Torontonians are eating instant noodle poutine — and it may not be as nasty as it looks

The Montreal versus Toronto debate is a debate for good reason. There are pros and cons to each of Eastern Canada's major cities. But if there's one thing Montreal indisputably does better, it's poutine.

While the MTL Blog team is usually too busy paying less rent while enjoying superior arts & culture to notice what our Ontario rivals are up to, when shocking poutine-related news crosses our desk, we have no choice but to investigate — even if that news is coming out of T-dot (gosh, even its nicknames are goofy).

We're not sure how to break this to you, Montreal, but... well... people in Toronto have been eating poutine instant noodles. Yes, you read that right. Instant noodle poutine. Picture a cup of instant noodles, like the ramen you'd get at a dep, topped with gravy-esque sauce and cheese curds. Should one of us tell them that's illegal?

But before you pass out or pass judgment, we — as journalists — thought it was only right to hear them out. And it turns out it may taste better than you'd think.

First of all, the place serving the dish has a 4.8-star rating on Google. It's called Nai Nai Noodles, and it's an Indonesian restaurant located in the student-oriented downtown food court Village by the Grange. There, you can find a variety of Indomie instant noodles, a popular brand in Indonesia, which the restaurant modifies to form its own creations, adding ingredients like hard-boiled eggs, chicken skewers and beef rendang.

To make the poutine, which goes for $8, Nai Nai combines Mie Goreng-flavoured Indomie noodles with the Indomie seasoning and then tops it off with savoury vegetarian gravy and cheese curds.

"Indulge in the comforting embrace of NaiNai Indonesian Food’s Indomie Poutine, a culinary delight that transcends borders," reads the caption of a NaiNai Instagram post about Indomie Poutine. "Let the rich, savoury sauce of the Poutine caress your lips, bringing warmth and satisfaction with every bite. Embrace the fusion of Indonesian flavours and Canadian comfort, creating a symphony of taste that soothes the soul on even the dreariest of days."

In the comments section, @mady.littler has written "The indome poutine is my guilty pleasure, it's so good!"

Turns out, they're not alone in that opinion.

"I was curious when I saw @indomie poutine on the menu, combining Indonesia’s ultimate comfort food and Canada’s national dish and you know what, it works well actually. It’s tasty!" wrote Indonesian-Canadian graphic designer Julian Halim in an Instagram post.

Toronto food-focused content creator Therese So expressed similar sentiments on TikTok.

"They have so many Indomie noodle choices, but I had to try one that I hadn't tried before and that was definitely the Poutine Mie Goreng. I honestly could say that it doesn't look appetizing, and I thought my choice was very wrong, but you can never go wrong with anything with cheese, right?"

According to Chef Elita, Nai Nai's Jakarta-born head chef and founder, the dish is becoming increasingly popular. After a slow start, she said sales are growing by 25% each month.

"Lots of customers like it. [They say] the taste blows their mind. [...] No one has complained about it, and I have many return customers with the same order," Chef Elita told us, noting she initially invented the dish as a way to entice university students to try Indonesian food.

However, a little positive buzz never stopped Reddit users from going berserk.

Five months ago, "thetireddumpling" posted a photo of Nai Nai's dish to the r/PoutineCrimes subreddit with the caption, "Indomie poutine. $8 at NaiNai Indonesian in Toronto. I'll buy it again."

The thread has since amassed 60 comments, including: "Wars have been started for less," and "So…… We can just call anything 'poutine' now?"

"I mean, I'm that Asian who puts cheese in noodles but this is going too far," wrote Redditor rubyanjel.

That said, it's important to note that people on Reddit often haven't tried the food they're commenting on.

So, what do we do Montreal? Call the RCMP? Charter a bus and send a Quebec convoy over for a true taste test? Would you try it, and for the love of all that is holy, would you call it poutine?

To let you in on a little secret, Montreal's GaNaDaRa, a Korean resto-bar with four locations around the city, serves a Supreme Poutine that contains ramen noodles.

While not exactly the same, this gives you the ability to do a similar taste test without having to travel to the dreaded 6ix.