Serge Ibaka ranks Toronto as his favourite food city in the world

NBA Champion Serge Ibaka thinks that more people in Toronto need to try eating bull penis, but don't worry, he's not saying it as an insult. If anything, it's actually kind of a compliment.

During his time on the Toronto Raptors from 2017 to 2020, the name Serge Ibaka was synonymous with victory in the city. Granted, so were the names of almost every player on the 2019 NBA Championship-winning team, but Serge had something special.

Be it his height, which clocks in at an imposing 6-foot-10, his passion for personal fashion or his charismatic on and off court presence, Toronto has a soft spot for Serge. 

And as all five feet and three inches of me sit down next to him at Bymark restaurant for a chat over a Madri Excepcional as part of his partnership with the Spanish beer brand, I quickly learn that the feeling is mutual.

"I have such amazing memories here," Serge tells me when I ask what it is about Toronto that keeps him coming back, "and now I get to work with Madri, so we can bring the culture of Spain to Toronto to connect. I love both countries, so bringing that culture here [...] is why I keep coming back."

So passionate is he about the cultures of Canada and Spain that he tells me both Toronto and Madrid land in his top three food cities in the world, with Paris taking the third spot. He lists Toronto first, and, even if he's just doing it to butter me up, his passion for the local food scene is genuine.

"[In Toronto] you can find anything you want," he says, noting that his favourite thing to eat while he lived in the city was Asian food, be it Korean, Japanese, Chinese or anything else.

See, Serge is something of a foodie himself. Not only a connoisseur of seeking out local restaurants to eat while he sips from a bottle of Madri, but he also identifies himself as a "food designer": a talent he platforms with his YouTube cooking series, How Hungry Are You?

Serge's own take on food-based interview shows like Chicken Shop Date or Hot Ones, the former power forward invites fellow sports stars to chat about the game while tucking into a meal cooked — no, designed — by Serge himself.

The catch? The meals are made using ingredients that may strike as unfamiliar to most Western audiences. Think a cup of tea with crickets floating in it, chicken ovaries and goat brain.

"I would always describe myself as an artist," Serge tells me. "So, when I try to do things, I make sure it's like art. That's why I call myself a food designer."

If he had the chance to design a dish to serve to his beloved people of Toronto? "I'm going to design a nice omelette with beef penis," he says.

Fittingly, it's the same dish he served to fellow Raptors champion Kawhi Leonard on the show.

"I know it sounds cringey a little bit, it sounds maybe weird, but if you try it, and the way I'm going to do it, you're going to love it."

Pairing pizzle with my morning omelette had never occurred to me before, but if fashionisto, foodie and friend of Toronto Serge Ibaka suggests it, I'm willing to give it a shot.