Bakery Gateau

Bakery: Bakery Gateau
Address: 7040 Yonge St, Toronto ON (inside Galleria Supermarket) 
Website: http://www.bakerygateau.com/
Style: Korean
Price: $$

Popping into Galleria for a late lunch (which turned out to be far from the most appetizing Korean meal I've had :/), I thought it a perfect opportunity to try the bakery at the same time. With the memory of Baro Gun Pang still fresh in my mind, I couldn't wait to try yet another Korean bakery. Unfortunately, Gateau is like the other food stalls in the Galleria "mall": not very good and somewhat disappointing.

Baked goods are slightly more expensive; there wasn't very much selection on Saturday afternoon and, what was more, nothing except the "doughnut" had the impeccable freshness I've come to expect from Korean bakeries. (And be aware that there were no macarons as on the website or anything, for that matter, resembling French baked goods -- perhaps their other York Mills location has more??) Everything is clearly labelled and priced, though. Expect your usual Korean baked goods: individual buns stuffed with various bean or cream fillings, cream roll cakes, and a couple savoury items (hot dog buns and croquettes).

So, for the testing I took three items and why not save best for last? ;) First item was the red bean peanut crunch bun ($1.85); it was $0.25 cents to upgrade from the red bean to the peanut and I'm not quite sure it was worth it. The combination wasn't the greatest. Personally, I don't think it matched, especially when it was more peanut butter than actual nuts, which I think would have matched more. Perhaps those who are a fan of peanut butter and jam would like this; I, for one, am not, so I'll definitely pass on this one next time.

A fan of Korean cream buns, I was a little disappointed that these guys didn't really have any except this choux cream bun ($1.30), which was more of a thick pancake folded over a generous dollop of a thicker custard-like cream. The cream was pretty good; it wasn't the usual butter cream I was hoping for *pouts*, but it was alright. The dough tasted stale though. Personally I thought the dough too dry for a thick cream; the two didn't go together that well, in my opinion.

There was, however, one redeeming factor: the sesame rice doughnut (I forgot the exact wording, sorry .___.;; $1.60), a lightweight, cruller-like doughnut with an airy inside and a crunchy exterior, rolled in sugar. This was fantastic! and the highlight of the trip. It doesn't look like much, but one bite will get you hooked. No wonder they also sell these in three-packs. ^^;

So, with lunch being a total flop, I guess the bakery trip couldn't be too spectacular. :( But at least one good thing came out of it...

Rating: **1/2