Mississauga – Michael Eats

Solid Ramen at Men-ya Inoichi Ramen

Published on August 3, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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.

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.

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

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.

Quick Bites: Bear Steak Sandwiches, Pizza Cantina, Pizza Karachi

Published on July 26, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Original Steak Sandwich from Bear Steak Sandwiches

I’m a big fan of Bear Steak Sandwiches, though I’ll admit that a recent experience there was a bit unfortunate. I ordered the special, which was a steak on rye sandwich, and… it was basically inedible. The rye bread it was served on was so stale and dry that it crumbled into bits the second I picked it up. I took a couple of bites, and then brought it back for a refund, which is something I basically never do. Not great! On the plus side, they seemed to know it was an issue and immediately offered to replace it with an original steak sandwich, which they assured I’d like much better. And they were correct — I’ve previously raved about this sandwich, and yeah, it’s still stellar. A bit too greasy, but otherwise the combo of the ultra-tender steak and zippy chimichurri (and non-stale bread!) is a big winner.

Diavola Stinger from Pizza Cantina

Pizza Cantina, a pizza joint in the Junction, seems to be pretty well regarded, so I was excited to try it. I went with the Diavola Stinger (“San Marzano tomato sauce, hot soppressata, mozzarella & hot honey drizzle”), and it was tasty enough. Certainly, I didn’t dislike eating it. The crust was odd, however. I don’t know if it was supposed to be like that or if something went wrong, but it was extremely stiff and cracker-like, with the ends being full-out crunchy with no softness or chew. It was a bit too much for me, but if you like a crunchy pizza, it was otherwise pretty solid. My only other complaint is that I found the hot honey to be a bit too aggressively applied — but then I find honey on a pizza to work best in small doses. Others may disagree.

Pizza from Pizza Karachi

As you’d gather from the name, Pizza Karachi serves pizza with a Pakistani flair. I tried a couple of pizzas (the Mirchi Sauga and… another one whose name is currently escaping me), and both were solid. They were pan pizzas (somewhat Pizza Hut-esque), and while the vaguely gummy crust was nothing to write home about, the vibrant Pakastani flavours actually worked pretty well.

Tasty Pastries at Barburu

Published on July 12, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1000 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/barburu_bakery/

Barburu is a delightful little bakery and coffee shop in Yuan Ming Supermarket’s food court. They mostly specialize in various filled croissants, though they have a few other types of pastries as well.

I went with the pistachio croissant, and it was quite satisfying. In particular, it’s got a very generous amount of pistachio filling that has a tasty pistachio flavour.

I know it seems odd to complement pistachio filling for tasting like pistachio, but the pistachio flavour just isn’t quite there in a lot of croissants like this. This one definitely doesn’t have that problem.

There’s also a sweet, creamy pistachio spread on top of the pistachio filling, which is a nice touch.

My only real issue here is that the layer of croissant surrounding the filling is quite thin. It’s got a nice crispy exterior and the whole thing is certainly very satisfying, but I would have liked a bit more croissant and a bit less filling. The ratio is off. It’s tasty enough that I’m not going to complain too much, but it’s still a shame.

Lamb Noodles at Three Sheep Gourmet Foods

Published on July 10, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1000 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: None

I was intrigued by Three Sheep Gourmet Foods when I saw that they had a dish on their menu called “Lamb Haggis Noodle Soup.” My initial assumption was that this was just a translation quirk — but then I saw that they also have a dish called “Scottish Noodles.”

Could it be… Chinese/Scottish fusion??

No; the answer to that is no. I ordered the Lamb Haggis Noodle Soup, and the only connection to haggis is that it features a bunch of innards. Otherwise, there’s nothing even remotely resembling that dish.

(Still kinda curious about those Scottish noodles, though.)

Aside from dashing my Chinese/Scottish fusion dreams, it’s a solid dish. The soup has a clean, meaty flavour (and is nicely kicked up by the optional chili oil on the counter), the various organs are nicely prepared, and it’s got a very generous amount of thick noodles (which were slightly overcooked, but still satisfying enough).

My only real complaint here is that one of the bits of offal (spleen, possibly?) was just too strong for me. It was like liver times a million. I actually like the metallic, minerally taste of liver, but this one kinda knocked me out. I quite liked everything else in the bowl, however.

A Tasty Breakfast at Ying Ji Chang Fen

Published on July 7, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4040 Creditview Road, Mississauga
Website: https://yinjicanada.com/

Ying Ji Chang Fen does well. I showed up at around 10:00 on a Saturday morning and it was already starting to fill up; by the time I left, it was basically packed. That’s not to mention the constant stream of take-out orders. Clearly, people know a good thing when they find it.

Their menu consists mostly of various congee dishes and rice noodle rolls, and I tried one of each.

First up: Marinated Beef & Shrimp with Chives Rice Noodle Roll. No, it’s not the most photogenic dish you’ll ever see (neither were), but it was thoroughly tasty, with a generous amount of perfectly cooked shrimp and tender beef, a perfectly chewy rice noodle wrapper, and a delicious sweetened soy sauce on top.

Bonus: the extremely tasty chili oil on the table, which enhances everything you put it on.

I also tried the Preserved Egg and Minced beef congee, and yeah, that was just as good. The congee itself was hearty and satisfying, and all the toppings — from the crunch of the peanuts to the chewiness of the preserved egg — worked really well together.

I got a side order of the dough stick, and that was quite good too — slightly oily, but nice and fresh, and a really great complement to the congee.