year’s list includes a 150-square-foot omakase counter, a Parisian brasserie in the Annex, Korean comfort food, Filipino karaoke and a Summerhill seafood spot that’s reinventing the raw bar

Hoop Dreams: Inside the making of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s newly assembled WNBA team

Hoop Dreams: Inside the making of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s newly assembled WNBA team

After years of false starts, months of nail-biting negotiations between the league and the players’ union, and an 11th-hour scramble to build a roster, Toronto finally has its own major-league women’s basketball team. Now it just has to live up to the hype

Live From New York: Inside the slay-or-be-slayed world of Studio 8H with SNL rookie Veronika Slowikowska

Live From New York: Inside the slay-or-be-slayed world of Studio 8H with SNL rookie Veronika Slowikowska

Slowikowska is the first Canadian to join the cast of Saturday Night Live in more than 25 years. She’s also this season’s breakout star. Now all she has to do is keep crushing it

Better Call Deepak: Meet drug lord Ryan Wedding’s self-styled cocaine lawyer

Better Call Deepak: Meet drug lord Ryan Wedding’s self-styled cocaine lawyer

The man who represented the infamous drug lord is unapologetically flashy—he has a Lamborghini and two Maseratis and wears $1,200 Louboutins. But did he become an accomplice to his client’s crimes? Deepak Paradkar says he was just doing his job. The FBI says he crossed a line

The Redemption Tour: The Blue Jays are back. Can they finish what they started?

The Redemption Tour: The Blue Jays are back. Can they finish what they started?

We’re not over it, but they are. Six months after that devastating defeat, the Jays take the field once more, bent more than ever on winning the World Series. Dispatches from the dugout

My Life as a True Crime Spectacle: My father’s crimes fractured our family. Then came the press

My Life as a True Crime Spectacle: My father’s crimes fractured our family. Then came the press

My dad was the infamous Rolex Killer. The news of his crimes nearly broke me. And ever since, my family has been hounded by reporters, podcasters and true crime fanatics—a whole new circle of hell

Robby on the Line: Out and about with Robby Hoffman, comedy’s equal opportunity assassin

Robby on the Line: Out and about with Robby Hoffman, comedy’s equal opportunity assassin

Larry David is the indisputable king of brutal honesty. But if anyone comes close, it’s Robby Hoffman, the suddenly everywhere comic from whom no group is safe

Notes on an Academic Scandal: Why did TMU demote a leading advocate of DEI?

Notes on an Academic Scandal: Why did TMU demote a leading advocate of DEI?

Pamela Sugiman, a former arts dean at Toronto Metropolitan University, was a key player in the school’s push for diversity, equity and inclusion. When the backlash against DEI arrived, she was demoted. The school says it was a coincidence. She disagrees

City of Renters: The dream of home ownership isn’t dead. Maybe it should be?

City of Renters: The dream of home ownership isn’t dead. Maybe it should be?

Scenes from the rent-for-life revolution

This generation was pummelled by Covid high school. Now the job market wants to replace them with AI

This generation was pummelled by Covid high school. Now the job market wants to replace them with AI

It’s hard out here for a 20-something

The High Price of Hope: Inside Toronto’s white-hot fertility market

The High Price of Hope: Inside Toronto’s white-hot fertility market

Desperate wannabe parents are betting their life savings on unproven treatments and false promises

Man vs. Machine: ChatGPT caused him to spiral into delusion. Now he’s suing OpenAI

Man vs. Machine: ChatGPT caused him to spiral into delusion. Now he’s suing OpenAI

Last spring, a chatbot convinced Allan Brooks that he had discovered a revolutionary mathematical theory. He says it nearly destroyed him

Smart City: 20 mind-blowing Toronto inventions that are changing the world

Smart City: 20 mind-blowing Toronto inventions that are changing the world

Homegrown innovations that will transform lives for the better

293 Days Without My Son: I gave up everything to rescue my kidnapped child from my abusive husband

293 Days Without My Son: I gave up everything to rescue my kidnapped child from my abusive husband

When Valentino was abducted, I knew three things: he’d been taken by his father, he was somewhere in India and I would not rest until I found him

Just Listed

For Sale: 99 Lake Promenade

For Sale: 99 Lake Promenade

This classic Hamptons-style home by Chatsworth Fine Homes offers an exciting opportunity to customize a new dream home and build instant value - without the long wait of new construction

For Sale: 92 Arjay Crescent

For Sale: 92 Arjay Crescent

As luxury buyers become increasingly focused on wellness, privacy, and long-term livability, a new generation of custom homes is emerging – one defined less by excess and more by thoughtful design

For Sale: 171 Durant Ave

For Sale: 171 Durant Ave

This rare property features 2 houses on 1 lot

For Sale: 50 First Avenue

For Sale: 50 First Avenue

A testament to time presiding over one of Uxbridge's most storied streetscapes, this magnificently preserved circa 1880 residence commands its prominent corner lot with the quiet confidence of a true architectural landmark

For Sale: 7 Bentley Drive

For Sale: 7 Bentley Drive

A commanding architectural statement in prestigious Stonegate–Queensway, this newly completed custom residence by Bali Homes Group presents a refined interpretation of contemporary luxury living