eggs – Michael Eats

Quick Bites: Jaffna Street Food, The Keg, Sheliss Bakeshop Cafe

Published on May 2, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Chicken Kothu Roti from Jaffna Street Food

I’ll say this about the chicken kothu roti at Jaffna Street Food: it’s a great deal. If you come on a Friday, you can get that dish for a cool ten bucks, and considering the hefty portion, you can’t go wrong there. Was it the best kothu roti I’ve ever had? No, it was pretty dry and nothing about the flavour really popped. But it was perfectly okay. For the price, I absolutely can’t complain.

Steak at The Keg

Generally speaking, the quality of the food at Canadian casual chain restaurants ranges from “passable, I guess?” to “are you sure this is food?” But whenever The Keg comes up in discussions online, people tend to be pretty complimentary about it. I just checked the place out for the first time in like twenty years, and yeah, I get it. I tried the escargots, a steak, and a slice of the famous Billy Miner pie, and they were all solid. Nothing here blew my mind, but everything was well-executed and tasty. I can definitely see why people are fans of this place (especially given the competition).

Cheese tart from Sheliss Bakeshop Cafe

It’s rare that I get to try a pastry that I’ve never even heard of, but it recently happened at Sheliss Bakeshop, a delightful Mexican-influenced bakery on St. Clair. The pastry in question: the cubilete de queso, or cheese tart, which they describe as “creamy cheese filling in a buttery pastry shell.” It’s great. What I really liked about this is how restrained the level of sweetness is, with the dense but creamy filling tasting kinda like a cross between a custard and a cheesecake. And the shortbread-esque complements it well. It’s a tasty dessert.

Stellar Diner Food at Susie’s Rise & Dine

Published on April 22, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 539 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://susiestoronto.com/

The crowds at Susie’s Rise and Dine are no joke — the first time I tried to visit, I told them I didn’t have a reservation and was told the wait would be something like two hours. Clearly, reservations are advised.

It’s in the style of an old-school diner, with the menu mostly consisting of brunch and diner standbys (with the occasional item having a bit of an Asian twist).

I tried a couple of things. First up: the tuna melt (“Japanese tartar sauce, malt vinegar pickled celery, sour cream & onion kettle chips, American cheese, served on griddled rye bread”). I wasn’t planning on ordering this, but the waitress said it was her favourite, so sure, why not?

The waitress was 100% right. Good god, that tuna melt. It’s almost certainly the best I’ve ever had. I know that it looks pretty standard (I mean, there’s not much you can do to gussy up a tuna melt), but trust me, it was obscenely good.

The contrast between the perfectly crispy bread and the creamy tuna (not to mention the extra crunch and flavour from the chips) is perfect, and the whole thing has an addictively zippy flavour that just works. It’s so satisfying.

Next up: The Big Trouble Breakfast Sandwich (“soft scramble, char siu glazed sausage, crispy hash brown patty, cheese, scallion milk bun”).

This was good, but after that mind-blowing tuna melt, there was really nowhere to go but down — and yeah, that’s where this went. All the components are quite nice and it’s an above average breakfast sandwich, but none of the flavours really pop and it feels like it’s missing something.

Some pickles or a sauce with some zip to it would really perk things up (though the sausage was quite light on the char siu glaze; it’s possible that more of that might have added the flavour that the sandwich was missing). Still, I didn’t dislike eating it, that’s for sure, but it couldn’t help but be a bit of a letdown after the tuna melt.

Tasty Hot Pot at Mabu Generation

Published on April 21, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1177 Central Parkway West, Mississauga
Website: https://mabugeneration.com/

Mabu Generation is a small chain (they also have locations in Markham and Toronto) that serves what they call Taiwanese fusion. Their specialty seems to be their “Taiwanese style mini hot pot.” Not so sure about that “mini” designation — I split this with one person and it was way more food than either of us needed. I’m pretty sure you can comfortably share this with three or even four people (making it a great deal at 26 bucks).

I went with the House Special Spicy Hot Pot: “Nappa cabbage, seafood mushroom, tomato, iced tofu, meat ball (pork), clam, quail egg, pork blood cake, pork blood, pork intestine, preserved vegetables, cilantro, sliced beef, luncheon meat.”

It’s a very enjoyable dish. It’s absolutely crammed with tasty stuff, and the Sichuan-peppercorn-infused soup has that satisfying spicy/numbing mala thing going on in spades. It could probably be spicier, but it’s got a decent enough kick. It’s quite good.

A Great Breakfast Sandwich at Kitten and the Bear

Published on April 20, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1414 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.kittenandthebear.com/

You wouldn’t think that Kitten and the Bear — an unassuming little bakery that specializes in scones — would serve one of the best breakfast sandwiches in the city, but hey, what do you know? They do.

They’re actually one block over from the breakfast sandwich amazingness of Dad’s Breakfast & Coffee, and they serve a breakfast sandwich that’s pretty much just as good (but with substantially less hype).

There’s just the one breakfast sandwich on the menu, the Egg & Cheese on a Scone: “Fluffy egg and aged cheddar on a fresh herb scone. Add peach & red pepper savoury jam or hot honey!” I went with the jam, which they make in-house.

Everything here just works: the sharp, gooey cheddar; the silky egg; the nice contrasting sweet and savoury punch of the jam; and especially, the amazing scone.

I mean, the place specializes in the stuff, so I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that the scone is stellar, but it really is. It’s delightfully buttery, with a nice crispy exterior, and an interior that really nails the fluffiness and substance that you want from a scone.

The quality of the egg, cheese, and jam is high enough that this would be a great sandwich even on lesser bread, but that scone really takes it over the top.

A Great Breakfast Sandwich at Alma + Gil

Published on March 28, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 392 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.almaygil.com/

Alma + Gil started as a pop-up specializing in breakfast sandwiches, and have recently expanded to a new location with a full menu. There’s some tasty-looking stuff on the menu, but of course, I had to get one of those sandwiches.

I went with the pork belly sando: “overeasy free run egg, roasted pork belly, cheese chicharron, caramelized onion sauce, brioche.”

It’s a great sandwich, with the combo of the perfectly runny egg, tender pork belly, and crispy cheese being thoroughly delicious.

The “cheese chicharron” is just a piece of cheese that’s been browned and crisped up on the griddle, and yeah, of course it’s a great addition to this (or any) sandwich.

The soft, ultra-fluffy brioche bun adds some mild sweetness, and is a great vehicle for the other ingredients here.

There are a couple of things holding this back from breakfast sandwich perfection (I wish they had gotten at least a little bit of colour on the pork belly, and the ultra-rich sandwich is crying out for some hot sauce or anything acidic to cut through its decadence somewhat), but it’s still a top-tier sandwich.