Cake-Ya

Bakery: Cake-Ya
Address: 2415 Clarke St, Port Moody BC
Website: facebook
Style: Japanese 
Price: $

Amid the bakeries of Vancouver, I had a hunch that there had to be a Japanese bakery somewhere. I'll confess that I didn't expect the one I did find, besides a travelling bakery selling at various farmers' markets throughout Metro Vancouver, to be in Port Moody's small downtown, but good things can come from unlikely places.

 Cake-Ya is, essentially, not quite a bakery, but a pastry shop serving fairly simple Japanese cakes and sweets at amazing prices. Outwardly, it's nothing too fancy: plain, unadorned cheesecakes, cream rolls and castella cakes along with packaged shortbread cookies, mochi and mousse cups. In fact, I might have just named their whole repertoire. The taste, however, is what matters and this is what Cake-Ya does very well.

With the green tea castella gone that day, I just had to give their baked cheesecake ($6.50) a try. Fluffy and soft... maybe not the fluffiest cheesecake I've had, but it was one of the best. Some are better vold, others are better warmed up and this one definitely belonged to the latter group. I warmed it up in the microwave and dove right in to its cloud-like texture. Mmm...

The Okinawa shortbread cookies ($2.50/bag), available in plain, black sesame or matcha, I believe, were equally delicious. Packed with matcha flavour, these were rich with softer, crumbly outer layer and a super dense cookie within. Really, I'm not sure which one I liked better! Truly a gem.

Rating: ***1/2