Guðnabakarí [Mimi's World Tour]

 Bakery: Guðnabakarí 
Address: Austurvegi 31B, Selfoss 
Website: http://www.gudnabakari.is
Style: Icelandic, Scandinavian 
Price: $-$$ 

Another World Tour stop! :) I actually didn't expect to get any bakeries reviewed in little Selfoss, a town of about 5000 in the south of Iceland, and lo and behold! I ended up sampling some of the best baked goods on my Cake Tour -Icelandic edition- here, though, ha ha ha, it wasn't exactly from this place, three doors down from where I was staying. The funny thing was that I first noticed it when I had gone to see Kolaportið, the flea market in Reykjavik, since in the food section, there was only one sweets table... and they were from Selfoss! A few days after that, I ran over to this place for lunch (a cheese bun) and well, here we are ( btw, the tent and balloons in my pic was them setting up the parking lot for 40th anniversary celebrations; that was the day I left Selfoss and had way too much tourist-timidity to check it out). ^^;; 

I was actually surprised by how much stuff they had, and there was a lot more selection, especially sweet, here than in most bakeries I tried in the capital. Choosing between cinnamon buns event turned into a dilemma, since they had more than one available and a whole bunch of other, classic Scandinavian faves like custard buns, etc. And then not to mention their cakes, which looked so good, though I didn't get that luxury. *pouts*

Finally, besides the cheese bun, I settled for the compromise: the half-half cinnamon bun (alas, I don't remember the exact price: something between 265-295kr (roughly $2.50) with one part chocolate icing and the other pink (which I gather is supposed to be strawberry). I overheated one part in the microwave, but it still was so much better if you popped it in for a little to melt the icing a little, though it was nice, soft, and fresh nonetheless. I was a little disappointed that there were two parts pink and one part chocolate, since the latter was much better and, had I known, I would have taken only chocolate. The strawberry, especially when heated, became runny and had this more artificial taste to it. The filling in the whole bun was just super cinnamon-y; there was so much in this thing that it was almost spicy and after awhile, reminded me a little too much of cinnamon hearts (as much as I love cinnamon buns, this isn't considered a good thing for me). Overall, it was alright, but too intense, and it was far from the best Icelandic cinnamon bun I've had.

Next time (omg, if only there were a next time! Someone, send me to Iceland, because I'm IN LOVE with it!!!!!!! .__.;;), I'd try something else.

Rating: ***

Athen's Pastries

Bakery: Athen's Pastries
Address: 509 Danforth Av, Toronto ON 
Website: n/a 
Style: Greek 
Price: $$-$$$ 

Athen's Pastries, the second Greek bakery (of two) in Greek Town, should be more appropriately called Athen's Pasties, seeing as their specialties are more savoury filo treats. Well, you might even go further and just call it a cafe, since their selection of pasties/pastries isn't that big, but at least they know what they're good at and stick to it. There's probably six different things on the Athen's menu, almost all priced at $3.40 and when I went there, there were only five, only two of which would qualify for the Cake Tour. I mean, yes, I know a couple of guys who would be more than happy to go around and sample meat-stuffed baked goods, but it's not happening here. ;P

Anyways, it's without a doubt that their savoury is what gets them the business, since everyone seems to be going exclusively for their meat pies. There were also spanakopita (spinach-stuffed pasties) and another with cheese. ... But, again, I'm not dealing with that.

