Mom’s recipes at the heart of popular dumpling restaurant in Toronto’s Chinatown

Mother’s Dumplings, a family-owned restaurant located on Spadina Avenue in Toronto’s Chinatown, is known for its homemade dishes.

Husband and wife duo, Zhen Feng and Richard Stuart, first opened the restaurant in 2005 on Huron Street, in a basement that housed a few tables.

As it grew in popularity and rent increased, the owners decided to change spots to their current location.

“[My wife] wanted to do a restaurant, and my statement was ‘no way, you don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t know what you’re getting into, over my dead body,’ and I’m still alive. So she won,” says Richard.

Zhen used her mother’s homemade recipes from China to craft the perfect dumplings and dishes and named her restaurant Mother’s Dumplings in her honour.

“When I was a teenager, I didn’t go out. I didn’t like to go out, hang around, play, and when I go home, my mom do dinner, I [would] help her prepare dinner, so I learned from that,” says Zhen.

The restaurant draws in crowds and just last year was recognized by the Michelin Guide.

“I thought it was a joke. ‘Michelin, come on now,’ but it was real. Wow!” says Richard.

Click here to find out more about Mother’s Dumplings and its menu.