Ontario – Michael Eats

Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich from KFC

Published on August 25, 2026August 25, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4559 Hurontario Street, Mississauga
Website: https://www.kfc.ca/

For the last few years, it feels like KFC has been asking themselves “would this item be out of place in a carnival?” whenever they come out with a new menu item.

In case it’s not clear, I am 100% on board with this philosophy. All fast food should be an affront to good taste. If it isn’t, what’s the point??

And yes, good taste has been affronted. The Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich, as per KFC’s website: “Craving some heat? The Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich features KFC’s juicy, crunchy, signature triple-breaded chicken fillet turned up with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos heat. Coated in bold Flamin’ Hot seasoning, drizzled with spicy Flamin’ Hot sauce, and topped with crunchy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos for an extra fiery kick in every bite – all served on a soft potato bun.”

This is exactly what you want it to be: stupid, but tasty. The sauce is pleasantly zingy with a mild cheesy tang, and the Cheetos (which are generously applied) add an extra dose of crunchiness to a sandwich that’s already quite crunchy. It’s good.

It’s not particularly spicy, which is a shame from something with “Flamin’ Hot” in its name, but it does have a mild kick.

As with everything from KFC, the quality of the sandwich depends quite a bit on whether the chicken was freshly fried, and in my case, it was hot and fresh.

I also tried the Flamin’ Hot Fries: “The Flamin’ Hot Fries feature our crispy golden fries turned up with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos heat. Tossed in bold Flamin’ Hot seasoning for a fiery, crave-worthy bite every time.”

I won’t lie: these were terrible. I got lucky with a fresh piece of chicken, and very unlucky with these fries, which tasted like they had been sitting out for several hours. They were also so lightly seasoned that if I had eaten these blind, I don’t think I would have guessed that they were supposed to be Flamin’ Hot.

(Or maybe my palate was just blown out by the sandwich — it’s not exactly subtle, that’s for sure.)

And of course, I got an order of the Flamin’ Hot dip: “Turn the heat wayyyyy up with our Flamin’ Hot dip. A creamy, spicy dip packed with the bold heat of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Perfect for dunking fries, chicken, or anything that could use a little extra flame.”

This was the exact same sauce that’s on the sandwich, and I’ll admit that it works better as a condiment on a sandwich than as a dip for fries.

It’s weirdly thick, and its one-note zesty flavour gets tiresome when you don’t have a whole bunch of chicken and bread to mellow it out (though the fact that the fries were borderline inedible certainly didn’t help this dip’s case).

They also have a Cheetos Dirty Soda as part of this promotion, but it’s just a normal orange soda with Cheetos on top, so I skipped it. Give me a Cheetos-flavoured soda, you cowards.

I should note that all this stuff is currently supposed to be exclusive to the KFC app until August 31, though I was able to order it on the website without downloading anything. You definitely can’t order it in person for now, however (at least not at the KFC I visited, which didn’t even have any signage up for the promotion).

Tasty Turkish Dessert at Helvaci Ali

Published on August 23, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3535 Odyssey Drive, Mississauga
Website: https://helvaciali.ca/

I’ll admit that I hadn’t even heard of helva, a Turkish dessert, before checking it out at Helvaci Ali. I sort of figured it would be similar to halva or halawi, but it’s a completely different thing.

Helvaci Ali is a Turkish chain that’s been serving up the stuff since 1900, so it seems like a good place to try it.

The version of helva they serve here is made with semolina flour and butter, and is basically like a very rich pudding. It comes on top of ice cream (the menu describes it as 2/3 semolina helva and 1/3 ice cream), and it’s extremely delicious.

It comes in several flavours: walnut, pistchio, Biscoff, chocolate, caramel, and Dubai chocolate (I believe it is now illegal to be a dessert shop and not have some Dubai chocolate variety on the menu). I was told walnut and pistachio were the most popular, so I went with both.

Wow, it’s good. It’s super rich and creamy, with a grainy (but not unpleasantly so) texture from the semolina. It’s served warm, and the contrast between it and the cold ice cream is really, really nice.

The flavour of the walnut and the pistachio were both pretty mild, but present enough that you know what you’re eating.

I was afraid it might be too syrupy, but it’s actually got a really great level of sweetness. It’s quite sweet, but not aggressively so. It was my first taste of helva, but I can guarantee it won’t be my last.

Cheesy Bacon McFlavour Fries at McDonald’s (World Menu Heist)

Published on August 21, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1001 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I mentioned before that the Stroopwafel McFlurry might be the most boring item in this year’s World Menu Heist. Well, the Cheesy Bacon McFlavour Fries — which are just fries, cheese sauce, and bacon — are a very close second.

