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Boat King of Thai Noodles

This restaurant closed in March 2021. Thanks for the memories!

Slurp-worthy boat noodles and other lesser-known Thai noodles

Delightfully ungrammatical name aside, Boat King of Thai Noodles is the place to get a wide range of Thai noodles. Everyone knows about pad thai. Some know about pad see ew (ผัดซีอิ๊ว) and pad kee mao (ผัดขี้เมา). This restaurant offers lesser-known dishes that only Thai food enthusiasts will recognize. For example, its signature and namesake is boat noodles. It’s the best version in Toronto. Then again, there aren’t a lot of competitors. Nana used to offer this before the pandemic. Kiin used to offer it when they had lunch service. Now, Thai Noodle is the only other place near downtown that has boat noodles.

Exterior of Boat King of Thai Noodles — Boat King of Thai Noodles

Kway tiaw reua—the unsung emblem of Thai noodles

I have a confession to make. I don’t like pad thai. This after eating it all over Thailand and seeking the best restaurants. It’s too boring for me and strikes me as a leftovers dish. Even though pad thai is identified as the iconic dish of Thailand, it should be boat noodles. Just like how green curry is unique to Thailand, boat noodles are quite different from its noodle cousins in China and Southeast Asia.

Boat noodles are known as kway tiaw reua in Thai (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือ). It also goes by other English transliterations like kuai tiao reua or guay teow rua. I use the least ambiguous spelling here. Boat noodles gets its name from vendors rowing on boats through Bangkok’s canals. The food was prepared in the boat and handed off to customers on the shore. In modern times, restaurateurs have moved to dry land.

The defining characteristics of boat noodles are its small serving size and its blood-infused broth. Yup, you read that right. There is some pig and cow blood to thicken the broth. It doesn’t taste strong like Chinese or Vietnamese blood cakes but it darkens the brown broth and adds to the texture and richness. Most people wouldn’t even notice it. The bowl is small because historically, vendors wanted to minimize spillage when passing it to customers. Nowadays, it has become a tradition to order multiple bowls and stack them up like some kind of trophy to gluttony.

There are several varieties of boat noodles. You can mix and match the type of noodles and broth. Common noodles are sen yai (เส้นใหญ่; broad, flat rice noodles), sen lek (เส้นเล็ก; thin rice noodles also used for pad thai), and ba mee (บะหมี่; yellow egg noodles). Broth choices are beef blood, pork blood, yen ta foo (fermented red bean curd), or tom yum. The blood choices, called nam tok, are representative of boat noodles.

Boat noodles at Pa Yak, Bangkok — Boat noodles at Pa Yak, near Victory Monument in Bangkok. Clockwise from left: pork sen yai with blood broth, pork sen yai with tom yam broth, beef sen yai with blood broth.

Toppings include meat slices, meat balls, liver, leafy vegetables like morning glory, bean sprouts, fried garlic, and pork crackling. Diners add peanuts, sugar, chillies, and other condiments to taste. It’s a comforting dish. The broth packs meatiness and umami that makes you want to order more.

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Dzo Viet Eatery

Hip, modern Vietnamese with some hits and misses

The latest entry in the modern Vietnamese scene, Dzo Viet Eatery opened in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s in the same category as other trendy Vietnamese restaurants like Pinky’s Ca Phe and Vit Beo, but is more ambitious in its dining space and menu.

Dzo has a well-ventilated space. I visited during the warmer months when it was opened for indoor dining. It was the first week of their grand opening, so take this review with a grain of salt.

Patio at Dzo — Patio and dining space at Dzo

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Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen

Trendy Jamaican hangout with style and substance

Toronto has no shortage of good Jamaican restaurants. What it lacks is high-end and upper mid-range restaurants. Most Jamaican establishments are cheap takeout joints or family restaurants. Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen is a refreshing, fledgling step towards a different market: the hipster crowd of the King West neighbourhood. They put a modern spin on Jamaican foods and create some of the most flavoursome Jamaican dishes in the city.

Exterior of Chubby's Jamaican Kitchen — Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen

Takeout bag from Chubby's Jamaican Kitchen — Takeout bag of goodies

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The Central European dumplings of Toronto

Discover the starchy delights of spätzle, knedlíky, halušky, and nokedli in Toronto (and finding the best)

The iconic Central European food is undoubtedly the schnitzel, a thin, breaded slab of meat. It’s filling and easy to make, which explains its popularity outside the region. Witness cotoletta (Italy) and milanesa (Argentina and Brazil).

But we are not here to talk about something that is famous enough already. Today, we go on a tour of the second-most iconic food of Central Europe: dumplings. These are the underappreciated workhorses that give the cuisine a reputation for being heavy and starchy. Not to be confused with Asian dumplings, these dumplings are bite-sized lumps of flour, potato, or egg. They are also universally bland, so the skill comes in the texture and shape.

Toronto is blessed to have full representation of the dumplings of Central Europe: Germany/Austria/Switzerland, Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary. (I left out Poland because their most famous dumpling, pierogi, is too divergent from the others. But if you are interested in Polish kopytka, Café Polonez is a good bet.)

