noodles – Page 2 – Michael Eats

Tasty Noodle Soup at Tokasu Ramen Laksa Bar

Published on April 6, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 755 Queensway East, Mississauga
Website: https://tokasuramen.com/

Tokasu specializes in ramen and laksa, which strikes me as a bit of an odd combo. I mean, I guess they are both noodle soups, but the resemblance kinda ends there. Still, they’re both delightful, so why not?

I ordered the laksa, since it’s quite a bit harder to find in the GTA. They actually have six different varieties of the dish; I went with the chicken white santan laksa, which they describe as their “signature laksa bowl featuring a fragrant coconut chicken broth, shredded chicken, tofu puffs, bean sprouts, and noodles.”

It’s quite good. The broth doesn’t quite have the complexity of the best versions of the dish, but it’s nice and creamy, with a zingy tanginess that helps to cut through its richness.

The noodles were a bit on the soft side, but the chicken (which comes sliced rather than shredded) is nice and tender and the tofu puffs do a great job of soaking up the broth.

It might not be the best I’ve ever had, but it’s a solid bowl of laksa. I’ll definitely have to come back to try the ramen.

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.

Delicious Hunan Chinese Food at Chili Cabin

Published on February 3, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1100 Dundas Street West, Mississauga
Website: None

As a fan of spice, I’ll admit that Chili Cabin mostly caught my eye because of its name. They specialize in Hunan Chinese cuisine, which, according to Wikipedia, is similar to Sichuan cuisine, but with a more pure level of spice rather than numbing heat.

I tried the Hunan style stir-fried pork and the stewed vermicelli, which both offer a customizable level of spice: mild, normal, or extra. I went with extra spice for the pork, and normal for the noodles.

Both dishes were very spicy. Not quite blow-your-face-off hot, but definitely hot enough to put some sweat on your brow and clear your sinuses.

And both were very tasty. The Sichuan comparison seems apt, as both dishes had a similar flavour profile to Sichuan dishes that I’ve had (but without the numbing heat). I liked both quite a lot, though the pork was my favourite of the two. The pork was nice and tender, and it comes absolutely doused in a flavour-packed oil that was intensely delicious. It’s one of those dishes that’s almost too flavourful on its own, but once you have it with rice it really comes alive.

I liked the noodles a bit less, but they were still very tasty, with a nice chewy texture, satisfying spicing, and savoury ground pork interspersed throughout. It’s a winner. They have a million things on the menu here, and I’m quite keen to come back and try some more stuff.

Tasty Noodle Soup at Wonton Hut Noodle Bar

Published on January 26, 2025 by Michael Nusair2 Comments

Location: 671 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://wontonhut.ca/

There are a bunch of great wonton noodle soup restaurants in the GTA — at least in places like Markham and Mississauga. In Toronto itself, it’s a bit harder to find. Enter: Wonton Hut Noodle Bar, which is on Queen Street and serves a very tasty bowl of the stuff.

They actually have a decent variety on the menu (including a handful of Vietnamese dishes, oddly enough) but of course, the place has “wonton” and “noodle” in its name, so you’ve gotta get the wonton noodle soup.

It’s good. The wontons themselves are seriously tasty, with big chunks of perfectly cooked shrimp and a very satisfying flavour. And the noodles are satisfyingly springy.

The flavour of the soup itself is a bit on the subtle side, but is nicely amped up by a couple of spoonfuls of the legitimately fiery chili oil they have on the table.

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.