What’s on the menu at Mott 32, an ode to Hong Kong cuisine at the Shangri La Hotel

Including applewood roasted Peking duck, Ibérico pork belly and a boozy spin on bubble tea

By Erin Hershberg| Photography by Jelena Subotic

| August 2, 2024

What’s on the menu at Mott 32, an ode to Hong Kong cuisine at the Shangri La Hotel

Name: Mott 32 Contact: 190 University Ave., mott32.com/toronto, @mott32toronto
Neighbourhood: Queen and University Previously: Momofuku Owners: Xuan Mu and Eric Yang Chefs: Lee Man Sing and Kin Ming Yeung Accessibility: Fully wheelchair accessible

Xuan Mu, the founder of Maximal Concepts—the restaurant group that just brought the latest outpost of the luxurious Mott 32 chain to Toronto—comes from humble beginnings. “My family immigrated to the UK when I was a child and opened a small Chinese restaurant that grew into a chain,” he says. “The industry was in my blood, but I didn’t think this is where I’d end up.”

Eventually, Xuan moved to Hong Kong, finished business school and started Maximal. The group opened a string of high-end restaurants in Hong Kong serving contemporary takes on Japanese, Thai and Californian cuisine. But Xuan soon realized that the city was missing a place for modern Cantonese food. “Ten years ago, if you wanted upscale Cantonese-style food, you’d have to go to an outdated place with white tablecloths and tired-looking lazy Susans,” he says. “This wasn’t fair to a cuisine that is so complicated, has such possibilities for beauty and is always evolving. We felt people should be able to eat new-world Hong Kong cuisine in a place that personifies it. So that’s what we tried to do with Mott 32.”

(Left to Right)Chef Lee Man Sing (Mott 32 Global Group Executive Chef) Eric Yang (Managing Director, Mott 32 Toronto & Vancouver) Kin Ming Yeung (Executive Chef Toronto) — From left: chef Lee Man Sing, co-owner Eric Yang and chef Kin Ming Yeung

The cuisine at Mott 32—named for the first Chinese convenience store to open in New York, on Mott Street in 1891—is a reflection of the way Cantonese food found its way out of Hong Kong and returned home changed by globalization. Spanish Ibérico pigs are used for the expertly executed barbecued pork; the ducks for the signature Peking duck are raised locally on dedicated farms, and old-world hot-and-sour soup comes in the form of a dumpling. While some traditions continue, like dry-aging ducks on-site, the commingling of modernity—especially in the cocktails—is part of what has made the brand so successful.

The Food

While Mott 32 has spread its wings far beyond its Hong Kong beginnings, the menu respectfully adheres to its origins. For all of its modern touches—like the lobster-oil injector that comes with the lobster har gow—the menu is uncompromising in tradition. There’s an appetizer of marinated jellyfish, black fungus, aged black vinegar and garlic. Pea tips float in a pleasantly umami fish broth with sweet-and-sour goji berries and starchy lily bulbs. Dried fish maws are rehydrated and served in a funky caramel oyster sauce. And geoduck is served chilled, complemented by scallion oil and caviar.

Roasted Peking Duck — For the applewood roasted Peking duck, whole ducks are brought in from Mott 32’s duck farm in Newmarket. They’re plucked in the back kitchen, dry-aged in the duck room and then roasted to order. $180

Ancient carving technique for pecking duck — Chef Lee Man Sing uses an ancient carving technique to keep the meat juices from escaping

Pecking duck surrounded by secret sauce and thinly shaved scallions and cucumber — The duck is marinated in a secret sauce before being roasted in a clay duck oven and smoked with applewood. It’s served with thinly sliced scallions and cucumber. Instead of the usual hoisin sauce, house-made fermented sweet-flower paste drizzled with roasted sesame purée accompanies the dish

Freshly steamed chinese pancakes in bamboo steamer served with pecking duck and sides — When released from the bamboo steamer, freshly steamed Chinese pancakes become the base for the dish. The chef reserves some of the crispy, salty skin to be enjoyed on its own, dipped in demerara sugar

Cold Poached Chicken appetizer smothered in a chile oil and peppercorn sauce and finished with fermented beans and roasted peanuts and a paste made from minced spring onion and cilantro — For the cold poached chicken appetizer, the chef debones free-range chickens and uses the best parts of the thigh and the breast. The chicken is gently poached until tender, then chilled. It’s smothered in a chili-oil-and-peppercorn sauce and finished with fermented beans and roasted peanuts. A paste made from minced spring onion and cilantro adds an extra layer of zing. $39

