8 Asian-Owned Businesses to Elevate Your Next Toronto Event

Toronto is often considered the most multicultural city in the world. And as a bustling city with a vibrant representation of global cultures, it’s the perfect place to host your next event. Here, we’re showcasing eight local businesses from Toronto’s Asian community that’ll not only level up your next meeting, but also celebrate the rich diversity that makes this city so unique.

1. Ruru Baked

One of the city’s most popular ice-cream spots, Ruru Baked, was founded by Filipina-Singaporean pastry chef, Luanne Ronquillo, in 2016. Their west-end shop’s rotating list of offerings include unique Asian-inspired flavours such as vegan tofu fa, maiz con yelo and kinako brown sugar. At events, Ruru Bakes offers single-serve ice cream cups from their adorable ice-cream bike or plug-in coolers for tabletop service. To personalize the experience, they can create custom labels and flavours. For hosting ease, their packages also include serving staff.

2. The Give and Grow

In 2020, Olivia Ho founded Give and Grow to combine her love of sports with a desire to build community. The women-led company sells basketball-themed planters and accessories, with a portion of each planter sale going towards supporting youth programming. Their list of past merchandise collaborators includes the NBA All-Star Game, Toronto Tempo, Puma and more. At events, Give and Grow can host workshops for guests to paint designs on their own basketball planter and choose what fauna goes inside a.k.a. the perfect team-bonding activity!

3. Khazana

Khazana, meaning “treasure” in Hindi, is an Indian fine-dining restaurant helmed by award-winning MasterChef Sanjeev Kapoor. They have three locations—including one that is steps away from Yonge-Dundas Square—which can be rented out for events or team-bonding meals. Alternatively, they can come to your venue. Their menu includes over 500 Indian delicacies, available as hassle-free takeout trays, buffet-style or on-site live catering. The all-inclusive package includes beverages and access to their vendor list of singers, photographers and DJs.

4. Rebecca Chan Events

Rebecca Chan Events is a leading Toronto-based event-planning company. Founder Rebecca Chan has over 15 years of experience in the industry and speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin. Chan and her all-female team have an impressive past client list—including award-winning Canadian poet Rupi Kaur, Google Pixel, the Shangri-La Hotel, Holt Renfrew and more—and they have experience with brand activations, trade shows and luxury celebrations.

5. Lao Lao Bar

Lao Lao Bar, a Laotian eatery near Yonge and Wellesley, is the brainchild of Jason Jiang and Seng Luong and is often frequented by local and international stars, including Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh and Canada’s Drag Race judge Brad Goreski. They offer two event packages: a private dining room or the whole space to yourself. They offer plenty of flexibility to ensure the menu suits all your needs, whether it's cocktails and appetizers like their famous tapioca dumplings or a full 12-course tasting menu with items like their coconut rice salad.

6. Wynn Photobooth

This elegant event photobooth is owned by the Toronto-based Vietnamese sibling duo Judy and Davis Nguyen. Their aluminum-made photobooth comes with a high-quality DSLR camera and printer. Every Wynn Photobooth booking includes two attendants to assist guests, a variety of premium backdrops, custom-designed frames to match your event and unlimited digital and physical prints. This not only gives guests a special keepsake, but the digital copies can help boost social media exposure. There is also an option to add an event photographer at a special rate.

7. Artket Goods

Founded by Francesca Chan in 2020, Artket Goods sells hand-poured, all-natural wax candles that pay homage to nostalgic snacks and scents from across many Asian cultures. Her offerings include Korean Melona ice cream bars, Japanese grape-flavoured Hi-Chew candy and the spicy sriracha sauce. Chan also creates hand-painted candles that resemble a bonsai tree, lucky cat and a variety of Asian dumplings. These high-quality candles are the perfect standout piece for corporate gifting at events of any size.

8. Ahma

Ahma, meaning “grandmother” in Chinese, is a cozy boho-chic event space located on the lively Queen Street West. Owned by hospitality expert Evelyn Chick, the multi-functional space is perfect for corporate meetings, brand activations and team-building activities like cocktail classes. Their event packages also include use of their fully licensed bar, glassware, furniture, florals and decor, as well as access to a team of veteran chefs, bartenders, servers and hospitality pros that can design custom menus, coordinate entertainment and much more.