At The Pass with Junzhe (Eddie) Ling
Junzhe Ling, aka Eddie. Photo Illustration: Toronto Restaurants. Photo Double Filet-o-Fish: McDonald’s.
At The Pass is a weekly series showcasing Toronto’s best chefs. You won’t find any celebrity chefs featured here. Perhaps you already know these fine cooks, but maybe not. They’re not famous - yet. But it’s time these talented, passionate, hard-working chefs got a bit of the spotlight. Meet Junzhe (Eddie) Ling.
🕘 5 min read
Currently
Cook, MIMI Chinese
Formerly
Campagnolo (stagiaire), amongst others
Favourite dish to make right now
Steam pork belly with dried fermented mustard greens (Mei Cai Kou Rou).
Last cookbook purchase
Bunch of ‘70s Chinese cookbooks compiled by some Chinese provincial publishers. I bought them from a Vancouver used bookstore.
Have you read it/tried any recipes
Not really, but I cross-referenced for some of the classic recipes. Plus many bookmarks to try later.
MIMI Chinese Hunan Chili Sea Bass steamed whole and served with house fermented chilis (duo jiao 剁椒), Fujian wine and flowering garlic chive. Photo by Rachel Tong + Gabriel Li.
Name one dish or ingredient you’d like to see gone from menus
Mozzarella, especially the cheap ones used for social media viral stuffed food.
And one dish or ingredient that you’re excited about right now and would like to see on more menus
Offal. It can be pork, beef, chicken, lamb – intestine, liver, heart, tripe, sweetbread, etc., They are definitely not acceptable by many of you. But with proper processing, they can taste so clean but special with various unique textures. Moreover, it reduces food waste.
Biggest influences
My family, to be specific my grandfather.
If you could eat at any restaurant in the world
月と亀 Tukitokame in Tokyo, since my friend mentioned it many times for their special curry.
Last thing you ate
Zongzi - bamboo leaf stuffed with glutinous rice, pork and salted duck yolk. The shape of them look kind of random. I still need to practice more on how to wrap them nicely.
MIMI Chinese House Char Siu with wild flower honey and caramelized soybeans. Photo by Rachel Tong + Gabriel Li.
Three must-have ingredients always in your fridge
Lard rendered by myself, mixed doubanjiang (fermented fava bean sauce), ajvar.
Guilty pleasure
10 piece McNuggets, Double Filet-O-Fish and Large Fries after midnight.
Top 3 favourite Toronto restaurants
Actinolite, Crosley’s (RIP), Harry's Charbroiled. And outside Toronto but in the GTA: Ji Xian Ge (Scarborough), Nian Yi Kuai Zi (Richmond Hill), De Chou (Thornhill).
Top 3 favourite Toronto bars
Imanishi Japanese Kitchen, Sakai Bar, Cry Baby Gallery
Go-to drink
Funky sake. Cocktails containing Chartreuse.
MIMI Chinese: (L-R) Michael Ovejas, junior sous chef Keith Siu, Junzhe (Eddie) Ling and executive sous chef Braden Chong.
One habit you have in the kitchen that you should lose, but can’t seem to shake
Scissors in back pocket. It comes in handy for cutting labels, opening jars, and breaking apart cardboards. Just too dangerous…
And one habit you have in the kitchen that will inspire young chefs
Actually I am that young chef (cook). If I have to say something, that would be trying to make staff meal with more thought, rather than use all the leftover mise you can grab. It’s a great chance to exercise your skill, try new ideas, and most importantly, make your workmates happy.
Hidden talent
I use my washroom as a darkroom. And I always attract my cat to ‘make cookies’ on my belly.
The best career advice you ever received
It’s always okay to make mistakes and you will make some mistakes, realizing them and that we can fix them.
The worst career advice you ever received
Being dishonest with the menu description to charge premium and allure customers.
Your advice for young cooks starting out in the business
Don’t panic, you got this.
In order to support chefs during this time, the monthly At The Pass series is now WEEKLY. Know someone in Toronto or GTA who should be featured? Submit their name for consideration. And yes, you can nominate yourself.
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