A Creamy Dessert at 6 Cloud

6 Cloud
Location
: 3236 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.6cloud.co/

6 Cloud serves what they describe as “Cold Souffle Cream Sandwiches.”  Basically, it’s Japanese-style souffle pancakes stuffed with a whole bunch of whipped cream.

I like souffle pancakes.  I like whipped cream.  So yes please, cram the two things together.  I’m into this.

6 Cloud

And yeah, it’s good.  They have several flavours, but I went with the most basic, Hokkaido Milk: “Our signature fluffy souffle stuffed with rich, creamy Hokkaido milk cream.”

6 Cloud

It’s very tasty.  It’s actually pretty interesting — the level of sweetness is a lot more restrained than you’d expect, and there are no other flavours to distract from the cream.  There’s a bit of egginess from the pancake, but otherwise, this is all about the flavour of the dairy.  It’s satisfying.

6 Cloud

It’s also less messy than you’d think.  I was afraid that all the cream would immediately squish out of the sides when I ate it, but the pancakes are soft enough and the cream is dense enough that it totally holds together.

Outstanding Japanese/Italian Fusion at Tatsuro’s

Tatsuro's
Location
: 1378 Queen Street East, Toronto
Website: https://www.tatsuros.com/

I like Tatsuro’s a whole lot.  I’d heard good things, and I figured I’d like it, but it kinda knocked my socks off.

They serve pasta and brunch with a Japanese flair; I stuck to the pasta side of the menu, and based on the level of quality, I’ll clearly have to come back to try their brunch.

Tatsuro's

There was a Japanese pasta spot in Markham called Shiso Tree Cafe that, sadly, closed a few years back; since then, I’ve had a Shiso-Tree-Cafe-sized hole in my heart.  That hole has finally been filled.

Tatsuro's

I started with the nori fries (“nori seasoning, spicy mayo”).  These were quite tasty; the fries were nicely cooked, the nori sprinkled on top works really well, and the spicy mayo on the side is enjoyably zippy.

For my main, I had the Wafu Carbonara (“bacon, ponzu, onsen egg, parmesan”), and yikes, it was so good.

Tatsuro's

It was incredibly, incredibly rich — with the richness only being amped up by the silky onsen egg they put on top.  It basically melts into the sauce when you mix it up, and really cranks up the dish’s creaminess.

Tatsuro's

By all accounts it should be too heavy and rich, but there’s a nice lightness you get from the citrusy ponzu that really cuts through the heaviness and makes the dish sing.  Legitimately one of the best bowls of pasta I’ve had in a long time.

Tatsuro's

I also tried the Curry Bolognese (“beef + pork curry, pickled onion, fried shallot, cilantro”), which takes the flavours of Bolognese and Japanese curry and crams them together in a way that’s surprisingly delightful.

Solid Ramen at Men-ya Inoichi Ramen

Men-ya Inoichi Ramen
Location
: 1177 Central Parkway West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/menyainoichi/

Not every restaurant has to serve the best version of a dish that you’ve ever had; sometimes,
“pretty good” is good enough.

Enter: Men-ya Inoichi Ramen in Mississauga, which isn’t going to knock anyone’s socks off, but which serves some pretty good ramen.

Men-ya Inoichi Ramen

They have a few other Japanese dishes on the menu, like omurice and katsu, but the ramen is their specialty.  I ordered the Original King Butao ramen (“Bone Broth Flavor. Includes: Soft Boiled Egg, Agaric, Sweet and Sour Radish, Green Onion, Salad”), which comes with either a tonkotsu (pork) or chicken soup base.  I went with tonkotsu.

Men-ya Inoichi Ramen

Nothing in the bowl particularly stands out, but it’s all thoroughly tasty, with a rich, savoury broth and some very pleasantly chewy noodles.

Men-ya Inoichi Ramen

The fact that it’s in Mississauga helps; the ramen explosion that happened in the GTA over the last decade or so left Mississauga mostly untouched, so if you’re looking for a better bowl of ramen, it’s going to be a bit of  drive.

Tasty Cookies and Onigiri at Momochee’s Desserts

Momochee's Desserts
Location
: 263 Lakeshore Road East, Mississauga
Website: https://momochees-desserts.square.site/

Momochee’s Desserts is a delightful bakery in Port Credit that specializes in cookies, basque cheesecake and, oddly enough, onigiri.

Momochee's Desserts

Onigiri, for the uninitiated, is a triangular rice ball with various fillings; frequently, it comes wrapped with a sheet of nori that’s been protected from the rice by plastic, keeping it crispy.

Momochee's Desserts

It’s not something that you’d expect to find at a bakery, but yeah, I’m into it.  I’m a big fan of the stuff, but it’s hard to find a really good one in Toronto.  Usually, the seasoning is off or it’s been sitting out too long, with unpleasantly firm rice.

Momochee's Desserts

I went with the spicy mayo onigiri, and aside from being served too cold, it was just right.  The rice was fresh and nicely seasoned, it had a good proportion of creamy tuna filling (with a surprisingly pronounced spicy kick), and the nori was perfectly crispy.

Momochee's Desserts

But of course, the place is mostly a bakery, so I had to get a dessert.  I went with the classic chocolate chip cookie, and it’s quite tasty.  Nothing about it blew my mind, but the contrast between the crispy exterior and gooey interior was satisfying, and it had a nice amount of good quality chocolate chips.

Delicious Cream Puffs at Ian Cakery

Delicious Cream Puffs at Ian Cakery
Location
: 1100 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga 
Website: https://www.iancakery.ca/

I’ve mentioned before that, even now — years after they closed their only location in the city — I still regularly think about Beard Papa and their delicious Japanese cream puffs.  Tragically, they used to at least have locations in Vancouver, but they’ve now apparently vacated Canada altogether.

Delicious Cream Puffs at Ian Cakery

(They are, however, still alive and well in Japan and elsewhere in the world — just not here, for some reason??  Come on, man.)

Delicious Cream Puffs at Ian Cakery

There are a few places serving a similar style of cream puff in the GTA, but I think the one at Ian Cakery might actually be the closest to what Beard Papa serves.

Delicious Cream Puffs at Ian Cakery

They have a few different flavours — I went with the classic vanilla, and man, it was good.  The choux pastry has a nice crispy exterior, and the very generous amount of custardy cream within is seriously delicious.

I’m still longing for the day Beard Papa makes its triumphant return to the GTA (it’s gotta happen eventually, right???), but until then, I’m glad that Ian Cakery exists.