review – Page 4 – Michael Eats

Nanaimo Bar McFlurry at McDonald’s

Published on June 12, 2019June 12, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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

This is kind of old news at this point, but McDonald’s currently has a Great Canadian Tastes promotion going (until the 17th of June, so don’t dilly dally if you want to sample it and haven’t yet), which includes fish and chips and a Nanaimo Bar McFlurry.

I’ve only tried the McFlurry so far, and it’s not bad. I don’t think I would have guessed that it was supposed to taste like a Nanaimo bar, but it’s decent enough for what it is.

It’s intensely sweet — but then a Nanaimo bar is also super sweet, so on that level at least, it resembles what it’s supposed to be.

The easiest way to make this would have been to just mix Nanaimo bar chunks into ice cream, but instead, this features coconut graham crumbs, cocoa, chocolate chips, and hot fudge sauce.

Chocolate is clearly the dominant flavour here, with lots of sauce and a healthy amount of graham cracker bits. The bits have a mild coconut and chocolate flavour, and add a satisfying amount of crunchiness.

There’s also a vague underlying toffee flavour, but for the most part, this thing is just chocolatey and sweet. It’s tasty enough, but if you’re craving that distinctive Nanaimo bar flavour, you’re probably going to be disappointed.

Tasty (and Unusual) Doughnuts at Flipside Donuts

Published on June 10, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 12 Case Goods Lane, Toronto
Website: https://flipsidedonuts.com/

Though I’ve had many, many sweet doughnuts in my lifetime (and so have you, I’m guessing, unless you’re living out some kind of Encino Man scenario and have just emerged from the ice), but I can’t say I’ve ever had a savoury one.

There’s a first time for everything, of course, and if what Flipside Donuts is serving up is any indication, savoury doughnuts are way better than you’d think they’d be.

Flipside serves mini doughnuts a la Tiny Tom, and if you order one of their savoury concoctions, you get eight little doughnuts with various toppings.

I ordered the Spadina Streetcar: “8 mini donuts covered in hoisin, braised duck, pickled vegetables, sesame aioli, cilantro.”

The doughnuts themselves are great — they’re freshly fried, just as you’d hope they’d be, with a mild sweetness that works quite well with the savoury toppings.

The texture is a bit more dense and cakey than Tiny Tom, with a lightly crispy exterior that’s incredibly satisfying.

And the toppings are delicious. Hoisin and duck is obviously a boffo combination, not to mention the extra punch of creaminess that you get from the aioli. And the freshness of the cilantro and the vinegary punch of the slaw helps to cut the richness from the other elements. The duck itself is a bit dry, but mostly, the dish works way better than you’d think.

I also tried a few of the sweet doughnuts. I tried Bellwoods Bonfire (“toasted spiced walnuts & hickory smoked maple syrup”), South Coast Sour (“lemon curd, toasted poppy seed”), Danforth Drizzle (“pistachio butter, Toronto honey, puff pastry”), and Viva YRT (“sweet mango puree & toasted coconut”).

There wasn’t a dud in the bunch, though the Danforth Drizzle, with its rich pistachio flavour, was my favourite.

Unique Desserts at Patchmon’s Thai Desserts

Published on January 5, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2463 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.thaidesserts.ca/

I mentioned recently that Asian desserts have a tendency to be an acquired taste. That is absolutely, positively the case with Patchmon’s Thai Desserts.

But that’s part of the appeal — how often do you get a chance to try something that’s entirely unlike anything you’ve ever eaten before? There’s something thrilling about that, especially when the thing you’re eating is also delicious.

I tried three desserts, and the biggest “whoa, that’s new” was easily the Thai taro custard. For the most part, it’s not all that unusual — it kind of tastes like a much denser, richer version of creme caramel, with an almost cakey consistency.

It’s also topped with caramelized shallots.

It’s weird. The shallots aren’t just a topping — the whole thing is perfumed with their flavour. It sounds like it should be off-putting, but oddly enough, it works.

There’s no doubt that it’s unusual, though. It’s one of those things I ate with a perpetually furrowed brow. I’ll also admit that I didn’t finish it. It sat in my fridge for about a week until I finally threw it out. As much as I liked it, I never particularly felt like reliving that odd sensation of eating dessert that’s also a little bit oniony.