The two sweet items were the following: there was the custard pie (filo pastry with a thick layer of custard and slathered, pretty much dripping in honey) and loukoumades, Greek doughnuts. We were supposed to pick up baklava on our trip to Greektown (I was actually there after having read an online review of a nearby Turkish bakery... and found it was shut down, so there went that idea -_-) and having sworn there was one other place that sold it besides Athena, we ended up here only to find that they didn't. Settling on the second favourite, we got those small deep fried balls of dough soaked in honey and sprinkled with cinnamon. ($3.00/dozen) Still a little crunchy on the outside and just soft and bursting with honey on the inside, these delectable little doughnuts were a huge hit with everyone. I'm actually not a fan of honey (hence all baklava goes to the brothers) and only tried one of these reluctantly... and ended up really enjoying them. Man, it's such a shame they don't have more sweets here! :(

Rating: ***

Müller-Brot [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Müller
Address: Tegernseer Landstraße 146, Munich (many, many locations in South Germany)
Website: http://www.mueller-brot.de/
Style: German, European 
Price: $-$$ 

This is soooo old. And I mean pre-Cake Tour old... well, at least the online version, but these photos have been forever on my computer, so I thought I might as well just go ahead and post them. Seeing as a) the prices are so outdated and b) I don't remember how much I paid or if they still bake these specific items, it'll be a lot more general. Maybe on my next trip to Germany (you SO wish, Mimi -_-;;), I'll return and make a proper post. :)

Anyways, the Müller chain of bakeries in Munich and surrounding cities (at least, I think it's in other cities, but it might be restricted to the southern part of Germany -- feel free to correct me; their website is really of no use for such things) is pretty huge and, at least in Munich, you really don't need to go far in encountering one. Some streets have several, they've got them in train stations; in short, you can't miss the green windmill. ;) Unlike my other Munich stop, Rischart , Müller is really what their name says it is: bread. They've got tons of rustic ryes and specialty breads, buns, but they've also got a tasty sweet section, though the variety depends on the location and it's not necessarily so big. I suppose it's not their specialty, but it's really good and affordable (The Discount bakery chain is cheaper, but at the same time, they don't have such tasty treats, in my opinion; when I went here, years ago, everything was under 2euro). No pastries here, but simple, mostly sweet breads with various, usually fruity fillings.

Like this danish with... some sort of dark fruit filling. Is that cherry and the lighting in my room bad? O.o I can't be expected to remember such things, but I can't say I ever had anything remotely bad from this place (and these were bought in multiple locations too).

What I do remember was how good the second pictured item was. I ate it on the train trip to Salzburg because I didn't have time for breakfast. Oh, the memories! *-* The sad thing was that I only spotted this once and at the above location; it never seemed to return, this amazing streusel and icing covered bun with whole mixed berries. Omg! Such things are never forgotten, lol!

Man, writing this up is just giving me the hugest urge to return to Munich (which I love, though fate and funds have never been in my favour -- curse you! ;__;) and do a proper Cake Tour there... so many possibilities. *o*


Rating: ***1/2

Manila Bakery

Bakery: Manila Bakery
Address: 40-C Dundas St E, Mississauga ON
Website: n/a
Style: Filipino, Asian
Price: $

Manila Bakery is the second Filipino bakery I know of in the city; actually, I knew about this place for ages, though it's in a slightly out-of-way location (the address says Dundas, but they're actually around the corner of the first street east of Hurontario, across from the KFC/Pho mi 99/Indian supermarket plaza) and I've just never made the small walk here from the Krakow deli parking lot (there's a small mall in between with the best Korean food in the city -- Se-mi fast food *-*). Well, I finally made it and, let's say, I enjoyed it a lot more than my first taste of Filipino baking at Fv foods. One reason for this is that Manila Bakery is actually a bakery and not a hot food counter, deli, etc.: the smell of freshly baked bread can be smelled from half a block away and it smells GOOD! Walking into this teeny tiny bakery is like sticking your face in front of a loaf straight from the oven, it's so warm and aromatic, with people in the back running back and forth, baking. Seriously, all bakeries should be like this! :3

Anyways, Manila's selection isn't very big, but it's fresh and it's uh, fluffy. There are a three racks of goodies, packed in sandwich bags, priced and, most importantly, all are sweet: sweet buns and breads that are similar in style and texture to Chinese baking, but slightly different and a tad more expensive... and it definitely beats a whole bunch I've been to. ;)

