Check out the Latest Posts:

After going for Peking duck over the Christmas holidays a few years ago, it’s become a bit of a tradition. During our most recent holidays, we decided to check out Dayali, a popular Peking duck chain from Beijing.

Located near Warden and Steeles, Dayali is notorious for long waits. They only take reservations for groups of five or more which meant that our group of three had to just pray for the best. Reviews for Dayali are rather mixed but love it or hate it, there’s no denying that they have a loyal fan base as 1+ hour waits are not unusual. We came on Christmas Eve around 7:15 and didn’t get a table until past 8:30.

The front of the restaurant is a little chaotic, so make your way to the cashier and put your name down. Unfortunately, they don’t take phone numbers so if you’re not here when your number is called, tough luck. Since we were quoted a one hour wait, we headed over to the Chatime next door (like many others) to kill some time.

The interior

The interior

While everyone comes for the Peking duck, you’ll have a tough time narrowing down a couple other dishes to order. Like many Chinese restaurants, the menu is quite extensive.

Dayali has a VIP card which you can purchase for around $20 or so. The card gives you a $1-$3 discount on all dishes, so it could be worth it if a) you have a large group or b) plan to visit more than once. All the items on the menu have two different prices (VIP and regular), so you can do the math.

The first dish to arrive was the Signature Peking Style Lamb ($12.99) which turned out to be one of my favourite dishes of the evening. It consisted of thinly sliced pieces of lamb sautéed with greens, served on a sizzling hot plate. You’ll notice that the dish is rather greasy but it’s well worth the calories. While the menu indicated it would be a spicy dish, the spice level caught me off guard. Definitely have some water handy!

Signature Peking Style Lamb

Signature Peking Style Lamb

We also ordered the Pan Fried Dumplings ($6.99). Given that they’re not a dumpling house, I didn’t have high expectations but these were surprisingly tasty. The skin was crispy on the outside with a juicy pork filling.

Pan Fried Dumplings

Pan Fried Dumplings

Up next was the Pan Fried Chinese Pancakes ($4.99). These pancakes were a big disappointment. They were quite bland and were awfully dry. They really needed to kick up the oil. It tasted like it had been toasted as opposed to fried.

Pan Fried Chinese Pancakes

Pan Fried Chinese Pancakes

I was very intrigued by the Steamed Pork Slices dressed with Sticky Rice ($12.99) which turned out to be a real winner. It consisted of slices of braised pork belly sitting on top of sticky rice. The fatty slices of pork belly were incredibly rich and decadent so you can’t eat too much in one sitting. I enjoyed the sticky rice but I wish there was just more of it. The neutral steamed white buns were definitely necessary to help cut the richness of the belly.

Steamed Pork Slices dressed with Sticky Rice

Steamed Pork Slices dressed with Sticky Rice

The last dish to arrive was what we came here for, the Signature Roast Duck ($38.88). They also offer regular Peking style roast duck for $31.88. I wasn’t quite sure what the difference was but we waited too long to not order their signature!

Signature Roast Duck

Signature Roast Duck

The style is a little different from what I’m used to as we were served the skin first. It left us wondering where the rest of the duck went. The crispy duck skin was served on a tower which doubled as a warming device for the wraps. And when I say duck skin, it was literally just the skin (like eating chips!). The skin was super crisp and quite oily – one bite and you’ll definitely feel the oil.

Up next was the rest of the duck – crispy pieces of skin but this time with the meat of the duck still attached. The meat was tender, moist and overall, made for a great wrap. Oh, and if your favourite part about Peking duck is the lettuce wrap, unfortunately they don’t serve that here.

Another thing that’s unique about Dayali is their accompaniments which include grapes and something that resembled Hickory Sticks.

Signature Roast Duck

Signature Roast Duck

Despite the long wait, we had an enjoyable experience at Dayali. While we came for their famous Peking duck, it was their other dishes that stole the show!

At a glance:

  • A popular Peking duck chain from Beijing
  • Located near Warden and Steeles
  • Notorious for long waits; reservations only taken for groups of 5 or more
  • VIP Card available for purchase (just over $20) which gives you a discount of $1-$3 per dish
  • Favourite dishes: Peking style lamb and steamed pork slices with sticky rice
  • Came for their famous Peking duck (which was good) but it was their other dishes that stood out

Ratings (out of 5):

  • Food: 4 stars
  • Service: 2 stars
  • Atmosphere: 2 stars


  1. It‘s quiet in here! Why not leave a response?