The next thing I tried was the Thai coconut layer cake. Despite the name, it’s actually more of a jelly, which the woman behind the counter explained is made with tapioca rather than gelatin, and which is flavoured with pandan leaves.

This was my favourite of the three. The texture was denser and creamier than your typical gelatin (it was somewhere between mochi and Jell-o), and the flavour was great, if a bit hard to describe. It’s vaguely nutty and almost malty. It’s quite good.

The third item was the ta-goe (sweet tapioca with coconut cream). I didn’t particularly enjoy this one. The texture — featuring a creamy top layer and a tapioca-infused bottom layer — was quite nice. But it had a sharply salty, almost sour flavour that I found to be a bit overwhelming. I have no doubt that it’s an authentic version of that particular dessert, but I think it’s an acquired taste that I haven’t yet acquired.

Delicious Ramen at Ryu’s Noodle Bar

Published on January 2, 2019April 2, 2020 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 786 Broadview Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://ryusnoodlebar.com/

A couple of months ago, Ryu’s Noodle Bar made a bunch of headlines by being one of only two non-Japanese ramen joints invited to set up a stall in the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum in Japan.

Obviously, a visit was inevitable.

(And yes, technically the place is called Ryus Noodle Bar, without the apostrophe, but I’m not spelling it that way. Get out of here with that.)

Their specialty is “RYUS rich shio,” which is similar to the porky tonkotsu style of ramen that’s so popular in Toronto, but made with chicken instead of pork.

It’s basically Touhenboku, but better (sorry, Touhenboku, but you’ve been bested).

The chicken-based broth at Ryu’s is fairly similar to what they’re serving at Touhenboku, but with a richer consistency and a more satisfying depth of flavour.

All the issues I had with Touhenboku — the one-note flavour and the greasy consistency — are completely absent here. Yes, the bowl has an intense chicken flavour, but there’s enough going on that you never get sick of it. Once you hit the bottom of the bowl, you’re sad to see it end.

And despite its incredible richness, there’s absolutely no greasiness.

I can’t say enough about the flavour — it’s basically like the best roast chicken that you’ve ever had, but condensed down into a soup.

The noodles and toppings are great, too. It’s topped with a slice of chicken along with the typical chasu (which is delicious); the chicken is white meat, but it’s cooked perfectly, making it incredibly tender.

They suggest you add an egg to the bowl, which is an additional charge, but totally worth it. The yolk is creamy, custardy, and perfect. I wish it were a little bit hotter (it was actually quite cold, which is maybe my only significant complaint about the whole bowl), but that’s a minor issue.

Suffice it to say, Ryu’s is a very, very strong contender for the best bowl of ramen in the city. It’s so good.

The Porchetta at Porchetta & Co.: Still Great

Published on December 31, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 545 King Street West, Toronto
Website: http://porchettaco.com/

Though I’m a big fan of the porchetta sandwich at Porchetta & Co., my tendency is to get tempted by the various fried chicken sandwich specials. It’s been ages since I’ve had the good old plain porchetta sandwich.

I was afraid it might have gone downhill. It’s an outstanding sandwich, but many successful restaurants have a hard time maintaining consistency over the years, and eventually become a victim of their own success. This is especially true once expansion becomes a factor.

Well, I’m happy to say that this doesn’t seem to be an issue here. The porchetta sandwich: still outstanding.

I didn’t see any crackling when I opened it up, which concerned me. But I guess it was all hiding under the meat, because there was a pretty good amount. (I could have used more, but then it’s basically impossible to get enough crackling. I could have an all-crackling sandwich, and I’d still be like “that was pretty good, but it needed more crackling.”)

I also thought the sandwich looked a little lean on first inspection, but again, it was all hiding in there; the meat was super tender, with a perfect amount of tasty fat interspersed throughout.

It’s a seriously, seriously great sandwich. The crispy, fluffy bun is as perfect as ever, and the pork itself is still top-notch. The spicing is subtle compared to some porchetta, but there’s more than enough for it to pack some serious flavour. That’s not to mention that the milder seasoning allows the natural flavour of the pork to really shine through.

You can get all kinds of toppings, if you want — in fact, the “House Special” is topped with parmesan, truffle sauce, mustard, and hot sauce. And certainly, it’s not un-tasty. But all that stuff is superfluous, and worse, it just gets in the way of the amazing pork. The porchetta is so tender, porky, and herby; obscuring it with additional sauces and flavours just seems like a shame.