AYLA is an intimate restaurant and cocktail bar with a thoughtful and distinctive approach to modern Asian fusion cuisine. 

Best described as a love letter to Hong Kong, the menu pays homage to classic Cantonese dishes like crispy Prawn Toast and sweet-and-savoury glazed Pork Char Siu, each with a reimagined twist.

The name, AYLA, meaning halo of light around the moon, reflects the partnership of Chef and Co-Owners Danvee Kwok and Kevin Shawcross and Co-Owners Craig Wong and Ivy Lam, who first came together as a group on Moon Street in Hong Kong in 2023.

Shawcross and Kwok, partners in life and business, lived in Hong Kong for five years. 

Shawcross, who previously worked in Barbados, ran a successful Caribbean pop-up called Caribana Social Club, a nod to Toronto's Caribana summer festival. During this time, he formed a fast friendship with Toronto restaurateur Craig Wong, the pair connecting over a shared passion for celebrating Asian and Caribbean flavours.

Kwok, a Hong Kong native deeply well-versed in the ins and outs of Cantonese cuisine, is also a highly accomplished Japanese chef. Together, she and Shawcross bring an impressive culinary repertoire, with experience also spanning French and Italian cooking.

For them, AYLA represents not only the vibrancy and energy of Hong Kong but also their global journeys as chefs. 

"Hong Kong influenced us greatly," shared Shawcross. "It's an incredibly dynamic city. Danvee was born and raised there. The culinary scene in that city is just electric."

For drinks, there's a selection of bespoke cocktails, craft beers, and expertly curated wine. 

The Tokyo Smoke ($22) is a mezcal-based drink with bright green matcha, lemon, basil, and an egg white foam. It has an earthy, punchy flavour. 

The Last Emperor ($20) combines Chinese and Japanese liquor with rum, pineapple, and lemon. Sweet and sour, it's finished with a creamy egg white foam.

The Sake Martini ($20) is a delicate, mildly bitter blend of sake, Tanqueray, vermouth, pomelo, grapefruit bitters, and a hint of chilli, garnished with baby's breath.

The food blends familiar Hong Kong flavours with global influences, with each dish on the tight, 10-item menu as uniquely memorable as the next.

Unlike any Caesar I've had before, the Chrysanthemum Caesar ($18) is tossed in a tangy, nutty sesame miso dressing, rounded out with fermented tofu. The leafy greens, traditionally cooked in hot pot, are used raw here. They have a mildly grassy, sweet taste and a fair amount of crunch that stands up beautifully to the dressing.

The salad is garnished with toasted buckwheat kernels and, like any good Caesar, a generous shower of salty pecorino cheese.

The Prawn Toast Okonomiyaki ($22) puts a spin on the Cantonese dim sum by adding a fun and flavourful Japanese okonomiyaki topping.

"Everyone knows what a traditional square prawn toast is. For our take, we decided to roll it up into a cigar form and garnished it with Japanese bonito flakes and a bulldog sauce," shared Kwok. 

Crispy, with a tender interior, the prawn toast was deeply savoury and slightly sweet. 

The Char Siu ($35), made with succulent Iberico pork, pays tribute to Shawcross's time in Barbados. The pork has a bold, sticky, and flavourful cassareep glaze, and underneath is a Bajan green seasoning. 

"Every island in the Caribbean kind of has their own version of this. It's used as a marinade or sauce, essentially like a Caribbean version of chimichurri," Shawcross explained. 

The green seasoning was vibrant, bright, and herbaceous, cutting through the richness of the pork. 

Finally, the menu's showstopper must be the Drunken Wild Sablefish ($36). Marinated for three days in sake and miso, the fish is light and buttery with a flaky, melt-in-your-mouth texture. It's pan-fried to crisp the skin, then topped with pickled shimeji and shiitake mushrooms, and delicate slivers of scallion.

The whole dish comes together in a warm brown butter sauce balanced with a splash of the soy, mirin, and vinegar-based pickling liquid used for the mushrooms. Trust me and ask for a spoon on the side. 

The space, largely designed by Lam, pays homage to the genre-blending, boundary-pushing, golden age of Hong Kong cinema, particularly the works of director Wong Kar-wai and his 1994 film Chungking Express. 

Complete with high ceilings, warm lighting, elements of jade, cherry red booths and bar to match, the restaurant feels romantic, timeless and effortlessly cool, creating the perfect backdrop for an evening of lively conversations, connection, and storytelling among friends and family. 

AYLA is located at 794 Dundas Street West on the second floor.