Michael Eats

Tasty Turkish Dessert at Helvaci Ali

Published on August 23, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3535 Odyssey Drive, Mississauga
Website: https://helvaciali.ca/

I’ll admit that I hadn’t even heard of helva, a Turkish dessert, before checking it out at Helvaci Ali. I sort of figured it would be similar to halva or halawi, but it’s a completely different thing.

Helvaci Ali is a Turkish chain that’s been serving up the stuff since 1900, so it seems like a good place to try it.

The version of helva they serve here is made with semolina flour and butter, and is basically like a very rich pudding. It comes on top of ice cream (the menu describes it as 2/3 semolina helva and 1/3 ice cream), and it’s extremely delicious.

It comes in several flavours: walnut, pistchio, Biscoff, chocolate, caramel, and Dubai chocolate (I believe it is now illegal to be a dessert shop and not have some Dubai chocolate variety on the menu). I was told walnut and pistachio were the most popular, so I went with both.

Wow, it’s good. It’s super rich and creamy, with a grainy (but not unpleasantly so) texture from the semolina. It’s served warm, and the contrast between it and the cold ice cream is really, really nice.

The flavour of the walnut and the pistachio were both pretty mild, but present enough that you know what you’re eating.

I was afraid it might be too syrupy, but it’s actually got a really great level of sweetness. It’s quite sweet, but not aggressively so. It was my first taste of helva, but I can guarantee it won’t be my last.

Cheesy Bacon McFlavour Fries at McDonald’s (World Menu Heist)

Published on August 21, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I mentioned before that the Stroopwafel McFlurry might be the most boring item in this year’s World Menu Heist. Well, the Cheesy Bacon McFlavour Fries — which are just fries, cheese sauce, and bacon — are a very close second.

Here’s how McDonald’s describes them: “France’s Cheesy Bacon McFlavour Fries have gone missing… and surfaced in Canada. Golden fries loaded with a creamy double cheddar cheese sauce and hickory-smoked bacon. Rich, indulgent, and easy to lose track of. Grab them before they’re ‘disparues’.”

(Does McDonald’s really think my French is advanced enough to know what “disparues” means? That’s very kind of them, but the sum total of my decade or so of French classes in school is that I can say “Je m’appell Michael.” (It means “missing,” BTW.))

This was… fine? It was food? I ate it? The cheese sauce is basically a slightly zestier version of Cheez Whiz, and the bacon and fries are what they are.

It likely would have been tasty enough if the fries and/or the bacon were more fresh (or fresh at all), but they were not. The bacon was off-puttingly jerky-like, and the fries were lukewarm, dry, and cardboardy.

(Didn’t the fries at McDonald’s used to get soggy when they were stale? Did they change the formula? Because even soggy fries likely would have been more satisfying here.)

I also got an order of the Truffle Flavoured Mayo Style Sauce from Sweden, which was okay. I’m not generally a fan of truffle oil, which this definitely tastes like, so it’s possible you’ll like this better if you enjoy that stuff.

It basically tasted like a thick, gloppy cream of mushroom soup with truffle oil. It wasn’t my favourite thing ever, but the fries were so dry, and so monotonous in their cheesy/salty flavour, that I still wound up using all of it.

Chicken Parmi Burger at McDonald’s (World Menu Heist)

Published on August 20, 2026 by Michael Nusair2 Comments

Location: 30 Courtneypark Drive East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I guess it was inevitable that at least one item in the World Menu Heist would be a dud, and this one is definitely it.

The Chicken Parmi Burger, as per the McDonald’s website: “Straight from Australia, the Chicken Parmi Burger has landed in Canada. Crispy seasoned chicken layered with marinara sauce, creamy parmesan sauce, shredded lettuce, and white processed cheese, all on a soft potato bun. Rich, saucy, and just the right amount of indulgent. Get it before it’s gone, mate.”

It’s that marinara sauce. Wow, it’s bad. Its smell hits you as soon as you pop open the box, and it tastes so much worse than it smells.

It tastes like the cheapest jarred sauce you can find at the supermarket — but even that isn’t this bad. It tastes like an off-putting cross between the worst tomato sauce you’ve ever had, and the worst salsa you’ve ever had. It’s acrid and horrible.

It lingered on my palate for hours afterward. I’m actively upset at McDonald’s for inflicting it on me.

Otherwise, everything else here is pretty standard McCrispy stuff, and is fine.

Well, I suppose there is the creamy parmesan sauce, but the marinara was so overwhelming that I couldn’t taste anything else (it’s also possible that they accidently gave me mayo instead of the parmesan sauce, but then nothing could have made up for that horrific marinara, so who cares?).

Stroopwafel McFlurry at McDonald’s (World Menu Heist)

Published on August 19, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 30 Courtneypark Drive East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I’ll admit that this is — to me — the most boring item in this year’s World Menu Heist. McFlurries in general are kinda boring, but this one, with just waffle cone pieces and caramel, is particularly uninteresting.

Still, it’s on the menu, and I have an odd (possibly unhealthy??) compulsion to try it all, so sure, why not?

The Stroopwafel McFlurry: “Missing from the Netherlands, now somehow spotted in Canada. Creamy vanilla soft serve swirled with caramel flavoured cinnamon waffle cone pieces and caramel sauce. Sweet, smooth, with a perfect crunch… enjoy it while it’s here.”

It might not be the most exciting thing ever, but it is pretty satisfying.

Though I’m not sure if I would have guessed the stroopwafel connection if I didn’t know that’s what this was. Stroopwafels are a Dutch dessert featuring two thin, waffle-like cookies encasing a middle layer of chewy caramel (though if you get a fresh one, the caramel is delightfully gooey). Once you separate the caramel and the waffle and treat them as two separate components, it loses its stroopwafel energy. It’s just caramel and waffle cone pieces.

Still, the cinnamon on the waffle cone bits is a nice touch and brings this more personality than it otherwise would have had. The waffle cone bits also have a satisfying crunchiness that contrasts well with the creamy soft serve and gooey caramel.

It’s kinda one-note sweet and not something I’d order again, but I’m not mad I ate it.

Garlic & Black Pepper Chicken McNuggets at McDonald’s (World Menu Heist)

Published on August 19, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 30 Courtneypark Drive East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

The World Menu Heist continues! Next up: weird McNuggets, courtesy of Japan.

The Garlic & Black Pepper McNuggets, as per the McDonald’s website: “Last seen in Japan, these Chicken McNuggets have made their way to Canada. Crispy Chicken McNuggets with a garlic and black pepper breading, built for dipping. Punchy, savoury, and gone before you know it.”

I’ve gotta give McDonald’s credit — they could have just sprinkled some kind of seasoning on regular McNuggets and called it a day, but no, the flavour here is built right into the batter.

And yeah, it’s clearly very different from a standard McNugget; the flavour is not subtle.

Oddly, it doesn’t taste all that peppery, though the garlic flavour is unmistakable. It reminded me a lot of the fried chicken wings you’ll find at American/Canadian-style Chinese food joints, like Manchu Wok. I loved those wings as a kid and haven’t had one in years; the flavour here flashed me right back, Ratatouille-style.

The chicken itself was pretty dry, but otherwise I quite liked this.

And of course, you’ve gotta get the Black Garlic Sauce to go with it, also from Japan. This actually has more of a peppery bite than the McNuggets, and, of course, a decent hit of garlic flavour.

It’s very, very sweet, however. It’s kinda like a sweet chili sauce, but… all sweet, no heat. Personally I found it a bit cloying, but if you dip the McNuggets sparingly, it does complement their flavour pretty well.