Japanese – Page 2 – Michael Eats

Tasty Conveyor Belt Sushi at Tora

Published on October 5, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3401 Dufferin Street, North York (inside Yorkdale Mall)
Website: https://www.aburitora.com/

Tora is a conveyor belt sushi place, which is mostly a gimmick, but a fun one. They have a million of these in Japan, but they have yet to take off in Toronto for some reason.

(There’s been a few over the years, but I believe this is the only one that’s currently open.)

I should note that there isn’t any pre-made sushi going around on the belt that you can pick up — there’s a tablet at every table, and you order on the touchscreen. A few minutes later (it’s very quick), the sushi zips along on the conveyor belt and stops at your table.

The sushi itself isn’t going to blow anyone’s mind, but it’s all solid. Everything I tried was pretty decent, with the exception of the tuna nigiri, which was a bit fishy.

One of the specialties here is aburi sushi, which is a style of sushi that’s torched on top; a card on the table noted that the aburi ebi oshi, which features shrimp and a mayonnaisey sauce, is one of their most popular dishes. And yeah, that was probably the highlight of the bunch, with a decent smoky flavour from the torch and a nice zippiness from the mayo.

Quick Bites: Ramen Ryu, Matt’s Burger Lab, Lola’s Gelato

Published on March 16, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Ramen at Ramen Ryu in the Well

I mentioned, a few years ago, that Ryu’s Noodle Bar serves some of the best ramen in the GTA. Well, they’ve got a quick-serve outpost in Wellington Market in The Well, the fancy new food court (sorry: food hall) downtown, and it’s quite tasty. The depth of flavour isn’t quite there and the noodles were a bit on the soft side, but for something from a food court, it’s satisfying. The broth may not be up there with the best in the city, but it’s creamy and tasty. It’s a solid bowl of ramen.

Classic Smash Burger at Matt’s Burger Lab

Though Matt’s Burger Lab has a surprisingly deep menu, with a whole bunch of creatively-topped burger and fried chicken sandwiches, I figured the Classic Smash was probably the thing to get: “4 ounce prime beef patty, fresh onion, iceberg, pickle, Lab Sauce.” I skipped the onion, but otherwise got this as-is. It’s pretty tasty. The patty has a decent amount of crust on it, a nice coarse grind, and a mild beefy flavour. The bun (potato bun, I think) is nice and fresh, and the toppings suit it well. The Lab Sauce is basically like a sweeter, zestier version of the typical Big Mac-style sauce you’ll find on so many burgers in the GTA, and it works. There’s quite a lot of it, which in this case is a very good thing, because the well-done burger patty is quite dry. The sauce basically balances things out, but the dryness holds it back from being much better than pretty good. Still, I enjoyed it.

Almond Raspberry gelato from Lola’s Gelato

This is going to be a quick one. I’ve written about Lola’s a few times before on this blog, and it pains me that it doesn’t always come up when people are talking about the best gelato in the city, because it’s a strong contender for that crown. But I think maybe the word is finally getting out, because on my most recent visit, the place was absolutely packed. Of course, it’s just as delicious as ever. This particular flavour had a great almond flavour, which works surprisingly well with the raspberry sauce they have swirled throughout. And it’s just as creamy and luxurious as always. Good stuff.

Tasty Japanese Food at Tanuki

Published on February 4, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3160 Steeles Avenue East, Markham
Website: http://www.tanukirestaurant.com/

Tanuki is actually in the same location as the great Shiso Tree Cafe, which, sadly, shut down near the beginning of the pandemic. I kinda want to hate this place on principal, like, how dare you try to replace the Shiso Tree Cafe?? But you know what? Just based on this one visit, I think Tanuki might be just as good.

I came during their brunch service and tried the seared duck breast (“served medium rare, chimichurri, garlic chips”), along with the omurice (“soft omelette, chicken fried rice, shiitake, edamame, gravy”).

Both were very, very tasty. The duck breast was perfectly cooked; it was tender while still having a nice meaty bite, and while the skin wasn’t crispy, once I started eating, I didn’t miss it. The garlic chips give it that crispiness while also adding pops of flavour. It’s a great dish.

The omurice was just as good. Slicing the omlette open to reveal its eggy interior is thoroughly satisfying, and the creamy eggs complement the tasty fried rice quite nicely. That fried rice would have actually been perfectly fine on its own, with the mushroom/chicken combo being thoroughly delicious, nice pops of freshness from the edamame, the occasional bite of crispy rice, and some nice smokiness from the wok.

But once you add the perfectly cooked omelette, things really take off. The omelette is silky and creamy, with its richness only amped up by the gravy that comes on the side. Add a few spoonfuls of the zippy habanero sauce they have on the table, and you’re really in business.

Great Ramen at Kaminari Ramen Bar

Published on January 19, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1330 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.bykaminari.com/

Kaminari Ramen Bar actually has a few types of ramen on the menu: clear Tokyo-style, creamy, “duck umami,” vegan, and a soupless yuzu ramen. The waiter said they don’t really have a specialty, so I went with the clear Tokyo-style.

The ramen, as per the menu: “Clear chicken broth, pork cha-shu, chicken cha-shu, wonton, Tokyo Negi, bamboo shoot, and nori seaweed.” You can get it either shio (salt) or shoyu (soy sauce); I went with the latter.

It’s a very good bowl of ramen. This style of ramen isn’t quite as common in the GTA as the more omnipresent creamy tonkotsu or tori paitan, but done well, it’s just as delicious.

The soup has a very rich and savoury soy-sauce-infused flavour. It’s the type of broth that never feels one-note or overly salty, no matter how much of it you have.

And everything else here was quite tasty, from the chewy, thin noodles to the tender chicken and pork. It’s a top-notch bowl of ramen.

Tasty Hand Rolls at Hello Nori

Published on December 29, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 648 King Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.hellonori.com/

Hello Nori specializes in hand rolls — basically loosely constructed , uncut maki rolls –that they make in front of you and serve immediately. You wouldn’t think that would make that much of a difference, but the fact that the nori is still crispy when they give it to you is actually quite delightful.

It kind of reminds me of the onigiri they serve at variety stores in Japan, where the nori is wrapped on both sides to prevent contact with the rice until you eat it. Crispy nori and fluffy sushi rice turns out to be a great combo.

You can either order the rolls on their own (most of them are between six and nine dollars) or as a combo. I went with the four roll combo, which costs $23 and comes with negitoro (minced tuna and green onion), ora king salmon, snow crab, and spicy shrimp.

The negitoro was a bit oniony for me (raw onions are for jerks), but otherwise these were all thoroughly enjoyable. The rice was underseasoned, but then they do have soy sauce right in front of you at the bar; I think the expectation is that you’ll be dipping the rolls.

The salmon — which features big chunks of tasty fish — was probably my favourite of the bunch, but I liked them all.

I was worried four rolls might not be enough, but it was actually a pretty decent portion, at least for lunch.