tonkotsu – Michael Eats

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.

Quick Bites: Pizzeria Via Napoli, Ikkoi Japanese Family Cuisine, Nani’s Gelato

Published on November 17, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Margherita pizza from Pizzeria Via Napoli

I suppose you could order something from a Neapolitan pizza joint that isn’t a margherita pizza, but why would you? As I’ve mentioned before, it’s the perfect food. It’s also a great test of a restaurant’s chops, because it’s so simple that if your technique isn’t on point, and if the ingredients you’re working with aren’t great, it’s going to show. Pizzeria Via Napoli’s version absolutely hits it out of the park; the crust is flavourful, perfectly chewy, and has a good amount of char on its exterior (including the bottom of the slice). And the other ingredients are just right. Margherita test: passed!

Ramen from Ikkoi Japanese Family Cuisine

Speaking of food that’s perfect: ramen. It’s the best. I ordered the tonkotsu ramen from Ikkoi (they serve several other styles of ramen, along with sushi and other Japanese standbys), and it’s pretty decent. Is it the best bowl of ramen that I’ve ever had? No; their menu is so broad that they’re probably spreading themselves a bit thin. But there’s also absolutely nothing wrong with it. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but if you’re in the area and you’re craving a bowl of ramen, it’s worth a shot.

Dark Chocolate Oreo at Nani’s Gelato

Nani’s continues to be great. I don’t particularly feel the need to write about Nani’s every time I eat there, because I think it’s fairly clear by this point that I think Nani’s serves some truly stellar gelato. But I would like to note that, even though it’s not technically on the menu, Nani’s does have a kids size cup that’s pretty much the perfect amount if you’re not super hungry. It’s the same size cup as the small, but the gelato pretty much only goes to the brim instead of being mounded way up. I’m not sure why they don’t advertise this size, but I’m definitely glad I know it exists. And now you do too!

A Tasty Bowl at Musoshin Ramen

Published on August 5, 2021 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 9 Boustead Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.musoshin.com/

I think ramen might be my favourite dish of all time, which means the last year and change has been a long, sad, ramenless slog.

(Yes, there is instant ramen, but that’s not even remotely the same. You could also make it yourself, but that’s an all day project and it’s never going to be as good as what you can get at even a half-decent ramen shop.)

Well, ramen is finally back in my life, and, of course, it’s delightful. Musoshin is actually a small Japanese ramen chain (they have three locations in Kyoto) that recently opened in Toronto, and yeah, it’s good.

I started with the karaage, which features very crispy pieces of juicy boneless chicken thigh; this was maybe slightly too salty, but was otherwise packed with flavour and was top-notch fried chicken.

Next up was the ramen: I went with the namesake Musoshin Ramen, which features a porky tonkotsu broth — it has a very rich, roasty flavour with a lot going on (is it made with seafood, too? Because it definitely has some subtle seafoody notes). It borders on being a bit overwhelming in its flavour, but it never crosses that line. It’s very tasty.

The noodles were quite good, too, with a springy texture and a satisfying level of thickness. The egg costs extra, but it’s nice and creamy and worth the two dollar surcharge.

The chashu, on the other hand, is the bowl’s clear weak spot. It was pretty dry and had a very pronounced gamy, leftovery flavour. Everything else is delicious enough that this doesn’t really matter, but it’s a bummer nonetheless.

I had the strawberry mochi for dessert, and it was the perfect way to end the meal. Featuring a full strawberry surrounded by sweet red bean paste with a chewy mochi wrapper, this was a delightful mix of chewy and creamy with a perfect level of sweetness.

Authentic Ramen at Hakata Ikkousha Ramen

Published on November 18, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 247 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.ikkousha.ca/

I tend not to mention my travels too often on this blog, because:

That would get insufferable fast.
It’s generally not fair to compare a version of a dish in Toronto to its legit counterpoint thousands of miles away. There are so many reasons why it’s hard to perfectly replicate a dish outside of its home country, from the availability of ingredients to the pool of local chefs. That’s not to mention the psychological aspect; there’s something about being in a place that makes the food taste better. Of course the croissant you just had in Toronto isn’t as good as the one from the charming little bakery in Paris. That would be an uphill battle in so many ways.

However, in this case it can’t be helped; I’ve eaten the ramen at the original location of Hakata Ikkousha Ramen in Fukuoka, so it’s impossible for me not to make a very direct comparison.

Ikkousha serves Hakata ramen, a particularly rich variety of tonkatsu ramen that’s served with ultra-thin noodles.

Shockingly enough, the bowl they’re serving here is basically indistinguishable from the one I had in Fukuoka. I didn’t love it there and I don’t love it here, but the quality is about the same.

Don’t get me wrong — it’s quite tasty. But it’s a bit one-note in its porky intensity. Still, it has a somewhat roasty flavour that keeps things interesting.

The secret to this type of ramen (unless it’s exceptional, and this place isn’t exceptional) are the condiments. Particularly: pickled ginger and spicy pickled mustard leaf. Adding a generous amount of both of these condiments gives the bowl a nice zippiness that cuts through the rich broth quite nicely.

The rest of the bowl is (mostly) quite good. The egg is a $2 add-on, but it’s totally worth it; it’s perfectly cooked and very flavourful. The noodles, despite being very thin, have a nice bite to them and compliment the creamy soup perfectly. And the chashu was nice and tender, though it did have a mildly gamy/leftovery flavour.

Good Eats at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Published on October 15, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 515 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.santouka.co.jp/en

After ramen disappointments at Konjiki and Kinton, I was starting to worry that a really good bowl of ramen might be impossible to find in the city.

Well, here’s Santouka, riding in to save the day. Their ramen certainly wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was a solid bowl of noodles. I enjoyed it.

They specialize in tonkotsu ramen, in which pork bones have been boiled down for hours until you get a rich and creamy broth. They have shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), miso, or spicy miso. I went with shio.

It’s a quality bowl of soup. The broth doesn’t quite have the magical complexity that you’ll find in the best versions of this dish, but it had a rich porky flavour (without the heavy greasiness that can bog down tonkotsu ramen), and a good amount of salt that doesn’t overwhelm.

The noodles were slightly thinner than I’d like, but they have a nice chewy bite. They’re satisfying.

The egg is an add-on, but it’s worth shelling out the extra cash; it’s nicely seasoned and perfectly-cooked, with a gooey but — and this is the key — not runny yolk.