Chinese food – Michael Eats

Unique Chinese Food at Tangritah Kabab House

Published on December 17, 2023December 17, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 900 Rathburn Road West, Mississauga
Website: None

One of the things I like about living in Toronto is that not only is pretty much every country’s cuisine available to try (which I explore in another blog, 196 Plates — I think it might be about time to bring that one back), you can actually get so much more specific than that.

This place — which specializes in Uyghur cuisine — is a great example of this. “Chinese food” tends to be put under one enormous umbrella, but China is a huge country, and its food is wildly different from region to region.

I tried a few things here, and it was all extremely delicious. First up: a dish the menu only refers to as “fried meat.” I think it was beef, though it might have been lamb (if it was, it didn’t have much of a lamby flavour). Either way, it was super tasty, with a bunch of tender meat, nicely cooked onions, and a very cumin-tinged flavour that was extremely addictive.

Next up was the Tangritah Special Langmen, which is an Uyghur dish in which hand-pulled noodles are topped with stir-fried veggies and meat. The flavour here was a bit less distinctive than the fried meat, but the noodles had a really satisfying chewiness, and the veggies and meat were perfectly cooked (again, I’m not sure what the meat was, but I’m gonna say beef).

Finally, I tried the samsa, a bun filled with a mix of lamb and onions. This looks like it might have initially been crispy on its exterior, which would have been nice, but it was either steamed or microwaved to reheat and was soft throughout. Regardless, it was quite tasty.

Quick Bites: Eataly Sherway Gardens, The Daily Dumpling Wonton Co., Roywoods

Published on November 15, 2023November 15, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Tuna sandwich and almond pastry cream croissant from Eataly in Sherway Gardens

I really hope that Eataly in Sherway gardens is still working out the kinks from their recent opening, because while my first visit was generally okay, I just tried a couple of things, and neither was even remotely worth what they’re charging. The tuna sandwich was basically fine, even if it tasted like something I could make at home and featured bread that didn’t exactly taste fresh. But the croissant (girella crema e mandrla) was so aggressively stale that I actually asked for my money back after a couple of bites. I’ve literally never even considered returning a pastry up to this point — and I’ve had a lot of bad pastries in my life — so make of that what you will.

Dumplings from The Daily Dumpling Wonton Co.

I tried a couple of varieties of dumpling from this place (Classic Shanghai, which is pork and mustard greens, along with shrimp, pork, and chive), and both were quite tasty. Neither variety particularly knocked my socks off, but they both featured perfectly cooked wrappers and satisfying fillings. The highlight might have actually been the very tasty chili oil, which is smoky, mildly spicy, and features a nice balance of flavours; they sell this in jars you can bring home, and yeah, I bought one.

Jerk chicken from Roywoods in Yorkdale

The time I tried the jerk chicken from Roywoods, I had it in a sandwich, so I figured I’d get the plate with rice this time. The boneless dark meat was a bit on the salty side, as was the rice, but it was otherwise quite tasty (and unlike last time, it actually had a pretty good kick). It’s nothing too mind-blowing, but for something from a food court, you could certainly do worse.

A Satisfying Breakfast at A Bing – Chinese Crepe

Published on October 31, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 895 Bay Street, Toronto
Website: None

I mentioned recently that jian bing — a tasty Chinese crepe — used to be nearly impossible to find in the city, and is now delightfully common. Case in point: A Bing – Chinese Crepe, which is now the third place I’ve written about specializing in the Chinese breakfast dish.

The menu features several different versions with fillings like sausage, chicken, or bacon, but as far as I’m concerned, the classic is where it’s at.

I ordered the traditional style crepe: “egg, crisp fritter, green onion, cilantro, sauce.”

It was quite tasty, though the flavour was a bit muted; slightly more of the sweet sauce would have been welcome. Plus, this dish generally features a hot sauce of some sort, and that was completely absent here. I’m assuming I could have requested this, but they didn’t mention it and I didn’t think to ask. Next time.

The taste might not have been quite as vibrant as I would have liked, but the texture was dead-on. The contrast between the crispy fritter and the slightly chewy eggy crepe was absolutely delightful.

Chewy, Unique Noodles at Rougamo & Noodles

Published on April 16, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4905A Yonge Street, North York
Website: https://rougamoxianstylenoodles.com/

I actually wasn’t planning on posting this anytime too soon (I’ve got a bit of a backlog), but I’ve just heard that this restaurant is closing in about a week, so I figured I’d post this now while it’s still around. Check it out before it’s gone!

I could tell you about what Rougamo & Noodles is all about, but Karon Liu wrote about it for the Toronto Star in far more depth than I ever would, so… here’s the link.

I tried a couple of things mentioned in that article. First up was the pork rougamo, a simple dish consisting entirely of stewed pork on a chewy flatbread. This was a tasty if unspectacular sandwich that’s much improved by adding a healthy dollop from the jar of smoky chili oil on the table.

And of course, you can’t go to a place with noodles in the name and not try the noodles, so I went with their specialty, the signature biangbiang noodle. This is a really unique dish that features a single hand-pulled noodle that’s thicker, broader, and chewier than the norm. It comes topped with more of that stewed pork, along with a zippy, tomato-y sauce that works really well with the substantial noodles.

A Tasty Wrap at Tianjin Auntie’s Steamed Bun

Published on March 5, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 77 Huron Street, Toronto
Website: None

When I first found out about the existence of jian bing a few years ago, it was impossible to find in Toronto (if it was being served, I couldn’t find any evidence of it online). Living with the grim knowledge that something so delicious existed, and having no way (outside of an expensive plane ticket) to eat it was actually pretty brutal.

Thankfully, things have changed in the last few years; several places serving jian bing have been popping up, so if you’re looking for it (and you should be looking for it), you’re good to go.

I guess I should probably explain what jian bing even is — it’s more common than it used to be, but it’s not exactly at sushi levels of ubiquity quite yet. It’s a tasty Chinese breakfast wrap that finds a crepe (of sorts) cooked with eggs until they combine into one thing, and it’s all wrapped up with tasty sauces and crispy fried dough. It’s delicious.

And the version they serve at Tianjin Auntie’s Steamed Bun is legit; it’s a seriously addictive combo of chewy exterior and crispy interior, it’s a savoury, a little bit sweet, eggy, and delicious. It might actually be slightly too eggy, however, and the whole thing is somewhat soggy. This dish is traditionally served as street food; I took it to go and was planning to eat and walk, but it quickly became apparent that it was a bit too sloppy to eat while on the move. That’s a minor complaint, however. It was still very good.

(I should also note that Tianjin Auntie’s Steamed Bun is a restaurant with a full menu of tasty looking Northern Chinese dishes, in case I’m giving you the impression that they just serve one thing. A repeat visit is almost certainly in order.)