Canada is celebrated for being one of the most culturally diverse places in the world. Canada is a mosaic with different cultures coming together to create one unique identity that is the city. This is especially reflected in the many restaurants scattered throughout the GTA. Let’s take a trip around T-Dot and see what gives the city it’s unique identity.

Ajisen Ramen

Ah, Ajisen Ramen one of the best ramen places that Toronto has to offer. Ajisen Ramen stays as one of the go to restaurants for me and my friends whenever we’re in the area. Actually, areas because Ajisen is an established brand having 3 locations in the GTA located in Chinatown, Markham and North York. However, that is only a mere fraction of it’s 800 stores present throughout the globe. Ajisen hasn’t always been as established as it was now. The brand has a rich history that spans back over decades.

In 1986, on the other side of the world, in Kutamoto, Japan, owner Johnny Lok planted the seeds for what would be Ajisen Ramen. The giant chain would have it’s humble beginnings in a small and insignificant ramen shop. 10 years later in 1996, Johnny would then make the bold decision to open a second, overseas shop in Hong Kong. This move was convenient for him as he was living there at the time.

Johnny’s love for ramen was contagious, and he wanted to spread that love to the world. In 2005, it was Canada’s turn.

“Because I am, personally, very much in love with ramen, in 2005 I brought Ajisen Ramen to Toronto. “

Johnny Luk, Owner of Ajisen Ramen

Canada gave a very warm welcome to the company which allowed it to open up its doors to 3 location within the city. The introduction of Ajisen into was Toronto was easy; mostly due to the huge Asian-Canadian community present in Toronto that have already been familiarized with the delicious taste of ramen. At the time, eight of the top ten sources of immigrants into Canada were from Asia. This fact only served as a catalyst for the hype around ramen and specifically Ajisen.

Ajisen Ramen is famous for their famous white broth. This broth is made by slow cooking various proteins until the broth reaches a shallow yellow coloring. This allows for safe, hygienic and super tasty soup. Among all the soups, the most popular one is the Tender Pork Ramen where the pork is slow cooked until it reaches a buttery like texture that once bitten into – creates a heavenly sensation. This dish allowed Ajisen to top every other ramen shop and Toronto and to prove that it was a faithful representation of Japanese culture.

Osmows

Moving on to the Mediterranean, our next stop is Osmows. Osmows has become more than just a true rendition of the Middle Eastern culture, but also an icon in Toronto’s rich identity. Osmow’s world famous shawarma brings in costumers from all corners of life and different backgrounds.

Sam Osmow opened his first restaurant named “Polar Submarine” in Streetsville, Mississauga. Sam worked diligently in the restaurant, spending almost the entire day working by himself. His efforts were futile as business was struggling due to the presence of big name brands surrounding his store.

One day, Sam decided to cook himself his own Middle Eastern style lunch to eat for that day. As lunch rolled around, he opened up the lunch and a customer asked him “What smelled so good?”. Sam let him take a bite, and the customer requested to switch his order. This moment of appreciation for Middle Eastern food inspired Sam to spread his love for his own culture. Sam’s business did a whole 180, and he decided to change from a regular sub shop to an authentic middle eastern cuisine experience.

Despite the protests, Sam closed his shop for a week, and renovated his restaurant with his family. Soon enough, in April 2001, Osmows was born. The community at the time was not accustomed to Middle Eastern cuisine, and many people were skeptical about trying it. During the Bread & Honey Festival in 2001, he was eager about spreading Middle Eastern cuisine to the community. Therefore, he gave out free samples outside of his restaurant. Sure enough,the people of Streetsville fell in love with Middle Eastern food. People started lining up outside his shop to see what the hype was about. Sam had finally fulfilled his goal to bring the Middle Eastern culture to Streetsville. To this day, Osmow’s has planned to open 50 chains throughout Toronto; With the one on Elgin Mills being the most recent.

Osmow’s is most famous for it’s signature dish, Chicken on the Rox . This dish is a culmination of chicken shawarma on rice topped with garlic and hot sauce. This is truly an iconic dish which has cemented itself in Toronto culture. Through his persistence and willingness to change, Sam Osmow was able to spread his love for Middle Eastern culture throughout Toronto.

Jolibee

Our final destination is in Southeast Asia, my hometown, the Philippines. Jolibee is a fast food chain that specializes in fried chicken,hamburgers, but also unique fast food takes on popular Filipino dishes. Jolibee has just opened 2 locations in Winnipeg and most recently, in Seafood City,Mississauga. They plan to expand to 100 outlets in Canada by 2023. Jolibee became a fast-food titan in the Philippines, becoming the biggest competitor in the country and even rivaling McDonalds. So far, Jolibee has around 1’200 outlets worldwide with 980 being located in the Philippines.

In 1975, Tony Caktiong operated a family owned ice cream parlor in Cubao, Quezon City. Due to popular demand, they started selling hot meals and sandwiches. This change was met with a warm response as customers soon ended up buying more of these meals than the ice cream. 3 years later, the Jolibee corporation was formed and 7 branches were opened in Metro Manila. Despite the introduction of McDonalds to the Phillippines in 1981, Jolibee still held it’s own due to catering more towards the Filipino culture.

Tony who was born to poor Chinese immigrants is now a billionaire.

The transition into Canada has been met with a very warm response due to the enormous Filipino-Canadian presence in Canada. One of the top sources of immigrants to Canada are Filipinos. Since most immigrants grew up eating Jolibee in the Philippines, bringing the restaurant to Canada allows Filipino immigrants to recapture that feeling of home. Filipino son’s and daughters who were born in Canada to Filipino immigrants also go to experience what their parents had experienced as a children.

When Jolibee came to Toronto, the hype was enormous. Large crowds amassed as the entire Filipino-Canadian community come through to get their own taste of Jolibee. Even after several months of opening, there were still long lineups. Jolibee got so used to the amount of customers that they created their own efficient lineup system. Here are some testimonies as to why people still line up even months after:

“Its our first one [in Canada]. I grew up in the Philippines and it was a weekly thing; I’ve been craving the peach mango pie.” 
Order: Peach mango pie and fried chicken.

Lawrence Sayas (a customer)

“It’s just a treat. When you’re going to Jolibee it’s like reliving your childhood.” 

Fairry Moranda (a customer)

Jolibee is finally here and it’s here to stay. Jolibee is iconic for it’s chicken and Filipino style spaghetti. Jolibee has become an icon among Filipino culture and allows many Filipino-Canadian immigrants to relieve their childhoods in the Philippines.

Conclusion

Immigrants from all corners of life come to Toronto each day. They bring their cultures with them and add onto the mosaic that creates Toronto. These immigrants have worked hard and adapted in order to spread the love of their culture with Toronto. Each journey is unique, and that’s what makes Toronto’s culture so beautiful.