Justin Wong
AZYUN Restaurant Owner

Origins of AZYUN

I dreaded being glued to a desk job after studying economics in school. To me, a day well-spent involved something I could do with my hands. And I love everything about food; not just limited to consumption, but the opportunities it opens up. That’s why I opened my restaurant.

To be honest, I didn't speak to my family a lot when I was younger but my dad was adamant we reserved one hour of our day to sit and have dinner together with no distractions. I never understood the importance of it until I got older. In that mere hour, we were able to laugh, argue, and speak our mind; and it was how we became closer to each other. The restaurant experience brings me back to those times and I want to give that to our guests that visit our restaurant. A reason to talk to one another over good food, a casual and dynamic environment, and most importantly good people.

The restaurant’s name, Azyun, was created with the goal of accommodating everyone from A-Z and the Chinese word for people, “Yun.” We boast eclectic Chinese elements with a focus on dishes meant to be shared because, in a city as diverse as Markham, the act of sharing food transcends language. I believe sharing food bonds people on a deeper level and our menu expresses our desire to unite people through food.

Famous Dishes & Goals

We try to keep up with what the local community demands and update our menus every season. We listen to our guests and team to create dishes we consider unique and delicious. It's also to keep us cooks in the kitchen constantly motivated. There are always new ideas we want to try out. Truffle Fried Rice is probably our most popular dish. In all honestly, we had no intention to keep it as a signature dish since we wanted to change the menu every season, but when we removed it from our menu, we disappointed way too many people. There was a demand; therefore we supplied it. And there seems to be an unwritten rule for a Chinese restaurant to have a fried rice dish that usually contains meat. We wanted to offer a bowl of vegetarian fried rice that even meat-lovers would enjoy; hence, earthy meaty mushrooms!

At the end of the day, I want to celebrate my Chinese-Canadian background through food and introduce a variation of Chinese food that boasts quality. The experience we want to bring to our guests is both comforting and educational. We explain to our guests how everything is prepared; from the method we use to cook it, the time it requires to marinate/braise/roast, the ingredients we use to achieve certain results, etc. We want people to enjoy the food but also know what they are eating and how it was prepared.

During the pandemic, we hope to continue to serve the community by providing take-out options and also by showing you how we make our famous Truffle Fried Rice ! (See next post.) And we can’t wait to see everyone again when the situation gets better.

You can reach Azyun Restaurant in Markham, ON at 905.554.1666
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