Sunnlenska Bókakaffið [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Sunnlenska Bókakaffið
Address: Austurvegi 22, Selfoss
Website: http://bokakaffid.blog.is
Style: Icelandic
Price: --

I wasn't even thinking of putting this up at first, but looking back at my pictures, I was thinking: wait a minute! I got a Cake Tour almost every day I was here without even knowing it! O_O Whoa! Anyways, Sunnlenska is actually a bookstore/cafe... rather *the* bookstore/cafe in Selfoss, and not a bakery per se, but as with many cafes, you can find a few original goodies and well, this one just happens to be the home of the so-called "Waffle Party".

What on earth am I talking about? Well, for those who may not know, I volunteered at this very bookstore/cafe this summer and one perk was being hauled in almost every afternoon to what two of the other volunteers had termed "the Waffle Party" (you can buy everything on the small menu -- from drinks to waffles to "kleinur", Icelandic doughnuts -- but we got it all for free, so nah nah nah, no prices this time! :P). I swear, this turned into a highlight for many: taking a break from well, doing little work as it was, sitting down at the table or on the comfy sofas, and watching as one treat heaping with freshly whipped cream after another was deposited in front of us. So, here's this Waffle Party, step-by-step:

First came the drinks. Sometimes it was hot cocoa; other times it was Swiss Mocha. Always served with almost *too* much whipped cream and shredded chocolate on top and a piece of chocolate on the side (and a glass of water), as though the contents themselves weren't chocolatey enough. ;D Once Bjarni, the owner, made me some really good 'Pakistani milk tea' which would also go well with the waffles if you're not willing to go all out, calorie-wise. ;)

Next came the waffles, hot off the iron: crunchy on the edges and soft on the inside, with a dab of rhubarb jam in the middle (I actually bought some to take with me, but no one at home was willing to give the Party a try XP) The self-serve whipped cream (always fresh) is then plopped on top and then, well, it's pretty much as you like it. I loved (I will say I added more than usual just for the sake of this photo.. *ignores disbelieving laughs* ) mixing the jam and whipped cream and then spreading that all around so that the dough softened a little bit. Mmmmm... so good! And several times a week too... *-*


*sighs* Looking at this is bringing back all sorts of memories -- I do think that when (yes, it's always will be a "when") I return to Iceland, a visit back to Sunnlenska will be inevitable, not only for sentimental reasons, but for the waffles. :) Especially as I don't know how long I'll have to wait for one the volunteers to hold true to their promise of making a North American "Waffle Party" chain. :DDDDD

Rating: ***1/2

Coco [Mimi's World Tour]

 Bakery: Coco 
Address: Estonia pst 9, Tallinn (inside Solaris Keskus) 
Website: n/a 
Style: Estonian, Eastern European 
Price: $$$

Wah, with this post my Estonia trip comes to a close (actually, it brings my trip to an end, but I have a few informal reviews to do from Iceland). Just in terms of baked goods, my trip was far too short and I would have loved to hunt for more goodies, but alas, that's life.

Coco was my last stop and turned out to be the most disappointing. This bakery/cafe with the fancy facade is in the basement of the Solaris Keskus (shopping centre), right next to the supermarket. They seem to be more a place for a quick bite, as they seem to be more bread-oriented, though they had some cakes and -- as you'll see --the traditional poppy seed bun which I love so much. :3 I personally found them overpriced, especially after the past three days of buys, but I had made the walk here and didn't want to leave empty-handed. I could expect a cafe in Old Town to be overpriced, because well, there's no surprise there. Coco's location nor their selection warranted paying double for the same thing I bought in Old Town for 60 cents. I can't say the taste was worth it either.

Nevertheless, I bought a poppy seed bun (1,10 euro), because seriously, could you expect anything else from me? As with the one I got before, it was a lovely spiral rolled with whole poppy seeds and lemon marmalade. In this sense, I really can't say it disappointed: nice, airy dough and plenty of poppy seeds (the complexity of the spiral kind of made this a given) At the same time, it wasn't necessarily stunning: the marmalade and dough together got a bit slimy wherever there wasn't enough poppy seeds so the texture wasn't the most pleasant and there was a slight bitterness to it. Still good, but I must say I preferred the one from Maiasmokk better. And you'd get two for the price of one from Coco. Pff, need I say more? :P

Rating: **1/2

Pagaripoisid [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Pagaripoisid
Address: Vana-Lõuna 37, Tallinn 
Website: http://www.pagaripoisid.ee/ 
Style: Estonian 
Price: $ 

[Due to a lack of local bakeries pending review -- okay, none for the moment -- I thought I'd delve into my old holiday locations as there are a few more to go through before my reserves totally dry up. Which means I'll need to go a-visiting :D]

