On December 4, 2011 an unfortunate fire forced the permanent closure of the landmark Yangtze Chinese Restaurant on Van Horne Avenue. But owners Marco and Bobo Yau, brother and sister, acted quickly and reopened a new location at 6066 Sherbrooke Street in NDG under the name of Tchang Kiang by Yangtze Restaurant. (http://tkyangtzeresto.com).
Marco & Bobo grew up in the business. Their dad Brian was the previous owner of Yangtze. They were on the verge of enacting a major facelift to the menu when a horrible fire occurred. The move to N.D.G. was effectively a merger of the Yangtze and Tchang Kiang menus. This comfortable 70 seat venue has a large painted mural on the wall of the original Yangtze.
Bobo now resides in Toronto, where she opened up her own fusion restaurant called Cravings. Marco has done a masterful job building up Tchang Kiang by Yangtze Restaurant over the last six years. Open every day but Monday, the place is always busy. Delivery orders roll out regularly and so do people making pickups.
There is a familiar ring to the menu: the homemade won ton soup with crunchy noodles; the crispy egg rolls, with a sweet homemade plum sauce; pineapple chicken; fried rice; and the Tchang Kiang signature kou tien (pan fried dumplings with pork and vegetables inside).
Egg rolls and soupA large chalkboard in the dining room is where Marco has added a nice array of popular new Seafood and Thai options.
An acquaintance and I recently dropped by for lunch. Our friendly server Sisi guided us in the right direction. I started out with a wonderful Pekin sweet and sour soup while my friend went for the won ton soup. A big thumbs up for both!
The eggrolls were a must, crispy as can be and absolutely delicious. It is no wonder why Marco’s partnership with Mitchell Kadanoff of Solly the Caterer has these items now available at different grocery stores and bakeries. My friend told me that when his family comes to visit from the States they head right to Tchang Kiang by Yangtze for a slew of eggrolls.
Basa fish and vegetablesWe really enjoyed the pan-fried dumplings, sharing an order of six. They were crispy at the bottom, well stuffed and served with a homemade soy and ginger sauce. We insisted upon the pineapple chicken and the sweet sticky spareribs, both were hits ! Then we experimented a bit with the Tchang Kiang Fish. This was a delicious piece of steamed Basa, drizzled with a tasty garlic, lemon and green shallot sauce and served on a pillow of stir fried vegetables. Next came an absolutely spectacular dish of crispy sliced duck breast, in a yellow curry sauce with Asian greens and sweet lychee fruit, and of course piping hot steamed rice. I highly recommend sharing everything family style, as we did.
Sticky spareribsAt this point we were both quite full, but we identified an endless array of other items for future visits, from the spring rolls and the fried wonton wrappers to beef and chicken dishes, lobster offerings, butterfly shrimps and much more.
Tchang Kiang by Yangtze Restaurant is fully licensed, with domestic and imported beers, wine selections, saké, and more. It is located at 6066 Sherbrooke Street West, near Hampton. For reservations or orders call (514) 487-7744 or (514) 733-7171
By Derek Collie