Mississauga – Page 12

Stellar Banh Mi at Ba Le House

Published on March 16, 2023July 1, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1125 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: None

Ba Le house is clearly doing well — it’s actually an off-shoot of Banh Mi Ba Le, which is in the same plaza just a few stores over. I guess business was brisk enough that they were able to open a second store (which is a bit confusing — if you try to order a banh mi at Banh Mi Ba Le, they’ll direct you to Be Le House instead).

I’m very glad that this place is doing well. There’s actually another, completely unrelated banh mi joint around the corner in the same plaza, Banh Mi Saigon, and I sort of figured that Ba Le would be about the same — good but not great.

I could not have been more wrong. I got the classic assorted cold cut banh mi, and holy moly it was good. Probably the best banh mi I’ve had in the GTA.

Everything about it just works; it’s meaty, porky, and delicious. The proportion of cold cuts (which I’m guessing that they make in house, and which are a cut above the norm) to zingy veggies to fresh bread is just right. There’s a nice slathering of creamy mayo and tasty pate, it’s got a mild but noticeable kick, and a slight sweetness from the hoisin.

And the bread is great; it’s got a delicately crispy exterior and a fluffy but substantial interior that holds up to all the filling quite nicely. A lot of banh mi can wreck the roof of your mouth if you’re not careful; this one has a delightful crispiness that you can still eat with aplomb. No risk of mouth shredding here.

The sandwich comes up to five bucks even, which is an absolute steal for the level of quality that they’re serving up. It’s so good.

Bacon, Egg & Smoky Gouda McMuffin at McDonald’s

Published on January 29, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1050 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/

I’ve said it before, but I think the McMuffin is a legitimately great breakfast sandwich that’s probably better than a lot of the fancier sandwiches you can find around the GTA. The rest of the McDonald’s menu is decent for what it is, but I will go to bat for the McMuffin any day of the week.

The Bacon, Egg & Smoky Gouda McMuffin doesn’t stray too far from the Bacon ‘N Egg McMuffin template, so yeah, it’s good.

As per the McDonald’s website, the sandwich comes with “a freshly cracked Canada Grade A egg topped with smoke flavoured Gouda cheese, Smoky cheese flavoured sauce and hickory smoked bacon.”

It’s tasty for all the same reasons a regular McMuffin is tasty (the egg, cheese, and toasted English muffin combo continues to be a winner), but with a distinct hit of smokiness thanks to the gouda and the sauce. It’s a solid breakfast sandwich.

A Tasty Yogurt Dessert at Xe Kem

Published on January 24, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 888 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.xekem.ca/

Though they bill themselves as an ice cream shop, Xe Kem actually serves a whole bunch of Vietnamese-inspired desserts, including cakes, puddings, and yogurt.

I was tempted to try the ice cream — they have a handful of scooped flavours on offer, as well as soft serve you can get in a traditional or a charcoal cone — but one of the yogurts was calling my name.

I tried the purple sticky rice yogurt, which I quite enjoyed. The yogurt itself was sweet and creamy, and the rice has a nice chewy texture. It’s basically like rice pudding, but yogurty. I don’t think it’s going to knock anyone’s socks off, but it’s thoroughly satisfying.

Greek Doughnuts at Mr. Puffs

Published on January 15, 2023January 15, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1425 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://mrpuffs.com/

Mr. Puffs is a chain that specializes in fried doughnut holes — they’re basically Greek-style loukoumades, though the menu and website never uses that word, referring to them only as puffs.

The puffs come topped with various sauces and flavours; the woman behind the counter said that honey cinnamon and sugar cinnamon are the two most popular, so I got six of each (an order of 12, which comes out to about eight bucks, is the smallest you can get).

This location has just opened, so I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they’re still working out the kinks. This style of doughnut is generally soaked in syrup, but the syrup was just drizzled on here, resulting in a final product that was just barely sweet (and the sugar cinnamon variety had the same issue). The doughnuts mostly tasted of the oil they were fried in.

I also think that the oil might have been a bit too hot, because the exterior was aggressively crispy (I could barely put a fork through it) and the interior was soft and gummy.

Still, despite the issues, it’s a fun concept — assuming they work out the kinks, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Delicious Noodle Soup at Wonton Express

Published on December 5, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4040 Creditview Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/wonton_express/

I tried this place a few years ago when it was called Wonton Chai Noodle and liked it a lot. But they’ve got a new name, and I was curious to see if anything had changed. Back when I went, they were serving up some of the best wonton noodle soup in the GTA, and I wondered if that was still the case.

Spoiler alert: yes, it is absolutely still the case. It’s so good.

Those wontons are magical. They’re just as delicious as they were last time, with perfectly cooked shrimp and a flavour that keeps you coming back for more.

On this visit I ordered the bowl that also comes with beef brisket, and while the brisket was perfectly tender and tasty, the wontons are so good that it kind of feels like a waste of time. Just give me more of those wontons. Give me a million of those wontons. Let me drown in a swimming pool filled with those wontons.

I’m not sure if it’s because I ordered the brisket, but the soup was beefy instead of the usual chicken broth you’re expecting. But it was really tasty, so I can’t complain.

And the same fiery chili oil from my first visit is still on the table. This stuff is great; one spoonful is more than enough to give the bowl a serious kick.

Bonus: while it’s a bit pricier than it was when I visited in 2018 (seven bucks for a bowl back then, nine now, and ten for the version with brisket), it’s still delightfully affordable.

This place is kind of out there in Mississauga, but it’s totally worth the drive. It’s really, really good.