Marvel-ous Mississauga actor Simu Liu chats about a Square One store that was never there

Mississauga native and Hollywood star Simu Liu’s acting career can most recently be described as being as hot as the chicken wing he feasted on during a recent appearance on the popular YouTube web series Hot Ones. 

But his memory, at least on one particular point related to his home town, maybe isn’t so hot.  

Liu, star of Marvel’s 2021 mega-hit Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, talked about his career, growing up in Mississauga and other things as he went toe-to-toe with host Sean Evans in downing the spicy wings. 

Just before running into some trouble about mid-way through the video with an insanely hot wing, Liu, 32, spoke about hanging out at Square One Shopping Centre in his youth.  

Describing the mall as the largest in Ontario, he continued: 

“That was the place to hang out, especially if you’re underage. You just hang out at the mall, you watch movies. One of my first jobs ever, I was a ‘model’ at Abercrombie and Fitch,“ he tells Evans, emphasizing the ‘model’ reference is a joke. 

That’s where his memory seems to have failed him, because there never was an Abercrombie and Fitch at Square One. Maybe he meant another large nearby mall, just over the border in Toronto. 

Liu can certainly be excused for the tiny misstep, as the chicken wings were becoming increasingly hotter.  

Moments later, downing the tasty pub grub turned into a struggle for him after biting into a wing coated in Da Bomb Beyond Insanity sauce. It rates 135,600 on the Scoville scale, which measures the heat in peppers and sauces.  

By comparison, Frank’s Red Hot Sauce is a 450 rating while Tabasco Hot Sauce checks in at 2,500 on the scale. 

“Let’s do it,” he says when challenged to try the wing. “I’m ready.” 

Immediately after digging in, and after a couple of “Oh my gods!”, he calls for an “antidote” and takes a swig of a drink. Not doing the trick, he grabs a glass of ice water. 

“I need the ice,” he says, struggling to catch a breath to speak. 

I'm gonna level with you guys I just ate some really spicy wings and I'm spiralling a bit my stomach is a mess I still can't feel my lips it's a goddamn crisis

— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) November 23, 2021

The YouTube session with Evans was shot on Nov. 22, two days after Liu hosted NBC’s iconic Saturday Night Live. The actor, who also starred on CBC sitcom Kim’s Convenience, immediately related his chicken wing experience via Twitter. 

“I’m gonna level with you guys. I just ate some really spicy wings and I’m spiralling a bit, my stomach is a mess. I still can’t feel my lips. It’s a goddamn crisis,” he tweeted.