I came to Tallinn with a list of eight or nine "cafes" in and around Old Town, but on the first two days I realized that my list really wasn't what I was expecting to find. Yes, there are tons of these little "kohvik" in Tallinn and, while many do make their own goodies, they don't have a lot, they're fairly expensive, and the stress is on the coffee part. As such, I somewhat threw out my list and scurried online while there and did a search for bakeries instead. Doing this in English was a bit of a challenge (mostly because, as I mentioned beforehand, people really don't venture outside of Old Town -- a shame, imho -- and there are none there), but one of the only places I did find was Pagaripoisid, a bakery (chain, I believe?) with almost everything on the edge of Toompea Park and near where you climb the stairs down from the panorama. Despite the lack of poppy seed buns (though their website has them -- at 30 (!!) cents each) while I was there, these guys did end up being my favourite.

First of all, they're ridiculously cheap and more cheap than the cheap Kohvik Narva: baked goods for 30-40 cents and cake slices for around 60. Yes, seriously! I was just more blown away with each coming day (until the next day, that is -_-) On top of that, they just have a little bit of everything: more traditional, home-baked goods like simple cheese cakes and yeast goodies, fancier tortes and pastries; heck, they've even got muffins and brownies for the extremely unadventurous. ;D They also seem to change their selection according to season (especially since I couldn't find my purchase on their list).

So, let's get into it: I was thinking about the baked goods, since this is really my favourite in any cuisine, but I thought I could not pass up cake slices for 60 cents! Like, really, what else could be done? :P I picked out one slice of cheesecake ("kohupiimakook", 60 cents) because a) it looked good and b) it had that homemade charm to it that I couldn't resist. Mmm.. so good! A wonderfully moist cheesecake with the kind of cheese mass I love (I like to call it "Russian-style", but this my own invention :D), though maybe with a tad too many raisins, but that's only because I happen not to like raisins. Heh heh heh... So yummy!

The highlight definitely had to be the rhubarb cake (45 cents), a traditional Estonian summer cake which I took because it looked good and I had been craving rhubarb cake since having been served an amazing rhubarb cake in Iceland (it'll be a future post, even though you're not too likely to find the maker of it ^^). This did not disappoint at all, despite it being different in style: two thick moist layers of sponge cake stuffed with a spiced filling of fresh rhubarb. And of course, there's that powdered vanilla sugar yet again. This was SO good. [And in keeping with the park theme, these were photographed -- with the rhubarb cake being eaten -- in nearby Toompea Park ^^] The best I had... without any poppy seeds in it. And even then, it might have beaten those poppy seed buns as well. SO tasty!!!

Seriously, Pagaripoisid isn't like the countless cafes (though, you can sit there and get a coffee as well) within and around the walls of Old Town, but who really cares when their treats are so delicious? I certainly don't. I left very impressed... and loved Tallinn a little more after seeing this place. ;DDDD

Rating: ****

Kohvik Narva [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Kohvik Narva
Address: Narva mnt 10, Tallinn
Website: http://www.kohviknarva.ee/ 
Style: Estonian, Eastern European
Price: $

This one was actually quite accidental and I wasn't really planning on buying more sweets until eating the ones from my previous trip, but I really can't complain. On my "scenic" (I was following Lonely Planet's walking tour of Tallinn and this was supposed to be Soviet-era leg) tour of scorching Tallinn, I was walking past this little, unassuming cafe and then this whiff of freshly baked sweet yeast goods just came at me. It was so strong, so delicious (seriously, I don't know what it is, but not enough bakeries smell like freshly baked goodies anymore!) that I retraced my steps and ended up in front of Kohvik Narva or, rather, the Kohvik Narva, which seems to have gotten a (international) reputation of serving classic tastes of the USSR. I can't say I found anything overly dated about their sweet cheese or nut buns and traditional cheesecake (the one I love so much XD): you'll find similar if not the same things in Eastern European bakeries on location and here as well. Unlike other people online, I wasn't here for my dose of Soviet nostalgia, but it was enough for me to smell the aroma coming from the door... and to see the line of people that actually went out the door as well! That is always my sign that I *have* to check this place out!

And I did. ^^ Once you make it to the front, there are baskets behind the window showing off various individual sweet buns, almost all dusted with vanilla sugar and stuffed with either nuts, sweet cheese, cinnamon or fruit, and a few slab cakes (cheesecake and a fruit-topped cake is what I remember) sold by weight. The prices are ridiculously cheap: buns are around 50 cents and per weight items were something like 4 euros per kilo (!). I thought at first it was simply coming from Finland that made the prices so amazing, but compared to the places in and around Old Town (alas, I didn't have enough time to wander farther and explore bakeries in the non-tourist zone, though I probably went farther than most do) this place is Cheap; yes, with a capital C. I continued on my subsequent Cake Tour with this idea in my head that Tallinn has amazingly affordable baked goods and I was pretty disappointed in that sense. :/ Still: Kohvik Narva = eat your fill for under 1e!

