Donburi (丼) is a general term for rice bowl meals. Literally a bowl of rice with stuff on top. There is no rule on what goes on top, but traditional combinations are gyu don (牛丼; stewed beef slices and onion), ten don (天丼; tempura), katsu don (カツ丼; schnitzel), and unagi don (鰻丼; grilled eel).
Oddly enough, the best donburi restaurant in Toronto eschews these classic bowls and goes for modern interpretations. It’s still recognizably Japanese though.
Onnki Donburi
Onnki Donburi has the elusive winning combination of taste, presentation, portion, and price. The cooking and plating is like a mid-range to top-end restaurant, yet the portion sizes are perfect and don’t leave diners wanting. It hasn’t forgotten the casual roots of donburi either and is moderately priced.
A head-to-head comparison of Dagu, Fudao, Shi Miaodao, and Yunshang Rice Noodle
For some reason, four specialists of crossing-the-bridge noodles have opened withing walking distance of one another in the past few years. They are centred in downtown Chinatown. I don’t quite understand the appeal of this dish but apparently the market is large enough to sustain them all. So, I decided to go on a taste test.
This review was done over the course of a year because of interruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a dish that has to be eaten on-premise for a fair assessment.
The most famous specialty from YunnAN
Crossing-the-bridge noodles (过桥米线; guoqiao mixian) gets its unusual name from a fable about a devoted wife bringing her husband these noodles. She had to cross a bridge to reach him, hence the name. Traditionally, the soup has a thick layer of oil to keep it warm. Restaurants in Toronto (and most in China) don’t bother with that because no one is doing any lengthy bridge crossings.
This dish originates from Yunnan province in Southwest China and is the representative dish. The novelty lies with diners quickly tossing raw ingredients in the boiling soup just after it is served. It’s an interactive affair. Deluxe versions can be an impressive feast. Other than that, it tastes like regular soup noodles.
I was remarkably underwhelmed by the everyday versions sold in Yunnan. It’s as sad as it looks.
Crossing-the-bridge noodles from Jian Xin Yuan (建新园), Kunming
Enterprising Chinese from outside Yunnan spiffed up this ancient dish and packaged it for the modern market. It now comes with an earthenware pot and better presented ingredients. This is the style used by Toronto restaurants.
Guoqiao mixian with original soup from Fudao Noodle House, Toronto
Lai Wah Heen is the grand dame of luxury dim sum, incorporating ingredients like lobster and caviar since the 1990s. It won critical acclaim but standards went downhill for a long time before rising again. Today, it’s still a decent place to try high-end dim sum if you don’t want to make the trip to Richmond Hill and Markham.
Hotel entrance to Lai Wah Heen
Lai Wah Heen
Online reviews are harsh, mainly because the price doesn’t meet expectations. Indeed, some items like char siu bao (barbecued pork buns) don’t taste that all different from average restaurants but are priced higher. The trick is to select the right things. Research on their specialties beforehand and get the unique ones. Then, the experience won’t be as bad as detractors claim.
Best chicken ramen in Toronto, beating most pork ramen
COVID-19 update: 20% off all orders!
Ikkousha (一幸舎) may be a global chain but its ramen are among the best in Toronto. The original store near Hakata train station in Fukuoka, Japan, is famous for its tonkotsu ramen and its rendition in Toronto is just as good. It’s a close second after Santouka (山頭火), another Japanese chain.
While the first Canadian outlet sticks closely to the formula from the original Japanese location, Ikkousha recently opened a restaurant two doors away that focuses solely on chicken. Even the side dishes like gyoza (pan-fried dumplings) are based on chicken. This is the first Ikkousha restaurant in the world that specializes in chicken ramen. And it is out-of-this-world good.
Ikkousha Ramen Chicken
Table seating
Ok, technically, this isn’t the first Ikkousha restaurant that serves chicken exclusively. Some branches in Indonesia only have chicken ramen to appeal to Muslim diners. However, the menu here is completely different and this Toronto restaurant is the first to be branded as “Ikkousha Chicken”. If you are wondering, there is no halal or kosher certification.
Ramenology primer
There are many ways to classify ramen. Broth seasoning, broth base, and noodle type are the most common. For this review, you just have to know the difference between broth bases. Ikkousha has long been associated with tonkotsu (豚骨), a whitish concoction from boiling pork bones and cartilage for hours. Their second restaurant in Toronto focuses on chicken broth bases. The two types are tori paitan (鶏白湯; literally chicken white soup) and tori chintan (鶏清湯; literally chicken clear soup). Like tonkotsu, tori paitan is made by boiling chicken bones and cartilaginous parts like chicken feet until all the fat and connective tissue melds into the broth. The result is a creamy, umami-rich, high cholesterol chicken soup.
Guangxi (广西) is a relatively poor province in China and is known more for its scenery than its food. The cuisine is really peasant food. There are a handful of specialties in the big cities but there are no regional dishes. Perhaps that’s why there are so few Guangxi restaurants, even within China.
Toronto is blessed to have a Guangxi restaurant that offers the representative noodle dishes of the province. Taste of Guang Xi started at First Markham Place and opened a branch in downtown Chinatown a few months ago. I stopped by the downtown branch for this review.
Taste of Guang Xi (downtown)
The most popular dish here is luo si fen (螺蛳粉; river snail rice noodle). This noodle soup dish hails from the city of Liuzhou (柳州). It’s rare to find a fresh version outside of Guangxi and most Chinese consume the pre-packaged version. There is no visible snail meat but rest assured that there are snails. Entire snails are simmered in the broth until the meat disintegrates and the shell remains are left in the pot. You can’t really taste the snails anyway with all the spices.
