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: **