So, with my extremely limited to nonexistent Estonian, I was eyeing what I knew to be the cinnamon twists and strawberry, I believe, sweet buns with crumble and sugar on top. Unfortunately, this place just keeps selling and selling, so it's no wonder they keep well, baking and baking -- the woman in front of me took the entire remaining basket (around 6) of fruit buns and I was at a loss of what to pick instead. Not fair. *pouts*

Nonetheless, I did end up with what I call the cinnamon twists (45 cents each), a soft yeast folded with a generous amount of sticky cinnamon mass and dusted with, you guessed it, vanilla sugar. ;) I've had North American cinnamon buns, Scandinavian cinnamon buns and this was my first time trying the Eastern European variety.. and it was a pass! So soft, so cinnamon-y without being too sweet  -- mmmm... I had one of these on a bench at Kadriorg Park (this was where the photos were taken! ^^) and got the powdered sugar all over me; oh, the memories! :)

So, not wanting just one thing, I settled for what I highly suspected to be a sweet cheese bun (60 cents) and I was right. It looked so nice though.. I say though, because I'm actually not that fond of sweet cheese in baked goods. It's a staple of Eastern European baking, so I suppose it was inevitable having to trying it eventually. ;D Actually, it was pretty good after all: the same deliciously fluffy dough folded over a surprisingly generous (for 60 cents) sweet cheese stuffing. Perhaps there was a little too much for my liking (and, alas, the heat had caused the powdered sugar to melt off this one -- it was so hot ;_;), but it was still fresh and tasty, and not a lot beats tasty baked goods fresh from the oven!

Seeing as it's not too much off the beaten path for tourists (though, to be fair, I can't say I saw any in the area :/), this place is definitely worth the visit, especially when you're on a budget and you'd rather settle for some great home-style baking (versus the French-inspired creations of many places in Old Town)~! ^.^

Rating: ***1/2 

The Danish Pastry House [Updated]

Bakery: The Danish Pastry House
Address: 487 Cornwall Rd, Oakville ON
Website: www.danishpastryhouse.ca
Style: Danish
Price: $$ 

[Note: The following review applies to the old Port Credit location only; for an updated version of the new Oakville location, please scroll down!]

OMG. O. M. G. There exists a little piece of heaven in Mississauga. More accurately, there exists a little piece of Denmark in Mississauga. Yes, Denmark. And yes, in Mississauga! If I didn't just eat it, I might have thought I was still dreaming, because it's a miracle, a miracle that I would have thought completely impossible! Squeeeeeaaals, there's a Danish bakery in Mississauga!?! [please be warned: this post will probably be very incoherent. I waited a few hours after consuming, but just looking at it is turning me back into a rabid fangirl]

Alright, *takes a deep breath* let's start from the beginning: on Tuesday, my brother came back with the announcement that he had spotted a Danish flag from the window of the GO train and it was next to a sign containing "pastry". Seeing as he probably takes the GO train at least once a week, this was met with a lot of skepticism. A quick search gave the name and place; Yellow Pages listed it as a wholesale bakery and, knowing other wholesale bakeries located in industrial plazas, I didn't have any hopes. Then I found their website and I knew it could only get better. *-* It's really pathetic how impatient I was for the weekend, since it was the first chance I could get to to go Port Credit in the morning/early afternoon (note that this is not a regular bakery and they only open for a few hours on certain days -- check their website!) Not needing to follow the adorable red and white signs with cinnamon buns on them from Lakeshore, I ended up in front of a little business with a Denmark flag heart logo and another flag hanging outside (and another giant one inside). The 'open to the public' area is quite small and basically has two windows of goodies (with red and white curtains ^.^) and then there's the heart stickers and cut-outs on the box! Seriously, was this place designed expressly for my cute&kitschy tastes?!?! This is freakin' amazing! ... And here I was, thinking I'd never get the chance to use my homemade Denmark flags again!

And like that, there was some dethroning going on (though I do feel bad for the previous winners, since I still love them so), since The Danish Pastry House is now:

#1 best -- hands down -- Bakery in Mississauga
#1 best Danish Bakery in uh, Canada
 (I wanted to say the GTA, but this sounds so much better and I can't imagine anyone possibly making anything better than this ^^;) 
After 5 weeks in Denmark, hunting in vain for amazing bakeries, I can now say:
#1 best Danish Bakery... EVER!!!!!!! 

I was there at around noon and a lot was already sold out, so come early! There's individual goodies (cinnamon buns, danishes, etc.) all at around $2 and larger, strudel-like treats ($7 and up) as well as rum balls, some cookies. Most are based on the same (absolutely stunning) 'danish' (in Danish, it's called "Vienna bread" ^^) dough and contain custard, marzipan, fruit in a combination of one or more items stuffed inside.

