A-ok foods (ramen by yours truly)

[szw]

It's open now! sichuan tsukemon is more like a Dan Dan mien than a ramen, but it's a really delicious Dan Dan mien! Better than ba shu jia Ren or sichuan legend Imo. Much better!

[akhorasanee]

Really like this spot....its the perfect place when you want good food which is cheap...loved the bulgogi tort, chicken wings and salted cod inari - too bad my hubby and I cant eat pork cause the dan dan mien looked sooo good:(

[kwass]

Funny that you just posted, because I went today for lunch and wasn't at all impressed. I had the wings and the sichuan noodles with chicken. The wings were way too salty, and the noodles had barely any chicken, and a little too much coriander for my taste. But to be fair, I'm not a big fan of coriander, and should have requested that it be omitted. I also had the 5-spice bun (oops...almost forgot about that), which was delicious!

[justxpete]

Funny, I've been going there on a regular basis for the last couple months. Absolutely love the chicken wings, and ramen. Noodles might be the best in TO. While their broth could be a bit better, it's not as bad as some would describe. I enjoy it. Staff is always friendly and accommodating.

[kwass]

Staff was super nice, and the noodles tasted good, but like I said, they had barely any chicken in them. As for the coriander, I shouldn't complain, because it's just a personal preference. I was going to ask if there was coriander in the noodles, and i forgot, so it's my own fault. But the wings were incredibly salty. That being said, it was probably just an blip on the part of the guy making them, because I've never heard anything but raves about the wings.

[justxpete]

You're aware that they don't typically serve a lot of meat w/ ramen in general, yes? In any case, you can always ask for an additional portion, which they've been more than happy to provide, previously.

[kwass]

I wasn't aware of that. Thanks justxpete. Don't get me wrong though. In terms of taste, I thought the noodles were very tasty, and I would order them again, just next time without the coriander (for no reason other than personal preference).

[happycamper]

I really want to like them, BUT - they really need to man-up their stock!

[kwass]

What do you mean?

[happycamper]

Tried their Shoyu x3. All 3 times, the flavours are all over the place. I understand that they are not aiming for that authentic Ramen broth, but twice, they were either too sweet or too salty for my liking.
For me, the flavours are just not focused and the stock doesn't have enough depth that makes me want to have more, and the quality is not consistent.

In-house noodles? Kudos guys. But if the stocks don't measure up, it's not a good ramen.

[kwass]

That's too bad. Have you tried anything else there?

[happycamper]

Yes, I loved their brussel sprouts. The wings were good too - but that's before I had Odd Seoul's version.

[kwass]

Starting April 8, they are going to be open 7 days/week...yay!!

Here's the link to the Twitter announcement:

https://twitter.com/AOKfoods/status/3...

[chocabot]

new favourite! dan dan mien and bulgogi torta. Had them twice now and I'm glad to find things I like other than the shoyu ramen and pork ssam :)

[jlunar]

heard this was very good! Gotta go try that dan dan mein.

[helenhelen]

seeing that it is from the owners of yours truly, are any of the ramen dishes vegetarian? i know they have some other non-ramen dishes that are, judging from a photo that i saw from the menu.

[chocabot]

there is only one ramen and it is chicken based

[helenhelen]

okay :(

i have only ever tried veg ramen once (at ajisen) and it was awful. i want to see what the fuss is all about but impossible to find good veg ramen (or veg ramen in general :))

[TorontoJo]

It might help to understand that half the fuss about ramen is the quality of the broth. A lot of places win kudos with their unctuous, cloudy, porky broths. So getting a truly vegetarian ramen may be a very tall order, as the richness of the broth is hard to replicate with veggies.

[helenhelen]

i was thinking that could be the issue.

i wonder if there is a way to approximate the qualities of the pork broth though. i imagine that slow cooking(?) of the pork might bring out more umami flavour.. so maybe there is way to make a good veg broth using other things to bring out umami.. or maybe not. :)

there is a thread on here somewhere about umami...

[aser]

There are some things that vegetarians just aren't meant to have. Ramen being one of those.

Sure you can have a veggie broth with noodles, but it won't be ramen.

Back on topic, I really enjoyed the lightness of the chicken shoyu broth. I haven't had a better shoyu ramen in Toronto yet. Brought back memories of great shoyu ramen at the defunct Chikubu (nyc).

The wings I was a little disappointed with, Oddseoul does a better version up the street.

