Max's Bakery and Deli

Bakery: Max's Bakery and Deli 
Address: 3105 Oak St, Vancouver BC
Website: http://www.maxsdeli.ca/
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$$ 

Resembling more the ready-food counter at a gourmet food store, Max's is definitely more deli than bakery, especially with its large counter space devoted to sandwiches, salads and other savoury prepared foods. Of course, there is the bakery zone with mostly large cakes, individual cake squares and slices in addition to quite a number of cookies. Fresh baked goods like danishes, muffins and cinnamon buns are fairly limited, not to mention that some were simply there in the form of a label next to an empty plate. Service was hectic and confusing - I never do understand why businesses do a number system and disregard the fact that half the customers have numbers and opt for the closest one at the counter method - unfortunately, I can't even say first come first served. That teamed up with the fact that two workers didn't know what the poppy seed square was or how much it cost (but I was just reading the label!) led to a very frustrating purchasing experience.

With their sticky cinnamon buns looking like the definite stars of the show, I was going to take them until I spotted it: that good old poppy seed square ($3.49). In this case, the "old" part was a bit overwhelming. :( This not only tasted like fridge and the poppy seed mass had a hardened crust along the outside, but I don't know whether they placed it on a dirty surface at some point in the preparation process or it was kept next to it in the fridge, the square, especially the shortbread bottom, tasted like... onions. Onion buns, onion bagels... I don't know what it was, but it ruined a pretty good, albeit a bit on the stale side poppy seed square. I know that you can't make squares on a daily basis, but someone should keep track of how long some of the items have been in the fridge and what they're coming into contact with - what a shame.

Rating: **

Milky House [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Milky House (ミルキィーハウス)
Address: 60 Noboribetsuonsencho, Noboribetsu, Hokkaido
Website: n/a
Style: Cheesecake 
Price: $$$ 

Milky House isn't in any way a bakery, but it was still one of the most memorable Cake Tours on my Hokkaido trip. Essentially, it's the retail outlet of Noboribetsu Dairy Farm, so they sell everything... well, milky. This mainly includes soft ice cream, but they also sell milk, coffee drinks, pudding and fresh cheesecake - all made from their own milk and dairy products. Prices are hot spring town prices, but it is worth it. if I was considering going back for seconds (I so would have had it not been for the fact the same lady was working there a few hours later .__.), it has to be!

I took the cheesecake (500 yen; also available in chocolate). This is what I call a "fresh cheese cheesecake"; the cheese mass is poured on top of a sponge cake bottom and left to set, not bake. The result was a slightly jiggly, incredibly creamy mass. This was amazing! The texture was perfect, you could really appreciate the taste of local dairy products - it is what Hokkaido is partly famous for, after all. Perfect rating.

Rating: ****

Pâtisserie Coco

Bakery: Pâtisserie Coco
Address: 2 Rue de la Gauchetière O, Montréal QC 
Website: https://patisseriecoco.business.site
Style: Chinese
Price: $ 

For quite a number of years, de la Gauchetière had a few Chinese bakeries. Slowly, however, these closed their doors and only Harmonie remained, as crazy busy as ever. Somewhat recently, a new contender arrived on the scene: Patisserie Coco (not to be confused underground mall Chinese bakery Cocobun). This certainly more spacious bakery offers your typical selection of HK-style sweet and savoury buns that, truthfully, look like carbon copies of Harmonie's repertoire. Perhaps the Japanese-inspired (for lack of a better word) sweets, creamy treats and Western-style danishes are slightly more unique. Suffice to say, neither is more authentically Chinese than the other.

 Still on the quest to determine which Montreal bakery has the best Chinese doughnut after my favourite spot closed, I had to try Coco's version ($2.00). Theirs consisted of three extra plump, golden brown doughnuts on a skewer and rolled in sugar. Despite its golden exterior, it wasn't particularly well fried and was still soft - everyone knows what makes Chinese doughnuts of any kind so good is their crispy, perhaps overly greasy outside. The dough was moist and spongy, so I liked the texture and it probably beats the competition, but still... darn it, it just doesn't come close to that one that got away! Nonetheless a pretty good Chinese bakery and a welcome addition to Montreal Chinatown.

Rating: *** 

Wakasaimo Honpo [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Wakasaimo Honpo (わかさいも本舗)
Address: 96-6 Nakanoboribetsucho, Noboribetsu, Hokkaido
Website: https://www.wakasaimo.com/
Style: Japanese
Price: $$-$$$ 

With their headquarters in, I believe, Lake Toya, Wakasaimo is a confectionery mostly selling wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) with a twist; perhaps not exclusively, these sweets use potato as a base ingredient... at least there is some sort of potato theme going on. You can't get more Hokkaido than that! Besides selling their pre-packaged gift boxes, they also have a counter of individual Western-style cakes and creamy confectioneries.