As for those purchases: I got for myself a pandesal (sweet bun with sugar on top -- $1.40) which is pretty much an ensaymada without that cheddar cheese on top. ^^;;; The dough is the same, but the difference between Fv, which was pretty stiff and yeasty, and Manila was obvious. The latter's dough was just super fluffy and fresh; you just rip into this thing and tear it apart into soft shreds. And that, add onto that, the topping which isn't just sprinkled sugar, but sugar creamed with margarine (or oil; I'm sure it wasn't butter) slathered on top and pooling in the cracks. Mmmmmm... simple, but so good!

Besides this, I got a loaf of munggo bread ($2.75), which is a sweet, though not too sweet white bread stuffed with a sort of mung bean mass. This tasted, as both my mom and one brother attested, similar to Chinese bean breads and was, though probably not authentic in any way, the best when toasted with a little butter.

Finally, I got a pack of three coconut buns ($1.60) which don't look very exciting from the outside (hence a very boring photo -_-), but when heated, seemed a big hit with everyone. The centre is stuffed with fried coconut and when you do warm it up a bit, the coconut gets chewy and it proved to be a hit!

After the extra old cheddar cheese sprinkled on top of half the goods from my first trip to a Filipino bakery, I gotta admit I was pretty wary of trying another place, but after going to Manila (the bakery XD), I 'm a lot more satisfied and well, I won't wait so long for a return trip! ;)

Rating: ***

Janer's Fine Pastries and Cakes [RIP]

Bakery: Janer's Fine Pastries and Cakes 
Address: 679 Landsdowne Ave, Toronto ON
Website: n/a
Style: European, French, Filipino
Price: $$-$$$

Yay! Some new places to review in Toronto! I noticed this place right outside Landsdowne subway station a few months ago and seeing as Google doesn't have a street view of it, I believe it's somewhat new. The mouthful of a sign -- Fine French and European pastries and Filipino delicacies -- made me a little wary; truth be told, I'm never a fan of these hodgepodges when you can't quite discern what's what, so I actually went more to try some more Filipino baking than anything else, but in that, I came back unsuccessful. I'm not sure what the "Filipino delicacies" listed on the sign are supposed to be, but they weren't there and they sure weren't of the sweet variety. :( (Never fear though -- I have another review in the works if you're in the mood for fried coconut-stuffed buns ;))

In fact, there really is little choice if you're not coming in for a full cake or flan, some of which, loaded with fruit, look pretty good though not sure how they taste. This consists of half of their selection; the other glass case is sparsely filled with baked goods though, as the worker began explaining everything, you come to realize that a majority of these are actually savoury, like meat- and cheese-stuffed filo, meat-filled empanadas. The sweets selection, thus, isn't very big and I hard time deciding what to take. They had a few (three) individual cake squares; there was a Napoleon and I think some sort of date/fruit square, though it didn't seem to lure me in all that well. So, I settled on two baked goods: an almond ring ($2.25) and some sort of twist ($2.50).

The almond ring, a popular treat in a variety of bakeries (Portuguese Nova Bakery and the Polish Benna's both make tasty versions as well) was pretty good and all taste-testers enjoyed it. Hints of both almonds and peanuts with almonds coated on top of it, the dough nice and flaky, it ended up being a pretty good choice. *nods*

 Besides this, I got one... thing for myself. Really, I gave everyone a piece to try and figure out what was in this and no one could figure it out: from the outside it looked like a cinnamon or maybe apple bun, but it wasn't. What I do know was that the dough was light and buttery (yup, I could taste the butter -- always a plus point ;P), glazed on top and filled with what I believe was some sort of nut, though it wasn't anything you could taste. Although the almond ring looked more complex in terms of work involved and ingredients, I can't understand why this one was more expensive. Obviously because of the stuff in it, but oddly enough, it had no taste. O.o? Hazelnut? Walnut? I have no idea. The filling and the buttery dough was tasty though, no matter what.

