Pâtisserie Notre Maison

Bakery: Pâtisserie Notre Maison
Address: 4101 boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal QC
Website: http://patisserienotremaison.com/
Style: Portuguese 
Price: $ 

Notre Maison, in Montreal's bakery neighbourhood (I am so not kidding you), is the Portuguese bakery in the area. While there are countless more (see future reviews) within walking distance of each other, this is certainly the busiest and most well-stocked of the bunch. I had to wait in a long line to get my goodies! Their selection contains Portuguese bakery staples: custard tarts, coconut buns, sweet buns and breads, doughnuts and cakes. Following the general rule: very little was labelled and priced, and you kind of have to just revert to pointing or yelling over people's heads: 'I want that one over there... no, not that one, next to that!'

As always, I was drawn towards the Portuguese doughnut (Malassadas)... those giant masses of fried dough with cinnamon sugar are so darn good, but I told myself no; they simply wouldn't do as a breakfast item, no matter how I looked at it! .___.

So I went with my second favourite: the coconut bun ($1.75). Large piece of flat dough filled with coconut and covered in powdered sugar. Some places have a bland dough that's too dense, but this fluffy and flavourful, with just the right amount of coconut folded inside and a tasty, slightly flaky exterior with powdered sugar and that amazing somewhat-crumble on top. Yum!

This has to be the first time I've done Portuguese bakeries in Montreal, isn't it? I think so... either way, I did three this time around and Notre Maison was, without a doubt, the best. The crowds say it all.

Rating: ***

Kaffihús Bakarans [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Kaffihús Bakarans
Address: Hafnarstræti 14, Ísafjörður
Website: n/a 
Style: Icelandic 
Price: $  

It can be fair to say that my trip to the Westfjords and to its "capital" Ísafjörður was a miserable one, from the horrendous weather to the constant impression that the small group I was with thoroughly disliked me (and much as I try, my impressions are usually right...). Even the overnight stay at a nearby guesthouse was strangely unpleasant, despite the comfy bed, but the scenery was spectacular and the bakeries came like beacons of hope. Coming in from the rain into Bakarans and seeing a warm cafe literally filled with baked goods was almost like a mirage; you couldn't believe it was  real! :D 

That being said, I can't remember the last time I walked into an Icelandic bakery and saw so many baked goods! More often than not, the shelves are a little empty or selection limited to the basic classics; this place was heaping with sweets: several varieties of cinnamon buns, danishes, doughnuts, long danishes. They were in the display cases, piled on top on places -- it was beautiful! *-* Not to mention the fact that it was really well priced; when was the last time I went anywhere in Iceland and most baked goods cost under 300kr? Wow!

It took a long time to decide (and doubtless that aforementioned group was getting annoyed with me), but I finally settled for the cinnamon twist (265kr; and yes, they had others): fresh, fluffy yeast dough knotted and rolled to make four little cinnamon rolls in one. This was then drizzled with vanilla and caramel icing. Great amount of cinnamon that you could taste with every bite; good dough, but definitely something that has to be eaten within a few hours of purchase to really enjoy. If not fresh, it certainly would not have tasted so great. 

A great bakery... I'm only sad that I didn't have the freedom or time (it was Sunday and the other one was closed) to do the other one in town. :( 

Rating: ***1/2

Nys Pâtissier

Bakery: Nys Pâtissier
Address: 1449 Rue Notre Dame Centre, Trois-Rivières
Website: http://www.nyspatisserie.com/
Style: Belgian, French
Price: $$

And the bakeries from the week-long trip to Gaspe are almost done! I know -- it was an impressive run, but all good things must come to an end. :( I was actually hoping for a lot more from the city of Trois-Rivières; there were, however,a few complications that inhibited me from achieving Cake Tour dominance: car troubles were one and the other was a factor I had not taken into account. It was Sunday. This automatically docked off a considerable number of bakeries, either because they were closed altogether or opened later in the day, when I'd already started the drive back. Heartbreaking. 

