Wouda's Bakery

Bakery: Wouda's Bakery
Address: 146-1848 Main St, Penticton BC
Website: facebook
Style: European, Canadian
Price: $$ 

Well, it would have been smarter to take a picture of this bakery from the inside. Oh well, that will have to be for the next time I'm in Penticton. Nevertheless, Wouda's is perhaps the classic bakery in town with a fully-stocked array of appetizing baked goods that include Canadian staples like squares and danishes along with a few Dutch and German items that are a little less common -- did someone say poppy seed squares? ;D I love seeing these bakeries that are almost full to bursting, they have so much selection, and selection that really looks good; recently disheartened by yet another closure of a long-distance regular bakery, it's nice and comforting to see they get the customer turnaround to keep going with all these choices and affordable prices. Good job, Penticton!

Anyways, of course I just could not resist the poppy seed square ($2.95). It was mine before I even placed my order; the rest, a bit excessive for an inaugural trip, seemed to come naturally. The poppy seed square was a traditional German-style square cake with a dense poppy seed mass with a shortbread crust and lattice topped with a bit of icing. Very good -- mmm, it'd been awhile since I'd had a yummy poppy seed treat... but why so many raisins?! -__-

The cinnamon twists ($1/each), I'll admit, looked better than they were. Biting into one, I was surprised at how hard and chewy the dough was, so much that it was actually difficult to bite off a piece; instead you kind of tear and rip it apart. Would have liked it to have been... fluffier perhaps? Or maybe crunchier on the outside so it's easier to sink your teeth into it?

The next item up, the apple pecan cinnamon bun ($2.75) was an old-school sticky cinnamon bun with a nice dose of sugary coating rolled with ooey gooey cinnamon mass and chunks of apples. On top, a swirl of cream cheese icing and pecans. 

Last but not least, the butter horn  ($2.75) had to be my favourite together along with the poppy seed square. Soft, slightly chewy dough that was rich and fluffy and coated in icing. Mmmm... it's so simple, yet very good.

So while some goodies were better than others, Wouda's is a great bakery and my personal favourite in Penticton.

Rating: ***

Boulangerie Mr. Pinchot

Bakery: Boulangerie Mr. Pinchot
Address: 4354 Rue Brebeuf, Montreal QC 
Website: facebook 
Style: French, Canadian 
Price: $$ 

Mr. Pinchot is a type of bakery that is not often encountered: the neighbourhood bakery. Of course, the name is often used when referring to bakeries say, on a street with shops or in a plaza, but Mr. Pinchot is literally in the neighbourhood, more or less sandwiched in the middle of a residential street the way only Montreal depanneurs are. It has a certain charm to it and when that's a bakery, it's a beautiful thing. And Mr. Pinochot, with its rustic wooden shelves in the window, is indeed a wonderful sight.

Stepping in, I found it, I would almost say more Canadian than a great many bakeries in Montreal which tend to focus on purely French baked goods. That being said, Mr. Pinchot does sell croissants and chocolatines, but along with that, you have almost more homey items like brownies and pies -- a more unusual sight that seems to go well with the country-style decor.

I picked out an apple square ($3.25; "carré pomme" -- note that I sliced a small part of the square for the picture) for myself. Well, I didn't know what it was at first; neither did the worker, for that matter. After some asking, I decided to just take it and only found out after paying that it was well, apple. That suited me just fine, however. This was a fairly simple, rustic treat with two layers of shortbread crust with an apple sauce-like filling similar to what you'd find in a chausson aux pommes, but more solid/set. Not too sweet, good texture with the soft filling and more cookie dough. Tasty!

Rating: ***

Abbey Gardens

Bakery: Abbey Gardens
Address: 1012 Garden Gate Dr, Haliburton ON 
Website: http://abbeygardens.ca/
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$-$$$

While Abbey Gardens isn't technically a bakery in and of its own, they do have one or two vendors selling baked goods; the building on the whole is a project to sell local and organic foods and support small businesses in the area. A bit like a farmer's market with the side goal of creating some sort of eco-friendly park and/or garden/green space, Abbey Gardens isn't very big; perhaps it sounds more impressive than it really is, and this especially refers to the "market" itself, but still, baked goods are baked goods.