Overall, Janer's was alright. I can't say I would call it "fine pastries" as I didn't find any, and although both things were quite good, I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to come here for them, but when running into the station, it sure beats going to Tim Hortons or McDonald's, which are pretty much your other transit options (though that bakery in the Bathurst warrants a review! ^^) Maybe their cakes are more memorable, but at the same time, with nothing being priced, I found the $2.50 for a plain, sweet bun reasonable, but a little expensive, especially considering that's how much you'll pay at high-end French pastry shops and yet they don't seem set out to appear high-end at all, so that was a little... frustrating. And speaking of frustrating, I would like to know what was in that bun. ;D

Rating: **1/2

Kosher Quality Bakery

Bakery: Kosher Quality Bakery
Address: 5855 Victoria Av., Montreal QC
Website: n/a
Style: Jewish
Price: $

So I went on somewhat of a hunt (okay, one bakery, though the trip to the Russian deli down the street was very fun.. not in a baked good sort of way, but still...) for poppy seed stuff in Montreal, popping my head into the one of several Jewish bakeries in the city. Most just sell bagels, so it's actually not easy to find a real bakery.. and I failed nonetheless. There was no poppy seed to be found -- what, impossible!!!!! :( ((have no fear, Mimi, Wawel and their heavenly poppy seed buns are still there in multiple locations. Mmm, Wawel! *-*))

In this sense, the trip here to this fairly large deli was a huge disappointment as they actually had no sweet stuff when I went there; the shelves of both sweet goods, breads and bagels were cleaned out! I went down the street and back again, stepping into a Romanian deli and finding it empty, so I came back here and just took what was left behind: a chocolate "croissant" (as in the shape, not the dough -- $1.40) with dense dough and rolled with quality (and no reference to the name intended :P) cocoa. Seeing as I had plenty to sample already, this was given to the brother and he actually really liked it, especially the chocolate filling. There's quite a bit of chocolate used in Jewish baking (at least, from what I've seen in bakeries; I can't say I know about anything about it beyond that) which, from a distance, always looks like poppy seed so it can drive you crazy (okay, it can drive *me* crazy :P); I'd never gotten it myself, but the brother scolded me for doing so after enjoying this one so much.

I, on the other hand, was not impressed with what I picked by default: a roll stuffed with apple and cherry (around $1.40 -- I know I paid under $3 for two). From the outside, it looked a little like a strudel with flaky dough and fruit, but the fruit was really dense and mushy on the inside, so much so that it kind of felt like you were eating those potato pastries (yes, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about; the problem is, I don't half know myself XDDD). Just really chewy and tightly packed; the taste was alright, but the texture really bugged me.

So, I suppose my Jewish bakeries in Montreal venture was a bit of a flop; it was alright, but I've had much better. Fortunately, however, I was still enjoying the buttery treats from my other cake tour stops, so I can't say I was too devastated. :P

Rating: **

Björnsbakarí [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Björnsbakarí
Address: Skúlagata 17, Reykjavik (and a few other locations)
Website: http://www.bjornsbakari.is/
Style: Icelandic, Scandinavian
Price: $$

Thought it was time for another Cake Tour~~! ^-^ I can't believe it took me one week of being in Iceland before I got around to hunting for bakeries. The first time was on my day trip to Reykjavik where I spied this quite discreetly placed bakery from the car window, tucked in there on the ground floor of an apartment building. Having managed to walk back to it (it's not hard to do in a city like Reykjavik ;P), I popped in all excited, mostly due to the fact that I had totally failed to notice this thing on my first trip to Iceland last year!