One can easily go on a taste test around the city and debate which is the better variant. And that is exactly what I did.

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Banh Mi Boys

Stalwart for Canadian bánh mì sandwiches

Banh Mi Boys burst into the Toronto food scene in December 2011 and quickly became a food sensation. They had the elusive formula of creativity, price, and taste. Firstly, they were a step up from traditional bánh mì sold a few blocks away in Chinatown. No more mystery meats and cuts. Banh Mi Boys put in recognizable chunks of proteins and jazzed it up with breaded squid rings and duck confit. Secondly, although they were more than twice the price of Chinatown bánh mì, it was still a basement bargain starting at $5.64 (2012 price including tax). Most importantly, as with any restaurant, taste is king. It was sinfully good and a harbinger of how the culinary scene in Toronto was taking off.

Fast forward to 2020 and Banh Mi Boys have opened several outlets across the city. As with any long-running establishment, there are the usual complaints of dropping standards and higher prices. There is some truth to that. But it is still a lifesaver for students on a budget and people looking for fast food that is not burger and fries.

Anatomy of a bánh mì

Quick crash course on bánh mì. Like how to pronounce the weird squiggly lines. It’s ok to say it in a neutral tone: “ban mi”. If you want to attempt Vietnamese tones, bánh has the same rising tone as someone exclaiming “huh?”. Mì has the same falling tone as someone dismissively saying “meh”.

Bánh mì is just a medium-length baguette sandwich. The crusty bread is sliced lengthwise and stuffed with mystery meats and đồ chua (pickles, almost always julienned carrots and daikon). Vietnamese love deli meats like chả lụa (pale pork sausage) and pâté (liver paste). These make an appearance in the house specials (bánh mì đặc biệt) of most stalls. Another popular variation uses grilled meats, like lemongrass pork in bánh mì thịt nướng.

The sandwich is finished in typical Vietnamese fashion with lots of fresh herbs and cucumbers. Well, at least for the ones in Saigon. Bánh mì originated from Southern Vietnam and is in top form there. Street vendors might slather on chilli sauce and drops of Maggi seasoning. Delish.

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Uncle Ray’s

This restaurant closed on 13 June 2021. Thanks for the memories!

Finally, a truly spicy Southern barbecue

American barbecue is slowly gaining ground in Toronto. Just 10 years ago, one would be hard-pressed to find a good barbecue, let alone regional styles like Texas, Memphis, Alabama, and others. The first big regional style to emerge was Central Texas (Beach Hill Smokehouse, Adamson Barbecue). Then, Kansas City style came rolling in (Hank Daddy’s, Kansas King). Not forgetting about homegrown Toronto style (Big Crow), the BBQ scene is indeed burgeoning here. It is only a matter of time before Carolina barbecue appears. Until then, you can get a small taste of it at Uncle Ray’s Food & Liquor.

Uncle Ray’s looks like a typical hipster Southern bar on the surface but goes for a different flavour profile than its competitors. It packs more heat. Its calling card is actually fried chicken, not barbecue. And both are good examples of soulful, lip-smacking Southern cuisine.

Exterior of Uncle Ray's Food & Liquor — Uncle Ray’s Food & Liquor

As its name suggests, Uncle Ray’s Food & Liquor is also a drinking hole. However, I did not partake in libations due to COVID-19 restrictions. The liquor counter looks inviting and takes centre stage in the restaurant. Various bottles of bourbon line the counter.

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Poke Guys

Well curated ingredients for a quality poke bowl

Poke Guys was one of the first to jump on the poke fad when it hit Toronto in 2015. While other establishments have went bust, Poke Guys is still going strong because of two reasons: ingredients and location. Situated between the Financial District and the shopping zone around Yonge-Dundas Square, it gets a steady stream of customers all week. Of course, the food has to be good to get repeat business.

The poke bowl fad

Traditional Hawaiian poke is very simple. It is just marinated raw fish. The flavours aren’t too crazy. The usual suspects are shoyu (soy sauce), sesame, and seaweed. Poke morphed into a rice bowl on mainland USA and exploded in popularity in 2014. Since it really is a salad bowl, anything goes. There is a dizzying variety of toppings and proteins to choose from. Japanese ingredients are popular, like tobiko (fish roe) and gari (pickled ginger). Kimchi, avocado, and jalapeños are also ubiquitous.

Poke at Poke Guys — Poke selection at Poke Guys. Top row: sweet and spicy shrimp, spicy shoyu salmon, spicy shoyu tuna, masago. Middle row: honey ginger salmon, classic shoyu tuna, crab slaw. Bottom row: wasabi octopus, classic shoyu salmon, tofu, slaw.

