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Tasty Fried Chicken at Ding-a-Wing

Published on October 20, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 171 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://dingawing.com/

Sometimes I’m not entirely sure how to open these blog posts, so you know what? I’m just going to get straight to business: the fried chicken sandwich at Ding-a-Wing is fantastic. You should eat it immediately.

They have a handful of fried chicken sandwiches on the menu here. I should note that I tried place this earlier this year when they were on Roncesvalles; they’ve since moved, but it seems like the menu has remained the same.

I went with the Hawt Sandwich: “Buttermilk brined and fried boneless chicken thigh with coleslaw, pickles and dusted with our Cayenne Salt on a potato bun.”

It’s a phenomenal piece of fried chicken; the level of exterior crunchiness is just right, it’s nicely seasoned, and the meat is super juicy.

I wish it were spicier (the level of heat was somewhere between mild and non-existent), but otherwise the flavours are all great, with a satisfying balance between the hearty chicken and the zippy coleslaw and pickles.

My only real complaint is the bun, which is pillowy and mildly sweet. It’s theoretically a great match for the sandwich, but I think it was likely dressed too far in advance, which meant the bottom bun was mushy. But the sandwich was otherwise so delicious that it was easy enough to overlook this.

Solid Singaporean Food at Kiss My Pans

Published on September 22, 2024 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 713 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.kissmypans.com/

I’ve mentioned before that Singaporean cuisine isn’t nearly common enough in the city, so it’s quite delightful that Kiss My Pans — a Singaporean brunch spot in Little Italy — not only exists, but is extremely popular.

They have a pretty extensive menu that basically covers Singapore’s greatest hits; I tried the roasted chicken rice, and the char kway teow.

Chicken rice is a classic dish that features chicken served with chicken-infused rice. It’s traditionally served with either poached (which is my preference) or roasted chicken, which is what they serve here (well, they call it roasted, but I think it’s actually fried, as it has a level of crispiness I don’t think you can get in the oven?).

It’s quite tasty. Both the rice and the chicken are slightly on the dry side, but otherwise the flavours are right where you want them to be, with the soy and chili sauces on the side adding a nice savouriness and zippiness.

I also tried the char kway teow, a stir-fried noodle dish that gets its distinctive dark colour from dark and light soy sauce. Again, it’s not the best version of the dish that I’ve had (the flavours don’t quite pop the way they should, and the wok hei might be a bit too pronounced, with a borderline bitter flavour throughout), but it’s still very tasty. And again, it’s not like we have a million Singaporean restaurants to choose from in the GTA; I’m just happy that this place exists, and is pretty good.

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.

Nashville Hot Chicken at Knockout Chicken

Published on July 23, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 207 Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://knockoutchickento.com/

Knockout Chicken has been serving up fried chicken sandwiches in Kensington Market for a few years now (they also have a location in Mississauga), and yeah, I can see why they have staying power. Their fried chicken is pretty solid.

They have a whole bunch of sandwiches on the menu, but the woman behind the counter said the Nashville Sandwich is the most popular (“Nashville-style fried chicken breast, homemade coleslaw, pickles, jalapenos, and chipotle aioli”), so that’s what I got.

It’s not the crispiest or the juiciest fried chicken I’ve ever had, but I enjoyed it. It’s got a decent kick to it, it’s nice and flavourful, and the slightly sweet bun suits it well. It’s got a bit more going on than you’d expect from Nashville hot chicken, but for the most part, it works.

My only real issue here is with the coleslaw, which tastes heavily of sour cream and is a bit one-note rich. I think the sandwich would have been improved with less (or none) of this stuff, but everything else was tasty enough that this wasn’t a huge deal.

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.