Patchmon Thai Desserts

Bakery: Patchmon Thai Desserts 
Address: moved to: 258 Dupont St, Toronto ON 
Website: http://www.thaidesserts.ca/
Style: Thai
Price: $$ 

It usually happens that, when I see a bakery in the newspaper, it's long been reviewed by me. Perhaps, one might even begin to wonder, I'm the inspiration for these articles? And then that false feeling of pride fades away and I realize I'm not actually important or pertinent. Sorry, Mimi. :( Nonetheless, what I wanted to say was that Patchmon was actually one of the first bakeries I've tried based on an article in the newspaper, and can you believe my excitement at the thought of trying authentic Thai sweets?

Savoury and spicy veg curry pasty

Patchmon is a cute, rather small sweets shop that's rather easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for. Inside, the counter is lined with jellies and cookies that you certainly won't find at any other Asian bakery. Add to that coconut-heavy (as one may expect) treats with a few savoury items stuffed with fish, pork or veggies. One thing that makes sampling a whole array of treats difficult is the fact that items are all (with the exception of savoury items which are sold individually) packed and priced at $6; only select items can be split, such as two coconut tarts for $3 and half-half cupcakes. The workers, however, are very helpful and friendly to first-timers, offering samples of pretty much everything.

So, I picked out two items, besides a flaky, curry vegetable pasty ($2.25). Normally, I don't mention savoury finds, but everyone really enjoyed this and was pretty surprised by the flavourful filling that was not -- as all assumed -- an Indian-style potato mush, but stuffed with whole chunks of vegetables with  undeniably Thai spices.

A tropical party with taro and pumpkin cakes

I also tried the "cupcakes", in either pumpkin or taro (purple yam) flavour ($6/box). The bright colours come exclusively from the respective veggie and are both sprinkled with grated cassava. This and the cookies are probably the most approachable for a Western customer. These mini cakes were moist and had a great texture; my favourite was the pumpkin (though it had less of a distinct taste). In the words of one sampler, the taro tasted too "potato-y", but was still their favourite of the two.

Doesn't look like much, but it's still addictive! ;)

Without a doubt, the favourite among all were these sweet and salty coconut tarts (2 for $3 or 4 for $6), entirely dough-less tarts with a sweet, palm sugar-based jelly on the bottom and topped with a salty layer of rich coconut cream. At first scoop, it doesn't seem to match all that well, but spoon after spoonful and you're hooked!

As an absolute sucker for obscure sweets from around the world, this was a great find and a tasty adventure. Thank you, Patchmon. ^/\^ *bows* 

Rating: ***