Tasty Noodle Soup at Kuya Don Lomi Batangas

Kuya Don Lomi Batangas
Location
: 1482 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.kdlb.ca/

Kuya Don Lomi Batangas is a Filipino restaurant that started in North  York and has recently expanded to Mississauga.  And judging by the crowds, it’s already a hit — I showed up not long after they opened at 11:00am on a Saturday, and the place was already pretty full.  By the time I left, it was packed.

Kuya Don Lomi Batangas

They have a variety of Filipino dishes on the menu, but the specialty is lomi batangas (it’s right there in the name, so obviously you’ve gotta order that).

I can’t say I’ve ever tried (or even heard of) this dish, but I’m always game to try something new.  Here’s how the menu describes it: “freshly made miki with caldo, sliced fish ball, boiled egg, pork liver, kikiam, rebusado, bola-bola, and garnish.”

Kuya Don Lomi Batangas

In case you’re as clueless about Filipino cuisine as I apparently am (I understood fish ball, boiled egg, pork liver, and garnish in that description), here’s how that breaks down.  Miki is a Filipino egg noodle, caldo means broth, kikiam is a type of sausage, Google is saying rebusado is fried shrimp (there was something fried in the bowl, but it definitely wasn’t shrimp — pork, I think?), and bola-bola is a meatball (which I don’t think was in my bowl?  There were crispy pork rinds, however).

Whatever was in here was quite tasty, particularly those fried chunks of pork (?), which were well seasoned, nicely crunchy on the outside, and tender on the inside.

Kuya Don Lomi Batangas

The soup itself has a really deep savouriness that’s quite satisfying, particularly once you add a squeeze of the calamansi they have on the side — this does a great job of adding some brightness to the very rich bowl.  The soup is thickened, but not in a way that feels overly goopy.  It’s quite good.

My only real complaint is that while the noodles do a great job of soaking up the flavour of the soup, they’re pretty mushy.  I’m not sure if that’s the way they’re supposed to be or if something went wrong, but either way, that’s probably my only complaint about an otherwise very tasty dish.

Delicious Hakka Cuisine at Chilli Chicken House

Chilli Chicken House
Location
: 4040 Creditview Road, Mississauga
Website: https://chillichickenhouse.com/

I’ve heard people call Chilli Chicken House the best Hakka restaurant in Mississauga; I certainly haven’t tried every Hakka joint in the city, but after eating here, the claim seems extremely plausible.  It’s great.

Chilli Chicken House

I tried a couple of things.  First up is the chilli chicken, because if you go to a restaurant called Chilli Chicken House and you don’t order the chilli chicken, what are you even doing with your life?

Chilli Chicken House

You can get this either dry or with gravy; I went with the gravy option, which features chunks of tender fried chicken tossed in a really tasty sauce that’s a bit sweet, very savoury, and has a nice kick (particularly in the mouthfuls with the green chilis, which are delightful spice bombs).

If you want to kick things up even further, there’s a jar of tangy chili sauce on the table, along with a jar of vinegar with a whole bunch of fiery chilis floating on top.  Both are very tasty.

Chilli Chicken House

I also tried the Hakka chow mein, which is a stellar noodle dish with a generous amount of shrimp and chicken, just the right amount of greasiness, and a really satisfying smoky flavour from the blazing hot wok.

Great Buns at Mom’s Pan Fried Bun

Mom's Pan Fried Bun
Location
: 780 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: https://momspanfriedbun.com/

Mom’s Pan Fried Bun is a popular place.  The first time I tried to visit, it was packed, with a mob of people waiting for a table.  I showed up a few weeks later — earlier this time, at around 10:30am on a Saturday.  I got a table right away, but by the time I left, it was packed, with a mob of people waiting for a table.

Mom's Pan Fried Bun

I tried a couple of things, and yeah — I get it.  It’s quite good.

Mom's Pan Fried Bun

Of course, you’ve gotta try the pan-fried buns.  They have a couple of varieties on the menu: braised pork, and fresh pork.  I went with the braised pork, which was really, really tasty.  The pork is flavourful, the filling has a good amount of moisture without being overly soupy, and the bun itself is perfectly fluffy and fresh.

Mom's Pan Fried Bun

That’s not to mention the delightfully crispy bottom, which adds some great texture and contrasts nicely with the soft pastry and the tender filling.

Mom's Pan Fried Bun

I also tried the braised pork, a delightful Taiwanese dish in which ultra-tender chopped pork is served in a savoury sauce on top of rice.  This was fatty, tender, saucy, and delicious, with the zingy pickled mustard greens on the side doing a great job of cutting through the dish’s richness.

Decent Wraps at Shawarma Kingdom

Shawarma Kingdom
Location
: 377 Burnhamthorpe Road East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.shawarmakingdom.ca/

Shawarma Kingdom is totally fine.  It’s fine!  It’s shawarma.  It’s good.  You don’t need to go out of your way for it, but it’s acceptably tasty.

I mostly wanted to check this place out because they have beef and lamb on the menu.  I’m of the opinion that lamb shawarma is the best shawarma — and yet it’s almost impossible to find in the GTA.  When you do see it, it’s mixed with beef like it is here (and in most cases, the mix leans much more towards beef than lamb).  It’s a shame.

Shawarma Kingdom

You can get the wrap either in a pita or saj (for a few bucks more).  I went with saj and stuck with the default toppings, which are tahini sauce, tomato, onion, parsley and pickles (okay fine, I lied — I skipped the onion, as I tend to do).

Shawarma Kingdom

They definitely don’t skimp on the meat; the wrap is absolutely crammed.  They don’t skimp on the sauce, either, making this a bit of a mess.  The saj was over-toasted, which meant that the wrap was very brittle, with its structural integrity being extremely questionable; it basically exploded, and I had to eat most of it with a fork and knife.

Shawarma Kingdom

It’s a satisfying enough wrap, with the meat being fairly tender and flavourful, and with the generous amount of parsley giving it an interesting herby kick.  I wish the tahini sauce were a bit zippier, and I wish the meat had more of the crispy bits you’re looking from shawarma, but it’s a solid wrap (figuratively, not literally — again, it fell apart basically instantly).

Tasty Mexican Food at Pa’l Antojo

Pa'l Antojo
Location
: 1885 Drew Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/palantoj0/

Pa’l Antojo is in the middle of an industrial wasteland near the airport, so it definitely qualifies as a hidden gem.  I was mostly in the area to pick up nuts from Master Delight, which I think sells the best nuts in the city.  But it’s worth the trek to check out Pa’l Antojo either way; the food is stellar.

Pa'l Antojo

I tried a couple of things.  I’d heard the quesabirrias (“stewed beef seasoned on a crunchy corn tortilla with cheese, cilantro, onion and beef broth”) are the thing to order here, so that was a must.

Pa'l Antojo

It’s very, very good, with a great contrast between the slightly crispy tortilla, the gooey cheese, and the tender beef.  Once you dip it into the very flavourful broth, you’re off to the races.  I could eat a million of these.

Pa'l Antojo

I also tried a pastor taco, and it was just as good, with the very generous amount of pork being crispy and abundantly tasty, and with the double layer of fresh corn tortillas complementing it perfectly.