chicken – Around the World in 196 Plates

Country 100 – Peru (King’s BBQ Chicken Restaurant)

Published on January 12, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 572 Rogers Road, Toronto
Website: None

Despite the name, King’s BBQ Chicken Restaurant serves quite a bit more than just roasted bird — specifically, they specialize in chifa, a subset of Peruvian cuisine that gives Chinese food a South American twist. Apparently it’s been a big deal in Peru since the 1920s, courtesy of a large influx of Chinese immigration in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The most beloved example of chifa is probably lomo saltado, a stir-fried beef dish with the bizarre (and delightful) addition of french fries.

It’s odd. It mostly tastes like any number of stir-fries; it’s sweet, savoury, and a little bit smoky from the blazing hot wok. But then there’s the very generous amount of fries mixed in, which work surprisingly well.

It’s not something I would have guessed would be as delicious as it is, but it tastes kind of like the tasty love child between Chinese food and a plate of loaded fries. It doesn’t need rice, because the starch is built right in. It’s ingenious.

They don’t just serve chifu at King’s BBQ Chicken; it wouldn’t be a Peruvian restaurant without ceviche, Peru’s national dish and culinary claim to fame (it’s served in several countries, but it was invented in Peru). The version here is quite tasty, with a nice acidic bite that doesn’t overwhelm, pops of spice from finely diced hot pepper, and a nice contrast in textures between the meaty fish and the crunchy onion.

And of course, you can’t go to a place with “BBQ Chicken” right in the name without trying the BBQ chicken. It’s very good — it’s not as distinctive as the lomo saltado or the ceviche, but it’s a quality piece of chicken. It’s nice and tender, and the seasoning is tasty. It’s good stuff.

Country 091 – Brunei (One2Snacks)

Published on August 25, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 8 Glen Watford Drive, Scarborough
Website: None

Brunei is a tiny little country that’s effectively right in the middle of Malaysia. With a population of around 400,000, it’s not the smallest country in the world, but it’s still small enough that there are zero Bruneian restaurants in the GTA.

Their proximity to Malaysia means that their cuisine bears a lot of similarity to Malaysian food, so this is actually an easy one. There are a handful of Malaysian restaurants in the GTA, including One2Snacks, which is particularly well-regarded for having a tasty bowl of curry laksa.

Curry laksa is a seriously delicious curry-tinged noodle soup with a creamy richness thanks to coconut milk. It’s kind of similar to khao soi, but with a zingier, more spice-packed flavour.

The version at One2Snacks is an amazing deal — it’s about eight bucks, and comes in an enormous bowl that’s absolutely crammed with noodles (thick and thin), shrimp, chicken, tofu, and fish balls.

It doesn’t quite have the creamy vibrancy of the best bowls of laksa that I’ve had, but it’s quite satisfying nonetheless. The broth has enough depth and spice to be eminently slurpable, the noodles have a great texture, and the mix-ins are all tasty (the chicken has a mildly leftovery flavour, but everything else is great, particularly the tender fish balls).

Country 090 – South Africa (Plan B Handmade Burgers, Boerewors and Braai)

Published on August 11, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2943 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.facebook.com/PlanBHandmadeburgers/

You wouldn’t necessarily think that South African cuisine would be all that difficult to find, but apparently it is. Outside of a catering company that opens for brunch on Sundays, Plan B appears to be the only restaurant in Toronto that specializes in South African eats.

That’s a lot of weight on its shoulders. They’re basically the ambassadors for South African cuisine for the entire GTA.

Thankfully, it’s quite tasty. Plan B specializes in braai, which is South African-style grilled meat. They also sell a variety of hamburgers (so a second visit for another blog might be in order), but I ordered the mixed braai platter, which comes with boerewors (a South African sausage), chicken, lamb (steak is also an option), and two sides.

Everything is very nicely grilled, with that great smoky flavour you only get from food that’s been cooked over a flame. And the meats are all quite good — in particular, the boerewors was seriously delicious. The texture was nice and tender while still being satisfyingly meaty, and the spicing was unique and tasty.

The chicken was fairly plain, but perfectly cooked. The lamb, however, was overly tough and almost impossible to cut into with the knife provided.

