bun – Michael Eats

Tasty Buns at Blooming Garden Dessert House

Published on July 1, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1177 Central Parkway West, Mississauga
Website: None

Look, I’m a simple man with simple pleasures. Put a red bean bun in front of me, and I’m going to eat and enjoy that bun. I’ve had a lot of red bean buns of varying levels of quality, but I’ve never had one I’ve outright disliked.

I also enjoy desserts that are on the less sweet side of things, so when I saw that Blooming Garden Dessert House serves something that they call a “less sugar red bean pineapple bun,” I was all over that.

I know that I just said that I’d enjoy literally any red bean bun that you put in front of me, so maybe that kills my credibility a bit, but this was a particularly good one. I really, really enjoyed it.

I thought it might be barely sweet at all, but while the sugar level is definitely on the more restrained side of things, it’s plenty sweet. The sweetness level is about on par with the better red bean buns that I’ve had, so advertising this as “less sugar” is probably overkill.

Everything here is just right, from the satisfying chunkiness of the filling, to the ultra fresh and chewy bread, to the perfectly crispy topping. It’s legitimately one of the better versions of this that I’ve had in a while.

Satisfying Chinese Food at Bao Goubuli

Published on May 29, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1177 Central Parkway West, Mississauga
Website: https://goubuli.ca/

If their website is to be believed, Bao Goubuli is a Chinese chain that opened their first location in 1858. No, not 1958 (which would still be very impressive). 1858.

Assuming that’s true, you can’t argue with that kind of history. Clearly, they’re doing something right.

They’ve got about a million things to choose from, but the first item on the menu (and the specialty, I assume?) is the pork bao: “Traditional Steamed Pork Bao stuffed with
Ground Pork and Green Onion.”

It’s a tasty bao, with the ultra-fluffy bun encasing tasty, juicy pork. Nothing too mind-blowing here, but it’s quite satisfying.

I also tried the pan-fried pancake stuffed with beef, which features a flaky flatbread rolled up with beef, lettuce, and a sweet sauce. Again: quite satisfying.

Last but not least, I tried the Tianjin-style savoury crepes (a.k.a. jian bing), which was a really solid version of this dish. Eggy, crispy, and tasty.

More Tasty Eats at Do West Fest

Published on March 8, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

I found the Do West Fest to be quite enjoyable in 2024, and yeah: the 2025 version was still quite enjoyable. It’s probably one of the better street festivals in the city, though clearly I’m not the only person who thinks that because it is packed.

Still, if you don’t mind braving the crowds, there are some tasty eats to be had.

I tried a couple of sandwiches from Dam Sandwiches: the chopped cheese, and the spicy chicken. I’ve been meaning to check out Dam Sandwiches for a while; clearly I need to hurry up and visit their actual restaurant, because both of these sandwiches were very good.

In particular, the chopped cheese — with its tasty combo of nicely browned beef and melty cheese — was better than the version I recently had in NYC, its birthplace. But the spicy chicken was very tasty as well, with a nice zingy flavour and a decent amount of kick. Both were served on a sesame seed bun that was clearly fresh and well above average.

I also had a tahini ice cream bar from Smilk Bars, which had a very pronounced, nutty flavour from the tahini and was maybe the most tahini-ish tahini dessert that I’ve ever had.

The ice cream itself was a bit thin (I assumed maybe the name meant this was made entirely with milk rather than cream, but that doesn’t seem to be the case), but otherwise I quite enjoyed this.

Finally, I had a coconut brigadeiro from Padaria Toronto, which was filled with a generous amount of dulce de leche and had a great coconut flavour.

Great Buns at Mom’s Pan Fried Bun

Published on January 26, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 780 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: https://momspanfriedbun.com/

Mom’s Pan Fried Bun is a popular place. The first time I tried to visit, it was packed, with a mob of people waiting for a table. I showed up a few weeks later — earlier this time, at around 10:30am on a Saturday. I got a table right away, but by the time I left, it was packed, with a mob of people waiting for a table.

I tried a couple of things, and yeah — I get it. It’s quite good.

Of course, you’ve gotta try the pan-fried buns. They have a couple of varieties on the menu: braised pork, and fresh pork. I went with the braised pork, which was really, really tasty. The pork is flavourful, the filling has a good amount of moisture without being overly soupy, and the bun itself is perfectly fluffy and fresh.

That’s not to mention the delightfully crispy bottom, which adds some great texture and contrasts nicely with the soft pastry and the tender filling.

I also tried the braised pork, a delightful Taiwanese dish in which ultra-tender chopped pork is served in a savoury sauce on top of rice. This was fatty, tender, saucy, and delicious, with the zingy pickled mustard greens on the side doing a great job of cutting through the dish’s richness.

A Great Deal at Juicy Dumpling

Published on May 3, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 280 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.juicydumpling.ca/

Juicy Dumpling actually does have stuff other than juicy dumplings on the menu, but of course, if you go to a place called Juicy Dumpling and you don’t order the juicy dumplings, what are you even doing with your life?

I got an order of six mini soup pork dumplings, which was $4.99, and a pork bun, which was $2.85. It was a solid lunch for under ten bucks.

I’m a little bit perplexed as to why they’re calling these mini soup dumplings. They seemed like a pretty standard size to me? I can’t recall having soup dumplings that were substantially larger than the ones they serve here.

They’re tasty dumplings. There’s no vinegar or any of the other condiments you’d expect with soup dumplings, but they’re pretty tasty on their own, with a decent amount of pork and soup inside. They’re not the best soup dumplings you’ll ever eat, but for five bucks for an order of six, they’re pretty great.

The pork bun was satisfying too, with a good amount of sweet pork filling inside of a fresh, fluffy bun.