The Barbecued Pork — The barbecued pork is a far cry from your typical Chinatown stuff. The specialized pork comes from the pluma, a beautifully fatty piece of meat found just behind the neck of an Ibérico pig. To get the incredible shine, it’s double-glazed in Yellow Mountain honey and roasted twice in a dedicated barbecue-pork oven. $82

lobster har gow, a thin dough of pure rice flour is stuffed with pureed Nova Scotia lobster tail and an injection of lobster-infused chile oil — For the lobster har gow, a thin dough of pure rice flour is stuffed with puréed Nova Scotia lobster tail. The dumplings are steamed, then garnished with a tiny flower of thinly shaved carrot and cilantro. While the clean flavour of the dumpling is enough without the optional injection of lobster-infused chili oil that comes with it, the fatty and spicy addition is an extra hit of decadence. $29

Chef Lee preparing the lobster and stir frying the soft tofu for the mapo tofu dish with lobster — Chef Lee preparing the lobster and stir-frying the soft tofu for the mapo tofu dish with lobster

The mapo tofu — For the mapo tofu, the chef suspends soft tofu in a stir-fried mix of red chili sauce, Sichuan pepper sauce and chili oil. The whole wok-fried lobster is gingerly placed into the mix to finish this elevated take on the humble comfort food. $79

For the Shanghainese hot and sour soup dumpling , carrot-dyed wheat flour dough is stuffed with minced Iberico pork and hot-and-sour soup broth. — For the Shanghainese hot-and-sour soup dumpling, carrot-dyed wheat flour dough is stuffed with minced Ibérico pork and hot-and-sour soup broth. $24

For the sweet and sour pork, Iberico pork belly, scallions and peppers are stir fried in a sauce of black vinegar, sugar and tropical fruit, then garnished with chunky squares of dragonfruit. — Here’s the sweet-and-sour pork, where Ibérico pork belly, scallions and peppers are stir-fried in a sauce of black vinegar, sugar and tropical fruit, then garnished with seasonal fruit (in this case, chunky squares of dragon fruit). $42

The Drinks

The expansive wine list traverses the globe but spends most of its time covering old-school regions like Beaujolais, Bordeaux and Loire. There’s also a beautifully curated list of sakes. The cocktail card doesn’t play it as straight: the list is Asian influenced, modern leaning, fruit forward and surprisingly playful. One heavy hitter is the duck-fat-washed old fashioned, a clever take on the classic cocktail that coats the palate with smoky duck drippings and cuts the booziness with brown-sugar syrup and orange bitters. But the real must-try is the Hong Kong iced tea—the classic summer drink is converted into a vibrant fuchsia tequila-based cocktail bursting with jasmine and blackcurrant and dotted with floating basil seeds.

The Forbidden Rose, an asian spin on traditional pisco sour. — The Forbidden Rose is an Asian spin on a pisco sour. Here, the drink is slightly less tart thanks to the use of vanilla-bean-infused pisco, lychee liqueur, passion fruit purée, lemon juice and a hint of chili. The balanced but fruity drink is then strained, shaken with egg white and finished with rose-petal dust. $28

The Hong Kong Iced Tea — The Hong Kong iced tea is a boozy homage to bubble tea that uses crunchy, slightly gelatinous basil seeds instead of tapioca pearls. The dangerously drinkable beverage is a blend of tequila, crème de cassis, Lillet Blanc and jasmine tea. $22

The Hanami, sweet rye, dry gin, deep plum wine, tangy yuzu juice and biting ginger beer. It’s garnished with an aromatic shiso leaf and dried chrysanthemum flower — The Hanami is a boozy sipper built from edgy-but-sweet rye, dry gin, deep plum wine, tangy yuzu juice and biting ginger beer. It’s garnished with an aromatic shiso leaf and a dried chrysanthemum flower. $28

The Space

The three floors include a lounge level, a private dining area and a full-scale dining room, all of which seamlessly blend opulence and industrialism. Exposed ceilings and poured concrete floors share space with woven bamboo detailing, jade leather bar stools, Canadian walnut, plush velvet, ceramic tiling and hand-polished copper walls. The third floor’s massive dining area is light-filled and lavish, while the four private spaces on the second floor are themed: there’s a textile room, a metal room, a ceramic room and a room devoted to Hong Kong cinema—equipped with a phonograph, a wall that looks like a movie screen and a mural of Chinese-American actor Anna May Wong.