I ordered potato salad as well as pap and tomato chutney on the side. The potato salad was run-of-the-mill, but the pap (which is a South African version of polenta) really stands out. It’s a bit bland on its own, but once you pour some of the sweet tomato chutney on top, it comes alive.

Country 083 – Nicaragua (La Bella Managua)

Published on December 3, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 872 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: http://www.labellamanagua.com/

It’s always a good sign when you go to a restaurant and hear almost no English from the proprietor or the surrounding tables. There are so many reasons why living in a city as multicultural as Toronto is a great thing, but food is certainly at the top of that list. I honestly don’t think there are too many other cities in the world where I could do a blog like this.

So I was fairly confident that I was in good hands at La Bella Managua. Eating the food confirmed it.

I tried a couple of things. First up was the Pollo a la Parrilla. This featured a perfectly grilled piece of chicken, rice and beans (gallo pinto, which is Nicaragua’s national dish), salad, and fried plantains.

Everything was great. The chicken was nicely grilled and seasoned, with some welcome crispiness on its exterior and a perfectly cooked interior. White meat is very easy to overcook, turning it dry and unappealing, so kudos to them for preparing this so well. And the sweetness of the fried plantains balanced nicely with the savoury chicken.

The gallo pinto was simple enough, but very satisfying, as was the salad (which consisted mostly of avocado, tomato, peppers, and red onion). I’m normally not a big fan of raw onions in salad, but these were mild enough to be acceptable.

The other dish I tried was the Nacatamal, which is described as “typical Nicaraguan tamales stuffed with seasoned pork loin & vegetables.”

This might be the least photogenic thing I’ve ever eaten. I mean, it looks horrifying. But it’s the ultimate “don’t judge a book by its cover” dish, because it was absolutely delicious.

Unlike the tamales I recently had at Tacos El Asador, these were absolutely crammed with flavour, and the tender pork loin gave it a satisfying meatiness. In case it wasn’t obvious enough from the chicken, this is a top-shelf restaurant doing top-shelf stuff.

Country 065 – Laos (Sabai Sabai)

Published on March 18, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 81 Bloor Street East, Toronto
Website: http://www.sabaisabaito.ca/

I’m gonna admit that pretty much the only thing I know about Laos is that it’s where Hank Hill’s neighbour is from on King of the Hill. I sort of figured that I’d be learning about all kinds of countries while doing this blog, but to be honest, not really (unless you consider eating a dish or two without context to be learning about a place, in which case, sure! I’m learning a lot!).

But now I can tell you about a couple of Laotian dishes I had at Sabai Sabai, so I guess I know a tiny bit more than I did before.

I started with the laap lao, which the menu describes as a minced pork salad, and the “most popular dish of Laos.” Well, okay. Sold.

I can see why it’s so popular in Laos (and elsewhere) — it’s delicious. It’s a simple dish, with a bowl of ground pork accompanied by a plate of iceberg lettuce leaves for wrapping. The pork absolutely pops with flavour — it’s addictively tangy and herby, and it’s almost impossible to stop eating. The fresh crunchiness of the lettuce is a perfect accompaniment to the flavourful pork. It’s great.

My main was the mee kati (coconut noodles). This was really tasty, though it was exceptionally awkward to eat. It essentially comes deconstructed, with the plate consisting of a pile of dry noodles topped with crispy onions, a small bowl of sauce and chicken chunks, and an even smaller bowl of crushed hot peppers.

I wasn’t sure how to approach this. Was I supposed to pour the sauce over the noodles? The way the plate was arranged, it didn’t seem like it. A bowl would have been more appropriate if this were the intention, plus there was a banana leaf on the plate, and if I poured sauce over the noodles, some of it would inevitably wind up under the leaf. So… no pouring, I guess?

But because the noodles were completely un-sauced, they all stuck together in one stubborn clump. I eventually sprinkled the hot peppers onto the noodle clump, and then tore off chunks and dipped them into the sauce. But I clearly over-dipped my first few clumps, because by the time I was about halfway finished with the noodles, the sauce was almost entirely depleted. It wasn’t the best.

It tasted really good, though! For all the awkwardness of actually eating it, that’s what really counts — the sauce was creamy, coconutty, rich, and delicious. The crushed peppers gave it a mild kick, and the fried onions added some crispiness and a decent amount of flavour. The chicken pieces tasted a bit leftovery, but all in all it was a tasty dish. I just wish they’d drop the unwelcome pretension and serve it assembled in a bowl like normal people.