[Full tummy]

A friend recently raved about the vegetarian ramen at Kinton.

[helenhelen]

i heard that they use pork broth for their vegetable ramen. can anyone confirm?

[ItsRainingMian]

We tried a few things but the best by far was the brussel sprouts - wok-charred with bacon and topped with japanese mayo and bonito. Delicious and addictive. Shoyu ramen was really good too.

[JennaBean]

Do you mean the Kewpie mayo? I find it way tooo sweet in most dishes. I love sprouts and bacon but the thought of the mayo kind of ruins it for me.

[chocabot]

Had the ramen a second time and noticed the pork slice was different. Shoulder this time instead of belly? I enjoyed it but not consistent.
Snail salad was ok but wouldn't order again. Noodles with noodles if you're having ramen....
Fried rice was kind of standard issue. It came with a hot sauce that was interesting but overall didn't care for it.
So far only the shoyu ramen has been worth it for me...

[szw]

Have you tried the tsukemon? (ill keep calling it dan Dan mien!)

Snail salad was okay, but disappointed to see such a standard sauce that is served at every Korean restaurant in Toronto when you order dukboki. It wasn't even a particularly good version of the sauce but I think most people eating here won't notice this stuff so closely.

[chocabot]

I have not. I tried the Momofuku noodle dish that's similar and while that one was good I got bored half way through...

Totally gree about the snail salad.

[chocabot]

The tsukemen was ok. Think of the ramen bowl contents drained and in a plate with a warm bowl of oily sichuan peppercorn, chinese bean sauce on the side. Spicing was ok for me and I'd consider it a standard "medium hot" plus the tingle of the crushed peppercorn. (Again to compare to a similar Momofuku's similar dish, it's not as nuanced and seemingly oilier. At Momo they add candied cashews and spinach to the cold dish so it seems more of a noodle salad.) I prefer A-Ok's Shoyu ramen dish to this one.

The snail salad, fried rice and duck san choi bao are off the current menu and they added a ox tongue salad, fish in the weeds (sounds like a sashimi on seaweed salad) and a pork ssam.

The pork ssam is a huge improvement on the duck as it wasn't as saucy messy and the salt was under control. Belly was used here and grilled pork shoulder for the tsukemen.

[happycamper]

I have mixed feeling about this place.
The good:
Snail Salad - I have never seen this combination in any asian street food (kim-chi snails with sho-mein, I liked it). Could use a tad more sesame oil, but it was a very encouraging start to the meal.
Shoyu - Just perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. The soup was not over-salted, and the noodles soaked up all the beautiful flavours, but still retained that 'spring-iness' as remarked in Tampopo (although, it is FAR from the traditional ramen - be forewarned). My companion, who worships Santouku, was not happy with the portion size. I, on the other hand, was happy with it. It left me more room to sample other things. So keep in mind, it's not a place for you to just have a bowl of ramen and be done with.

The not so good:
The tofu appetizer with chips - really awful. The chips were chewy and stale, and the tofu was oversalted and cut into too big of a chunkful to be 'scooped' in any way.
Drinks - very limited alcoholic beverages. I am sure it will change over time though. There was horchata on the menu - seemed like a popular item amongst patrons.

I enjoy the casualness of the place and the staff. They have many kinks to work out, and also, they need better signage!

[chocabot]

Ramen at Yours Truly owned A-OK is sooo good and non conventional. The noodles are Korean styles so more like mein and less bouncy and chewy which is okaaay. The broth is chicken based and the yuzu element makes is Momofukuesque. The soy tea egg actually tastes of soy and tea (hallelujah) so I'm a big fan.

The San Choi Bao duck lettuce wraps were way too saucy and SALTY. Mentioned that to them but hey it's 2nd night out of the gate.

Bonus they're up the street from me, downer, it's a small place so it'll get busy fast.
Service was great, and love the simple fun design isn't "reclaimed" or as dim as a cave!

[canmark]

Toronto Life has a photo gallery of the space and the food: http://www.torontolife.com/daily/dail...

[limitedtimeoffer]

portions of ramen look kind of small...i know it really does not matter but the walls sort of look like a cheap version of what kinton did...but with green benches? i will check it out but not if there is a line.

[szw]

Of all the new ramen places, kinton has HUGE portions. All other places are similar to this I believe. (and tastier. I was a fan of kinton's when they opened but the others are all just better IMO).