chicken – Page 8 – Michael Eats

Solid Ramen at Midori Ramen

Published on August 26, 2024 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 412 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://midoriramen.com/

Ramen: it’s the best. I’ve said it on this blog before, and I have no doubt I’ll say it again. Even a mid-tier bowl of ramen is better than a great version of most other things.

Case in point: Midori Ramen. Is it the best bowl of ramen in the city? No, absolutely not. Is it tasty? It absolutely is.

Their specialty is tori paitan ramen, which is like the tonkotsu that’s so prevalent in the GTA, but made with chicken instead of pork. The best versions of this have an addictive roasted chicken flavour, and while this one was creamy and nice, it didn’t have much of a flavour outside of a pleasant, rich saltiness.

You can choose between thin, thick, and kale (??) noodles; they recommend thin. Like the broth, the noodles are pleasant, but they lack the toothsome chew that makes the best ramen noodles so special.

The toppings are all great, however. It comes with tasty pork chashu, a ridiculously tender slice of chicken, and a great ramen egg with a perfectly jammy yolk.

KD Mac & Cheese Chicken Sandwich from KFC

Published on August 21, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3517 Dundas Street West, York
Website: https://www.kfc.ca/

I’ve gotta give it to KFC: they know exactly what I want out of a fast food joint. If they keep pumping out carnival-style food, I’m gonna keep trying it.

I think the massive success of the Double Down might have broken something in the brains of all the KFC executives, because they’re clearly still chasing that high (the Festive Chicken Sandwich, the Gravy Lovers Sandwich, etc.), and I’m very happy to be along for the ride.

As per the KFC website, “the KD® Mac & Cheese Chicken Sandwich features our signature Chicken fillet, topped with KD macaroni noodles and creamy KD cheese sauce brought together to deliver on the ultimate Cheesy experience!”

It’s actually not bad, though calling it “the ultimate cheesy experience” might be a bit of a stretch. I don’t know if Kraft Dinner is way more bland than I remembered or if they just didn’t put enough sauce in this particular batch, but it mostly just tasted like plain macaroni (despite having that distinctive orange glow). I think there might have been a tiny bit of the “creamy KD cheese sauce” on top, but not enough to make much of a difference.

Still, I got lucky and got a reasonably hot and fresh piece of chicken, so just as a normal sandwich, it was tasty; the chicken was reasonably juicy, with a nicely crunchy exterior. The mac and cheese mostly just added some creaminess and — if you really concentrate — the vaguest patina of cheesy flavour. So no, it doesn’t add a whole lot, but it doesn’t detract, either.

Firecracker McCrispy at McDonald’s

Published on July 27, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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

I wasn’t a particularly big fan of the regular McCrispy, which I thought was fine, but way too plain to be particularly worth thinking about. But a spicy version? Yeah, now you’re talking.

The McDonald’s website describes this as “a crispy chicken sandwich topped with a creamy sweet and spicy sauce and crispy jalapenos. Made with tender and juicy 100% Canadian-raised seasoned chicken and served on a soft potato bun.”

You can get it with or without bacon; the signage outside of the store advertised the bacon version, so that’s what I got.

It’s pretty decent. It’s a big upgrade over the standard McCrispy, that’s for sure. The sweet and spicy sauce is, as advertised, very sweet and a little bit spicy. It’s borderline too sweet, but with all the other stuff, it works.

The crispy jalapenos add some extra crispiness and a tiny bit more heat, and the patty itself is what it is. It’s fine.

The bacon is probably unnecessary, though. Something a bit thicker likely would have enhanced things, but the bacon here was so thin that it kinda got lost among the other components of the sandwich.

Tasty Fried Chicken at Brock Sandwich

Published on July 25, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1260 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/brocksandwich/

Note: Between the time I wrote this and posted it, Brock sandwich has, sadly, shut down (I’ve got a bit of a backlog). Whoops! Well, enjoy the review of a sandwich you cannot eat.

Brock Sandwich has a whole bunch of tasty looking sandwiches on their menu, though on this particular visit, I went with the Chicken Piri Piri: “fried chicken, charred onions, coleslaw, piri piri sauce.”

It’s a very good sandwich; the fried chicken is crispy and perfectly cooked, all of the toppings are thoroughly tasty, and the slightly crusty bun works perfectly with the other components of the sandwich.

My only real complaint is that as a fried chicken sandwich, it’s a bit busier than it needs to be. Between the charred onions (which are delicious, with a sweetness that’s cut by the mild smokiness from the charred bits), the zesty piri piri sauce, and the very zippy coleslaw, the fried chicken feels like a supporting player in its own sandwich. It’s a bit overwhelmed by other stuff.

Still, that is a very, very minor complaint; regardless of whether or not the fried chicken is the star, it’s impossible to deny that it’s a delicious sandwich.

Tasty Eats at Gushi Fried Chicken

Published on June 26, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 707 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.eatgushi.com/

There are a bunch of great options in Market 707, a collection of street vendors that operate out of shipping containers near Kensington Market. I’ve previously tried (and loved) Marq’s Chicago Beef, and I think the fried chicken at Gushi is just as good.

I ordered the original Gushi chicken meal, which comes with a generous amount of karaage (Japanese fried chicken made from bite-sized pieces of thigh meat) on top of purple rice, topped with spicy mayo.

The fried chicken is stellar. It’s super crispy, nicely seasoned, and features perfectly cooked chicken. It’s incredibly satisfying, and works very well with the sticky purple rice.

The only thing I would change is that I’d probably ask for the spicy mayo to be on the side next time. It’s quite tasty — and its zippy flavour complements the fried chicken very well — but there’s a lot of it. It’s a bit overwhelming. The chicken is so tasty on its own that such a thorough deluge of heavy sauce is probably overkill.