Chefs Kang and Bang's Toronto restaurant trail spans fish to fire

Jeff Kang and Edward Bang have quietly built one of Toronto's most influential food networks — all while operating from a back-alley seafood butcher.

Together with co-owner Jason Ching, the two launched Oroshi Fish Co. in 2022, a hybrid operation combining a dry-aged sushi shop and seafood supplier. The business supplies some of Toronto's most celebrated restaurants, including Seahorse, Maven, Porzia's, Osteria Giulia, and 20 Victoria. Demand has been so high the trio is opening a second location later this year. "Right now we're moving 100 pounds of fish every day, butchering it all on a little countertop, serving sushi, and we just started catering," Bang says. "We hate turning down requests, but sometimes we have to. We just don't have the space to meet the demand."

In 2024, the trio opened Takja BBQ House, an upscale Korean barbecue restaurant steps from Oroshi. "We wanted the menu to reflect what we eat at home," Bang says. "All the dishes, even the sides, are very intentional. There's no filler. We got approval from many Korean diners at the start, so we knew we were doing something right, something authentic. Now we get a lot of repeat customers."

Kang is already developing two new ventures: a small-batch gelato shop called Cono, opening in Little Italy in mid-July, and another project he's keeping under wraps.

When the pair finds rare downtime, they visit chef friends and nostalgic spots across the city. Their go-to for barbecue is Mozy's in Liberty Village. "When I first came to Toronto, I lived in Liberty Village for a year," Bang says. "It's really vibrant, and now that Mozy's is here, I go every other week." The restaurant's chef, Barbode Soudi, had them try everything before opening to the public and invited neighboring restaurant owners to offer feedback. "He knows they know the community better than him, and he wanted to learn from them. He's very smart," Kang says.

Their go-to order: the full chicken meal — a whole charcoal-grilled chicken with a choice of two sides, one dip, two sauces, one order of bread, and two tahini-miso cookies. "Nothing beats charcoal-cooked meat. There's so much flavour," Bang says. "When we lived in Korea, we used charcoal for barbecuing because it was cheaper. These days, you see gas cooking too, but back in the day it was all charcoal. This is how I cook for my kids — I just throw everything on the charcoal barbecue. They love it. The charcoal is a key part of the seasoning."

Bang moved to Toronto from Vancouver a few years ago and has grown to prefer it. "When I first moved to Toronto from Vancouver, it really felt like a smaller version of New York to me. It has a bit of that energy, on a more manageable scale," he says. "I like Toronto more than Vancouver now. There are better opportunities as a chef, greater diversity, and so many different places to eat."