Not wanting something overly creamy, I opted for the souffle cheesecake (292 yen). Though exceptionally small, even for Japanese standards, this sliver of a cheesecake was so moist and fluffy. I loved the thin caramel layer on top, which gave it a hint of extra sweetness and a more complex flavour, and then the whipped cream on top. All in all, the texture was amazing. It really was like biting into a cloud and made me once again appreciate the often over-hyped souffle cheesecake. Very good - and bonus points for being the only Cake Tour to date that also offers free on-site beer samples. Free beer and amazing cheesecake? Count me in!

Rating: ***1/2

Strawberry Moose Snackery

Bakery: Strawberry Moose Snackery
Address: 415 Eden Rd, Clearwater, BC 
Website: facebook
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

This seasonal coffee and baked good shop definitely gets bonus points for its name and adorable pink moose logo. Inside the equally adorable log cabin, the tight, crowded space isn't necessarily a bakery, but they have a decent selection of baked goods. However, its official, self-proclaimed title snackery doesn't really give it justice either (my first thought was potato chips or something). They have lunch and savoury snack options like sandwiches and soup. They sell coffee and other drinks. I think they have ice cream. Naturally, I was here to grab a baked good, simply for the sake of putting another "moose" on the Cake Tour map.

So intent on this purpose, I kind of overlooked the fact that the selection of baked goods isn't the greatest or largest and includes fairly standard cafe fare like squares, scones, etc. Nothing that really catches your eye or something that you'd necessarily want to grab without the accompaniment of a drink. Not being in the mood for one of their granola-like squares (though I was thinking of the date square), I opted for the muffin ($2.19). I'm not sure if it specified just what was in the muffin, since it seemed to contain a little bit of everything: there were some cranberries, a few blueberries and apple, I think, but despite this it still came across as a little dry and not quite muffin-like in terms of dough texture. Also, everyone knows the best part of a muffin is the top, but I wasn't a fan of this one with its sprinkling of brown sugar and wheat bran (?) - at any rate, something grainy.

Seeing as I only really opt for muffins as a last resort for the Cake Tour, I would have loved to see some more excitement, something you see and absolutely want to try. Nonetheless, the pink moose is on the map!

Rating: **1/2

Pastry Snaffle's [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Pastry Snaffle's (ペイストリー スナッフルス)
Address: 12-13 Wakamatsucho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 
Website: http://www.snaffles.jp/
Style: Japanese 
Price: $$ 

Probably the most well-known of patisseries in Hakodate, Snaffle's also happens to have a retail outlet (more so than an actual pastry shop) in the impressive food area of Hakodate train station. I was counting on grabbing something before my train from here, but I was a bit disappointed that the vast majority of products at the train station are sold as elaborate gift boxes and there really isn't that much selection in terms of individual products, whether that be Snaffles' signature mini cheesecakes or their other pastries. Actually, there's not much individual selection at all.

Seeing as I didn't want to invest in a gift box, I had no choice but to go with the other product they were so enthusiastically advertising: the omupan (270 yen). I couldn't help but notice that there was an absolutely delicious scent of warm cinnamon baked goods coming from the Snaffle's booth. Seeing the baker behind the glass take out a whole tray of omupan from the oven, I presumed these golden buns were the cause of that aroma. Receiving the bun, I was admittedly disappointed to find that it was neither warm nor did it smell of anything, to be quite frank. What, then, was the source of that cinnamon goodness!? It's a mystery!

Anyways, it was only when photographing the bun that I finally made the connection: omupan = omurice = omelet. Why it didn't hit me earlier was another mystery... I'm not really egg crazy so it wasn't good news; however, I was lucky that my next accommodation had a toaster oven so I popped it in. The golden bun got a little more browned on top but still retained its softness... and it was really good! In the end, I was satisfied.

Rating: ***

Trees Organic Coffee

Bakery: Trees Organic Coffee 
Address: 1598 W Broadway, Vancouver BC 
Website: https://treescoffee.com/
Style: Cheesecake
Price: $$$-$$$$ 

Trees Organic Coffee, the Vancouver coffee shop chain with their "famous" cheesecake, has been on my list of pending places to try in Vancouver for a couple of years (!) now. The first time I spotted the sign that's on the window of probably each location: the best cheesecake in Vancouver, I knew I had to go. After all, anyone claiming to be the best anything is putting out a challenge. Set out by a rather cocky business, if you ask me. We make great cheesecake. Our cheesecake is amazing. You can go the subjective route, but "best cheesecake in the city" is a concrete fact, so you better be sure that's the truth!