One that was open was Nys. This Belgian (I am still, as a Cake Tour expert, trying to determine if there is anything at all the can distinguish a French patisserie and a Belgian one; there seems to be something different, otherwise the insistence on being Belgian wouldn't be so stark. Or it's just for the purpose of being Belgian. I mean, it's so much cooler for one thing. :P) patisserie is located right in the heart of downtown Trois Rivières, next door to tourist information, so if you're not from town, it could very well be your second stop. ;) Sunday morning was busy and yet the selection wasn't too wide, especially for baked goods, which are relegated off to a corner, neither priced nor labelled, and make way for cases of savoury lunchtime food. *shakes head* Who does want quiche and sandwiches from a bakery?

Anyways, I ended up with the abricotine (a very reasonable $3.00 including tax): a bed of flaky dough with two apricot halves and an unseen layer of cream. I personally would have liked to see the dough more buttery; one can never have too much butter (well, okay, that's not entirely true), but good cream filling and soft yet firm apricots that weren't too mushy and out-of-the-can feeling. Glaze was a little inconsistent, resulting in some pooling, but sticking this into my mouth, it was a tasty and enjoyable treat. 

Rating: ***

Haymishe Bagel Shop

Bakery: Haymishe Bagel Shop
Address: 3031 Bathurst St, North York ON
Website: n/a 
Style: Jewish, Eastern European 
Price: $$$

Haymishe is back! I remember once reading an article about the doughnuts at Haymishe Bagel Shop, which though famous for its bagels does have other sweets, and thinking it only fair that I try them. After all, I love doughnuts. Hot and fresh doughnuts flying off the shelves is taking that love to a whole new level. The location, however, was never convenient; I'm never in the area and so I decided to wait, not knowing that a fire would force the place to close down. Three fires, three bakeries on the Cake Tour... I know I'm unlucky, but surely it can't be me. :(

Nonetheless, Haymishe reopened and one of my regular baked goods suppliers was in the area... and didn't get any doughnuts. But maybe they're limited time only or sell out fast? I'm sure they would have been bought if they were there. Besides the occasional doughnut, they have other treats such as cookies, buns, and muffins. The prices for the buns in particular are a little steep, but they're big and heavy -- always a good sign.

Although I'm always the big poppy seed bun fan, this time around the chocolate buffalo turned out better. The poppy seed filling was good, with a generous mass of  poppy seed; a little grainy, perhaps. The dough and icing had more of a generic taste. Tasty, but not the best I've had (especially in the neighbourhood).

The chocolate buffalo was, I hate to say it, more notable with a denser dough, tasty chocolate filling, and a nice crumble sprinkled on top. Both items were good, but not as amazing as some neighbouring bakeries. :P

Rating: ***

Staročeská Pekárna [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Staročeská Pekárna
Address: Perlová 8, Prague
Website: http://www.staroceska.cz/
Style: Czech
Price: $-$$ 

One day, we went on a guided day trip to Prague. This meant I got to see Prague for the first time and I knew I had to try and get some bakeries done; this being an organized tour also meant that we didn't have that much time or freedom to do what we wanted, so I had to limit myself to the really touristy old town (which also has plenty of tourist traps; see the other post coming up). The first bakery was traditional, old-school Eastern European baking with a lot of familiar products like: doughnuts, fruit buns, cream puffs, cake slices....

I took a honey cake (35-40kč; around CAD1.75). This was the best honey cake I can remember having: it was soft, moist, rich and chewy -- this definitely beats my previous favourite place and was by far the best bakery stop in Prague, and probably the only one I can really recommend. Very good.

