Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Chinese Bakery, Milk & Cookies, Rosso Pasta Bar

Published on November 1, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Red bean pineapple bun from Chinese Bakery

I had a red bean pineapple bun from the very generically-named Chinese Bakery (that’s gotta be a nightmare for SEO) and it was totally fine. Tasty enough, but probably about as generic as the name of the bakery. It’s got a good level of sweetness, it was fresh enough, and the red bean paste is nice and chunky (though the bigger pieces of red bean were a bit too firm). The cookie top was very soft and mostly fell off before I could eat it, and the bun itself was a bit dense, but I didn’t dislike eating it.

Chocolate chip cookie from Milk & Cookies

Speaking of fine desserts from generically-named bakeries, the chocolate chip cookie at Milk & Cookies in Kensington Market is pretty good. It’s tasty. It’s a chocolate chip cookie; it’s very, very hard to go wrong there. Nothing here particularly stood out, and the level of salt was a bit overcranked, which kinda overwhelmed the other flavours, but again, it’s a chocolate chip cookie. It doesn’t have to be the best one you’ve ever had to be perfectly enjoyable.

Rosso Bolognese from Rosso Pasta Bar

Quick serve pasta joints seems to be a burgeoning trend in the city, and sure, why not — it’s an easy thing to take on the go, and it’s cheap and satisfying. Or theoretically cheap? My pasta bowl cost $16.99; it’s upsetting to contemplate, but I guess that isn’t particularly expensive by 2026 standards?? Anyway, I ordered the bolognese (“Rigatoni, slow-simmered beef ragù, parmigiano reggiano”), and it was fine. The fresh pasta was nicely al dente (though that wasn’t the case for everyone I went with) and the sauce was tasty enough. I’d compare the flavour to a nicer jarred sauce, like Rao’s, though the ground beef was overcooked and dry. I don’t think I’d come back here given what they’re charging, but I’m not mad I gave them a shot.

Tasty Soupless Ramen at Megumi Mazesoba

Published on October 31, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 367 King Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.megumimazesoba.com/

Soupless ramen is one of those things that seems like it shouldn’t work — a lot of the joy of a bowl of ramen comes from the flavour-packed soup. But between this place and Kajiken, another soupless ramen joint in Toronto, I’m on board.

Kajiken serves aburasoba, and Megumi serves mazesoba; though these are technically different dishes, my bowls at each restaurant were actually quite similar.

I went with the Zenbu Mazesoba: “Our signature bowl features perfectly cooked noodles, savory minced pork, tender diced pork chashu, and a silky onsen egg. Topped with fresh green onions, shredded nori, crispy wonton bits, fragrant minced garlic, umami-rich fish powder, and roasted sesame seeds.”

You can choose your noodle type: thin, udon, buckwheat, gluten-free, or thick. They recommend thin, which is what I went with. You can also choose your spice level, from “no spice” to “no mercy (double insane).” I’ll admit I was kind of curious about a double insane level of spiciness, but I went with “signature spicy,” which is right in the middle, and which adds a nice kick without overwhelming.

And the bowl is really tasty, with a satisfying silky richness and a nice savoury punch from the ground/chopped pork combo. The noodles are perfectly chewy, and the crispy wonton bits do a great job of adding some textural contrast (and there’s more on the table if you really want to crunch it up).

They also give you a tiny little bowl of rice when you’re almost done, which is a nice touch. You mix it in with the remaining sauce and meat at the bottom of the bowl, and it makes for a really satisfying last couple of mouthfuls.

Smoked Meat at Billy’s Bodega

Published on October 29, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 16 Trinity Street, Toronto
Website: https://billysbodega.com/

As soon as I saw photos of the smoked meat sandwich at Billy’s Bodega, I was in. House-made, hand-cut smoked meat? Yes please, I want that, where is it?

They actually have two smoked meat sandwiches on the menu. There’s the Little Billy, which comes with 150 grams of meat and costs $19, and the Big Billy, which comes with 300 grams and costs $29.

I went with the Little Billy. I had no idea what 150 grams of meat looked like, but based on the price, I figured this would be a decent amount of meat. It turns out 150 grams isn’t much meat! I don’t know if you get a sense of the scale from the photo, but I probably could have eaten each half of the sandwich in about two bites.

Lesson learned: splurge and get the Big Billy.

The quality of the meat is quite nice. It’s thickly sliced, it’s got a good amount of perfectly rendered fat, and it’s very tender. The texture is exactly where you want it to be. It’s stellar.

The flavour is a bit odd, however; it tasted more like corned beef than smoked meat. If it was smoked or spiced at all, I couldn’t taste it. It was pleasantly salty from the brine and had a nice beefy flavour, but that’s about it. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s not what I was expecting.

As for the rest of the sandwich, the overly dense rye bread was toasted (?!?!?), and the application of mustard was a bit too heavy-handed. But then given the beef’s lack of flavour, a lot of mustard is probably a good thing?

Big Tasty at McDonald’s

Published on October 27, 2026October 27, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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

The Big Tasty definitely exists. It’s a thing that is now on the menu at McDonald’s. You can eat it.

That’s about my max level of enthusiasm for this burger. It’s not bad, certainly, but there’s nothing about it that stands out in any particular way.

Here’s how McDonald’s describes it: “A 100% Canadian beef patty topped with smokey flavoured Big Tasty Sauce, two slices of white processed cheese, tomato slices, shredded lettuce and slivered onions.”

(And if that colourless description is anything to go by, even McDonald’s is unenthused about this particular burger.)

The most interesting thing I can say about it is that it has tomatoes in it, which you don’t typically find in McDonald’s burgers (they were pretty mushy and not great, which is probably why they’re not normally in McDonald’s burgers). Otherwise, this is basically an inferior Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

I think the Big Tasty sauce is the biggest culprit here — it’s fine, with pleasantly sweet/zesty flavour, but it’s very forgettable. Nothing about it stands out. I guess it has an extremely mild smokiness, but if the menu hadn’t mentioned that it’s “smokey flavoured,” I don’t think I would have noticed.

Still, the whole thing is inoffensive, I guess? I’m not upset I ate it. I’m not happy, either, but hey, they can’t all be winners.

Solid Thai Food at Thai Barn Na

Published on October 26, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 888 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.thaibarnna.ca/

Thai Barn Na is a burgeoning Thai chain with locations in Etobicoke, Liberty Village, and Mississauga.

Often, if I’m not sure what to order at a restaurant, I’ll check out the section in Google maps where they highlight the dishes that come up the most often in reviews. I figure it’s probably a safe bet to order the most popular dish. When I visited, that was the khao soi.

I started with the shrimp donut cake (“crispy shrimp & fish cake, garlic and spices served with sweet chilli sauce”). I was a bit disappointed to find that this wasn’t actually a doughnut (not everything in a ring shape is a doughnut!), but rather a shrimp patty that’s shaped like a ring, breaded, and fried. Still, whatever it was, it was quite tasty, with a nice contrast between the crispy exterior and meaty interior.

You can get the khao soi (“soft and crispy egg noodles, golden curry, coconut milk, spring onion, red onion, crispy shallot, lime, pickled veg”) with tofu, chicken, beef, or shrimp. Chicken is traditional, so that’s what I went with.

It’s not the best version of this dish that I’ve ever had — the flavour doesn’t quite pop like it should, and the pieces of chicken were quite dry — but it’s still a great dish executed well, with a nice balance of textures from the chewy/crispy noodles, and a pleasantly rich soup.