Michael Nusair

Tasty Fried Chicken and Curry at Ramen Ryu

Published on November 17, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 486 Front Street West, Toronto (inside Wellington Market)
Website: https://ryusnoodlebar.com/ramen_ryu

I mentioned recently that I tried the ramen at Ramen Ryu at the Well and found it tasty, but not mind-blowing. Well, maybe I just ordered the wrong thing? This place has a “recommendation” board on their menu, and the top choice isn’t ramen at all — it’s karaage & curry.

I ordered it, obviously, and yeah, it’s quite tasty.

It’s a simple dish — rice, a whole bunch of Japanese curry, and three pieces of karaage (i.e. Japanese fried chicken).

The curry is great, with a nice depth of flavour and a mild spicy kick. It’s maybe a touch on the salty side, but is otherwise above average Japanese curry.

The chicken features a nice balance between the crispy exterior and juicy interior, and complements the curry well. And the rice does a great job of soaking up that curry. It’s a very satisfying dish.

Shawarma/Calzone Fusion at Keko Shawarma

Published on November 16, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3128 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://kekoshawarmaon.com/

As soon as I found out that Keko Shawarma sells a shawarma calzone, I was sold. I had zero follow-up questions. Shawarma calzone? Yes please.

It’s actually pretty basic. It’s filled with beef or chicken shawarma, a whole bunch of gooey cheese, and… that’s it. It comes with a salad on the side, along with a couple of little cups of hot sauce and garlic sauce.

I went with the chicken shawarma, which is definitely above average. It’s a tiny bit on the dry side, but it’s got a bunch of the crispy bits you’re looking for and is nicely spiced. It’s quite tasty.

The calzone was made to order and was hot and fresh, with a generous amount of chicken shawarma and melty cheese, and a thin crust that was mostly just a vehicle for the chicken and cheese.

The hot sauce could have been hotter (it was barely spicy at all), but the creamy garlic sauce was seriously tasty and quite addictive.

I’m glad I tried it, but I think I’d get the normal shawarma wrap if I found myself back here. Shawarma + calzone is a fun combo, but I think there’s a reason it’s not really a thing. The calzone wasn’t really better than the bread you’d normally get in a shawarma wrap, and the abundant cheese — while tasty — makes this taste more like a novelty than something you’d want to eat on the regular.

Baked Salted Caramel Pie at McDonald’s

Published on November 16, 2025November 16, 2025 by Michael Nusair2 Comments

Location: 1500 Dundas Street East, Mississauga (inside Walmart)
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I’m going to try not to spend this entire review complaining about how McDonald’s used to fry their pies, resulting in a golden, satisfyingly crispy exterior, and now bakes them instead.

Remember how good the fried pies used to taste? No, you don’t, because the switchover happened back in 1992, and you weren’t even born when it happened?? That’s extremely upsetting to me, but yeah, fair enough.

Well, the fried pies were good. And you don’t need a time machine to discover this for yourself — basically every other country in the world still serves their McDonald’s pies fried, and it’s a million times better. Why we still have to put up with gummy, tasteless crusts despite the fact that the low-fat diet craze that spawned this change has been gone for decades is a mystery that will eternally haunt me.

Oh, did I say I wasn’t going to spend this entire review complaining about the crust? Well, I lied. Otherwise, this is basically fine — it tastes like an apple pie that’s all goo, no apples, with the slight hit of salt making it a bit more interesting. But seriously: why are we all putting up with the fact that the pies at McDonald’s are terrible when they don’t have to be???

Spicy Chicken Sandwich at Aloette Go

Published on November 13, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 171 East Liberty Street, Toronto
Website: https://aloettego.com/

I’ve had a couple of things from Aloette and thought they were both pretty great. Well I just tried the Spicy Chicken Sandwich (“Crispy buttermilk fried chicken, Aloette hot sauce, Go sauce, & shredded lettuce”), and hey, what do you know? It’s great as well.

It’s a really, really good fried chicken sandwich. The chicken itself is ultra-tender thigh meat, and the crispy exterior? Perfection. It’s got a great level of crunch without being overly substantial, and it’s nicely seasoned.

It’s topped with hot sauce and “Go sauce” — it doesn’t look all that saucy from the photo (sadly, I wasn’t able to cut it in half), so you’ll just have to take my word for it that it was saucy and delicious. The hot sauce / Go sauce combo is basically Aloette’s version of Buffalo sauce and ranch, which is a classic combo.

The heat level is somewhere between medium and hot — it’s certainly not the spiciest thing you’ll ever eat, but it’s satisfying.

And the bun was soft and fresh, and held up to the saucy chicken quite well (again, you can’t tell, but I assure you that it was saucy). It’s a stellar fried chicken sandwich.

Triple Pickle McCrispy from McDonald’s

Published on November 12, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

Pickle-heavy fried chicken sandwiches are officially a thing at fast food joints. There was the Pickle Glaze Chicken Sandwich at Popeyes, the Pickle Sandwich at KFC, and now, the Triple Pickle McCrispy at McDonald’s.

I was a bit baffled as to what the hell is going on, so I Googled it, and apparently the pickle mania is a Gen Z thing. Sure, why not? I guess pickles have rizz. Am I using that right? They’re full of rizz? That seems right.

Here’s how the McDonald’s website describes the Triple Pickle McCrispy: “A crispy chicken patty – made with 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken – and shredded lettuce on a soft potato bun. But that’s only the beginning. Crispy dill pickle-seasoned cucumbers, our classic pickles and a generous spread of our all-new creamy dill pickle sauce. All together in a bold collision of pickle pickle pickle flavour.”

I enjoyed this. It is, indeed, very pickley, with a noticeable punch of pickle flavour. The sauce is slightly sweet and thoroughly zesty, and the fried pickles are basically like the crispy onions that McDonald’s occasionally uses, only… pickley. They’re tasty.

Between those two things and the standard McDonald’s pickle slices, it’s a lot of pickle — but in a satisfying way. This doesn’t just feel like a novelty. I’d get it again.