Some people view poke as deconstructed sushi or a less skilled version of chirashi don (raw fish on rice). I view it as a food in its own right. I agree it doesn’t take a lot of training to put together a poke bowl. What it lacks in refinement more than makes up for it in creativity. The keys to a good poke bowl are

Freshness
Harmony
Proportion

Ideally, the fish should be fresh and not from frozen. Vegetables should be crisp. All components should complement one another. A common mistake is to have too many strong flavours like kimchi and onions. It overwhelms the delicate taste of raw fish. Another pet peeve of mine is having too much filler materials and not enough protein.

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Grand Cru Deli

Deli classics with a French flair (belated Winterlicious edition)

Summerlicious and Winterlicious can be a great time to try new restaurants. The trick is finding a restaurant that offers superior value or limited time dishes that interest you. For most restaurants, these events are equivalent to a free dessert. If you are not a fan of desserts, you might want to give them a pass.

Grand Cru Deli is a new entrant to Winterlicious, having opened in March 2019. Billing itself as a wine bar, you might be forgiven for thinking the food is an afterthought. I went in not knowing what to expect and came out impressed.

Exterior of Grand Cru Deli — Grand Cru Deli

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JaBistro

Blowtorched Canadian-Japanese sushi for a treat (COVID-19 update)

JaBistro is one of two famous aburi oshizushi restaurants in Toronto. The other is Vancouver transplant Miku. While Miku has the edge over variety and is slightly better executed across the board, JaBistro has better prices and the single best aburi sushi dish in Toronto: the JaBistroll. Both offer more than aburi sushi and have traditional nigirizushi as well. They also have entrees and lunch specials but Miku has more variety and offers desserts too.

Before we go on a detour about what aburi oshizushi is, I want to complain. Why do so many high-end restaurants try to look invisible? JaBistro looks like an abandoned steel workshop from the outside. If you are not looking for it, you are likely to miss it. Whether it is to keep the riff-raff out or to maintain an air of secrecy and prestige, it clearly doesn’t work in the world of Yelp and Tripadvisor. When a restaurant is outstanding, people will come.

Exterior of JaBistro — JaBistro with an industrial exterior

Canada’s own sushi: aburi oshizushi

Most people associate sushi with two forms. Nigirizushi (握り寿司) is a rice mound shaped by hand and has a slice of seafood pressed on top of it. Makizushi (巻き寿司), also known as maki roll, is encased with seaweed and rolled with a bamboo mat. The fillings are in the centre of the maki roll.

A lesser-known sushi type is oshizushi (押し寿司). It is formed with a rectangular mold and requires the least amount of skill. But if you are into geometrical shapes, this looks the prettiest because everything is angular and precise. This form of sushi has really taken off in Canada in the past decade, starting in Vancouver and spreading to Toronto.

To be precise, it is aburi oshizushi that is a Canadian specialty. Aburi (炙る) means scorched. Aburi sushi is blowtorched on top to give extra colour and flavour. This is not new. Aburi nigirizushi has been around in Japan for a while but remains a novelty there. The Canadian twist is to apply this technique to oshizushi and use non-traditional ingredients like jalapeños.

Some people say that aburi sushi is a way to mask poor quality seafood and shoddy knife work. I say aburi has a more tangible impact on flavour and a better test of cooking skills. Knife skills can make something pretty and mold texture but it won’t help a lot with taste. If aburi sushi allows chefs to use lower grade seafood and reduce prices accordingly, I am all for it.

Oh, and if you are wondering why sushi is sometimes spelled as zushi, that’s because the Japanese s sound changes to z when it appears before certain words.

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Wvrst (Union Station)

Sausage fest with lamb, elk, rabbit, kangaroo, vegan options, and more

Let’s get the most important question out of the way. Wvrst is pronounced “vurst”, which is the same pronunciation as the German word for sausage, wurst. I have no idea why the restaurant is spelled Wvrst. Maybe it’s a throwback to the Roman empire when they didn’t have the letter u.

Anyway, Wvrst is the undisputed champion for sausage variety in the country. Unlike other sausage purveyors, these are not minor variations like different sizes of the same thing or some token herbs thrown in. They have 32 distinct varieties, including uncommon meats like elk, bison, and kangaroo. I would love to see crocodile, ostrich, and emu one day. For animal lovers (not in the consumption sense), there are 7 vegan options.

Wvrst’s original location is on King Street West, 25 minutes walk from this outlet at Union Station. The original location has marginally better food quality but this outpost can’t be beat for location. It’s the transport hub for the region and has a direct link to the airport. It’s a decent choice for a quick but pricey bite. This restaurant has a more sophisticated ambience.

Storefront of Wvrst — Wvrst at Union Station concourse

Proudly taking centre stage is the giant display case of sausages and cured meats. Newcomers are naturally drawn to the exotic meats. Don’t forget that there is a range of traditional sausages from around the world to choose from. Like South African boerewors, Slovenian kranjska, German bratwurst, or pseudo-German Oktoberfest sausage. I wished they offered more varieties of German sausages. The foods I miss from Southern Germany are Weißwurst (white veal sausages) and Nürnberger (bite-sized pork sausages).

Cured meats and sausages at Wvrst — Cured meats (top) and sausages (bottom)

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