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Tasty Eats at Do West Fest

Published on June 10, 2024June 8, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Do West Fest is a surprisingly massive street festival (it covers about 1.5 km, from Landsdown to Ossington) with a whole bunch of tasty eats. I tried a few things.

Heirloom’s Hot & Honey Big Crunch from Heirloom Food Truck

I was actually quite excited about this one. I tried the Szechuan fried chicken sandwich from this food truck a few years ago, and thought that it was basically fried chicken perfection. It was crazy good.

So when I saw the Heirloom truck, I figured another fried chicken sandwich was a safe bet. They have a few on the menu (though not the Szechuan, sadly), but the Hot & Honey Big Crunch caught my eye. “Crispy chicken breast, hot & honey sauce, creamy slaw, pickled cucumber, iceberg lettuce, chipotle aioli, brioche bun.”

It’s a solid fried chicken sandwich. It’s nice and crunchy, and features a good balance of sweetness and acidity (alas, very little spice). It’s tasty. But, in my sandwich at least, the chicken itself was pretty dry, as was the thick brioche bun. I still enjoyed it, but that was a bit of a bummer. Certainly, it wasn’t the mindblower that the Szechuan sandwich was.

Strawberry Rhubarb cake from Moonmilk

Moonmilk is a great little ice cream shop and bakery on Dundas. I’ve tried the ice cream on a previous visit, and it was quite tasty. They also sell a handful of cakes; I went with the strawberry rhubarb, and yeah, this place knows what they’re doing.

It’s a pretty simple cake — basically just strawberry and rhubarb layered with buttercream frosting and a fairly plain cake — but it’s thoroughly delicious. It’s kinda strawberry shortcake-esque, with a great balance between the slightly tart strawberry/rhubarb filling and the silky buttercream. The cake has a good amount of substance to it, but isn’t too dense. It’s very good.

Margherita pizza from Acute Pizzeria

Acute boasts that their pizzas are made from sourdough, and yeah, the crust does have a bit of that sourdough tang. It actually works quite well. It’s also clear that they know exactly how to bake it, as it has a nice crackly crust, a bit of char, and a fluffy interior.

I got the margherita, and it was really good for all the reasons that margherita pizzas tend to be really good — they nailed it. I’d say this place is only a teeny-tiny step below top-tier pizzas like Badiali and North of Brooklyn.

Crispy Coconut Shrimp Dumplings from FeasTO

FeasTO is a dumpling truck that’s been around a while (I last tried it in 2019), and given how good their dumplings are, it’s easy enough to see why.

I tried the crispy coconut shrimp dumplings, which feature a great balance between the crispy fried exterior and the perfectly cooked shrimp within. The sauce they put on top was a bit sweet for me (it’s pretty intense), but otherwise these were quite satisfying.

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.

Tasty Noodle Soup at House of Gourmet

Published on February 6, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 484 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: http://houseofgourmet.blogspot.com/

Wonton noodle soup is one of those dishes that’s basically always delicious. I’ve certainly had bowls that are better than others, but I think it’s just fundamentally appealing. It’s kinda like pizza; it’s hard to mess up, and even when it’s bad, it’s good.

And the bowl at House of Gourmet is quite good. It’s not the best I’ve ever had, but it’s a solid bowl of noodle soup.

I was clued into this place thanks to this article, which specifically called out the wonton brisket noodle soup as being the thing to order here. The addition of fatty, tender, flavourful beef suits the bowl quite well.

Everything else is just as it should be; the soup has a savoury punch, the noodles are nice and firm, and the chunky wontons are quite satisfying.

And of course, you’ve gotta add some chili oil to the bowl. Unlike the stuff I recently had at Ming’s Noodle Cafe, which was crammed with flavour but surprisingly low on spice, a heaping spoonful is all you need to give the bowl a nice kick.

Unique Brunch at Byblos Uptown

Published on January 7, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2537 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: https://byblosuptown.com/

Brunch is great, no doubt about it. Eggs Benedict, pancakes, French toast — all tasty stuff. But sometimes you want something a bit different, and if that’s the case, the Middle-Eastern-influenced brunch menu at Byblos fits the bill quite nicely.

We started with the Turkish Manti Dumplings (“eggplant + yogurt sauce + date molasses”), which was easily the weakest dish of the three I tried. The yogurt/molasses sauce was one-note sweet and tangy, and the dumplings were basically pure mush. There was almost no distinction in texture between the wrapper and the creamy filling.

Up next was the Eggplant Kibbeh: “zucchini flower + baharat + chickpea batter.” This was interesting. Kibbeh is a Middle Eastern dish made from spiced ground beef; it’s essentially a fried meatball stuffed with more meat.

The vegetarian version they serve here has only the most vague kibbeh-like properties, but it’s tasty for what it is; it’s nicely spiced, and the creamy filling contrasts well with the crispy fried exterior.

My main meal was the Bastirma Khachapuri: “manouri cheese + egg + guindilla + urfa chili.” This was basically a Turkish pide filled with cheese, eggs, and bastirma, a cured meat that’s generally thought to be the precursor to pastrami.

It was pretty tasty — it was freshly baked, with a nice crispy exterior and a chewy interior. It’s not the best pide you’ll ever eat, but of course, the combo of cheese, eggs, and salty cured meat is a winner. That’s always going to be a winner. It’s hard to go wrong there.

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.