Anyways, Björnsbakarí is somewhat of a bakery chain with a few locations in the capital area (how many, I'm not entirely sure; their website doesn't work and finding online directions for Iceland is next to impossible) and during my time there, I actually encountered two, so it's not hard, though out of the central area. I stepped into this one on an early Saturday afternoon to find the quite small place offering some bread and relatively simple baked goods. Their selection really isn't very impressive and, unlike my other locations where had quite a few mouth-watering buns for the taking, I really had a hard time choosing one of the small danishes (aka "vienna breads", if the expression applies to the Icelandic language as well) since everything was custard stuffed and lined with pink icing, which just... doesn't seem to whet my appetite, though it's one of the most universal of Scandinavian baked goods (along with cinnamon buns, perhaps).

I was so unsure of what to take (and felt so bad walking out like the couple in front of me did) that I just caved and took what did look the most appetizing: this gigantic kringle (795kr; around $7) which could easily be cut into 4-6 individual portions made of flaky puff pastry and stuffed with a cinnamon-y mass of almonds, raisins and apples and then coated with rock sugar and slivered almonds. Mmmm, so good! I was definitely happy with my choice, though at the same time, I was stuck eating it for the next 4 days and by the end, I wasn't loving it all that much. XDDD

Still, Björnsbakarí doesn't have a lot of choice and it wasn't my favourite, but my purchase was quite tasty and the prices are pretty good and well, the gigantic pretzel is worth a try. ;)

Rating: ***

Mamie Clafoutis

Bakery: Mamie Clafoutis
Address: 3660 rue St Denis, Montreal QC
Website: http://www.mamieclafoutis.com
Style: French
Price: $$

Mamie Clafoutis is yet another bakery that I didn't visit, but someone went out and got me something from it. Yay, more to review! ^^ These guys have three locations, one in Montreal, and are a bakery with mostly artisan-style breads and a smaller selection of baked goods and cakes (and, naturally, clafoutis). The baked goods, in particular (I actually specifically told anyone that saw a bakery to look out for the viennoiseries this time around instead of the fancier and more expensive pastries), are mostly French-inspired (chausson aux pommes, croissants, etc. etc.) with a few North American creations like kid-friendly marshmallow squares. Naturally, I was far more interested in the former. ;)

So, first of all, I ended up with this apple danish ($2-something), a sweet yeast dough folded with chunks of soft, almost mushy apples and dotted with strips of sticky sesame. After having all those buttery treats from both Mercier and Premiere Moisson, I found this dough lacking that delicious taste and texture. The dough was denser here and far from moist. The pieces without any apple were actually quite dry and it wasn't really tasty enough to just eat it plain. Not being a fan of sesame, the "bursts" of sesame didn't match for me and they were far too sticky. It wasn't bad, but I think it looked a lot better than it tasted.

Secondly, I got this gigantic 'cookie' (also $2-something) made up of two hard well, cookies and filled with either a homemade or very rustic raspberry jam. I'm not too big a fan of cookies in general, but this was good! The outer edge was maybe a little too doughy, but once you got in the middle with all that raspberry, it was pretty yummy!!

Overall, I can't say Mamie Clafoutis was bad, but in comparison to the other bakeries I tried within those three days, it certainly wasn't the best. Still, it's a good alternative and who knows, maybe their clafoutis are just amazing? ;D For the rest, it was alright, but nothing worthy of knocking my socks off.

Rating: ***

Première Moisson

Bakery: Première Moisson
Address: 860 av. de Mont-Royal, Montreal QC (multiple locations in Montreal)
Website: www.premieremoisson.com
Style: European, French
Price: $$

Première Moisson is a chain of bakeries in the Montreal area (and one in Ottawa) specializing in artisanal baked goods and breads ranging from your simple loaves of bread to some pretty amazing cakes and pastries. Normally, wide-spread chains never live up to the goodies offered by independent bakeries, but PM is really impressive and, in fact, just from stepping in and seeing their huge variety of breads, viennoiseries and pastries, you'd have a hard time believing they do have some 40 locations in one city!

Before the Cake Tour days, I sometimes stepped into the one in the Central Station and was never disappointed. Now, even after going to other places, it's still a great and super delicious spot to visit!

