Mississauga's East Tea Can Serves Authentic Middle-Eastern Fare Paired With Modern Flair
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Serving Mississauga’s delightful dining scene for nearly a delicious decade, East Tea Can is self-described as “a Middle Eastern restaurant with a modern twist. Everything is made by hand and imported from different areas of the Middle East.”
It had been a few years since my last experience there and a return visit was far overdue.
I skimmed the menu at home the morning of because, well, it’s a thing I do, and made note of a couple of dishes I wanted to try.
Conveniently located on Winston Churchill, a touch north of Dundas, there’s plenty of free parking.
Arriving a few minutes before a 7:30 reservation, (because if you’re not early, you’re late, amirite?) the dining room was a bit more than half full of families, couples, and friends of various ages.
Image via East Tea Can
My guest and I were promptly seated beside the large window looking into part of the kitchen, giving us a superb spot to watch the bread being made by hand before being fed into the oven to cook.
There’s just enough variety in the menu to balance simplicity with being overwhelmed and after a short exchange of suggestions between myself and guest, here’s what we decided on:
The Dips Board A selection of our most popular dips: Legendary Hummus, Beetroot Hummus, Amba Hummus, Baba Ghannoush.
Authentic Shish Tawouk Grilled yogurt lemon-marinated chicken breast chunks
Lamb Shank | Quzi House spiced and slow cooked lamb shank served with basmati saffron rice, cucumber yogurt and lamb gravy.
Grilled Halloumi Cheese Bowl Seasonal Fattoush salad, boiled quinoa, zaatar labneh, grilled halloumi cheese, Kalamanta olives and Medjool dates
And, if anyone out there knows anything about my dining habits, a frosty can of ginger ale was also ordered.
The Dips Board came first and the hummus portions were right-sized as an appetizer, with all four dips tasting fresh and for the record, their Legendary Hummus is aptly named.
The following three main dishes came simultaneously, filling our square table with mouthwatering meals, all beautifully presented.
Again, the portions are right-sized and the value-for-dollar ratio scores very well.
While all three were scrumptious, the Shish Tawouk is something that I could eat daily with ease. No shade against the well-prepared lamb or colourfully tasty Halloumi dish, none at all. It’s the perfectly seasoned chicken chunks and fluffy Basmati saffron rice that makes me melt.
Glancing at the dining room between bites, the decor is tasteful, the light fixtures tastefully done and the dining room well-organized.
There’s another right-sized menu here, this time with tea and coffee options and while I didn’t have any during this visit, I’ll be going back to try a few of those menu items.
East Tea Can strives to consistently create and serve authentic Middle Eastern Dishes so whether it’s your first or 50th time there, you’ll have the same quality of food.
That pairs well with their mission statement; “To excel in Middle Eastern Food and taste , so that our customers experience the distinctive flavour of the Middle East every time.”
Food is one of the few things that can bring anyone together and through it, a universal language is spoken fluently. Here at East Tea Can, creating authentic dishes and flavours is what they do and they welcome you to experience it yourself.
eastteacan.com
