Aji Fry Is Back on the Board. Here Is What to Order It With
There is a dish that almost every household in Japan has eaten, and almost nobody outside Japan has heard of. It is called aji fry — and it is back on our Monthly Appetizer board.
Deep-fried horse mackerel, mixed vegetables, a wedge of lemon, and your choice of sauce. $9. It arrives at the table crisp enough to hear.
It came back on September 1, the same day our Spicy Taiwan Mazesoba landed — and that is not a coincidence. These two belong on the same table, and the rest of this page is mostly about why.
| What it is | Aji Fry — deep-fried horse mackerel, a Japanese home-cooking classic |
| Price | $9 |
| Where on the menu | Monthly Appetizer — not a permanent menu item |
| Served with | Mixed vegetables and a wedge of lemon |
| Your choice of sauce | Tonkatsu sauce or our homemade taru-taru |
| Back from | Tuesday, September 1, 2026 |
| Takeout | Yes — dine in or take it away |
| Order it with | Spicy Taiwan Mazesoba — the pairing this page is about |
Aji Fry sits on our Monthly Appetizer board, which means it is not a permanent part of the menu. We have not set an end date — but we cannot promise it will still be there in a few months either. If you have been meaning to try it, do it while it is on.
First, what is aji?
Aji is horse mackerel — a small, silver, everyday fish. In Japan it is not a luxury item and it is not trying to be. It is the fish on the plate at a weekday dinner, in a lunch set at a corner restaurant, in the bento a parent packs at six in the morning.
The flavour is cleaner and gentler than the mackerel most people in Canada have met. There is a savouriness to it, but no heaviness, and once it is fried the flesh turns white, soft and flaky rather than oily.
If you think you don’t like fried fish, there is a reasonable chance you have simply never had it made properly with aji.
That is the whole appeal. It is not an exotic dish. It is a familiar one — just familiar to a different set of people.
What lands on the plate
The fish is coated and deep-fried to order, so it reaches you at the point where the crust is still audibly crisp and the inside is still steaming. Alongside it: mixed vegetables for freshness, and a wedge of lemon.
Two sauces. You have to choose.
This is the only decision the dish asks of you, and regulars have opinions about it.
Tonkatsu sauce
Thick, dark, fruity and tangy — the sauce Japan puts on anything breaded and fried. It is sweeter and sharper than it looks, and it cuts through the fry rather than sitting on top of it. This is the traditional choice, and the one to take if you want the dish exactly as a Japanese lunch counter would serve it.
Our homemade taru-taru
Taru-taru is the Japanese take on tartar sauce, and ours is made in our own kitchen. It is creamy, cool and a little sharp against the heat of the fry — the richer of the two options, and the one that turns aji fry into something closer to comfort food. It is also the sauce we serve with our curry, so regulars already know it.
Why it belongs next to Spicy Taiwan Mazesoba
Our Spicy Taiwan Mazesoba is a bowl with no soup in it. That means no broth to dilute anything — just noodles, spicy minced pork, raw garlic and oil, in direct contact with each other. It is loud, and it is meant to be.
A bowl like that needs something on the table that is not loud. Aji fry does three specific things for it:
It gives you crunch
Mazesoba is chewy from start to finish — thick noodles, soft minced pork, a poached egg. Ten minutes in, your mouth wants something that breaks. A crisp fried crust is exactly that.
The lemon resets your palate
Chilli builds. By the second half of a spicy bowl, everything starts tasting like the same thing. A bite of lemony fried fish in between clears it, and the next mouthful of noodles tastes like the first one did.
It solves the table where one person can’t do spicy
Almost every group has one. Aji fry is completely mild, recognisable to anyone, and substantial enough to be somebody’s main reason for being happy at the table.
Not having the mazesoba? It still works.
Fried fish and lemon go with more or less everything on our menu, but these are the combinations we would actually recommend:
| Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen | A rich pork broth and a light, lemony fry. The classic pairing — heavy and clean, side by side. |
| Rich Gyokai Tonkotsu Tsuke-men | Dipping noodles leave your hands and your palate free between bites. Aji fry fills that gap perfectly. |
| KARAIJIRO Ramen | A very large, very spicy bowl. The same palate-reset logic as the mazesoba applies, only more so. |
| A drink and nothing else | Aji fry and a cold beer is a complete and respectable order. We will not judge you. |
The details
| Dish | Aji Fry |
| Menu section | Monthly Appetizer — not a permanent menu item |
| How to order | Dine-in or takeout |
| Price | $9 |
| Fish | Horse mackerel (aji), deep-fried |
| Served with | Mixed vegetables, lemon |
| Sauce | Your choice of tonkatsu sauce or homemade taru-taru sauce |
| Heat level | Not spicy |
| Back on the board from | Tuesday, September 1, 2026 |
Aji fry, a squeeze of lemon, and a bowl of something loud.
$9. Tonkatsu sauce or homemade taru-taru — your call. 🐟
It is not a permanent menu item, so don’t leave it too long.
Frequently asked questions
What is aji fry?
Deep-fried horse mackerel — a staple of Japanese home cooking and lunch counters. Crisp on the outside, soft and flaky inside, served with lemon.
How much is it?
$9, from the Monthly Appetizer section of our menu.
What does it come with?
Mixed vegetables, a wedge of lemon, and your choice of tonkatsu sauce or our homemade taru-taru sauce.
Which sauce should I pick?
Tonkatsu sauce is the traditional, tangy choice. Taru-taru is creamier and richer. Try the first bite with just lemon, then decide — and if you cannot, ask your server.
Is it spicy?
No. Aji fry is completely mild, which is part of why it works so well next to our spicier bowls.
Can I order it for takeout?
Yes. Aji Fry is available to take away as well as to eat in. Our Spicy Taiwan Mazesoba is the one dish we serve dine-in only — the aji fry has no such restriction. That said, fried food is at its best the minute it leaves the fryer, so eating it here is the version we would recommend.
How long will it be available?
We have not set an end date. Aji Fry sits on our Monthly Appetizer board, so it is not a permanent menu item — it is here for now, and worth catching while it is.
Does horse mackerel taste strong?
Less than you would expect. Aji is cleaner and gentler than the mackerel most people in Canada have tried, and frying it makes the flesh white, soft and mild.
What should I order it with?
Our Spicy Taiwan Mazesoba is the pairing we would push hardest — the crunch and the lemon reset your palate between mouthfuls. Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen and our tsuke-men also work well.
Can I make a reservation?
Yes — you can reserve a table here, or walk in.
🍋 Lemon first, then tonkatsu sauce or homemade taru-taru
🍜 Best ordered alongside Spicy Taiwan Mazesoba
Thank you, as always, for eating with us.