For my first purchase, I got this apple danish ("$2-something" -- as you can see I was not the one that bought it -_-) which was soft, buttery sweet yeast dough folded over an apple (and possibly custard) mass in the middle. Then glazed and with icing on top. Mmm, delicious!

On our way back, I also bought this loaf of "bread" at the train station: it was their 'bread of the month' ("raspberry bread" - $4.95) which was more like a gigantic danish with soft, sweet bread dough with a mass of fresh raspberries mashed with sugar stuffed in the middle and then rock sugar on top. O..M..G..! The person who invented this is a complete genius!! *-* Sure, it's not quite what you'd like of when it comes to "bread", but what a brilliant, brilliant idea! *shrieks in excitement*

Yes, I think I had a great time here. ;)

Rating: ****

Patisserie Mercier [RIP]

Bakery: Patisserie Mercier
Address: 200 Jarry Est, Montreal QC
Website: www.patisseriemercier.com
Style: French
Price: $-$$

So, I was in Montreal two weeks ago for the film festival that was going on there. The film festival was a disappointment, but, fortunately, the Cake Touring didn't fail at all and I picked up some delicious stuff I might have never tried out before.

Take Mercier, which was 100m from the apartment we rented for the weekend. This is a bakery/pastry shop/chocolate maker/wedding cake place (yes, they seem to do everything) that seems to have been here for awhile now. Besides the chocolates and cakes/tortes, they also bake fresh, buttery baked goods everything morning, though the vast majority of people just come for the croissants. I'm so much more exciting than that and got a bunch of goodies that looked fairly simple, but ended up tasting super delicious...

First of all was a cinnamon bun and an almond bun, both of which fall under the brioche category (in price as well: both were at a very affordable $1.60) and were so yummy. The almond one, with the flaked almonds and dab of icing, was especially tasty: super fresh French dough that's soft and fluffy on the inside and has that nice buttery crunch on the outside. Mmmm... these were really baked to perfection!

Besides this, there was the almond tart ($2.65), a nice flaky shell stuffed with an almond mass and topped off with some icing and a maraschino cherry (I didn't think that it should be re-positioned to the middle... oops -_-) Again, I can only say how tasty this was; bigger and moister than the tart's northern (i.e. Scandinavian and Dutch) equivalents, this was just amazing to cut into to.

I don't know why, but I wanted to give this place 3 1/2 stars, but after looking back at the photos and reliving every yummy moment, I must have been crazy to want to give them less than a perfect 4. Now, if only there existed these established, neighbourhood bakeries where you could pop in for a freshly-baked goody around here. :(

Rating: ****

Carpati

Bakery: Carpati Euro Delicatessen
Address: 4665 Central Parkway, Mississauga ON
Website: http://www.carpati.ca/
Style: Romanian
Price: $$

A few doors down in the same plaza as Iana Bakery is Carpati, the city's (and perhaps even the area's) only Romanian deli. Besides the usual European deli goods (cold cuts, cheese, ready foods like cabbage rolls and stuffed bell peppers), this small-ish store also has a glass case filled with tort-like cakes and profiteroles sold by piece and cookies and slab cakes sold by weight. At least when I was there, the selection wasn't huge (their menu brochure and website boast a lot more) and there weren't any baked goods besides a few soft buns stuffed with feta or salty sheep's cheese ($2.75; pictured).

So, with no baked goods to buy, I went ahead with the cakes and I think everyone came out happy. After all, in the words of one very amazed brother: "Whoa, Carpati is good!" ;P And it is good if you're a fan of delicious cream cakes and layered tortes saturated in liquor!! Here are two examples:

The amandine cake ($3.00/each) seems to be the most regular cake here, since it's been here on both occasions. This thing is a definite purchase for chocolate lovers (ha ha I must admit I just gave this away to my brothers; it's too intense for me XD): dark chocolate dough coated with dark chocolate icing and then just soaked in liquor. One brother said this was the definite highlight.

