sweet – Page 14 – Michael Eats

Greek Doughnuts at Mr. Puffs

Published on January 15, 2023January 15, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1425 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://mrpuffs.com/

Mr. Puffs is a chain that specializes in fried doughnut holes — they’re basically Greek-style loukoumades, though the menu and website never uses that word, referring to them only as puffs.

The puffs come topped with various sauces and flavours; the woman behind the counter said that honey cinnamon and sugar cinnamon are the two most popular, so I got six of each (an order of 12, which comes out to about eight bucks, is the smallest you can get).

This location has just opened, so I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they’re still working out the kinks. This style of doughnut is generally soaked in syrup, but the syrup was just drizzled on here, resulting in a final product that was just barely sweet (and the sugar cinnamon variety had the same issue). The doughnuts mostly tasted of the oil they were fried in.

I also think that the oil might have been a bit too hot, because the exterior was aggressively crispy (I could barely put a fork through it) and the interior was soft and gummy.

Still, despite the issues, it’s a fun concept — assuming they work out the kinks, it’s definitely worth checking out.

A Tasty Dessert at Old Mill Pastry & Deli

Published on December 8, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 385 The West Mall, Etobicoke
Website: https://oldmillpastry.ca/

Old Mill Pastry & Deli is an unassuming little place that sells a bunch of European groceries, along with pastries like burek and the thing I tried, a delightful Turkish dessert called tulumba.

I wasn’t familiar with this particular dessert until I tried it here, and clearly I’ve been missing out because it’s delicious.

The closest thing I can compare it to is a churro; they’re both fried tube-like pastries with ridges along the outside.

But the tulumba is thicker and soaked in syrup — I guess it’s kind of like if a churro and a Greek doughnut (a.k.a. loukoumades) had a baby. It’s syrupy but not overly sweet, with an interior that’s heartier than a traditional doughnut with an almost custardy flavour, and an exterior that has a satisfying crunch that’s amped up by those ridges. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed this.

Quick Bites: Pizzeria Via Napoli, Ikkoi Japanese Family Cuisine, Nani’s Gelato

Published on November 17, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Margherita pizza from Pizzeria Via Napoli

I suppose you could order something from a Neapolitan pizza joint that isn’t a margherita pizza, but why would you? As I’ve mentioned before, it’s the perfect food. It’s also a great test of a restaurant’s chops, because it’s so simple that if your technique isn’t on point, and if the ingredients you’re working with aren’t great, it’s going to show. Pizzeria Via Napoli’s version absolutely hits it out of the park; the crust is flavourful, perfectly chewy, and has a good amount of char on its exterior (including the bottom of the slice). And the other ingredients are just right. Margherita test: passed!

Ramen from Ikkoi Japanese Family Cuisine

Speaking of food that’s perfect: ramen. It’s the best. I ordered the tonkotsu ramen from Ikkoi (they serve several other styles of ramen, along with sushi and other Japanese standbys), and it’s pretty decent. Is it the best bowl of ramen that I’ve ever had? No; their menu is so broad that they’re probably spreading themselves a bit thin. But there’s also absolutely nothing wrong with it. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but if you’re in the area and you’re craving a bowl of ramen, it’s worth a shot.

Dark Chocolate Oreo at Nani’s Gelato

Nani’s continues to be great. I don’t particularly feel the need to write about Nani’s every time I eat there, because I think it’s fairly clear by this point that I think Nani’s serves some truly stellar gelato. But I would like to note that, even though it’s not technically on the menu, Nani’s does have a kids size cup that’s pretty much the perfect amount if you’re not super hungry. It’s the same size cup as the small, but the gelato pretty much only goes to the brim instead of being mounded way up. I’m not sure why they don’t advertise this size, but I’m definitely glad I know it exists. And now you do too!

Delicious Pastries at Choux Lab

Published on October 25, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 386 Royal York Road, Toronto
Website: None

Remember Beard Papa? Because I certainly do! That was (and still is, though their only Canadian locations are in Vancouver) a delightful Japanese chain that specialized in delicious cream puffs. They used to have a location in the Pacific Mall, but then they broke hearts across the GTA by shutting down like a bunch of jerks.

Sadly, there’s no indication that they’re coming back anytime soon, but in the meanwhile, we’ve got Choux Lab.

Choux Lab serves up choux pastries (which are light and fluffy, with a crispy exterior) with a variety of fillings. The vanilla is probably the most Beard-Papa-esque, but they were actually handing out samples of that one, and it was delicious (and indeed, did remind me of Beard Papa, with a creamy, custardy filling), so I figured I’d order something else.

I went with the hazelnut, and it was very, very good. The filling was rich and ultra-creamy, with a great hazelnut flavour and a nice balance of sweetness — sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. Beard Papa used to fill their puffs to order, and I was worried that the pre-made ones they serve here might lack that great crispy/fluffy/creamy combo. But the one I tried wasn’t soggy at all, and all the textures were right where they should be.

Choux Lab is just a few stores over from San Remo, and I worry that everyone will just stick with the reliable deliciousness there and not give this place a shot. But everyone needs to check this place out; I need them to stick around forever and not break my heart like Beard Papa did.

Tasty Sweet Buns at Akko Cake House

Published on October 20, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4040 Creditview Road #1, Mississauga
Website: None

Akko Cake House is a bit oddly named. They do have a handful of cakes at the front, but mostly, this is a fairly standard Chinese bakery with a whole bunch of sweet and savoury buns and tarts.

I tried a few sweet buns: coconut, custard, and walnut.

The pastry itself was quite good — it was fresh, a little bit sweet, and super fluffy.

I was intrigued about the walnut variety; I don’t recall ever seeing a walnut bun before, and I’ve certainly never tried one. It was fairly subtle, however, with a very thin layer of walnut paste and a few walnut chunks. It tasted more like a plain bun with a mild walnut flavour.

The custard was about what you’d expect. It was sweet, creamy, and tasty.

The coconut bun was where it was at. The generous filling was really tasty, with a nice coconut flavour. It also has a surprisingly strong hit of salt that does a great job of rounding out the sweetness. It’s really good. The bakery was packed (the line was to the door when I left), and with buns that good, it’s easy enough to see why.