Markham – Michael Eats

Satisfying Korean Gelato at Illo Scoop and Flake

Published on November 10, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4300 Steeles Avenue East (inside Pacific Mall)
Website: https://www.instagram.com/illoscoopandflake/

I love gelato, but it’s always nice when a place mixes it up and serves stuff that isn’t the usual chocolate, hazelnut, pistachio, and on and on.

Enter: Illo Scoop and Flake, an interesting Korean-influenced gelato spot inside Pacific Mall. As soon as I saw that they had a red bean flavour, I was sold. Red bean desserts: great. Gelato: great. This is as close to a sure thing as it gets.

You can get the gelato with various toppings (which accounts for the “and Flake” part of the name, I guess), but I stuck with just the gelato on its own.

It’s quite tasty, with a very restrained level of sweetness and a subtle flavour that lets the milkiness of the gelato be the star of the show. The red bean flavour is mostly in the background, but it’s definitely there, and becomes more apparent as you eat it.

The sweetness and red bean flavour are so understated that it took me a few mouthfuls to get on board, but the more I ate it, the more I enjoyed it.

The texture, too, is stellar — it’s maybe slightly thin, but it’s otherwise pleasantly smooth and creamy.

My only issue is that I wish the beans had been ground a bit more finely. There are little flecks of red bean mixed in, and they add a graininess that detracts from the great smoothness of the gelato. That’s a minor complaint, however.

Tasty Japanese Food at Tanuki

Published on February 4, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3160 Steeles Avenue East, Markham
Website: http://www.tanukirestaurant.com/

Tanuki is actually in the same location as the great Shiso Tree Cafe, which, sadly, shut down near the beginning of the pandemic. I kinda want to hate this place on principal, like, how dare you try to replace the Shiso Tree Cafe?? But you know what? Just based on this one visit, I think Tanuki might be just as good.

I came during their brunch service and tried the seared duck breast (“served medium rare, chimichurri, garlic chips”), along with the omurice (“soft omelette, chicken fried rice, shiitake, edamame, gravy”).

Both were very, very tasty. The duck breast was perfectly cooked; it was tender while still having a nice meaty bite, and while the skin wasn’t crispy, once I started eating, I didn’t miss it. The garlic chips give it that crispiness while also adding pops of flavour. It’s a great dish.

The omurice was just as good. Slicing the omlette open to reveal its eggy interior is thoroughly satisfying, and the creamy eggs complement the tasty fried rice quite nicely. That fried rice would have actually been perfectly fine on its own, with the mushroom/chicken combo being thoroughly delicious, nice pops of freshness from the edamame, the occasional bite of crispy rice, and some nice smokiness from the wok.

But once you add the perfectly cooked omelette, things really take off. The omelette is silky and creamy, with its richness only amped up by the gravy that comes on the side. Add a few spoonfuls of the zippy habanero sauce they have on the table, and you’re really in business.

Cheesy Noodles at Garden Hong Kong Cafe

Published on December 8, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 28 South Unionville Avenue, Markham
Website: None

I’ve mentioned before that I make it a general policy on this blog to not compare dishes to the real deal in whatever country they’re from. I just don’t think it’s particularly useful or fair, for a number of reasons.

But sometimes I’ve gotta do it. In this case, I pretty much fell in love with the cheese noodles I had in Hong Kong, and was very excited when I saw that they had them on the menu at Garden Hong Kong Cafe in Markham.

It’s a really simple dish; it’s basically just instant noodles with cheese sauce. In Hong Kong, it was served with braised pork cheek on the side; here, it was chicken wings.

I will say that the version at Garden Hong Kong Cafe was tasty enough, especially when you top it with a generous spoonful (or two, or three) of the garlicky, sweet chili oil they have on the table. That chili oil is doing about 95 percent of the heavy lifting in making this as good as it is, but hey — tasty is tasty. I’m not complaining.

Sadly, the cheese sauce here is pretty bland, and is applied very sparingly to the noodles (as opposed to Hong Kong, where the sauce completely smothered the dish and had a delightfully sharp cheesy flavour).

Still, that aforementioned chili oil is delicious enough to smooth over any of the dish’s faults, and at $8.50 (!) — which includes a mug of delicious milk tea — it’s hard to deny that it’s an absolute steal.

I should note that this place is very small and very busy (it was already packed and had a waiting list when I showed up a few minutes after they opened on a recent Saturday), so keep that in mind.

Delicious Soft Serve at Butter Baker

Published on October 16, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 140 Amber Street, Markham
Website: https://butter-baker.com/

The last time I tried Butter Baker, I had a croissant that I wasn’t particularly crazy about. I figured I’d try the soft serve this time, and it was thoroughly delicious. So clearly, that’s the thing to order.

I think the flavours rotate, but when I visited, they were serving a swirl consisting of plain frozen yogurt and a sorbet with passionfruit and… some other stuff. The guy described the flavour to me, and I immediately forgot. I know, I know — great blogging, very helpful. You’re welcome.

Whatever it is, it’s quite good, with the slightly tart sorbet balancing quite nicely with the sweet yogurt. That sweetness is maybe a bit too amped up, but that’s a minor complaint.

Tasty Katsu Curry at Cafe Green Tea

Published on October 14, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3160 Steeles Avenue East, Markham
Website: None

Though the name might make you think it’s a coffee shop of some sort, Cafe Green Tea is actually a delightful little restaurant in the J-Town area of Markham specializing in Japanese comfort food like soba, udon, and katsu curry.

I ordered the katsu curry, which you can either get with pork or chicken (I got pork). It’s a counter service place, and they work quite fast; once I ordered, it only took a few minutes for my number to be called.

It’s a tasty plate of no-frills katsu curry. The pork is slightly on the dry side, but otherwise everything here is right where it should be: the curry is rich and flavourful, and the katsu has a perfect level of exterior crispiness.

Bonus: at 14 bucks for a relatively hefty serving, it’s a solid deal.