A few years back, I stepped into Trees, intent on grabbing a cheesecake to go - and immediately walked out. Not only do they make boastful claims, but they value that cheesecake pretty highly. I figured that I'd save it for a more celebratory event. On my last visit to Vancouver, I realized that I'll never have anything happen to me that's worth celebrating, so I just went for it.

Trees sells a few varieties of cheesecake slices that include plain NY-style - the cheapest - and all other "premium" flavours that include classics and seasonal specials. Or at least rotating flavours. I was just going to take the plain, because neutral is best when comparing, but when I saw NY-style attached to it, I backed down and went instead for the raspberry white chocolate ($7.50).

 The slice is served with optional whipped cream and decorated in varying degrees of loveliness (LOL - hey, it's true! take a look at online photos, some are so much better done than others!) - and mine was especially lame. Whenever you get white chocolate raspberry anything, it's super sweet with some sort of raspberry syrup. I loved their concept of fresh pureed raspberries mixed into the cheesecake and then poured on top. The cheesecake was not sweet and the slight sourness of the cheese was perfect with the sourness of the raspberries. I was pleasantly surprised. On the other hand, the white chocolate was nonexistent, taste-wise and visually except for a few shards along the crust. I would have liked more... maybe even drizzled over the slice? It was good.  Just not the best. Claim debunked!

Rating: ***

King Bake Natural [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: King Bake Natural (キングベークナチュラル)
Address: 16-10 Hakodate Station Square 1F, Wakamatsucho, Hakodate, Hokkaido
Website: http://kingbake.co.jp/shop/
Style: Japanese
Price: $$ 

An offshoot of King Bake, a Hakodate-area bakery with a couple locations and offshoots around town, King Bake Natural appears to be no different from the other locations; identical products can be seen in all their bakery shots, so why natural? It's a mystery. Sharing its space with a confectionery selling local products in gift boxes (hence the awkward location shot), King Bake is a bit all over the place, with baked goods located here and there, sweet among the savoury.  The specialty was definitely simple pan with all the classic types along with quite a number of muffin varieties. With its close proximity to Hakodate station, it's a good place to stop before a train trip. Unlike the food stalls actually in the station, King Bake has the look and feel of train station baked goods, though it doesn't happen to be one of the big national bakery chains.

I had the fried hot dog bun with cinnamon (96 yen). Really, the description says it all; in store, the aroma of this plate of fried dough pervaded one corner of the bakery. I wasn't even planning on taking it, but the other products didn't look especially appetizing and that cinnamon and sugar.... Biting into it, I was a little disappointed that the dough was nothing special. It was airy and soft, exactly like a... why, yes, a hot dog bun. It really was a hot dog bun, just sweeter. It didn't really have any sort of fried element to it, the bun being too doughy. I liked the cinnamon and sugar, but one hour in a plastic bag had made it all melt away, ruining the effect a bit. The idea was there, but maybe hot dog buns should stick to their original purpose. ;)

Rating: **1/2

Boulangerie Le Toledo

Bakery: Boulangerie Le Toledo
Address: 351 Mont-Royal Ave E, Montreal QC
Website: https://www.letoledo.com/
Style: French, Canadian 
Price: $$$ 

On my latest trip to Montreal, I had a great vantage point for observing the strangely hectic goings on of Le Toledo, a newer bakery/lunch spot/cafe on Mont-Royal. It having fairly late opening hours for a weekend, especially compared to its neighbours, I popped in on a Saturday evening and found it crazy busy, although there wasn't really anything there in terms of sweet baked goods. Attributing it to the hour, I actually left and thought I'd have better luck another day. I returned on a morning weekday and still found it busy, but the selection was a little better.

In truth, I would call Le Toledo more a cafe more than a bakery. Yes, they have a fairly large assortment of healthy, rustic breads, but the items for sale - like sandwiches, soup, croissants and raisin bread - seem designed more for eating there with a drink. Not to mention they actually don't have much sweet stuff happening. They do have croissants and pains au chocolat, but that's pretty much it in terms of baked goods besides very North American bars and cookies. Two or three fancier, though quite pricey cakes round off the selection. I was just as stumped in the morning as I was that Saturday!

