bun – Michael Eats

Tasty Sweet Buns at Akko Cake House

Published on October 20, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4040 Creditview Road #1, Mississauga
Website: None

Akko Cake House is a bit oddly named. They do have a handful of cakes at the front, but mostly, this is a fairly standard Chinese bakery with a whole bunch of sweet and savoury buns and tarts.

I tried a few sweet buns: coconut, custard, and walnut.

The pastry itself was quite good — it was fresh, a little bit sweet, and super fluffy.

I was intrigued about the walnut variety; I don’t recall ever seeing a walnut bun before, and I’ve certainly never tried one. It was fairly subtle, however, with a very thin layer of walnut paste and a few walnut chunks. It tasted more like a plain bun with a mild walnut flavour.

The custard was about what you’d expect. It was sweet, creamy, and tasty.

The coconut bun was where it was at. The generous filling was really tasty, with a nice coconut flavour. It also has a surprisingly strong hit of salt that does a great job of rounding out the sweetness. It’s really good. The bakery was packed (the line was to the door when I left), and with buns that good, it’s easy enough to see why.

Amazing Sticky Buns at Ambrosia Corner Bakery

Published on January 14, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 324 Frederick Street, Kitchener
Website: https://ambrosiacornerbakery.com/

Though I was really hoping to try the kouign-amann at Ambrosia Corner Bakery, it turns out I visited on the wrong day — they’re only served from Thursday to Saturday. My disappointment was short-lived, however. As soon as I saw their Pecan Cinnamon Sticky Buns, I knew that I needed to put one in my belly ASAP.

Step aside, kouign-amann; that sticky bun has an urgent appointment with my face.

Yes. It’s as good as it looks. It’s sticky, sweet, and incredible. It looks like it might be too sweet, but it’s actually remarkably well balanced. The caramel on top has a very rich, deep flavour, and the buttery, amazing pastry is substantial enough to hold up to the generous amount of sauce. That’s not to mention the underlying cinnamon flavour, which is delightful.

But then do I even need to be writing this? You have eyeballs. Again: it’s as good as it looks.

Fancy Dim Sum at Yu Seafood

Published on December 30, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 270 West Beaver Creek Road, Richmond Hill
Website: http://www.yuseafood.com/

If you have anyone you’re looking to impress with a fancier dim sum joint, you could do worse than Yu Seafood. The restaurant itself is quite a bit more sleek than your average dim sum place, and the presentation of the dishes is a bit snazzier.

And of course, it also has the prices to match — it’s not outrageous, but it’s noticeably more expensive than the norm.

The food is all solid, though nothing quite blew me away. I think pretty much everything was slightly (or more than slightly) underseasoned.

One of their specialties is the visually striking Bamboo Charcoal & Egg Yolk Bun. It looks impressive and tastes pretty good, but the molten custard filling was broken; it was lumpy and oily.

Everything I tried was quite tasty — but given the hefty pricing, it’s not quite as amazing as you’d hope.

Style over Substance at Maha’s

Published on December 11, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 226 Greenwood Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.mahasbrunch.com/

The Mind Blowing Chicken Sandwich at Maha’s is one of those dishes you see and immediately want to eat. No, scratch that — need to eat. I mean, look at that thing.

But then, that’s kind of the problem, isn’t it? It’s a tasty dish, but it also feels very much like something that was created to be a stunner on Instagram, with the actual flavour being secondary.

Maha’s Mind Blowing Chicken, per the menu: “Maha’s sacred marinate, tossed with parsley, onions and tomatoes, served on a toasted egg bun with tomeya, homemade mayo and tehina.”

The very generous pile of chicken is nice and moist, with a very unique and distinctive spicing that makes it stand out. The sauces, too, compliment it quite nicely, and the onions and tomatoes add some welcome freshness and crunch.

But it’s a very assertively-flavoured dish, and I’ll admit that by the end, it was getting to be a bit much. It really needed something on the side to help round things out and add a little variety. There’s so much of that chicken; it starts out delightful, but eventually turns one-note and tiresome.

It doesn’t help that the bun is all wrong. Its fluffy lightness is completely lost among the chicken’s very assertive flavours, and the bottom bun (yes, there is a bottom bun underneath that pile) turns into complete mush.

We had ordered some of the balady pita bread on the side, and it worked so much better — it has a nice chewy texture that holds up to the saucy chicken, and a nutty flavour that complements and helps to mellow out the assertive spicing. I wish it had come as a wrap in that bread, but then that wouldn’t be quite the showstopper on Instagram, would it?

I also tried the falafel, which was unambiguously delicious, and maybe the best falafel in the city. It’s crispy, fluffy, and delightfully herby. I couldn’t help but compare it to the stuff I recently had at Paramount, and it was night and day. It’s almost a completely different dish.

Tasty Dim Sum at Yang’s Fine Chinese Cuisine

Published on July 10, 2018 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 9665 Bayview Avenue, Richmond Hill
Website: http://yangsfinechinesecuisine.ca/

I really like dim sum. It’s like brunch, but way more interesting. There are only so many times you can have eggs benedict or pancakes before they start to bore you. When that happens, the cavalcade of dumplings, buns, and other tasty bites at a dim sum joint are just what the doctor ordered.

And Yang’s Fine Chinese Cuisine in Richmond Hill (not to be confused with Yang’s Chinese Cuisine in Markham) is quite good.

I mean, look at all that stuff. If you can tell me you don’t want to eat all of that right now, then you and me are two very different people.

These little balls of shrimp surrounded by crunchy almond slivers might have been my favourite dish of the day. The shrimp had a really great texture, and the crispiness and nuttiness of the exterior complimented it perfectly.

And these pork buns? Chicken and waffles wish they could nail the sweet/salty combo as well as these little guys.