Now, to the purchases: first up, knowing that I will be returning here on a very (possibly too) regular basis, I decided to go for the seasonal item: the large Julekage ("Christmas cake"; $7.50/$2.50 for a small): a fattened flat cake stuffed with marzipan, raisins and custard and decorated with fondant snowflakes. *swoons* The verdict was unanimous: "whoa". (yes, four people said the same thing when they bit into this the first time) Upon recovery, you realize that was is so whoa is that this is the best, the most perfect dough ever! As one brother said: this is what croissants are supposed to be like. This is the epitome of flaky, buttery dough: super crispy on the outside and super soft, moist and airy on the inside with this unbelievably delicious stuffing. Mind-blowing amazingness. *____*

Up next was the Cremebolle (the sheet only gives the plural, Cremeboller, and I don't know enough Danish to know if that's right... but it should be) ($2.25) which, despite the name, wasn't actually stuffed with cream as I thought nor was it stuffed with anything. The cream from the name seemed folded into the dough itself so it was one big, airy.. ball of the most perfect dough ever. ;D

Last up is their raspberry Spandauer (or 'danish', in English; $2.50) which was... *cues the angelic choral music* I honestly can't think how anything can be better than this. This was, holy crap was this ever good!! Seriously, I can't get how this is just dough, but wow. WOW! You take one bite, you faint, and then you get into the middle, where the raspberry filling is fresh fruit pureed with only a slight bit of sugar so that it's still tart... *swoons in a pool of drool*

Huh, what was I talking about again? I really think I should stop here, since it'll really get nonsensical, so I'll conclude with my ending remark and leave it at that (besides absolutely ordering you to go to this place):

Rating: **** 

PS. It breaks my heart to say it, but after repeated attempts, I have to say that I really, really miss the Port Credit location. :( The new Oakville location feels like an entirely new bakery and there's really none of that cute coziness I liked; it's hectic and cold and industrial. The selection has definitely expanded, though not in the way of danish dough (which seems to have shrunk??), with there being a lot more cookies and cakes. Large items, which were always my fave because you can split them nicely amongst people, are almost nonexistent. And then I just can't seem to find anything that compares to the goodies in the old place; I have this feeling that they've gone from quality to quantity. Portions have shrunk -- most notably the spandauer -- and items are regularly burnt. Man, looking back at my original photos is so depressing, since nothing looks like this anymore! ;_____; Seeing as nothing can still compare to the greatness of the DPH, it still is the best, but I just wish that that some of that initial "wow factor" would come back. //distraught fangirl

New Rating: ***

A.F. Home Bakery

Bakery: A.F. Home Bakery 
Address: 5168 Dundas St W, Etobicoke ON 
Website: n/a 
Style: Balkan, Serbian
Price: $-$$ 

[Seeing as my collection of bakeries from Etobicoke has grown quite a bit, I thought it only right to introduce a tag for it (I usually do so at 3+ bakeries in one place), so uh, I hope it'll help those in Etobicoke navigate a little easier! :)]

I don't even know how long I've been waiting to go to this place and give it a try. I actually have quite a few places on my bakery list to go to near Kipling station and this was one that I passed several times while going for lunch and kept putting it off (mainly because you can only access it by car if you're taking the northbound Kipling ramp off of Dundas), but while we were getting frustrated with finding a parking spot, I got my chance! :)

This little bakery is, well, just that: unlike a majority of "European" bakeries, it's not a deli first, but a real bakery with buns, loaves of bread, hot bureks (well, okay, I can't say that's part of 'real bakery' but they've got a bunch of varieties), and, of course, sweets.

They offer up a bit more of a hodgepodge of goodies: with the breads, they have a few standard items like danishes and some cookies. Someone mentioned them having cannoli, though I don't recall seeing it... They had one or two chocolate/cream cakes, baklava and those little honey cakes I've seen at Solero and Pastries&Deli behind the glass, but I was particularly in the mood for some baked goods this time around, so I must say I was more intrigued by the very tasty looking apple strudel in a flaky dough and well, the thing I ended up picking: an apple and walnut danish ($2.29). Upon purchase, I can't say I was overly eager to bite into it. I mean, it didn't look so exciting, just a fluffy dough "pocket" with powdered sugar and a few chunks of walnut on top, but once taking it out at home for photo-making purposes, one thing got me pretty thrilled: I could smell the butter! ^-^;;; And I could taste too! The buttery, soft dough with the mass of finely minced, almost mushy apples, pieces of walnuts and cinnamon.. ooh! these guys managed to take me by surprise!!! Yes: what a great, yummy piece of baking!! ^____^;;;

Rating: ***