ramen – Michael Eats

Tasty Eats at The Ex

Published on September 27, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 Princes’ Boulevard, Toronto
Website: https://www.theex.com/

Another year of the Ex, another batch of weird foods. A slightly smaller batch than I was hoping — I really wanted to try the pickle cheesecake on a stick, which seems like it should not exist and was therefore something I felt an odd compulsion to try. Alas, I couldn’t find the vendor that was serving it and eventually had to abandon that dream.

Fried lobster on a stick from Lobster on a Stick

This was actually one of the less odd new items at the Ex this year (there’s nothing particularly weird about it, aside from the inherent oddness of a luxury item like lobster being served at a carnival); it’s just a tempura-battered lobster tail on a stick. Still, aside from it being a bit tough, it was tasty, with the two sauces on the side (dill and garlic butter) being a nice complement.

Jamaican patty mini beef patty pierogies from Supreme Pierogi

Beef patties and pierogies aren’t necessarily a food I would have thought of cramming together, but hey, what do you know — this works. It’s essentially a pierogi exterior with beef patty filling. It’s lightly fried, giving it some texture. The slightly chewy wrapper works well with the Jamaican-spiced ground beef, and the filling is exactly what you’d find in a patty. This sounds weird in theory, but when you eat it, it makes complete sense.

Ramen-crusted frog legs from Farm to Fryer

This is maybe the weirdest-sounding item of the three I tried, and you know what? It was my favourite. I’m not entirely convinced that anything should be ramen-crusted (the ramen bits straddled the line between pleasantly crunchy and overly hard/dry), but the frog was freshly fried and very tender, with the texture of a good chicken wing. My expectation was that this would be cooked in advance and dry, so I was pleasantly surprised by how well-prepared it was (and the sweet chili sauce it was topped with was tasty).

I guess it was a good thing I couldn’t find the cheesecake, because I was three for three, and I can’t imagine pickle cheesecake would have been particularly palatable.

Solid Ramen at Men-ya Inoichi Ramen

Published on August 3, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1177 Central Parkway West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/menyainoichi/

Not every restaurant has to serve the best version of a dish that you’ve ever had; sometimes,
“pretty good” is good enough.

Enter: Men-ya Inoichi Ramen in Mississauga, which isn’t going to knock anyone’s socks off, but which serves some pretty good ramen.

They have a few other Japanese dishes on the menu, like omurice and katsu, but the ramen is their specialty. I ordered the Original King Butao ramen (“Bone Broth Flavor. Includes: Soft Boiled Egg, Agaric, Sweet and Sour Radish, Green Onion, Salad”), which comes with either a tonkotsu (pork) or chicken soup base. I went with tonkotsu.

Nothing in the bowl particularly stands out, but it’s all thoroughly tasty, with a rich, savoury broth and some very pleasantly chewy noodles.

The fact that it’s in Mississauga helps; the ramen explosion that happened in the GTA over the last decade or so left Mississauga mostly untouched, so if you’re looking for a better bowl of ramen, it’s going to be a bit of drive.

Tasty Noodle Soup at Ramen Takao

Published on April 19, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 111 Richmond Street West, Toronto (inside Chef’s Hall)
Website: https://www.instagram.com/ramen_takao/

Ramen Takao is a ramen joint in the Chef’s Hall; it’s a collaboration between Ramen Isshin and Ryu’s Ramen. I like both of those places quite a lot, so that seemed like a good sign.

They call their spicy miso ramen their signature dish (“bean sprouts / seasoned egg / spicy negi / pork belly”), so that’s what I went with.

It’s a very good bowl of ramen. Spicy ramen isn’t generally my first choice, but the spice level here is fairly well tuned — it’s got a nice kick, but it isn’t so aggressive that it overwhelms the other flavours in the bowl.

And the broth is quite flavourful, with a nice creamy richness and a satisfying meaty/seafoody flavour.

Everything else here is quite good; in particular, it’s topped with crispy tempura bits, which do a great job of adding some texture to the bowl.

As for the noodles, they’re right where you want them to be, with a perfect level of chewy heft.

Delicious Soupless Ramen at Kajiken

Published on December 14, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4850 Yonge Street, North York
Website: https://kajiken.ca/

Kajiken is a Japanese ramen chain that opened in Toronto a couple of months ago to quite a bit of fanfare. I drove by a few weeks ago around lunch and there was a line going around the block.

I figured things had probably mostly cooled down by now, but just to be safe, I showed up around 10 minutes before they opened at 11:30. There were maybe a dozen people in line, and by the time I left, the line was smaller, but still there. So yeah, popular place.

Does it justify the crowds? Yes, yes it does.

They specialize in abura soba, AKA soupless ramen. The menu lists their three most recommended dishes, and number one is the homura abura soba: “homura spicy minced pork, spring onion, chives, egg, nori, fish powder, bamboo shoots.” The egg comes either raw, onsen (“lightly poached”) or ajitama (“seasoned boiled egg”). The waiter recommended onsen, so that’s what I went with.

The dish comes with everything on top of the noodles and some sauce at the bottom of the bowl, and the idea is that you mix it all up until it becomes one cohesive whole.

It’s extremely tasty. The flavours here are definitely reminiscent of what you’d find in a standard bowl of ramen, with a really addictive savoury punch and a nice kick of spiciness. And the waiter was definitely right about the onsen egg; its silky texture means that it blends right in with the noodles and the sauce, giving everything an extra richness.

The thick noodles are perfectly chewy, and if you feel like jazzing things up, each table has a variety of condiments like toasted sesame seeds, chili oil, and vinegar.

Yeah, that’s worth waiting in line for.

Intense Jiro-Style Ramen at Ramen Tabetai

Published on July 19, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 154 Cumberland Street, Toronto
Website: https://ramen-tabetai.ca/

Ramen Tabetai is the brainchild of chef Masaki Saito, best known for Sushi Masaki Saito, which is noteworthy for having been awarded two Michelin stars (and it’s the only two star restaurant in Toronto, which makes it Michelin’s highest rated restaurant in the city).

I mean, you had me at ramen, but ramen from a Michelin-starred chef?? Yes please.

Tabetai serves a very specific type of ramen known as Jiro-style ramen, which they describe as “garlic heavy, pork fat loaded – no apologies.” It features a very flavourful pork broth topped with thick ramen noodles, a fat slice of chashu (which was oddly lean, given this place’s whole M.O., but still tasty), chunks of unctuous back fat, a whole bunch of raw garlic, and a crunchy veggie mix (cabbage and bean sprouts, I believe).

I’ll admit that while I enjoy this style of ramen, it isn’t my favourite. I think the best bowls of ramen have an amazing complexity, and Jiro-style ramen is kinda just a porky, fatty, garlicky, salty assault.

Don’t get me wrong — I love being assaulted by porkiness, fattiness, garlickiness, and saltiness. Those are all great things! But it’s a lot of in-your-face big flavours, not to mention the intense richness. I probably don’t need to have it more than once every several months, if that.

(I also think that this style of ramen is probably an odd fit for a Michelin-starred chef, as it’s more about blowing out your tastebuds than the type of gastronomical finesse you typically associate with Michelin-caliber chefs.)

To be fair, the restaurant does allow you to adjust your level of back fat, garlic, and salt — I went with the default 100%, though the waitress did suggest that 50% might be advisable for first-timers. So that might feel like less of an assault. But hey, go big or go home, right?