pork – Page 9 – Michael Eats

Chinese Fast Food at Bingz Crispy Burger

Published on June 28, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3401 Dufferin Street, North York (inside Yorkdale Mall)
Website: https://www.bingzcanada.com/

Bingz is a Chinese chain that sells a variety of sandwiches made with a crispy, flaky bun, along with a handful of side dishes.

I went with the signature pork, and it’s delightfully simple — it’s just braised pork shoulder on a bun. That’s it. Want any condiments? Go somewhere else!

It’s quite good. It’s very no-frills, but the pork is meaty, flavourful, and super tender. The crispy bun is a good mix of flaky/crispy and chewy, and suits the pork perfectly.

(Also, this probably goes without saying, but this thing is absolutely not a burger in any appreciable way, making the name a bit of a head-scratcher.)

And it’s only six bucks, which is actually a pretty great deal; they manage to cram a decent amount of meat into that thing. For something from a food court in a mall, it’s way better than it needs to be.

A Solid Sandwich at Banh Mi Boys

Published on June 24, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 392 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://banhmiboys.com/

Remember Banh Mi Boys? They opened back in 2011, and were thoroughly amazing. They were one of my favourite places for a quick bite downtown. But then they expanded and, like with so many places, the quality went downhill. After a couple of particularly iffy sandwiches, I stopped going altogether.

But it’s been a few years, and I figured it was time to give them another shot. And hey, what do you know — they’re pretty good again. I don’t know if they’ll ever hit the highs of their early days, but it was a really solid sandwich.

I had the five spice pork belly banh mi, and yeah, it was tasty. The pork was slightly tough and the flavours don’t quite pop like they used to (and the spice level was sadly anemic, despite asking for it hot), but this was otherwise a satisfying banh mi. The bread was nice and fresh, and the abundant pickled veggies do a good job of cutting through the richness of the pork.

Tasty, Cheesy Pork Katsu at Katsuya

Published on May 26, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1224 Dundas Street West, Mississauga
Website: https://katsuya.ca/

There are very few dishes that wouldn’t be enhanced with the addition of gooey cheese. Think about a dish. Now think about that dish, but with gooey cheese. It’s better, right?

(And if you’re thinking that this isn’t true for dessert, let me tell you: you’re wrong.)

They have a cheese option for the katsu at Katsuya, which finds the traditional pork loin topped with mozzarella cheese before its breaded and fried, and yeah, it’s delightful. The pork is tender, the cheese is delightfully melty, and the exterior is nice and crispy. How could that not be great?

I ordered the Katsuya Original, which comes topped with “Katsuya’s house sauce.” I’d probably order one of their other options next time — the sauce was a bit sweet for me — but the katsu itself was so tasty that this was barely an issue.

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.

Great Banh Mi at Saigon Snacks

Published on May 7, 2024 by Michael Nusair2 Comments

Location: 139 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://saigonsnacks.ca/

Saigon Snacks is a great little shop that serves a handful of banh mi sandwiches, along with a bunch of sweet coffee and tea concoctions. I fear that it might not be trendy enough to survive on this particular stretch of Ossington, which would be a damn shame, because their sandwiches are top notch.

You can choose from grilled pork, grilled chicken, fish cake, cold cuts, and tofu. The sandwich comes filled with pickled daikon, cucumber, cilantro, mayo, pate, and two types of chilis.

I went with the grilled pork, which was generously applied, tender, and very flavourful. I was a bit concerned when I saw the bread, which is short and squat and looks a bit ciabatta-esque; but no, this is a legit banh mi (and clearly very fresh), with a great delicate layer of exterior crispiness.

And the balance of flavours — creaminess from the mayo, crunch and zinginess from the veggies, and pops of heat from the peppers — is just right.

It’s a classic banh mi prepared with a sure hand and great ingredients. Which brings me back to my “is it trendy enough?” concern. I really hope so, because it’s seriously good.