Country 052 – Grenada (Shandra’s Roti Shop)

Published on February 26, 2017 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5030 Maingate Drive #19, Mississauga
Website: https://www.shandrasrotishop.ca/

Roti is another one of those foods that’s eaten in any number of countries; I could have picked from quite a few for Shandra’s Roti Shop. Curry chicken roti is a popular choice in Grenada, so that’s what I went with.

Shandra’s is a popular place. I came at around noon on a Thursday, and the restaurant was absolutely packed. A place this crowded is usually a pretty good sign that your lunch choice was solid.

I ordered the aforementioned curry chicken roti, which was crammed with large, tender pieces of chicken in a creamy, flavourful curry sauce. My only issue was the complete lack of spice; you kinda just assume a dish like this is going to singe your tastebuds and add a layer of sweat to your forehead, so the very thorough mildness of this curry was a bit of a disappointment.

The roti shell is actually two thin layers encasing a dry mix (consisting of ground yellow split peas and other spices, according to Wikipedia), which adds even more flavour and texture.

It was quite good. Though the lack of mouth-burning spice (or any spice at all) was a bummer, it’s still something I’d happily eat again.

Country 048 – Singapore (Jackpot Chicken Rice)

Published on December 25, 2016 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 318 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://www.jackpotchickenrice.com/

This post is a bit different than usual. The whole point of this blog is to travel without traveling; however, I actually just came back from a real, no-foolin’ trip to Singapore (where I had chicken rice a couple of times), so this is the rare case where I know what the real deal is supposed to taste like.

Chicken rice, for the initiated, is an exceptionally simple dish — tender boiled chicken on rice that’s been cooked in the stock, served with a couple of sauces on the side. That’s it.

Man, it’s good though.

And the version they serve at Jackpot Chicken Rice is surprisingly close to what I had in Singapore. The rice in particular, with its addictively rich flavour thanks to being cooked with the stock, was pretty much exactly as I remembered from my recent trip.

The chicken itself, however, couldn’t quite match up. The version I had in Singapore had an intense chickeny flavour, and was almost absurdly tender. It was silky and moist in a way that was downright remarkable. The chicken at Jackpot, on the other hand, had a much more subdued flavour, and a texture that was more in line with any other well-prepared chicken I’ve had. It was tender, but not even close to the awe-inspiring degree of the Singaporean version.

It comes with two sauces on the side — a ginger scallion sauce, and a spicy chili sauce. The sauces, like the rice, were very comparable to the real deal.

You can also pay a couple of bucks and get some crispy chicken skins on the side. These are amazing. They’re pretty much like the best chips you’ve ever had. I want a whole bag.

I decided to finish things off with the Kaya French Toast. Kaya is a sweet, coconutty spread that’s typically served on toast for breakfast. The version here is significantly sweeter and richer than the toast you’ll find in Singapore; it’s lightly crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and intensely sweet. It’s really, really good.

Country 045 – Yemen (Almonasabah)

Published on November 13, 2016 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2340 Council Ring Road #107, Mississauga
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Almonasabah/

I’ve been on quite a roll with Middle Eastern restaurants — so far I’ve checked out Syria, Turkey, and Lebanon, and they’ve all been seriously tasty. And now here’s Yemen to continue that streak.

Alonasabah’s menu is laser-focused — they have a handful of appetizers and desserts, but for the most part there’s only one dish on the menu. If you want something other than mandi? Go somewhere else, that’s all they’ve got here.

Mandi is a deceptively simple dish: it’s just rice and meat (with the choice between chicken and lamb). It’s topped with almonds, raisins, and fried onions.

It’s so good.

The rice is fragrant, richly spiced and deeply flavourful; it’s delicious enough that I’d happily eat a big bowl of it just on its own.

I tried both the chicken and lamb, and both types of meat were super tender and packed with flavour. They’ve obviously been cooked for a very long time at a very low temperature; the chicken was so incredibly tender that the cartilage had completely broken down, essentially turning into cartilage butter.

