Korean – Michael Eats

A Satisfying Meal at Hancook Cheese Dakgalbi

Published on November 30, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 605 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.hancookcanada.com/

It’s always nice when you go to restaurant and know exactly what to order. In the case of Hancook Cheese Dakgalbi, that’s an extremely easy decision: it’s gotta be the Hancook cheese dakgalbi.

Dakgalbi is a Korean dish that consists of stir-fried chicken, rice cakes, and veggies in a sweet, gochujang-infused sauce. You can get it without cheese, but why would you? The richness of the cheese actually complements the zingy dish quite well.

It’s seriously tasty. It’s kind of like an amped-up version of tteokbokki, with the tender chicken being a great addition to the sweet/spicy sauce and the chewy rice cakes.

You can order it at a spice level from one to four; I went with three, and it was pleasantly spicy but not overwhelmingly so. I’d probably get four next time, but it certainly wasn’t lacking in spice.

I also got an order of the fried vegetable dumplings. Nothing about these particularly blew me away, but they’re nicely crispy on the outside and come with a creamy dipping sauce that’s thoroughly delicious and surprisingly fiery.

Satisfying Korean Fried Chicken at bb.q Chicken

Published on October 28, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3038 Hurontario Street, Mississauga
Website: https://bbqchicken.com/

bb.q Chicken is a Korean fried chicken chain with an impressive footprint throughout the globe. According to their website, they have over 3000 locations in 57 countries. Clearly, they’re doing something right.

And yes, sure, there are plenty of huge chains that serve absolutely abysmal food (i.e. pulling a Subway), but you know what? This isn’t one of them. Really tasty fried chicken.

I tried the boneless fried chicken, which can be ordered with various sauces or seasonings; I went with their secret sauce, which they describe as “a sweet and tangy Korean sweet sauce.” Note that they use the word “sweet” twice in that description, and yeah, it is very, very sweet. Borderline too sweet? But it has a nice tanginess and a very mild spiciness that helps to balance out the sweetness, at least somewhat.

And honestly, the chicken itself is so perfectly fried, with a great crunchy (but still fairly light) exterior and a juicy interior. It’s stellar fried chicken.

It comes with a side of the crispiest battered fries that I’ve ever had. I’m normally not crazy about battered fries, but these had an aggressive crunch that I actually quite enjoyed.

I also tried the spicy dukk-bokki (“Stir fried rice cakes & fish cakes in our traditional Korean spicy sauce, topped with green onions and hard boiled egg”), which is a classic Korean dish featuring ultra-chewy rice cakes in a spicy sauce. Unlike the fried chicken, this one is legitimately pretty spicy. The fish cakes are a nice addition, and liven things up. It’s a great dish.

Quick Bites: Doraji, Chica’s, Maman

Published on April 20, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Bibimbap from Doraji at the Well

I tried the bibimbap here during the media night at the Well, and quite enjoyed it. Well, I just tried it again — spicy pork this time (bulgogi beef, chicken, fried tofu, and vegetarian are also options) — and again, I quite enjoyed it. It’s a very classic bowl of bibimbap, executed perfectly. I honestly don’t have much more to say about it than that. If you like bibimbap, it’s a great version of that dish. And if you don’t, what is wrong with you??

Hot Honey at Chica’s Chicken

While Chica’s days of being the mind-blowing, thigh-slapping best fried chicken that you’ve ever had are long gone, it’s still quite good. For some reason, I hadn’t tried their Hot Honey sandwich until now, and yeah, it’s predictably delicious. Most things at Chica’s tend to be a bit sweeter than I’d like, so I probably shouldn’t be surprised that their version of hot honey is more honey, less hot. A bit more acidity and heat would really help round out the sweetness, but it’s still quite tasty for what it is. And as always, the chicken itself features a great balance between the crispy exterior and juicy interior.

Chocolate chip cookie at Maman

Maman is an NYC bakery chain that opened a location in Toronto a few years ago. They have a whole bunch of sandwiches and pastries on the menu, but I heard that the chocolate chip cookie is the thing to get. And yeah, it’s tasty. Nothing about it knocked my socks off, but it’s clearly an above average cookie. My only real issue is the sugar they sprinkle on top; it’s a neat idea in theory (I’m assuming the idea is to give you a crispy, slightly caramelized top), but in practice it just gives the cookie a slightly grainy texture. I still quite enjoyed the cookie (and it wasn’t too sweet, despite the sprinkling of sugar), but that was a shame.

Tasty Fried Chicken Sandwiches at Knuckle Sandwich

Published on November 29, 2024 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 969 Coxwell Avenue, East York
Website: https://knucklesandwich.ca/

Though Knuckle Sandwich has a variety of sandwiches on the menu, their specialty seems to be fried chicken — it comes first on the menu, and they offer three different varieties (classic, Buffalo, and Korean).

(You’d think there would be a titular “Knuckle Sandwich,” but there is not, which strikes me as a bit odd. You’re really going to name your restaurant Knuckle Sandwich and not have a knuckle sandwich on the menu? Come on.)

I went with the Korean fried chicken (“Gochujang Glaze, Miso Kimchi Slaw, House Pickles”), and I enjoyed it. The sauce was nice and zippy, though the level of crunch wasn’t quite where it should be, the spice level was basically nonexistent, and the chicken itself was a bit dry.

Still, those aren’t huge complaints; the fact that I’m even nitpicking this sandwich is more indicative of how spoiled we are for great fried chicken sandwiches in the GTA than of the actual quality level of this particular one. A few years ago, I would have been blown away by this sandwich, but the current bar for fried chicken sandwiches is impossibly high.

A Delicious Korean Pancake at Hodo Kwaja

Published on November 27, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 656 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: http://hodokwaja.ca/

I previously tried the walnut cakes at Hodo Kwaja, which is their specialty. Those things are thoroughly delicious, and it was tempting to just order them again. But they also serve a few other desserts here, including hotteok — Korean pancakes with a sweet filling.

You can order these filled with either brown sugar or red bean; brown sugar is the more traditional choice, so that’s what I went with.

It’s extremely delicious. I figured this wouldn’t be on the level of the walnut cakes, but I actually think it might be even better? It’s just as good, that’s for sure.

The pancake itself is delightfully chewy, and the sweet brown sugar syrup complements it perfectly. It’s a very sweet dessert, but there’s a good balance between the pastry and the syrup; it’s not the throat-burner you might suspect.