Vietnamese – Michael Eats

Stellar Banh Mi at Ba Le House

Published on March 16, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1125 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: None

Ba Le house is clearly doing well — it’s actually an off-shoot of Banh Mi Ba Le, which is in the same plaza just a few stores over. I guess business was brisk enough that they were able to open a second store (which is a bit confusing — if you try to order a banh mi at Banh Mi Ba Le, they’ll direct you to Be Le House instead).

I’m very glad that this place is doing well. There’s actually another, completely unrelated banh mi joint around the corner in the same plaza, Banh Mi Saigon, and I sort of figured that Ba Le would be about the same — good but not great.

I could not have been more wrong. I got the classic assorted cold cut banh mi, and holy moly it was good. Probably the best banh mi I’ve had in the GTA.

Everything about it just works; it’s meaty, porky, and delicious. The proportion of cold cuts (which I’m guessing that they make in house, and which are a cut above the norm) to zingy veggies to fresh bread is just right. There’s a nice slathering of creamy mayo and tasty pate, it’s got a mild but noticeable kick, and a slight sweetness from the hoisin.

And the bread is great; it’s got a delicately crispy exterior and a fluffy but substantial interior that holds up to all the filling quite nicely. A lot of banh mi can wreck the roof of your mouth of you’re not careful; this one has a delightful crispiness that you can still eat with aplomb. No risk of mouth shredding here.

The sandwich comes up to five bucks even, which is an absolute steal for the level of quality that they’re serving up. It’s so good.

A Tasty Yogurt Dessert at Xe Kem

Published on January 24, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 888 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: https://www.xekem.ca/

Though they bill themselves as an ice cream shop, Xe Kem actually serves a whole bunch of Vietnamese-inspired desserts, including cakes, puddings, and yogurt.

I was tempted to try the ice cream — they have a handful of scooped flavours on offer, as well as soft serve you can get in a traditional or a charcoal cone — but one of the yogurts was calling my name.

I tried the purple sticky rice yogurt, which I quite enjoyed. The yogurt itself was sweet and creamy, and the rice has a nice chewy texture. It’s basically like rice pudding, but yogurty. I don’t think it’s going to knock anyone’s socks off, but it’s thoroughly satisfying.

Tasty Banh Mi at Ca Phe Rang

Published on January 17, 2023 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 147 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://capherang.ca/

Ca Phe Rang is a Vietnamese joint that was opened by celebrity chef Matty Matheson along with his mentor, Rang Nguyen. The menu consists mostly of banh mi and pho (which can be combined by ordering a bowl of pho dipping sauce to go with your sandwich).

I tried a couple of the banh mi, along with the dipping sauce.

First up was the pork (“Roasted and glazed pork. Bánh mì comes with pâté, carrot, daikon, cucumber, jalapeno, cilantro, Thai basil, white onion, spicy chili paste”). I’ll admit that I wasn’t crazy about this. The pork was dry and mostly flavourless, and if there was pate in the sandwich, I couldn’t taste it. The generous pile of zingy veggies and fresh cilantro are quite tasty, but the sandwich really needed some kind of sauce to bring some moisture and flavour.

(There is the pho dip — which tastes like a pretty standard pho broth — which helps quite a lot. But this is an optional $3 add-on, so you’d think the sandwich would be able to stand on its own.)

The brisket (“Roasted and glazed brisket. Bánh Mì comes with pâté, carrot, daikon, cucumber, jalapeno, cilantro, white onion, spicy chili paste”) is substantially better. Again, the pate was either MIA or applied so sparingly that it may as well not be there. But the meat is super tender, and it’s saucy and flavourful enough that the sandwich never feels dry like the pork. It’s actually fairy sweet, but the vinegary bite of the veggies does a great job of balancing this out. This one doesn’t need the dip at all; it’s thoroughly delicious on its own.

Ketchup Ice Cream (and More!) at The Ex

Published on August 25, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 210 Princes’ Boulevard, Toronto
Website: https://theex.com/

The Ex! It’s back! And clearly I’m not the only person excited about this, because despite going in the middle of the week after work, the place was as crowded as I’ve ever seen it. Clearly, there’s a lot of pent-up demand for sketchy rides, junky food, and stores selling random knick-knacks.

