spicy – Michael Eats

A Satisfying Meal at Hancook Cheese Dakgalbi

Published on November 30, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 605 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.hancookcanada.com/

It’s always nice when you go to restaurant and know exactly what to order. In the case of Hancook Cheese Dakgalbi, that’s an extremely easy decision: it’s gotta be the Hancook cheese dakgalbi.

Dakgalbi is a Korean dish that consists of stir-fried chicken, rice cakes, and veggies in a sweet, gochujang-infused sauce. You can get it without cheese, but why would you? The richness of the cheese actually complements the zingy dish quite well.

It’s seriously tasty. It’s kind of like an amped-up version of tteokbokki, with the tender chicken being a great addition to the sweet/spicy sauce and the chewy rice cakes.

You can order it at a spice level from one to four; I went with three, and it was pleasantly spicy but not overwhelmingly so. I’d probably get four next time, but it certainly wasn’t lacking in spice.

I also got an order of the fried vegetable dumplings. Nothing about these particularly blew me away, but they’re nicely crispy on the outside and come with a creamy dipping sauce that’s thoroughly delicious and surprisingly fiery.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich at Aloette Go

Published on November 13, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 171 East Liberty Street, Toronto
Website: https://aloettego.com/

I’ve had a couple of things from Aloette and thought they were both pretty great. Well I just tried the Spicy Chicken Sandwich (“Crispy buttermilk fried chicken, Aloette hot sauce, Go sauce, & shredded lettuce”), and hey, what do you know? It’s great as well.

It’s a really, really good fried chicken sandwich. The chicken itself is ultra-tender thigh meat, and the crispy exterior? Perfection. It’s got a great level of crunch without being overly substantial, and it’s nicely seasoned.

It’s topped with hot sauce and “Go sauce” — it doesn’t look all that saucy from the photo (sadly, I wasn’t able to cut it in half), so you’ll just have to take my word for it that it was saucy and delicious. The hot sauce / Go sauce combo is basically Aloette’s version of Buffalo sauce and ranch, which is a classic combo.

The heat level is somewhere between medium and hot — it’s certainly not the spiciest thing you’ll ever eat, but it’s satisfying.

And the bun was soft and fresh, and held up to the saucy chicken quite well (again, you can’t tell, but I assure you that it was saucy). It’s a stellar fried chicken sandwich.

Unusual (but Satisfying) Shawarma at Shawarnado

Published on November 9, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4870 Tomken Road, Mississauga
Website: https://shawarnado.com/

The chicken shawarma wrap from Shawarnado is… odd. Tasty, but odd.

I guess when you think about it, the tastiness is all that matters. Is it checking the boxes I expect from shawarma? No, not really. But it does taste good, so sure, I’ll allow it.

I ordered the chicken shawarma wrap with everything (except onions, because raw onions are for jerks), which comes with garlic sauce, spicy garlic sauce, tahini sauce, and hummus, along with a whole bunch of veggies — including some unorthodox choices like green peppers (?), shredded carrots (??), and corn (???).

No, not exactly shawarma standbys, but with the deluge of tasty sauces, they mostly just add texture.

I asked for it extra spicy, and yeah, it definitely had a nice kick to it. Between that and the generous amount of zippy and rich sauces, it pretty much can’t help but be a tasty wrap. Those sauces didn’t quite taste like what you’ll normally find in a shawarma wrap, but whatever they were, they were good.

The chicken came out of a warming tray instead of being freshly shaved — never what you want to see — but it wasn’t dry at all, even if it had absolutely none of the crispy bits that typify great shawarma. It actually had a texture that was closer to pulled chicken than traditional shawarma, but again, with all that tasty sauce, it was fine.

The whole thing was so unusual that it reminded me more of a burrito than traditional shawarma, but hey, it tasted good, so I can’t exactly be upset about it.

Satisfying Korean Fried Chicken at bb.q Chicken

Published on October 28, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3038 Hurontario Street, Mississauga
Website: https://bbqchicken.com/

bb.q Chicken is a Korean fried chicken chain with an impressive footprint throughout the globe. According to their website, they have over 3000 locations in 57 countries. Clearly, they’re doing something right.

And yes, sure, there are plenty of huge chains that serve absolutely abysmal food (i.e. pulling a Subway), but you know what? This isn’t one of them. Really tasty fried chicken.

I tried the boneless fried chicken, which can be ordered with various sauces or seasonings; I went with their secret sauce, which they describe as “a sweet and tangy Korean sweet sauce.” Note that they use the word “sweet” twice in that description, and yeah, it is very, very sweet. Borderline too sweet? But it has a nice tanginess and a very mild spiciness that helps to balance out the sweetness, at least somewhat.

And honestly, the chicken itself is so perfectly fried, with a great crunchy (but still fairly light) exterior and a juicy interior. It’s stellar fried chicken.

It comes with a side of the crispiest battered fries that I’ve ever had. I’m normally not crazy about battered fries, but these had an aggressive crunch that I actually quite enjoyed.

I also tried the spicy dukk-bokki (“Stir fried rice cakes & fish cakes in our traditional Korean spicy sauce, topped with green onions and hard boiled egg”), which is a classic Korean dish featuring ultra-chewy rice cakes in a spicy sauce. Unlike the fried chicken, this one is legitimately pretty spicy. The fish cakes are a nice addition, and liven things up. It’s a great dish.

Spicy McVeggie at McDonald’s

Published on September 18, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

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

I tried — and enjoyed! — the McVeggie a few months ago, when McDonald’s was testing it at a few locations in Ontario. Now that it’s on the menu for realsies, I figured I may as well try the spicy version.

The Spicy McVeggie, per the McDonald’s website: “A breaded veggie patty made with a blend of vegetables (including carrots, green beans, zucchini, peas, soybeans, broccoli and corn) and seasoning, topped with shredded lettuce and creamy Habanero sauce, served on a toasted sesame bun.”

It’s the exact same sandwich, just with a spicy sauce. And it’s pretty much as I remember it: it’s not super flavourful, but there’s a nice contrast between the crunchy exterior and softer interior. It’s satisfying.

I think the spicy version is the way to go, with the habanero sauce adding some nice zippiness and a mild kick. It’s nothing too mind-blowing, but I could see myself ordering this again.