Quick Bites: Mogouyan Hand Pulled Noodle, Loga’s Corner, Cafe KenKaKu

Mogouyan classic beef noodles from Mogouyan Hand Pulled Noodle
Mogouyan classic beef noodles from Mogouyan Hand Pulled Noodle

Mogouyan Hand Pulled Noodle is a rapidly expanding chain that specializes in, as you might expect, hand-pulled noodles.  Shocker, I know!  I kept it simple with their namesake dish, which features a generous amount of noodles and sliced beef in a very basic chicken broth, with a decent amount of chili oil for additional flavour and spice.  The noodles, sadly, were overcooked and a bit mushy, which is a shame since the chewy noodles are really the whole reason to eat this dish.  Otherwise, this was totally fine — nothing about it jumped out at me, but it’s all solidly executed (aside from the aforementioned overcooked noodles) and tasty enough.

Momos from Loga's Corner
Momos from Loga’s Corner

I wanted to visit Loga’s Corner mostly because I had heard good things about their hot sauce.  I actually got two, so I’m not sure which one is the one that people love (or maybe it’s both?), but both were nicely flavourful and had a nice kick.  As for the momos themselves, I tried three: steamed lamb, steamed veg, and fried potato.  The potato was probably the best of the three, with a satisfyingly crispy exterior and nicely creamy potato interior.  The lamb was mostly quite good, but had more gristly bits than I would have liked (they were in pretty much every momo).  All three definitely needed both of those sauces, particularly the veg, and had a much more muted flavour than you’d expect.

Tori Katsu Omurice from Cafe KenKaKu
Tori Katsu Omurice from Cafe KenKaKu

Cafe KenKaKu is a delightful little Japanese place that serves a variety of sandwiches, udon, and omurice.  I went with the omurice that comes with a side of katsu.  I quite enjoyed it — in particular, the omelette was creamy and perfectly cooked, and the katsu was nice and crisp on its exterior and tender within.  The omelette and the rice were both a bit underseasoned and bland, which was a shame (even pouring the curry sauce on top didn’t quite add as much flavour was you’d like), but it was all so well prepared that this is a minor complaint.

Delicious Sandwiches at DAM Sandwiches

DAM Sandwiches
Location
: 363A Oakwood Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/dam_sandwiches/

I tried DAM Sandwiches at last year’s Do West Fest and quite enjoyed it, so this visit was long overdue.

DAM Sandwiches

They have four sandwiches on the menu along with a rotating special; I believe the brisket (“36 hour slow cooked brisket, sautéed onions & peppers, raw onions, banana peppers, chimichurri mayo, hickory stix”) is the most popular, so that’s what I went with.

It’s seriously good.  The beefy, tender brisket is extremely tasty, the veggies complement it well, the hickory stix add some nice crunch, and the zingy chimichurri mayo does a great job of cutting through the richness of the beef.

DAM Sandwiches

As good as all that stuff is (and it’s very, very good), the bread might be the star of the show?  It features a perfect balance between its delicately crispy exterior and fluffy interior, and kinda reminded me of a really good banh mi.

Clearly, another visit to this place is in order, because they really know their way around a sandwich.

Tasty Thai Food at Kao Kang

Kao Kang
Location
: 486 Front Street West, Toronto (inside Wellington Market)
Website: https://kaokang.ca/

Kao Kang, which is part of The Well’s recent expansion, is a spinoff of Koh Lipe, a Michelin-noted Thai restaurant downtown.

Michelin-adjacent eats in a food court?  Yeah, sign me up.

Kao Kang

The guy behind the counter noted that the pad gra prao (“holy basil, chili, green bean, garlic, fried egg on rice”) is their most popular dish, so that’s what I went with.  You can get it with either chicken or beef; I went with beef.

I enjoyed it.  Was it the best version of this dish that I’ve ever had?  No, absolutely not.  But it’s still a food court.  Let’s temper our expectations here.

Kao Kang

It’s very, very sweet, and is kinda lacking in the umami punch that you typically get from this dish.  It’s a bit one-note in its flavour, but is thoroughly pleasant, with a mild spicy kick and a perfectly cooked fried egg on top.  I don’t think I’d order it again, but I’m not mad I ate it.

Delicious Noodle Soup at 555 Boat Noodles

555 Boat Noodles
Location
: 5308 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: https://555noodles.com/

I recently wrote about the boat noodles at Paddler Thai Boat Noodles, which were pretty great.  Well, the version at 555 Boat Noodles are equally delicious, so clearly, boat noodles deserve to be way, way more popular (I think these might be the only two restaurants in the GTA that serve the dish, or at least the only two that specialize in it).

555 Boat Noodles

The boat noodles here (“Chinese Broccoli, Garlic, Coriander, Bean Sprouts, and Onion”) come with your choice of beef, braised beef, or pork, and wonton noodles, rice noodles, or vermicelli.  The waiter suggested braised beef and rice noodles, so that’s what I went with.

555 Boat Noodles

The braised beef probably could have been braised a bit longer (it was slightly tough), but otherwise this was a fantastic bowl of noodle soup.  The broth is savoury and flavourful, with a decent amount of heat, a nice toasty garlic flavour, and a really satisfying tanginess that rounds things out.

555 Boat Noodles

And everything else in the bowl (aside from the aforementioned beef) was great, with a really generous amount of noodles, and a nice contrasting freshness and crunch from the veggies.

Delicious Empanadas at La Morena

La Morena
Location
: 1175A Saint Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/lamorenastclair/

If you’re looking for some very tasty empanadas, I think La Morena is where it’s at.  The tiny place was doing very brisk business when I visited on a Saturday afternoon, and it’s easy enough to see why.

La Morena

I tried a couple of empanadas: Colombian beef (“shredded beef and potato”) and Colombian chorizo (“homemade chorizo and potato”).

La Morena

Both feature pastry made with corn flour, with a nice crispy exterior and just enough substance to hold up to the tasty fillings.

La Morena

I was a bit surprised that both fillings tasted basically the same, and were a bit more muted in the flavour department than I was expecting.

La Morena

But the optional hot sauce — a zingy, vibrant yellow concoction that I want to take home in a jug — brings some serious flavour.  I would have enjoyed the empanadas without it, but that sauce really puts them over the top.