The more dedicated bakery actually specializes only in bread, so it was to the other one I went. This was nothing fancy, though maybe a bit pricey; in fact, it was advertised simply as homemade baking. Classic, small-scale Canadian, perhaps with a bit of British tossed in there, baking.

As soon as I heard this was had dates in the cake, I had to have it. There hasn't been a date cake I haven't liked; that being said, this was labelled as a sticky toffee cake or something along those lines. So, date wasn't the star attraction and, compared to other "date cakes", it definitely didn't taste like the star attraction, though the undeniable hints were there. Still, with a moist spice cake generously coated in a caramel icing, I definitely didn't regret this one!

Rating: ***   

Kitten&Donuts [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Kitten&Donuts
Address: Shioyachō (Kawaramachidōri) 333, Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto
Website: facebook
Style: Doughnuts
Price: $$ 

Amid my inexplicable quest to get in as many Japanese doughnut shops as possible, my first stop for "gourmet" doughnuts was this cute shop/cafe on one of Kyoto's main shopping streets and while their name may be a little nonsensical, they certainly know what they're doing with their counter of moist, fluffy doughnuts in a variety of rotating and seasonal flavours; the difference between these flavours is in the soft, thick glaze. All also happen to be prettily decorated: some are topped by little white chocolate balls, others with sprinkles, while others use different flavours and colours of icing. In the end, you get a lovely doughnut. ^^ The prices may be a little steep for a doughnut -- but it is standard for a gourmet shop.

What was particularly appreciated by me was the fact that they had so much variety and that variety included so many fruit-based flavours. I never like going and everything is just a chocolate off-shoot. It being strawberry season then, there were -- I believe -- three types with strawberry, including strawberry-raspberry, which looked very good. Suffice to say, it was a difficult decision.

In the end, I couldn't resist the matcha/green tea doughnut (300 yen). I realize it was maybe an uninspired choice, but the dark green glaze with matcha cake crumbs and white chocolate balls... how can you beat that? The dough was so soft, super fresh and slightly chewy: the perfect yeast doughnut consistency. And that glaze! Really, after all this touring, no one outside of Japan will ever come close to the level and quality of matcha baked goods I had here. The rich flavour of matcha was in every bite. This could almost be called a koicha (thick matcha) doughnut, it had so much concentrated green tea flavour. I might even want to say the white chocolate balls detracted slightly from that experience, but that's just nitpicking.

Adorable doughnut shop with delicious doughnuts. What a find!

Rating: ***1/2

Walla Artisan Bakery [RIP]

Bakery: Walla Artisan Bakery
Address: 114-1475 Fairview Rd, Penticton BC
Website: http://wallafoods.com/
Style: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Israeli
Price: $$$

I recently did a fairly thorough tour of Penticton. The first stop was this artisan bakery located inside the Cannery market (though it's not much of a market) that also doubles up as a quaint cafe serving hot lunch items. In some ways, owing to the limited selection of items up for sale (many shelves were empty on an early Saturday afternoon), it might be more a cafe than a bakery, though Walla does sell bread, some cake and a few rotating baked goods which include Middle Eastern classics like baklava, chocolate babka along with French staples like pain au chocolat. So while the choices are limited, they do look good; in that sense, the one thing detracting me from buying up more was the price. At prices starting at $5 for an individual baked good or $4.50 for a piece of baklava, I thought it was a bit much.

Still, one look at the Italian plum and almond danish ($5) and my mind was made up. Firstly, it was so nice to see something different and baked goods using plum -- well, it would perhaps be more appropriate to say "prune" -- are definitely few and far between, so I always like to give them a try when I do see them. Maybe it didn't look too photogenic, but it was good in taste: a softer dough (though I would have like it to be flakier) stuffed with a filling of prune jam and almond mass. The prunes were slightly sour, not too sweet or homogeneous, and they really complimented the more subtle flavour of the almond. Nice amount of dough. Good, slightly more elevated pastries from a skilled bakery.

