Baro Gun Pang Bakery

Bakery: Baro Gun Pang Bakery
Address: 6118 Yonge St, North York ON
Website: n/a
Style: Korean
Price: $ 

Right across the street from the Persian bakeries on Yonge in North York, there's likewise a Korean bakery tucked into the corner of a plaza. If you don't know what you're looking for (or you're driving), you'll most likely miss it, but popping in is worth it, even if the selection isn't as impressive as the bakery in Galleria (which I forgot to stop at on my way out x___x) a few blocks north. For one, it's cheap, with buns costing between $1.25 and $1.50 and other items such as bags of cookies similarly well-priced; secondly, it's fresh. I was there in the late afternoon and the girls behind the counter were getting ready to put more buns into the oven and several buns on the rack were still hot! Last but not least, it's good. Now, I'm a sucker for Korean baked goods, and especially when for the same price as a bun from a lacklustre Chinese bakery (a majority of them, sorry to say), you can get Korean cream buns! *-* And Baro Gun Pang knows cream buns.

Ahem, well, why not save the best for last? I was actually first intrigued by their apple buns ($1.50), which I'd never seen before. It was a typical sweet Korean bun with cooked apples and this sort of streusel on top. Seeing as Asian bakeries don't usually bake things with fruit, this was a unique and tasty treat, though besides the streusel, there wasn't really that much going on with it, as there weren't that many apples and the bread itself was a little plain.

The second item was their doughnut ($1.25): braided dough deep-fried until crispy and golden brown and coated in cinnamon and sugar. This was a doughnut! Fresh, amazing crunch and soft, chewy inside; with the cinnamon this almost resembled a churro more than anything else. Absolutely delicious.

And speaking of delicious: the french butter cream bun ($1.50). Holy moly! O___O This beauty doesn't look like much; it's basically a round bun cut in half and smeared with what looks like butter. Bite into it and everything changes. This was amazing! The bun was slightly sweet; nice and crusty on the outside and soft on the inside with a super yummy, buttery cream in the middle. This has to be tasted to be believed.

In general, this was definitely a find: great baked goods, especially for those who don't like things too sweet. Despite the bakeries still needing sampling in the area, I'd return to this place in a heartbeat!

Rating: ****