The other, it seemed, agreed with me on the second purchase, a layered cake made up of dough, two layers of caramel sauce, some sort of cheese cake, coffee cream and topped off with dark chocolate shavings ($3.00/each). This was good. Maan, for whatever reason, this reminded me of the church hall bake sales when I was younger -- you really can't get this anymore/here (I wasn't living here before), at least not in the Polish delis. :(

So, what's the verdict? Three out of three agree: Carpati is the place to go for cakes in Mississauga! :)

Rating: ***1/2

S Market [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: S Market
Address: Mannerheimintie 9, Helsinki (basement of Sokos department store)
Website: http://www.s-kanava.fi/
Style: Finnish, European
Price: $$-$$$

I haven't done a World Tour stop in awhile, so here's one ^^:

I really have no idea how I actually ended up with supermarket baking on two occasions during my short stay in Helsinki, but mostly due to coming late/stores closing early, this became one of the few baked good options for me. S-market is perhaps central Helsinki's biggest supermarket, though their bakery isn't so spectacular. Unlike Stockmann's awe-inspiring selection, S-Market seems to lay low on the excitement and instead serves bins full of more pan-European goods like danishes with several fillings; nothing, I could say, is very Finnish and, as such, you just don't get that pervading aroma of cardamom sweet bread as you do in bakeries (they must have cinnamon buns, though I was probably too late to witness it). Another problem is the cost; like Stockmann, buns are all by weight. Unlike Stockmann, the baked goods aren't anything thrilling and so you really get the impression you're not getting what you pay for. Case in point: there were a few dumped, priced bags next to the scale while I was there and a chocolate cupcake ended up costing nearly €3.00!?! That's crazy!

My purchase, a featherweight strawberry danish (€24.99/kg) with a whopping 1.5 strawberries on top, set me back €2.50 and I can't quite say it was worth it, but it was the only thing left at around 8pm. It's certainly not big, the strawberries are certainly on the skimpy side (though not sure if I'd be willing to pay more for a few extra on there), and it was mediocre at best. I really can't say I was impressed with the price/quality ratio there. :/

There is, however, another option: discount supermarket Alepa (owned by S-market -- in Helsinki, there's one in the wing of the train station and another in Forum shopping centre) also has a small bakery section with all their selection coming directly from S-market. There aren't so many sweets and the more fancy treats (obviously that chocolate cupcake) are saved for original stores, but you've got a few choices, they're priced per item, and are cheap! ;) An apple danish (€1.40) with dense, cardamom dough and a generous sprinkling of rock sugar ended up being yummy!

So, I guess it just depends; when there isn't time to go to a bakery, S-market is an option, though at the same time, I can't say it's an overwhelmingly good one, though in the evening you don't have much choice. Besides the somewhat ridiculous pricing, the baked goods aren't very delicious and Stockmann is just... better. :P

Rating: **

Fv Foods

Bakery: Fv Foods
Address: 1125 Dundas St E, Mississauga ON (locations in Scarborough and Toronto as well)
Website: http://fvfoods.com
Style: Filipino
Price: $

Fv foods is part-bakery and part-fast food place with a hot counter of Filipino food, and, as one brother claims, it's best to come here for the latter (and he's returned twice since for their lunch boxes). This was actually my first time trying Filipino baked goods and I had been curious for awhile to see how it was. I gotta say from the very first that I think Filipino baking must be some of the most adventurous there is; at least, if you're not used to eating everything with extra old cheddar grated on top. It's definitely an acquired taste and I can't quite say I acquired it, though there are options for the cheese-challenged as well. ;)

I'll save the best for last, I suppose; for now, however, I'll start with one of the most traditional baked goods, empaynada bread (around $2) which is a sweet, yeast dough (very good in taste) topped with sugar and, in the centre, sprinkled with that old cheddar cheese I was talking about. Umm, yeah, with just the sugar, the bun was quite tasty, but I really... the cheese didn't seem to work for anyone in the household. I guess this isn't a bakery-specific thing, but I don't think I'll take that again anywhere. :| It's not for me (though others are more than welcome to give it a try themselves)....