Rating: *** 

ÔBreton

Bakery: ÔBreton
Address: 1201 Av. du Mont-Royal E, Montreal QC
Website: http://obreton.ca/
Style: Breton, French 
Price: $$-$$$ 

Having finished my bakeries of the day, I walked past this creperie and, not remembering having seen it before, I couldn't resist popping in to see what they had; rather, I had no choice but to pop in once I spotted the words "gâteau breton" on their menu. Oh Mimi....

That being said, ÔBreton is indeed first and foremost a creperie, and even then they specialize in traditional buckwheat crepes with savoury fillings, though they do have a few more affordable sweet varieties (including salted caramel, maple syrup and homemade Nutella); however, turns out they also sell three types of classic Breton sweets: the 'gâteau' (more or less a thick cookie filled with a layer of prune paste), shortbread cookies, and Far Breton (a clafoutis-like cake with prunes). While they don't have the pinnacle of Breton baking -- the heavenly kouign-amann -- it was nevertheless a real find!

My personal favourite being that gâteau breton ($3.70/half or $6.90/whole), I had to give this one a try. After all, I don't actually recall ever buying one from a bakery; the only time I've had one was baked my mom, but it was delicious. Driving my fork through the hard cookie-like cake, I found it... healthier-tasting than I was expecting. I believe wholewheat flour was used. Of course, a cookie filled with prune paste is already almost as healthy as you can get -- and this wasn't very sweet; considering that a traditional recipe involves almost equal parts eggs, sugar, butter, and flour, I didn't taste that quintessential Breton richness of butter and egg. Despite being good and I probably didn't need that richness, in some ways, it didn't really feel like I treated myself to a sweet "cake" at all.

Rating: **1/2 

Blue Canoe Bakery & Cafe [RIP]

Bakery: Blue Canoe Bakery & Cafe 
Address: 121 Shuswap St S, Salmon Arm BC
Website: http://www.bluecanoebakery.com/
Style: Mediterranean, Canadian 
Price: $$-$$$ 

The second dedicated bakery in Salmon Arm is, like Shuswap Pie Company, more a cafe and sit-down spot than a place to pop in and grab baked goods or bread, though they sell both. Instead, Blue Canoe seems more of a lunch/coffee break destination with a fairly large menu featuring sandwiches, salads and wraps, although they do also offer an interesting, almost surprising array (especially given it's a smaller town bakery) of treats that include classic Canadian bakery staples (cookies, muffins and buns) with a more than generous dash of Mediterranean/Greek/Lebanese pastries thrown in there for fun. I'll admit I didn't expect to find baklava -- but it was pretty exciting I did.

 These baklava ($3.95) are bigger than usual, come in two varieties (the braided one pictured and a more conical version) and are made individually, almost like nutty danishes, so you don't get it sitting in a tray of sugary syrup, which just so happens to be the best kind of baklava. A bit pricey, it nevertheless had a lot of crushed nuts, raisins, and a smattering of pistachio as well. Pretty good.

The second item I couldn't resist grabbing was a single-serve basboussa (was it $3 or $3.95 as well? I'm not sure...). This Middle Eastern sponge cake made with semolina and sugar syrup was one I'd tried once before and really liked; the latter used Greek yogourt for a denser, richer dough and I don't think anyone can beat it, but this was very good in its own right: moist, semi-sticky dough with great texture and taste. It really is one of those treats you can't stop eating!

In short, if you're in the mood for something a little different, Blue Canoe is a friendly, interesting bakery worth checking out.