Rating: ****

Chicco Cafe [RIP]

Bakery: Chicco Japanese Dessert Cafe
Address: 1504 Robson St, Vancouver BC
Website: http://www.chiccocafe.com/
Style: Japanese
Price: $$

Chicco is a Japanese cafe serving homemade, mostly European-inspired sweets such as lovely cake slices and pastries, sugar cookies, and parfaits, all featured in their appetizing display case and packed in little bags. The Japanese always do make things look prettier. ^.^

 Anyways, it was a difficult choice, but two cake slices were selected: the Japanese cheesecake and a matcha cake (around $4.50 each). The matcha cake was unlike anything I've tried before: as opposed to a cake with green tea powder (such as a green tea cheesecake or cream cake), the matcha was the main ingredient. And there was lots of it; it being high-quality, flavour-packed matcha. Very good! Perhaps not for everyone, but for those who love tea, there's a lot of it. Probably more tea than cake, in fact. :P

The cheesecake wasn't as smooth or as mousse-y as other Japanese cheesecakes I've tried, namely Uncle Tetsu's. More dense, more wet and clotty (a bit hard to explain), this was certainly the most cheesy variation. Its richness resembles more Eastern European cheesecakes. Nevertheless, this has to be the best Japanese cheesecake I've tried -- and no crazy lines! ;)

Rating: ****

La Miche Dorée

Bakery: La Miche Dorée
Address: 937 rue Bélanger E, Montréal QC
Website: http://www.lamichedoree.com/
Style: French, Canadian 
Price: $$ 

This is another bakery I randomly stumbled upon and was quite happy I did. La Miche Dorée is an artisan bakery whose focus is on rustic "healthy breads" baked with a variety of grains and available in a large assortment of shapes and types. Less prominent is their sweets section, which also seems to concentrate on healthier options like muffins, cookies, and multigrain biscuits. They do have some baked goods (viennoiseries), but especially during time of purchase this was limited to croissants, almond croissants and chocolatines (pains au chocolat), none of which I'm particularly fond of. I must confess I was even thinking of walking out because I couldn't make up my mind when a worker noticed me... and I can't leave when addressed. I will not stoop so low.

Anyways, there was item that was neither labelled nor priced and this attracted my attention. Asking what it was, the worker explained that it was some sort of almond square ($3.15 with tax; sorry, I forgot the exact words, I must have been in happy-shock XD) with a flaky dough bottom, pastry cream, an almond cake layer and slivered almonds on top. I obviously agreed a little too excitedly: the worker could tell from the ways my eyes were glowing that I would take it. There is something so incredibly... embarrassing about this. -__-

But I did take it and the almond square was... heavenly. The description is one thing, but biting into moist cake, delicious cream, and a buttery and flaky, slightly chewy bottom, all with the delicate taste of almonds, is entirely another. Mmm... this was so tasty! I personally would have liked more selection in-store, but I shouldn't be too harsh -- I made an excellent decision!

Rating: ***1/2

The Rolling Pin [International Correspondent]

Bakery: The Rolling Pin Bakery
Address: 821E 6th Ave, Hope BC 
Website: facebook
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

I'll admit this bakery in Hope didn't look that special from the start: cakes and cupcakes with a lot of icing, cookies, doughnuts. Prices were normal. Doughnuts a dollar something, buns around $3-4. I'd call it your typical Canadian bakery, but they ended up being one of the best bakeries we tried in BC. Actually, THE best bakery we tried.

The first reason was the cinnamon bun. This was the best cinnamon bun and deserves to compete at national level. Amazing icing, perfect dough, and the right proportion of cinnamon. This bun was "effing awesome"!

So was the apple fritter for that matter. This thing was the bomb. Just like it should be: fried and glazed with good apples. I'd say both the apple fritter and cinnamon bun were, hands down, 5/4.

The last thing was a mini pineapple crunch. This was something different and why I took it. It had a hard sugar top (the kind you find on Canadian-style strudels) with pineapple chunks and cream. It was alright, but I think I should have stuck to the classics.