Of course, I was there for the food, and yes, I tried the ketchup ice cream.

Two dollar spaghetti from Primo Spaghetti

This place has been around forever, though this was my first time actually trying it. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d think a two dollar serving of spaghetti at a carnival would be: the sauce tasted like the cheapest stuff you can buy at the supermarket, and the spaghetti was overcooked mush.

Deep fried perogies from The Perogy Chef

This is another place that’s been around forever; I’ve tried this one before and I knew it would be good, and indeed it was. The perogies are tender, tasty, and slightly crispy on their exterior, and they’re doused in an oily sauce and a bunch of sweet caramelized onions. The sour cream on the side adds a nice creamy zing that rounds things out quite well. It’s a tasty snack.

Flamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich from Fried Chicken Sandwiches

This place promises a chicken sandwich that’s tossed in chipotle mayo and coated in Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Alas, the Cheetos (or Cheeto crumbs, more accurately) are just mounded on top, which isn’t quite as fun from an appearance or a taste perspective. The whole thing is fine — it’s not the best fried chicken sandwich I’ve ever had, and it’s not the worst — but it barely has any Flamin’ Hot taste or texture.

Viet Burrito from Pho 88

This is less of a burrito and more of an overstuffed fresh roll, but it’s still pretty tasty; it’s crammed with noodles, various veggies, chicken, and a whole spring roll, and it’s wrapped in rice paper. It would have been nice if the peanut sauce were in the wrap instead of on the side (it’s a bit dry), but otherwise this was pretty good. It’s basically like a Vietnamese vermicelli noodle bowl, but crammed into a handheld package.

Fried cheese curds from the Midway

I wasn’t expecting it, but this might have been the best thing I ate at the Ex this year. The curds are gooey and tasty, and the super satisfying crispy exterior doesn’t overwhelm. It’s basically like a mozzarella stick, but better. There’s not much more to say about this one. It’s fried cheese. It’s great.

Ketchup ice cream from the Midway

Of course I tried the ketchup ice cream. How could I not? They also serve mustard ice cream; I was hoping to get both in a twist, but alas, that wasn’t an option. I suppose I could have ordered one of each, but one of these things costs twelve bucks and I wasn’t about to spend over twenty dollars on novelty ice cream. Anyway, it wasn’t bad! Would I eat it again? Absolutely not, but considering how disgusting this could have been, the fact that it’s actually pretty okay is kind of a miracle. It has an unmistakable but (and this is key) not overwhelming ketchup flavour, which combines surprisingly well with the ice cream. The ketchup flavour is present enough that you know exactly what you’re eating, but subtle enough to let the sweet ice cream be the star of the show. It’s not gross!

Quick Bites: Pho Tien Thanh, Ice Creamonology, Nani’s Gelato

Published on June 29, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

BBQ Pork on Vermicelli at Pho Tien Thanh

Not a ton to say about this one — aside from the pork being a bit dry, this was a tasty version of a classic dish. Most of the herbs and veggies are under the noodles, so you’ll just have to take my word for it, but there was a really good proportion of meat, noodles, herbs, and vegetables. The meat was a little bit sweet and nicely savoury, and the whole thing was thoroughly enjoyable, if nothing too mind-blowing.

Blueberry White Chocolate Cheesecake at Ice Creamonology

I wasn’t crazy about Ice Creamonology on my first visit, but I’ve been back a couple of times and it’s definitely getting better (or maybe it’s just growing on me?). The ice cream is nice and creamy, and while it’s still a bit stretchier than your average scoop, it’s not as gummy as it was the first time I tried it. I will say, however, that I haven’t been back since they’ve moved to Queens Quay, so I have no idea how it holds up now.

Pumpkin Pie soft serve at Nani’s Gelato

I recently mentioned that the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard from Dairy Queen is the king of Blizzards, and this is basically just that, but a billion times better. I tried this last October (I’m still working my way through my backlog since the blog came back from hiatus); if you like pumpkin pie, the next time Nani’s brings this back (hopefully sooner than next October), you need to try it. It’s so good.