Rating: ***

Oreno Pan [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Oreno Pan
Address: 東山区中之町200, Nakanocho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 
Website: https://restaurant-okumura.com/orenopan/
Style: Japanese
Price: $$

When I mentioned my Cake Tour and that I was on the bakery hunt in Kyoto, my host K. amazingly sent me a few of his favourite bakeries in the city. The first on that list was Oreno Pan. Oreno Pan is a small, Kyoto-only chain of artisanal bakeries specializing in what is known as "pan" -- Western-style bread. This bread comes in many shapes and forms, but without a doubt the main feature is their square loaves of semi-sweet bread available in a handful of flavours like green tea red bean, all at reasonably good prices. In addition to this, they probably have more savoury baked goods; at least, I recall I had trouble picking out buns that I knew for sure were sweet. 

 Nevertheless, I am super happy with what I did pick out: the matcha melon bun (195 yen before tax?). I'm not quite sure if I've ever had a melon bun. I'd like to say I should have, since I'm familiar with what they are, and yet I don't really have a distinct recollection of it. Whether I did or not, Oreno Pan's bright green version was the official moment I... fell in love with melon buns; they also ended up having the best melon bun I tried.

 The concept is relatively simple: soft, almost elastic dough that's not too sweet with a sugary crust on top, made -- I presume -- to resemble the skin of a melon? A bit of crunch and you break into that super soft inside. Add lots of flavour-packed matcha and I was more than satisfied with the first recommendation I received. Thank you very much for this one!

Rating: ***1/2 

Pâtisserie Rhubarbe

Bakery: Pâtisserie Rhubarbe
Address: 1479 Av. Laurier E, Montreal QC
Website: http://patisserierhubarbe.com/
Style: French
Price: $$-$$$ 

Whether it's due to its reputation or just pure marketing, it seems that Rhubarbe is one of Montreal's more well-known and talked about patisseries, at least at the moment. Now, while even I question the amount of branded merchandise for sale in store and wish that same level of somewhat crazy selection would transfer over to the baked goods, Rhubarbe does have a nice array of both classic and one-of-a-kind treats ranging from multi-tiered pastries to macarons and baked goods. Naturally, they do have your patisserie stalwarts like croissants and chocolatines, but how can you resist their seasonal flavours like ricotta-pomegranate and cardamom?

When there, I was debating between two unique baked goods and finally went with the intriguing cranberry-pecan danish ($3.50). Prettily twisted buttery dough wound round a centre filled with plump cranberries and chunks of pecan on top of custard. Good texture and taste and I liked that they didn't over-sweeten the cranberries and kept them a little tart. Tart and juicy, a little crunch from the pecans with slightly chewy dough.

So I may not be running to get a Patisserie Rhubarbe t-shirt and canvas bag, but I'm still a fan. ;)

Rating: ***

Big Al's Bakery and Deli

Bakery: Big Al's Bakery and Deli
Address: 6030 Main St, Oliver BC
Website: http://www.bigalsbakery.com/
Style: Canadian
Price: $-$$ 

The bakery in Oliver may not look like a dedicated bakery from the outside; after all, it is a deli as well and with the sign and window advertising everything from cooking to catering, I was expecting the actual bakery to be limited and just a side project, but despite the fairly extensive breakfast and lunch menu, Big Al's is indeed a real bakery with lots (and lots) of baked goods in addition to breads and cakes.

Their focus seems to be their nice, affordable selection of doughnuts with special mention needing to be made to their apple fritters. They look really good and will have to be tried next time.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the day for apple fritters... instead, I couldn't resist the almond danish (not their name; I'm not sure what it was called). This was really good with tons of slivered natural almonds on top of a slathering of icing with almond filling; this danish was soft and surprisingly flavourful. This tasted like a pro bakery.

Now I really want to try Al's apple fritters! O_O

Rating: ***1/2

Country Bakery

Bakery: Country Bakery 
Address: 9996 Hwy ON-118, Haliburton ON 
Website: facebook 
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

While there was an entirely other reason for driving up to the Haliburton Highlands, it's always nice to stumble upon a bakery. Or, in this case, two Cake Tour destinations!