Rating: ****

Verslunin Albína [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Verslunin Albína 
Address: Aðalstræti 89, Patreksfirði 
Website: n/a 
Style: Icelandic 
Price: $$ 

I always feel like a new part of Iceland needs to be discovered with each successive trip; this time, I finally went to the Westfjords. I had been dreaming and hoping for years and I at last had the chance to see one of the most beautiful parts of the country... and visit a few bakeries while I was at it. ;) There are, essentially, very few towns in the Westfjords, but the two "larger" centres both happened to have what I was after. The first review is coming from the small town of Patreksfjörður. I actually knew about this place a few weeks in advance; I spotted a plastic bag in the guesthouse trash can and the word "bakarí" and the little map captivated me. I absolutely had to go to this place! And I did. ^^ 

 Albína is a mini supermarket in a somewhat bleak white building and probably the only real food store for a while; they have a bit of everything, from coffee to hot dogs to groceries to... baked goods! Yes, sandwiched in one corner next to the cash is a display case of classic Icelandic baked goods, savoury (like the cheese bun above) and sweet: from kleinur, Icelandic doughnuts, to cinnamon buns to danishes. After a miserable night outside or a long drive, this is like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. ;) ((Sadly, no one in my small group thought so; I was the only one who bought anything from the bakery. *sighs* Bakery haters....))

I took the cinnamon "snail" (350kr). This cinnamon bun was what I would call more "Danish-style" and rarely found in Icelandic bakeries; that is, the dough is not a fluffy and bready, but flaky like... danishes. This one was a little too brittle and browned on the perimeter, but once I peeled off the outer ring, it was the perfect combination of flaky dough on the top and bottom and soft dough on the inside. Only the complete centre had enough cinnamon for my taste, but nonetheless it was a very good treat (and I loved the caramel icing!) to enjoy on an absolutely stunning drive! 

Rating: ***  

Boulangerie Folles Farines

Bakery: Boulangerie Folles Farines
Address: 113 Rue de Sainte-Cécile-du-Bic, Le Bic QC
Website: http://follesfarines.com/
Style: French, Canadian 
Price: $$ 

Yes, I'm crazy for baked goods too. ;) Folles Farines is a fully-stocked artisan bakery in the relatively small town of Bic; the day I went here, I had also gone to two other bakeries and without a doubt, this one smoked the others with its large, undeniably appetizing assortment of rustic breads, savoury items, and -- most importantly -- buttery baked goods. There are times, but they don't happen that often, when I'm unsure of what to pick because everything looks so good; this was one such instance. In fact, I did an unthinkable thing and got a cheese stick in addition to the sweets, because I thought it would beat any other lunch option... and it did. 

Of course, I'm not here to discuss cheese sticks. I'm here for the good stuff! :D And as simple as it is, I do have a soft spot for the chausson aux pommes (here called a futé aux pommes; $2.95), the buttery, flaky apple turnover found in bakeries throughout Quebec. Sometimes it's far from buttery; other times it's burnt or there's too much/little apple filling, but Folles Farines got it right. This deliciously fresh and flaky pastry had just the right amount of apple and the dough itself: so tasty. I could taste the butter and I loved it. This is what viennoiseries should taste like -- a real find and highlight of the day! 

Rating: ***1/2

Daddy O Doughnuts

Bakery: Daddy O Doughnuts & British Baked Goods
Address: 589 North Service Rd, Mississauga ON 
Website: http://www.daddyodoughnuts.com/
Style: Doughnuts, British 
Price: $$-$$$

There has to be nothing greater than having a new bakery to try (and subsequently review), especially when you thought you've exhausted most bakery options. Daddy O Doughnuts is a new doughnut shop on North Service Rd by Cawthra, in a thoroughly insignificant and forgettable plaza. With its old-fashioned, soda-shop feel it has charm and it has doughnuts, along with a few savoury more than sweet British classics -- though the omnipresent Eccles cake and empire tarts were there. At $2-something per doughnut, they're a bit expensive, but easily beat Toronto gourmet doughnuts in price as well as taste.