Up next were these flaky balls ($1.00 for two) with various fillings: two were taro, which is a sweet, purple yam, and the other two were supposedly mango (as the label said) but were filled with onions. Guess it wasn't our lucky day, was it? The taro were alright, although a few Chinese bakeries make similar things and so I've encountered better, and the onion ones weren't quite what expected.

Thirdly, I got these little cheesecakes ($2.50 for a pack of two) which are considerably denser than Chinese or Japanese cheesecake, but I thought them pretty good... after I scraped off the few bits of cheddar cheese on top. :P ((sorry, guys!)) At least, it was much better than that Philadelphia cream cheese cake available in most supermarkets/not-so-good bakeries and I did, in fact, enjoy it.

Last but not least, these may look like spring rolls in barbecue sauce but they're actually Fv's showstopper: deep-fried bananas ($1.00)! Wrapped in a thin, spring-roll-like dough, deep-fried until crispy on the outside, and then slathered in thick and gooey caramel sauce, these things were tasty! The woman standing behind us in the line up who told us what they were was indeed correct in recommending them to us (as she said, she got so hungry explaining them, she bought a few for herself as well :D)! Crunchy and sticky on the outside, nice and soft on the inside -- heat them up a little and mmm...

Overall, I can't say I was terribly wowed by Fv foods and my first adventure in Filipino baking concluded with mixed results, but I'm still curious enough to try other locations (mainly Manila Bakery in Mississauga) and see which will end up being best. For now, however, I'll stick to the bananas. :)

Rating: **

Jeanie's Bakery

Bakery: Jeanie's Bakery
Address: 3670 Odyssey Dr, Mississauga, ON
Website: n/a
Style: Jamaican, Caribbean
Price: $

Jeanie's Bakery is a Jamaican bakery whose goods can be found in the deli (aka Jeanie's Marketplace) next door and, judging by some things being labelled, are shipped elsewhere as well. They've got all your Caribbean baked goods (there are a few cakes, but they're baked by someone else), with the whole store smelling of spice cake and gingerbread. Mmmm... I think the aroma alone is enough to walk away with at least something! :P Breads and buns are labelled, but the other baked goods, wrapped in lunch bags and twist tied, look as though they were home-baked and for whatever reason, those kinds of things really seem to appeal to me. ^^;;

I ended up with three different items, none of which I know the proper name to. .__.;; First off, I got a spice bread ($4.00; small buns are $1.50) which is very hard to photograph in a flattering way. It's certainly not the most photogenic of baked goods, it resembling a loaf of pumpernickel or dark rye bread, but all you need is one bite of the super soft, moist, fluffy bread to get a blast of all those delicious, gingerbread-like spices and (imitation) rum extract. This was definitely the highlight!

Besides this, I got some bulla cakes (and now I forget all the prices... $2.00, or thereabouts for a bag of four or five) which are soft, round gingerbread cakes with a more dense dough. These were quite good as well, especially right when I got them, freshly baked.

Lastly, I picked up some lumpy cookies ($1.50? for a bag) which were more hard and dry in texture than the two previous purchases and had oats in them... or something. At first, the rum (possibly banana as well, though I could be wrong) extracts of the above two made me prefer the cookies, but once you start alternating, you realize these didn't have much flavour to them, though the harder chunks on top were pretty tasty to just rip apart and eat. So yup, spice bread all the way!! :P

Overall, there isn't much variety at Jeanie's and the treats they do sell are pretty similar in taste (gotta be that rum extract everywhere!), but if you're fond of spice or gingerbread cakes, you'll enjoy your visit here, I promise you that! :)

Rating: ***