Soignée Catering’s deconstructed BLT features a perfect 64-degree egg
Nutrient-dense, endlessly versatile, yet Platonically simple, eggs are truly one of nature’s perfect foods. While many chefs consign the simple orbs to breakfast servitude, others in Toronto bring them front and centre, whether in traditional dishes or more innovative concoctions. Here, 10 of the city’s most beautiful and delicious egg dishes.
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Amirsina Derakhshan and Kevin Jeung of Soignée Catering bring modern culinary techniques to classic French and Italian cuisine, creating innovative dishes. Their take on the BLT stars a 64-degree egg, a Berkshire pork belly cooked sous vide for 36 hours, buttery grilled brioche toast and tomato confit. Ruffles of micro sorrel and lemon vinaigrette–dressed frisée cut through the richness of the salt-kissed egg and pork; Kozlik’s triple-crunch mustard and charred scallion oil pull the distinct components together.
Menus start at $35 per person for a three-course meal.
Soignée Catering, 416-419-9880, soigneecatering.com.
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Named after the Roman goddess of the hunt, chef Didier Leroy’s creation nestles a fresh egg between gossamer layers of a venison bone–pepper sauce and lightly seared cubes of Quebec venison. Expert timing ensures that the soft-baked yolk remains golden and just oozy enough to mingle with the tender meat and decadent sauce. The luxurious course is topped with a slice of black truffle and pairs well with a Côtes du Rhône red.
Served as a pair as a first-course option on the restaurant’s three-course event menu, $60–75.
Didier, 1496 Yonge St., 416-925-8588, restaurantdidier.com.
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This Shanghainese classic may be reminiscent of the everyday fritter, but Asian Legend’s fried dough is more like an eggy sponge. A semi-sweet red bean paste core is surrounded by a cornstarch-and-flour-stabilized egg-white soufflé before being deep-fried and dusted with sugar. Make sure to order this first when placing your order; the dramatic dessert requires extra time to prepare.
$6.95/four, $9.95/eight.
Asian Legend, 418 Dundas St. W. (and five other locations), 416-977-3909, asianlegend.ca.
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Claudio Aprile reinvents this dowdy hors d’oeuvre by refilling cool hard-boiled egg whites with a mixture of creamy aïoli and smooth yolks that have been put through a tamis sieve. Crispy rice puffs, crunchy crystals of salt, fresh basil and orange zest all pop against the silky backdrop, while the shard of double-smoked compressed bacon is what all rashers aspire to be.
$4/pair.
Origin, 107 King St. E., 416-603-8009, origintoronto.com.
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Traditionally, tea eggs are sold by street vendors in Asia, but the fragrant, protein-rich snack is also found on select menus in the GTA. Most tea eggs take on a marbled appearance (the shell of the hard-boiled egg is cracked before the whole thing is stewed in a soy sauce brine), but in Ten Ren’s deeply stained version, both the loose white and tender, moist yolk are completely infused with heady flavours from the braising liquid (made from seasoned Iron Goddess tea).
$1.
Ten Ren’s Tea Time, Unit 101, 111 Times Ave., Thornhill, 905-881-8896, tenrenstea.com/teatime.
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Donna Dooher’s cheeky, Dr. Seuss–inspired brunch dish showcases velvety scrambled eggs stained with puréed spinach. The free-range eggs are paired with seared country ham and a light salad of sherry vinaigrette–dressed frisée, heirloom carrot curls, boiled red potatoes and fresh herbs. The plate is set to retire from the Mildred’s brunch menu soon, so get it while it’s hot.
$11.
Mildred’s Temple Kitchen, 85 Hanna Ave., 416-588-5695, templekitchen.com.
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“I thought they would be cuter than regular pickled eggs,” chef Joan Olsen says of the pop-in-your-mouth bites at Swirl. Olsen takes quail eggs from Cro Quail Farms in St. Anns, boils them, shells them and pickles them in a white wine vinegar flavoured with garlic, allspice berries, cayenne pepper and bay leaves. The results? Perfect, tender little white orbs with a slight sweetness and a delicate yolk.
$1.
Swirl Wine Bar, 946 ½ Queen St. E., 647-351-5453, swirltoronto.com.
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Sitting on the borderlands of sweet and savoury, the kabocha pumpkin croquette at Guu is like a vegetarian version of a Scotch egg. A shelled, boiled egg is wrapped in a thick layer of moist kobacha pumpkin, given a light panko crust and then deep-fried. The result is an aromatic golden ball that comes blanketed in a blend of mayo and tangy tonkatsu sauce. Best appreciated with mug of Sapporo.
$4.80.
Guu Izakaya, 398 Church St., 416-977-0999, guu-izakaya.com.
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Chiu Chow Boy’s braised eggs—simmered in a lo shui marinade made from soy sauce, shaoxing wine, stock, rock sugar, scallions, ginger and star anise—are pure comfort. The master sauce develops tremendous body as it is reused and replenished over time, much like the mother of a sourdough starter. Chiu Chow Boy’s base is over 10 years old, and it gives the firmly set eggs a deep and deliciously meaty flavour.
$1.
Chiu Chow Boy, 3261 Kennedy Rd., 416-335-0336.
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ABC’s Hong Kong–style egg tart puts the rest of the city’s Chinese bakeries to shame—no overly sweet filling packed into a chalky flat shell here. Instead, ABC’s tarts are tender, golden puff-pastry confections filled with quivering, just-sweet-enough egg custard. Freshly baked tarts fly off the shelves. The first tray is pulled from the oven daily at 9:30 a.m., but fear not: the stock is constantly replenished throughout the day.
$0.85/tart.
ABC Bakery Shop, 3618 Victoria Park Ave., 416-493-3151.
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