With everything made fresh, there are rotating flavours and all are the same price ($3), so while they have more traditional, basic flavours, it may be worth your while to go all out -- peaches and cream is probably the flavour I would have wanted to try. Ahem, anyways, this time the picks were, clockwise from the bottom: Ferrero Rocher, a jelly doughnut (the Homer?), deep-fried Mars bar, and peanut butter banana (the Elvis?). 

Unexpectedly, the deep-fried Mars bar was the best and different from the others. While the jelly doughnut and Ferrero Rocher, for instance, was made with a classic, fluffy dough, the mars bar was like a dough puff, a bit like a crueller, with good glaze on top. Rich and decadent in most cases, these were flavourful and -- above all -- fresh doughnuts, though some varieties are too small and expensive for what it is. A great addition to the (sometimes not so fresh) Mississauga bakery scene. 

Rating: ***1/2

Łodzianka [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Łodzianka
Address: Karola Miarki 8, Kamienna Góra 
Website: n/a
Style: Polish
Price: $-$$ 

A long-standing pastry shop and bakery run by family friends, Łodzianka is one of three bakeries near the town square, and probably the best one, and the only one that pops up when you actually do a search for them. They have a good selection of baked goods and cakes; many people order their birthday cakes.

Anyways, I got three sweet buns: a cheese bun, rhubarb and a poppy seed bun. The cheese bun was the best, because you could actually taste the filling and it had a lot of cheese. A lot more than they usually put here.

The rhubarb bun was okay, but not exciting. Not enough rhubarb to bring out the taste; the same could be said of the poppy seed bun, which was dry and didn't have enough poppy seed mass. I want enough poppy seeds to fail a drug test. This was a bit disappointing; for all three, though they tasted good, there wasn't enough filling and they were too doughy.

Rating: **1/2

Dutch Bakery & Coffee Shop

Bakery: Dutch Bakery & Coffee Shop
Address: 718 Fort St, Victoria BC 
Website: http://thedutchbakery.com/
Style: Dutch, Canadian 
Price: $$

I am now coast to coast! From St. John's on the Atlantic to Victoria on the Pacific and a couple locations in between. Couple hundred, I mean. :P Ooh, I've just been on fire lately; great things have to be in store for the Cake Tour! One day, even if I have to bake a cake myself in Iqaluit (of course one needs to be able to afford the plane ticket first), perhaps I'll be coast to coast... coast! *-*

Anyways, the first stop in Victoria was the Dutch Bakery, a bakery as well as restaurant serving sandwiches and burgers. But I mean, who cares about burgers when you have baked goods? Dutch Bakery has quite the selection of cookies, squares, and simple, typically Canadian pastries. As the name makes pretty obvious, there are also many of the most well known Dutch goodies, indicated by a little Dutch flag on the label. Everything, by the way, is clearly labelled and moderately priced.

The pick today was two unique treats: the porcupine and the parliament (but wait, isn't that thing in Victoria the legislature....?). The porcupine was, if I remember correctly, a chocolate-coated cake dough with a bit of cream and slivered almonds that don't exactly look like quills. ;) The unique find was without a doubt the parliament, which was part cake, part cookie with layers of wafer, nuts, and marzipan (I think...). Both were tasty, as these kinds of treats go, but neither seemed to amaze me. Perhaps next time I would take something else? Like one of those little Dutch flagged signs. :)

Rating: ***

Sabor Latino

Bakery: Sabor Latino 
Address: 436 Rue Bélanger, Montreal QC 
Website: http://saborlatino.ca
Style: South American 
Price: $ 

This was an unexpected find upon deciding to walk one metro station down and instead explore the area -- so glad I did! Sabor Latino is a pan-South American supermarket with an in-house bakery that seems to be running at full speed throughout the day, judging by the trays of fresh baked goods and buns constantly coming in from the kitchen. Even on a mid-day, the place was bustling with not only customers taking advantage of the bulk deals on sweet buns, but with workers just bringing more and more out. The result: super fresh baked goods at ridiculously low prices. I mean, when was the last time you paid $0.50 for anything (and it wasn't at a Chinese bakery ;))?