The rice and the meat are both super tasty, but it’s the toppings that help put this dish over the top. The almonds add some nuttiness and crunch, and even the raisins work surprisingly well. I’m generally not a fan of raisins in any context, so I was shocked by how much I enjoyed them here. Unlike qabuli palau, the somewhat similar dish I tried from Afghanistan, the raisins go really well with everything else. They add subtle pops of sweetness that compliment the dish perfectly and never overwhelm.

As for the onions, they were dark and intense, with a flavour somewhere between caramelized and fried. They were sweet, but with an edge — almost bordering on burnt but never crossing that line.

It seems kind of odd at first that this place only really serves the one dish, but if you do something this well? Why the hell should you waste your time doing anything else?

Country 044 – Lebanon (Acacia Fine Foods)

Published on October 30, 2016 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1170 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: http://www.acaciafinefoodsmississauga.com/

Thanks, Twitter — or more specifically, thanks, Suresh Doss (for the unaware, Doss has become the GTA’s go-to guy for recommendations on ethnic joints like this one). I visited this place entirely thanks to this tweet, and I’m really glad that I did.

It’s a big place, and was almost completely empty when I showed up at around 12:30 on a Sunday (which, as will soon become clear, I think is a travesty). I ordered the arayess, which I had never even heard of before, let alone tried.

It was amazing. It’s ridiculously simple — it’s essentially just a fairly thin layer of spiced ground beef sandwiched inside a piece of pita bread. It’s grilled over charcoal, which gives it a nice exterior char without making the bread overly crispy or crackly.

Whatever they’ve spiced the beef with tastes so good, and the juices soak into the bread so that the whole thing becomes an irresistible medley of beefy, perfectly spiced flavour. It comes with two sauces for dipping — tahini and garlic — and while they’re both quite tasty, it was the garlic sauce that really got me all hot and bothered. It was pretty much the standard thick white sauce that you get at most shawarma joints, but something about it made me want to grab a spoon and eat it straight-up from the container like pudding.

They gave us a couple of pieces of puffy, fresh-from-the-oven pita bread, and by the end of the meal I was tearing pieces off and dipping them straight into that amazing garlic sauce.

You can choose between fries, rice, or salad — since the tweet that brought me here specifically mentioned the rice, that’s what I got.

The rice, like everything else, was not kidding around. Great flavour, and it complimented everything else perfectly.

I should also mention that my dining companion got the chicken and beef shawarma plate, and based only on the couple of mouthfuls I had, it seemed like some seriously top-shelf shawarma (I actually enjoyed it so much that I returned a few days later to try a chicken shawarma sandwich — it was quite good, though it was missing the crispy bits that made the shawarma on the first day so amazing).

I’m really not sure why the place was so empty — I’ve been doing this blog for almost a couple of years now, and this was easily one of the best meals I’ve had so far. It was so good.

Country 039 – Turkey (Kabab 49)

Published on August 7, 2016 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5308 Dundas Street West, Etobicoke
Website: http://kebab49.com/

So, here’s a fun fact (an actual fun fact, not E!’s version of a fun fact): Turkish doner was actually the first version of that particular type of vertically-rotisseried meat, preceding the similar shawarma and gyro by at least a few decades. I always assumed that shawarma was the O.G. vertical rotating meat-stack, but nope, apparently it’s doner.

And the version they serve at Kabab 49? It’s superb. I ordered the mixed doner plate, which comes with a salad, a big pile of sliced onions, a generous portion of delightfully greasy rice, a few slices of freshly-baked bread, and of course, enough shaved meat to feed a small family.

Everything on the plate is quite good (well, except for the onions — raw onions are the worst thing in the world, and no one is ever going to convince me otherwise), but the highlight is that amazing doner. The mixed plate features chicken and a mix of veal and lamb, and both were fantastic. The veal and lamb was a bit better than the chicken, but both were moist, had plenty of the crispy bits you’re looking for in this type of thing, and were really well seasoned.

The meat works just as well with the rice as with the fluffy, fresh bread. Eventually, you eat enough of the doner and discover a couple of bonus slices of bread at the bottom of the plate, suffused with tasty meat grease. And then you walk out of the restaurant clutching your stomach and wondering how and why you finished the whole thing, because seriously: that plate is enormous. But you kept eating it well past the point that common sense would dictate that you stop. That’s how you know it’s something special.