Meet Siu To, Edmonton’s Legendary Green Onion Cake Man

When you think of staple Canadian dishes, you probably think of poutine and tourtière, maple syrup and Canadian bacon, Timbits and ketchup chips. You might think of the bagels and smoked meats of Montreal, or traditional Indigenous and Métis meals of bannock, game, and pemmican. You’ll consider how Canada’s colonial history has impacted its food, with Indigenous, British, and French culture combining in a cuisine that might not be uniquely Canadian on a dish-by-dish basis but that is unmistakably Canadian when viewed as a whole. And if you’re focusing on one major city in the country’s western prairies, you might think of one specific dish that has nothing to do with any of that history, from a culture entirely removed from Canada’s colonial past. If you ask somebody from Edmonton what the city’s favorite snack is, there’s a great chance they’ll serve you a green onion cake. How did a Chinese pancake become the signature treat of a Canadian city almost 6000 miles away?

The answer lies with the Green Onion Cake Man.

Born in Northern China in the early 1940s, Siu To was 15 when he moved to Hong Kong, 40 years before the British colony became a special administrative region of China. 15 years later he was making plastic flowers for a living, working in manufacturing without ever having considered a career in cooking. To relocated his family to Edmonton in the early ‘70s, joining a brother who had moved there earlier, and quickly realized that Chinese food in Canada was nothing like what he ate back home. It was tailored to local tastes, and lost much of what makes it special in the translation. Missing the food he grew up with, and hoping to feed the city’s growing Chinese population, the former plastic flower man had found a new calling.

To made his move after seeing a restaurant listed for sale in the Edmonton Journal. Again, though, he wasn’t a cook himself. He knew what authentic Chinese food was supposed to taste like, but he didn’t know how to make it himself. He plunged into the restaurant business, working with cooks on a trial-and-error basis to recreate the foods he loved. There was one dish To knew how to make, though, so he added it to the menu. And that’s how Edmonton’s eventual love affair with the green onion cake began.

A simple savory pancake made with flour, salt, shortening, and minced scallions, the green onion cake is a Northern Chinese staple that grew out of necessity, To explained during a recent visit to his restaurant. Before moving to Hong Kong in his teens, To grew up in a family of eight all living in a single room in Northern China. Cheap to make, easy to preserve, and absolutely delicious, the green onion cake was a special treat his family would occasionally enjoy. The ingredients are cheap and plentiful (as To said, “you can grow the green onion on a houseboat”), you don’t need to refrigerate the cakes when they’re done, and making them is a fun activity that brings the family together while keeping children occupied. It’s no wonder that making and eating green onion cakes became a well-remembered part of To’s childhood.

To’s restaurant Happy Garden took off in Edmonton in the early ‘80s. One Edmonton resident told us it wasn’t uncommon to see Wayne Gretzky and his fellow Edmonton Oilers eating there after games during their ‘80s heyday. Along the way To’s green onion cake became entrenched as a part of Edmonton’s culinary culture, culminating in To sharing his recipe with the city in the Journal in the mid ‘00s so that the tradition would live on without him. You’ll find green onion cakes throughout Edmonton, and not just at restaurants; it’s become a mandatory snack at any self-respecting festival, like a slightly healthier version of the funnel cakes found at most American fairs. Locals even tried to make it the official food of Edmonton, although that noble endeavor sadly didn’t pass muster with the local government. 

You’ll understand why people love To’s green onion cakes so much after a single bite. Imagine a pancake smaller but thicker than the ones we eat for breakfast, somehow firmer to the touch but lighter in the belly, with small chunks of scallions throughout and a handful of tasty dipping sauces, including hoisin and sweet and sour. They’re pan-fried, so they aren’t as greasy as a donut, and they don’t have that peculiar issue that comedian Mitch Hedberg noted with pancakes where it’s almost impossible to finish a plate of them. You can pick ’em up and dip ’em in sauce without making a mess, or you can cut ’em up on your plate. However you eat them, To’s green onion cakes are spectacular, and an ideal snack food. 

To isn’t surprised by how popular his cakes became in Edmonton. He compares them to pizza—something that’s delicious but so easy to make that almost anybody can do it well. And although his current restaurant is called the Green Onion Cake Man, he claims to feel no ownership over the snack. “The more people making green onion cake [the better],” he told us, which is an attitude fully befitting somebody who would release his signature recipe to the public. To is a big believer in people cooking their own meals and avoiding mass-produced food in favor of the hand-made fare you’ll find at local restaurants like his. “Cooking is vital for our civilization,” he said. “We are the only species in the world that does cooking. The whole process [of cooking] is intelligence. You put it together, you share with your family—it’s a happiness.”

Even To couldn’t resist the allure of his green onion cakes. He officially retired in his mid 70s and left Edmonton for Vancouver. He couldn’t stand not working, though, and returned to Edmonton in 2019 to open a new restaurant focused primarily on his green onion cakes. He’s not sure what the future will bring for him and his cakes—he has no clear successor, and his children have forged careers outside the restaurant business—but he trusts the city of Edmonton to keep the legacy of his green onion cakes alive. Given how popular and delicious they are, Siu To probably doesn’t need to worry that his contribution to Canadian cuisine will ever be forgotten.

For more on Alberta, check out our guide to Calgary.

Senior editor Garrett Martin writes about videogames, comedy, travel, theme parks, wrestling, and anything else that gets in his way. He’s also on Twitter @grmartin.