The focus at Sabor Latino seems to be sweet buns, often with little embellishment except sugar, and stuffed items: danishes and churros filled with dulce de leche or cream as well as cake slices (guava and pineapple) behind the counter, though these aren't as dirt cheap. I'm not sure why I was drawn to the buns, but I was. It was also one of the few things I could actually access without needing to plow past workers unloading their carts. :/

Unbeknownst to me, I ended up picking a Guatemalan sweet bread with sugar ($0.50) and Mexican concha ($0.75). Both were super soft and had the aroma of fresh baked bread; in fact, it didn't get any fresher than this. Amazing texture, great taste. I started with the sugar bread and thought it had to be my favourite until I bit into the concha. That topping.... so good! I ate both of these tasty treats in no time. What a find!

Rating: ***1/2

C is for Cookie [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: C is for Cookie 
Address: Týsgata 8, Reykjavík
Website: facebook 
Style: Icelandic, European 
Price: $-$$ 

Continuing on my quest to map every cafe with homemade cakes in Reykjavik, today's pick is C is for Cookie, which has been on my radar since last year. Their selection isn't very large, with space for three or four cakes at one time and a couple varieties of cookies on top (it really would be a disgrace if they didn't have cookies! ;P), but there is something undeniably homemade and unique about what they do have, even if nothing has a distinctive "Icelandic" vibe. I did ask to make sure, though, since I'm well acquainted with the secrets of Icelandic cafes (perhaps I was a spy after all? XD), and was comforted by the look I received in return; as in "of course our cakes are homemade, is there any other option!?" Always a good sign. The cakes and cookies are also fairly well-priced, especially for downtown Reykjavik. Bonus points for serving tea in a great big cup, too! 

While there, the only cakes they did have available were a recently sold out chocolate cake, a vegan apple cake, and the cheesecake. Debating between the apple cake, since it did look very good, and the cheesecake, I settled for the cheesecake (750kr), because I love a good cheesecake. Delicious graham crust with a cheesy, fluffy mass mixed with a hint of coconut, and then a layer of dark chocolate on top. Mmm... I had a lot of fantastic cake during this time in Iceland (perhaps too much cake... I ate a lot of cake .____.), but this is definitely up there with my favourites. Simple and so yummy!! Would return in a heartbeat!

Rating: ***1/2

Bis la boulange

Bakery: Bis la boulange
Address: 48 Rue Fraser, Rivière-du-Loup QC
Website: http://www.bislaboulange.com/
Style: French, Canadian 
Price: $$-$$$ 

The road trip was drawing to a close at this point, but that didn't mean there weren't more bakeries to be done. ^^ (Actually there are so many bakeries I had to miss on just the route between Quebec City and New Brunswick that I'll have to go back and do it thoroughly) There are actually quite a few bakeries in Rivière-du-Loup and I pretty much just picked this one due its easy access from the highway... this kind of backfired since I took the wrong highway exit and ended up going through the downtown, but during an attempt to turn around, I ended up right at the bakery, so it did work out! ^^

Bis la boulange is a quaint, open-concept bakery that have an L-shaped counter of sweet and savoury goods that are kind of all over the place, with some baked goods in the bread area, others on the opposite side. Just like some things were labelled and priced, others not (I always dislike that since I have no idea what to call these things in French...), but in either case, there weren't that many baked goods and the most interesting, the caramel roll ($2.95) ended up being the final purchase. 

 This was the first time I had seen something like this: braided down spun into a circle with the centre filled with a dulce de leche-like caramel sauce. This caramel sauce was pretty much only on top, with the dough being otherwise just a sweet, bready dough, not quite the flakier French dough I was expecting. Normally, perhaps, I would have been disappointed, but in this case, I... well, thought the outer rings were the best part. The caramel was too sweet, thick and concentrated; in the end, I scraped off most of it and just ate the bun. Not the best choice on my part. :/   

Rating: **1/2