Mississauga – Page 9 – Michael Eats

A Tasty Cardamom Bun at French Corner Bakery Patisserie

Published on May 22, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1224 Dundas Street West, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/frenchcornerpatisserie/

French Corner Bakery Patisserie (the word “bakery” is a bit odd there, isn’t it? Patisserie is basically just a French word for bakery, so it’s the French Corner Bakery Bakery) has a whole bunch of very tasty looking pastries.

I was actually planning on ordering the almond croissant, but then I saw the cardamom bun and couldn’t resist. I have a hard time saying no to a good cardamom bun, especially since they’re not exactly super common in the GTA.

And yeah, it’s a good one. The bready pastry is dense without being overly tough, the cardamom flavour is unmistakable, and the level of sweetness is delightfully restrained. It’s has a decent amount of sticky syrup on its exterior (not to mention the pearl sugar on top, which adds a great crunch that contrasts nicely with the toothsome pastry), but is otherwise not particularly sweet.

Clearly, I’m going to have to go back to try the almond croissant (and more!) because they know what they’re doing.

Delicious Cakes at Tokyo Cheesecake Cafe

Published on May 20, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 257 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/tokyocheesecakecafe.ca/

Tokyo Cheesecake Cafe was actually a really delightful surprise. I went in thinking I’d just check the place out, and wasn’t necessarily planning on buying anything. Nothing really caught my eye (I was hoping they’d have a Japanese-style strawberry shortcake; they did not), but the store was empty and I felt bad leaving without buying anything, so I got a slice of the original cheesecake.

I figured this would be a fluffy, eggy, soufflé-style cheesecake like you can get at Uncle Tetsu’s. I like that style of cheesecake, but it’s not my favourite.

This actually turned out to be completely different from that, with two layers on a chocolatey crust. The top layer is light and super creamy, and the bottom layer is much more dense, with more of a traditional cheesecake flavour and texture. There’s also a bit of a lemony flavour (lemon zest, maybe?) that complements it quite well. And the chocolate crust has a mild bitterness that does a great job of offsetting the sweetness of the cheesecake.

It’s a seriously delicious dessert. The silky top layer, the rich bottom layer, and the chocolate crust are a boffo combination. They also had a bunch of other flavours of cheesecake, and I (and you!) need to try them all ASAP.

Also: as it happened, I went back a couple of weeks later, and they actually had the Japanese strawberry shortcake I was craving on my first visit. I tried it, of course, and it was just as delicious as the cheesecake, with the cake itself being maybe the lightest, fluffiest cake I’ve ever had.

Tasty Vegetarian Vietnamese Food at Dai Bi Chay

Published on May 18, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2399 Cawthra Road, Mississauga
Website: https://daibichay.com/

I’ll admit that I was a bit skeptical of Dai Bi Chai going in. An entirely vegetarian Vietnamese place? With a bunch of mock meats on the menu? How good could that be?

Quite good, as it turns out.

I tried the bun bo hue chay, a zingy, spicy bowl of noodle soup that comes with an assortment of mock meats. The soup itself was quite tasty, with a zippy flavour (that’s nicely amped up by the smoky chili oil on the table) and a decent amount of depth that keeps things interesting.

As for the mock meats, I’m pretty sure they’re all tofu-based (they all have the taste and texture of very firm tofu); I don’t think anyone’s going to be fooled, but they’re tasty for what they are.

Quick Bites: Machino Donuts, Fuji Noodle House, Kunafa’s

Published on May 14, 2024May 17, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Various doughnuts from Machino Donuts

Machino Donuts specializes in vegan doughnuts, and I’ll admit that I’ve dragged my feet on trying it because of that fact. I assumed that the vegan-ness of the place would result in compromised, subpar doughnuts, and I was 100% wrong. I tried three doughnuts here: the apple fritter, the banana bread fritter, and the sour cream orange, and all three were quite tasty. In particular, the apple fritter was right on par with the better fritters I’ve had in the GTA, with a lightly crispy exterior, a nice and tender interior, and a great apple flavour.

Fuju signature noodle soup from Fuji Noodle House

Fuji Noodle House specializes in tasty Chinese noodle soups, and yeah, it’s good. I tried the Fuji signature noodle soup (“signature hand-pulled noodle soup with beef, crispy pork fillet, Fuji meatballs, beef brisket, cilantro, and scallions”), and while nothing about it jumped out at me as mind-blowing, the noodles were nice and chewy, the broth was tasty, and all the meaty add-ons were satisfying.

Kunafa from Kunafa’s

Kunafa, for the uninitiated, is a delicious Middle Eastern dessert in which a gooey, neutral-tasting cheese is topped with syrup-soaked pastry. It’s great, though I have yet to find a truly exceptional version in the GTA. Kunafa’s, which I wrote a few years ago, specializes in the stuff. As you’d hope, it’s very good — probably the best in the GTA. I visited the original Scarborough location last time, and the one in Mississauga this time, and it’s clear that they haven’t missed a step in the expansion (they also have a location in Ajax). It’s a really tasty dessert.

Delicious Filipino Food at Kusina

Published on May 13, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3024 Hurontario Street, Mississauga
Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558706068051&mibextid=LQQJ4d

Kusina is a delightful Filipino take-out joint with various meaty and seafoody dishes on offer. I’m not incredibly familiar with Filipino cuisine, but the guy in front of me said that the pork hocks are the thing to order, so that’s what I did.

There weren’t any labels on of the items on offer, but based on a quick google search I believe that this is a dish called paksiw na pata, which features slow-cooked pork hocks and banana flowers (which are the blossoms of a banana tree). It comes with a healthy portion of white rice and costs nine bucks, so it’s a great deal.

It’s exceptionally delicious. Pork hocks can be a bit gummy if they’re not cooked well, but these were absolutely perfect, and were abundantly tender. And the flavour was pretty amazing — sweet, savoury, and a little bit tangy. I can’t quite put my finger on what’s giving it that tanginess (the banana flowers, maybe?), but it gave this dish a really unique personality and was extremely tasty.