Beard Papa's

Bakery: Beard Papa's
Address: 548 Robson St, Vancouver BC 
Website: http://beardpapascanada.com/index.html
Style: Japanese
Price: $$-$$$

Yes, there is/was* also a Beard Papa's location in Pacific Mall, in Markham, which is considerably closer to where I live than Vancouver... but it's not like I've gone to Pacific Mall lately. (* Beard Papa's website doesn't list any locations outside of B.C., though they claim they have eleven stores nationwide. Is the one in Markham still open? No, it closed down.) It's been a few years, so why not just take advantage of the opportunity and do one further abroad when it's staring you right in the face? No Japan location yet, unfortunately.  ;)

Anyways, Beard Papa's is a cream puff chain from Japan, but like an increasing number of Japanese dessert chains, they have countless locations throughout East Asia and more in North America. As mentioned, their Canadian site states they have eleven stores nationwide, but only three in BC are listed, so perhaps others similarly closed down (they probably came a little prematurely, before the Japanese cheesecake/dessert hype kicked in). Beard Papa's specialty is cream puffs: choux pastry puffs that are stuffed with either standard green tea, chocolate and vanilla or rotating flavours like strawberry, coffee, etc. In addition to this, they have a few French-inspired desserts (mostly choux pastry-based) and some drinks. While I forget to make a note of the price (around $2), getting ten is cheaper than buying them individually, but it can still add up.

Despite the poster inside claiming that these are the world's best cream puffs (bold claims always need to be justified ;P), these didn't pack as big a punch as I expected. Yes, they were tasty, with a good crunchy dough (though they looked airier on their website photos...) and green tea filling, but it could not beat my current favourite, which also happens to be a Japanese chain: Tsujiri, with its sprinkling of green tea powder on top and high-quality matcha filling. Mmmm....

Rating: ***