The first is Country Bakery: a bakery in the form of a small, rather cute red cabin just off the highway. Inside the wood-accented shop, the shelves and glass case display a pretty impressive selection of classic sweet treats: various types of squares (date, brownies) some muffins and scones, loaf cakes and butter tarts.

Of all these traditional bakery favourites, I picked out a slice of their carrot cake. It was very fresh with moist slightly spiced dough and thick, soft icing that was a bit more runny than some of the more dense, solid versions; however, this was a welcome change and matched the cake perfectly. Also nice were the big chunks of walnuts on top. This was a nice find along the highway!

Rating: ***

京輪 [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: 京輪 [Kyourin] 
Address: Shimobentencho 51-2, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
Website: n/a
Style: Doughnuts, Japanese
Price: $-$$ 

Yes, it's a bit embarrassing, but I did choose to focus a little on doughnuts during my trip and tried to visit as many "doughnut shops" as I could, at least in Kyoto. Here is the first.

 While not a bakery, Kyourin is a quaint, busy cafe specializing in drinks, ice cream desserts (they also serve doughnuts topped with a scoop of ice cream), and baked cake doughnuts available in ten varieties, many of which are traditional Japanese flavours along with a few more unconventional choices. Unlike a great many doughnut shops where the difference between each variety is purely in the glaze, these simple, unadorned doughnuts are all about the dough.

I wanted something slightly different and went with the houjicha (roasted green tea) doughnut (150 yen). Dense, spongy and flavourful, the dough was greenish brown and packed with the bolder taste of roasted green tea. In addition to that, there were chunks of walnut here and there, which was nice. Classic old-fashioned doughnuts done right.

Rating: ***

C'ChôColat

Bakery: C'ChôColat
Address: 1255 Bishop, Montreal QC
Website: https://www.cchocolat.ca/
Style: Chocolate, North American
Price: $$$

My little site tends to focus on bakeries: places you pop into for a quick treat that might have a few tables and chairs, but nothing really dedicated to dining in, so when I was thinking of a place to try in Montreal for a special occasion, I really didn't have a clue. I could maybe think of one or two that could work, but ha ha a special occasion also deserved a brand-new Cake Tour. A little online research was done and I went with C'ChôColat, a chocolate-themed dessert cafe.

C'ChôColat actually has a larger repertoire than just chocolate treats with light meals, decadent milkshakes and drinks (alcoholic ones as well) on the menu -- but of course, most are there for homemade dessert, as was I. The only thing is that it isn't cheap, with fancier drinks at around $10 and dessert at about $15; I feel so bad for picking it out and then being treated to it! I'm sorry -- and thank you! :)

Without a doubt, their most hyped and most photographed offering is the C'Wow ($17), a picturesque dome of dark chocolate that is melted away with caramel sauce to reveal an inside filled with chunks of Belgian waffles and brownies. Insanely decadent, the waffles and brownies were tasty, but it was way too sweet with all that caramel sauce and melted chocolate. While it is pretty to watch, what you're left with isn't really worth it and a bit difficult to eat/finish off. Personally, this was my least favourite.

 The next dessert was the creppucine ($11): thick, pasta-like strands of crepe dough tossed with brownie meatballs and topped with creamy milk chocolate sauce and "Parmesan cheese" (a.k.a. white chocolate shavings). An ingenious concept and a delicious one at that. Unlike the C'Wow, this one wasn't too sweet. It could have even used a little more sauce, but it was good as it was, especially when you got one of those chewy meatballs.

However, being the white chocolate fan that I am, my soft spot was for the white chocolate crumble ($8.50). This is by far the lightest dessert on the menu and that suited me just fine: a simple white chocolate mousse served with a loose streusel topping, fresh raspberries and white chocolate sauce. Mmmm...  this was so good and while not as pretty, photogenic or creative as the others, it was *the* highlight of all three. Yummy!

Rating: ***