food court – Page 3 – Michael Eats

Chinese Fast Food at Bingz Crispy Burger

Published on June 28, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3401 Dufferin Street, North York (inside Yorkdale Mall)
Website: https://www.bingzcanada.com/

Bingz is a Chinese chain that sells a variety of sandwiches made with a crispy, flaky bun, along with a handful of side dishes.

I went with the signature pork, and it’s delightfully simple — it’s just braised pork shoulder on a bun. That’s it. Want any condiments? Go somewhere else!

It’s quite good. It’s very no-frills, but the pork is meaty, flavourful, and super tender. The crispy bun is a good mix of flaky/crispy and chewy, and suits the pork perfectly.

(Also, this probably goes without saying, but this thing is absolutely not a burger in any appreciable way, making the name a bit of a head-scratcher.)

And it’s only six bucks, which is actually a pretty great deal; they manage to cram a decent amount of meat into that thing. For something from a food court in a mall, it’s way better than it needs to be.

Tasty Eats at Wellington Market in The Well

Published on May 30, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 486 Front Street West, Toronto
Website: https://thewelltoronto.com/eat/wellington-market/

When I was invited to a press event at Wellington Market, the new upscale food court in The Well, my first thought was: do I really feel like braving downtown traffic on a random weeknight, only to arrive at a place where I’ll probably have to talk to people?

I’m lazy and antisocial, you see. But also: free food.

Yeah, the prospect of free food got me. The only thing better than food? Food that I don’t have to pay for.

And oh boy, was there a lot of food that I didn’t have to pay for at this event. If you’re unaware of Wellington Market’s whole deal, it’s basically a food court, but filled exclusively with stuff that’s a bit more interesting than standard food court fare. And on this particular night, every restaurant was just handing out free food like candy on Halloween. It was a free food bonanza; I tried a bunch of stuff.

I think the thing I was most excited about was Japadog, the legendary Vancouver chain (sampled by no less than Anthony Bourdain) that specializes in Japanese-influenced hot dogs.

I tried the chili dog, and while I didn’t notice anything particularly Japanese about the flavour, it was a top-notch dog, with a good amount of tasty chili and a satisfyingly smoky wiener (that’s what she said?). It was one of the better things I ate.

There was also Blue Claw, which specializes in lobster rolls. The lobster roll here was probably my least favourite thing that I ate that night, but hey, they can’t all be winners.

(Also, the lights here did something very weird to my phone’s camera, which I’ve never seen before.)

Rosie’s Burgers has a few locations throughout the GTA. They were handing out chicken sandwiches, and yeah, it was a great sandwich. Satisfying combo of crunchiness/juiciness, and a nice zippy sauce to cut through the richness.

There’s also some dessert shops here, including Shake Therapy, which specializes in milkshakes and falooda, a sweet, milky Indian dessert with ice cream.

I tried the rose falooda and thought it was quite tasty, though the texture was odd (it was basically like drinking a sweet glass of milk with a scoop of ice cream in it). Still, I enjoyed it and would get it again.

Back to savoury, there was Doraji, which specializes in Korean bibimbap.

They were handing out samples of the bulgogi beef bibimbap, which you can top with a number of sauces (I went with the old classic, gochujang). This was comparable to the better bowls of bibimbap I’ve had in the GTA; I quite liked it.

There was also La Cubana, a Cuban restaurant with a couple of locations in the city.

They were serving a sampling plate with the classic Cubano, yucca fries, plantain, and a little doughnut hole. Everything here was tasty, though the doughnut was the highlight, weirdly. It had a great lightly crispy/chewy texture, and just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar.

Then there was Samosarie, which, as you’d assume from the name, specializes in samosas.

They have a whole bunch of funky flavours on offer; I was told the tandoori chicken was the most popular, so I went with that.

I enjoyed it (it really nails the tandoori chicken flavour), though it doesn’t have the crispy fried exterior that you’re expecting. I think it’s baked rather than fried, and it reminded me more of a Jamaican patty than a traditional samosa. It’s not bad; it’s just different.

I was getting quite full by this point, but there was still room for a bit more.

This place is called Sam’s Juices. I guess they mostly specialize in drinks, but they do have a “hot & honey” chicken sandwich on the menu.

There was nothing about this that got my heart rate up in any particular way, but I enjoyed it (and it’s quite possible that I would have enjoyed it more if I weren’t extremely full).

I was pretty much ready to tap out, though I did see a place called A La Table handing out what appeared to be fruit cups, which I figured I could handle.

This turned out to have a bunch of cheese and crackers in there, along with the fruit. I’m not sure who would order this or why, but hey, it exists if that’s your thing.

And that was pretty much that. There were a few more places I wish I could have tried (most pressingly: Ryu’s Noodle Bar, which serves some of the best ramen in the city), but alas, I only have so much stomach space.

(I was thinking about making a Schindler’s List “I could have eaten more” joke, but you know what? I’m too classy for that.)

A Healthy Food Court Option at Poulet Rouge

Published on March 29, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (inside Square One)
Website: https://poulet-rouge.ca/en

I hadn’t heard of Poulet Rouge until very recently, but apparently it’s a Quebec-based chain that’s been around since 2012. They basically have one thing on the menu — grilled chicken bowls — though it’s extremely customizable.

You can pick the flavour of your chicken, the base (brown rice, quinoa, lettuce, or poutine — it is a Quebec chain, after all), the sauce, and various veggie toppings.

I ordered the mini size, which — true to its name — comes in a comically tiny container. It’s packed with stuff, though, so it’s enough for lunch if you want something that isn’t too heavy.

I got the volcano hot chicken on brown rice, and topped it with spicy mayo, olives, cucumber, hot peppers, and a scoop of avocado mash (which costs a bit extra).

It’s not bad at all. I wouldn’t say it blew my mind, but for something from a mall food court (that’s relatively healthy, no less), it’s pretty tasty. The ingredients taste fresh, the flavours are nice and zippy, and while the grilled chicken breast is a bit on the dry side, it’s got some nice char from the grill.

I don’t know if anyone is going to get too excited about this place, but it’s solid food court fare.

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 Buns at Bao Mama

Published on April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga
Website: https://baomama.ca/

Bao Mama currently has a temporary pop-up in the Food District at Square One (until April 16th), but if you miss them there, you can check out their permanent location in Scarborough. And you might want to do that, because their Filipino-inspired buns are thoroughly tasty.

The first one I tried was the hip hipon crispy shrimp bao, which features crispy fried shrimp topped with a zingy sauce and “Asian house slaw.” The shrimp was a bit overcooked, but this was otherwise quite satisfying, with a nice contrast between the fluffy bao and the crispy fried shrimp, not to mention the tasty slaw and the slightly sweet sauce.

I also tried the triple B braised beef asado bao, which is stuffed with a generous amount of tender braised beef, and topped with the house slaw and crispy onions. This was easily my favourite of the two; that ultra-tender, very flavourful beef is something special.

They have a tangy, sweet chili sauce you can get on the side, and this stuff is a must — it complements both baos perfectly, and does a great job of amping up the flavours and adding a mild kick.