Here’s how McDonald’s describes them: “France’s Cheesy Bacon McFlavour Fries have gone missing… and surfaced in Canada. Golden fries loaded with a creamy double cheddar cheese sauce and hickory-smoked bacon. Rich, indulgent, and easy to lose track of. Grab them before they’re ‘disparues’.”

(Does McDonald’s really think my French is advanced enough to know what “disparues” means? That’s very kind of them, but the sum total of my decade or so of French classes in school is that I can say “Je m’appell Michael.” (It means “missing,” BTW.))

This was… fine? It was food? I ate it? The cheese sauce is basically a slightly zestier version of Cheez Whiz, and the bacon and fries are what they are.

It likely would have been tasty enough if the fries and/or the bacon were more fresh (or fresh at all), but they were not. The bacon was off-puttingly jerky-like, and the fries were lukewarm, dry, and cardboardy.

(Didn’t the fries at McDonald’s used to get soggy when they were stale? Did they change the formula? Because even soggy fries likely would have been more satisfying here.)

I also got an order of the Truffle Flavoured Mayo Style Sauce from Sweden, which was okay. I’m not generally a fan of truffle oil, which this definitely tastes like, so it’s possible you’ll like this better if you enjoy that stuff.

It basically tasted like a thick, gloppy cream of mushroom soup with truffle oil. It wasn’t my favourite thing ever, but the fries were so dry, and so monotonous in their cheesy/salty flavour, that I still wound up using all of it.

Chicken Parmi Burger at McDonald’s (World Menu Heist)

Published on August 20, 2026 by Michael Nusair2 Comments

Location: 30 Courtneypark Drive East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I guess it was inevitable that at least one item in the World Menu Heist would be a dud, and this one is definitely it.

The Chicken Parmi Burger, as per the McDonald’s website: “Straight from Australia, the Chicken Parmi Burger has landed in Canada. Crispy seasoned chicken layered with marinara sauce, creamy parmesan sauce, shredded lettuce, and white processed cheese, all on a soft potato bun. Rich, saucy, and just the right amount of indulgent. Get it before it’s gone, mate.”

It’s that marinara sauce. Wow, it’s bad. Its smell hits you as soon as you pop open the box, and it tastes so much worse than it smells.

It tastes like the cheapest jarred sauce you can find at the supermarket — but even that isn’t this bad. It tastes like an off-putting cross between the worst tomato sauce you’ve ever had, and the worst salsa you’ve ever had. It’s acrid and horrible.

It lingered on my palate for hours afterward. I’m actively upset at McDonald’s for inflicting it on me.

Otherwise, everything else here is pretty standard McCrispy stuff, and is fine.

Well, I suppose there is the creamy parmesan sauce, but the marinara was so overwhelming that I couldn’t taste anything else (it’s also possible that they accidently gave me mayo instead of the parmesan sauce, but then nothing could have made up for that horrific marinara, so who cares?).

Stroopwafel McFlurry at McDonald’s (World Menu Heist)

Published on August 19, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 30 Courtneypark Drive East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca.html

I’ll admit that this is — to me — the most boring item in this year’s World Menu Heist. McFlurries in general are kinda boring, but this one, with just waffle cone pieces and caramel, is particularly uninteresting.

Still, it’s on the menu, and I have an odd (possibly unhealthy??) compulsion to try it all, so sure, why not?

The Stroopwafel McFlurry: “Missing from the Netherlands, now somehow spotted in Canada. Creamy vanilla soft serve swirled with caramel flavoured cinnamon waffle cone pieces and caramel sauce. Sweet, smooth, with a perfect crunch… enjoy it while it’s here.”

It might not be the most exciting thing ever, but it is pretty satisfying.

Though I’m not sure if I would have guessed the stroopwafel connection if I didn’t know that’s what this was. Stroopwafels are a Dutch dessert featuring two thin, waffle-like cookies encasing a middle layer of chewy caramel (though if you get a fresh one, the caramel is delightfully gooey). Once you separate the caramel and the waffle and treat them as two separate components, it loses its stroopwafel energy. It’s just caramel and waffle cone pieces.

Still, the cinnamon on the waffle cone bits is a nice touch and brings this more personality than it otherwise would have had. The waffle cone bits also have a satisfying crunchiness that contrasts well with the creamy soft serve and gooey caramel.

It’s kinda one-note sweet and not something I’d order again, but I’m not mad I ate it.