DO EAT CHINESE

In the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I avoided spicy foods just in case the heat did nudge Alivia to join us earlier (had to move and what not before her due date). Since she’s joined us, I’ve still had to avoid anything super spicy because the few times I’ve added hot sauce to my plate, Alivia’s had a night full of stomach pains after nursing. So this meal at Do Eat Chinese has been my last taste of delicious tongue numbing fare since January. I’m hoping as she gets older I can slowly raise the spice level of my meals again. Until then, I’m looking at past photos and salivating over my phone.

Atmosphere: When we visited, the restaurant had just opened (under new management?) and was still offering specials on their signature dishes. Very few tables were taken and we had our pick. The restaurant was pretty standard for Chinese restaurants in Markham. A bit on the smaller side, clean with a mix of tables and booth seating.

Service: We arrived for an early dinner and the hostess offered us any table of our liking. I picked a booth by the window for the natural light, but it was a bit chilly. Once we settled down, the hostess brought over a portable heater to help keep us warm. Service throughout the entire meal was oddly really good. I’m not sure if it was because the restaurant wasn’t too busy, but our server and the hostess were incredibly attentive. She came by to apologize for the dishes taking some time, when we hadn’t even noticed and our plates were exchanged for new ones during the meal without prompting.

Food: My father in law had eaten at Do Eat the week before, so he had a few dishes he already wanted us to try. The main one being a oil braised eel dish served with thin pancakes and green onion threads, similar to Peking duck. It’s a traditional Shanghai dish that I’m starting to see more and more of on menus in the GTA. Do Eat’s version was sweet, heavy on the dark soy and tender. A pretty authentic version for my taste buds. I’m a big fan of eel and would recommend trying out this dish, even though the visual can be a bit daunting.

To round out our meal, we also ordered a Spicy Chicken Knuckle (similar to La Zi Ji Ding but made with just the cartilage part of the chicken leg) and a Spicy Water Fish with Tofu (Shui Zhu Yu). The chicken knuckle was interesting, had a good chew but not too much meat and a strong cumin flavour. Not overly spicy.

I really enjoyed the Spicy Water Fish with Tofu, which was a great twist. The silken tofu was a great neutral palette for the sweet, spicy and numbing soup, which was more like a sauce in this version. To be honest, I could’ve eaten a few bowls of just the sauce and white rice. The fish was fresh and tender as well, which also meant a few bones to be cautious of.

Overall, our meal at Do Eat was pretty delicious and I’d like to go back and explore their menu more. The eel dish, while tasty and unique was quite pricey (over $40).