Square One – Page 2 – Michael Eats

Tasty Buns at Bao Mama

Published on April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga
Website: https://baomama.ca/

Bao Mama currently has a temporary pop-up in the Food District at Square One (until April 16th), but if you miss them there, you can check out their permanent location in Scarborough. And you might want to do that, because their Filipino-inspired buns are thoroughly tasty.

The first one I tried was the hip hipon crispy shrimp bao, which features crispy fried shrimp topped with a zingy sauce and “Asian house slaw.” The shrimp was a bit overcooked, but this was otherwise quite satisfying, with a nice contrast between the fluffy bao and the crispy fried shrimp, not to mention the tasty slaw and the slightly sweet sauce.

I also tried the triple B braised beef asado bao, which is stuffed with a generous amount of tender braised beef, and topped with the house slaw and crispy onions. This was easily my favourite of the two; that ultra-tender, very flavourful beef is something special.

They have a tangy, sweet chili sauce you can get on the side, and this stuff is a must — it complements both baos perfectly, and does a great job of amping up the flavours and adding a mild kick.

Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles at Gol’s Lanzhou Noodle

Published on October 29, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (inside Square One)
Website: https://lanzhou.ca/

There’s something both delightful and bizarre about the presence of Gol’s Lanzhou Noodle in Square One’s food court. It’s hard to imagine a place serving legit Chinese hand-pulled noodles — nestled between a KFC and a cheesesteak joint — being able to exist in a suburban shopping mall like Square One even just a decade ago.

But it’s here now, and it’s surprisingly great.

I had the beef noodle soup, and I was shocked at how good it was. It’s not the best bowl of noodles you’ll ever eat, but it’s seriously tasty for something in a mall’s food court. It’s not even in Square One’s fancy new “Food District” — it’s in the plain old food court, right near places like A&W and Manchu Wok.

(Sorry, I know I’m harping on its location, but it kinda blows my mind.)

And yes, they serve real-deal hand-pulled noodles; they’re freshly pulled to order, and you can watch them do it (which is always an oddly hypnotic display).

It’s a tasty bowl. The soup is a bit too salty, but it has a clean beefy flavour with a nice hit of freshness from the cilantro. It comes with a healthy amount of chili oil on the side; I wish this stuff were spicier (it’s just barely hot), but it has a fantastic smoky/savoury flavour that really kicks up the flavour of the soup.

The sliced beef had a slight leftovery flavour, but was otherwise tender and enjoyable.

And the medium-thick noodles are great. They were ever-so-slightly on the soft side, but they were nice and hearty, with a satisfying level of chew.

Danish Cinnamon Rolls at Brod

Published on July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (inside Square One)
Website: https://shopsquareone.com/brod

If the only cinnamon rolls you’re familiar with are the doughy and diabetes-inducing ones they serve at Cinnabon, Danish-style cinnamon rolls (a.k.a. kanelsnegl) are going to come as something of a shock. It’s like comparing “Macho Man” Randy Savage to Daniel Day Lewis. They’re both entertainers, but that’s about where the similarities end.

The kanelsnegl at Brod is solid. The pastry is quite nice — it’s flaky and a bit buttery, with crispy outer ring that eventually gives way to a softer, sweeter interior.

It’s a little bit bland, however; the pastry itself doesn’t have a ton of flavour, and the cinnamon/sugar level is probably a notch or two more restrained than it needs to be.

I know it’s not fair, but I couldn’t help but compare it to the kanelsnegls I had on a recent trip to Copenhagen, and there’s no contest. Those ones featured a much better balance of sweetness, with the pastry itself being downright magical.

Still, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what they’re serving at Brod. It’s not amazing, but it’s very good.

Seed to Sausage Meatery at the Food District in Square One

Published on June 20, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (inside Square One)
Website: https://www.seedtosausage.ca/

The Food District in Square One is the latest in the recent trend of upmarket food courts that have been popping up throughout the city. This is one of the more delightful food trends of late. All the convenience of a food court, but with above average food? Yes please.

Or is it above average? Maybe not. Enter: Seed to Sausage Meatery, which has an “award-winning” Montreal smoked meat sandwich on their menu (though the menu isn’t forthcoming on what this mysterious award might actually be).

Award-winning or not, I can’t say no to a smoked meat sandwich.

Alas, it’s not great. The meat is very thinly machine-sliced; normally I prefer the more satisfying thickness of hand-cut meat, but in this case, that just isn’t possible. If you sliced this meat too thickly, it’d be like trying to eat your belt. It would be completely inedible.

It’s tough. The fat is just barely rendered, and the meat is dry and sinewy and difficult to bite through. And yet somehow, it’s absolutely dripping with grease. It might be the greasiest smoked meat sandwich I’ve ever had. The grease soaked through the bread and turned it into mush in parts.

It’s too bad, because the flavour is actually pretty good. It’s a touch too salty, but it’s nicely spiced and has a mild but satisfying smokiness. And the fresh, tasty bread was way above average — it was the best part of the sandwich by far. So there’s definitely potential there.

I got a salad on the side instead of fries, which was clearly a mistake. I went with the field greens salad, which comes with a vinaigrette that’s so intensely sweet you could put it on ice cream. Remember Tahiti Treat? I hadn’t thought about that soda in years, but as soon as I tried the dressing here, I flashed right back. That’s how sweet it was.

It’s technically food court fare, so at least if the meal had been cheap, it might be possible to overlook some of its issues. It isn’t; it’s $15.95 for the sandwich and one side, which makes it more expensive than unambiguously superior restaurants like Centre Street Deli and SumiLicious.

Delicious Butter Tarts at Abbey’s Bakehouse

Published on June 17, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (inside Square One)
Website: http://www.sircorp.com/abbeys-bakehouse/

I love butter tarts, but they’re one of those things that I’m sometimes wary to order; when they’re tasty they’re very tasty, but they can easily be throat-burningly sweet.

But I had specifically heard that the tarts at Abbey’s are quite good, so it seemed like a safe enough bet.

They’re not just good. They’re great. I’m not sure if they’re quite on the level of the Maids’ Cottage in Newmarket, which serves my favourite butter tarts in the GTA, but they’re clearly way above average.

The filling is sweet but not too sweet, with a rich caramelized flavour and a nice gooey consistency. The crust is great too — it’s buttery and shortbready, and compliments the sweet filling perfectly.

The crust-to-filling ratio is also on point. This can easily trip up a lesser butter tart, but here the balance is just right — there’s enough crust to offset the sweet filling, but not so much that it dominates. It’s delicious.