I finally went with the chausson aux pommes ($4, tax included). Flaky, feather-light dough that had good texture and taste, though it was exceptionally messy, with a nice, chunky baked apple inside. I liked that it wasn't completely an apple sauce like it usually is; I preferred this version, but I wish there was more of it. Pretty good, but on the whole Le Toledo is so not worth the hype.

Rating: **1/2

Petite Merveille [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Patisserie Petite Merveille
Address: 11-5 Toyokawacho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 
Website: https://www.petite-merveille.jp/
Style: Japanese
Price: $$

This Hakodate patisserie specializing in their miniature "mel cheese" cakes (clearly in direct competition with Hakodate's other premier patisserie, Snaffles, though I'm not sure who is copying who; my instinct tells me Petite Merveille isn't by any means a trailblazer) is located inside one the brick warehouses along Hakodate's famed waterfront. More pastry shop than bakery, they have a display case of pretty individual cakes and tarts - some adorably animal-shaped - along with a fridge filled with those famous melty cheesecakes and some sort of pudding cups.

I'm always a sucker for cute things with a silly face, so my top pick was one of those above-mentioned animal pastries, especially when I saw how small the cheesecakes were. However, I'm also a sucker for free samples... and they knew who to pick when they were handing out those cheesecake samples. The idea of melt cheese does not conjure up anything delectable in my mind; personally, the first thing I think of cheesy sauce. Nasty liquefied grossness. I was almost expecting this thing to have a molten cheese centre.

Luckily, "mel cheese" (3 x 160 yen = 480 yen) refers to the fact that the cheesecake melts in your mouth. And does it ever - some flavours better than others, rather. I had the seasonal pumpkin, strawberry and plain cheese. My least favourite was the strawberry; it was too sweet. Perhaps the problem was that it also tasted the least fresh and, as such, didn't melt on the tongue as well. Surprisingly for me, because I had the least hopes for it, the best was the pumpkin. So soft, so flavourful... this was good!

Rating: ***1/2

Victoria K Cakes

Bakery: Victoria K Cakes
Address: 24-1450 Clark Ave W, Thornhill, ON
Website: facebook
Style: Cake, Russian
Price: $$$ 

 Always on the lookout for new and amazing cake places, I chanced upon this place while checking directions for another bakery. Located in a corner of one of those nondescript plazas, Victoria K Cakes is a Russian patisserie in the truest sense of the word in that they only really sell cakes (both full-sized and individual slices) and a small selection of pastries, cookies and baked goods.

However, I was here for the cake this time around. The cake slices served as a good guideline for determining how the inside of the large cakes looked like; I was a little disappointed that many did not have the multiple thin layers of cream and cake that is, in my opinion, so typical of Russian cakes. One thing worth noting, though, was the fact that they had a lot of fruit cakes - finally! Most bakeries have a lot of chocolate and maybe one fruit cake if you're lucky, so it was nice to see so much selection. On the other hand, I found Victoria K expensive; expect to pay on average $10 more than a good cake from a quality bakery! The thing is, the big cake isn't even a deal compared to buying individual slices, though it should be.

Personally, I would have gone with the Anechka honey cake with prunes, but I'd received a special request not to get "another honey cake". Instead, I took the vanilla cranberry ($41) because it had that elaborate multi-layered construction I'm so fond of. Cutting into it, I liked the crepe-thin layers of cake, but was disappointed that the cranberry was relegated to only the tip of the cake, with other slices having a less equal division, so the cake was mostly lots of vanilla cream with some tartness in one or two bites. Too one-dimensional. For the price, the outside also could have been made to look nicer.

Yes, I was there for the cake alone, but when I spotted the poppy seed bun ($2.49) I had to give it a try. From the outside, it didn't look like much; actually, it looked pretty doughy, but looks were deceiving in this case. Thin, poppy seed-loaded layers of tasty dough - this was definitely the highlight of the show and good enough to improve the overall rating after that cake!

Rating: ***

Kamakura [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Casual Bakery Kamakura (気ままなパン屋・窯蔵)
Address: 25-18 Yachigashiracho, Hakodate, Hokkaido
Website: https://panlab-hakodate.com/kamakura.html
Style: Japanese
Price: $$ 

Many Japanese bakeries aim to recreate a typically European - whether that be French or German or whatever the case may be - bakery, a chic patisserie with a foreign name, elegantly dressed workers packing petite cakes in little containers. On the other end, there's this eclectic yet undeniably lovely "casual" bakery that is not only quintessentially Japanese, but also fits in perfectly with the city's self-proclaimed retro charm. Past the classic exterior and sliding door, a small array of baked goods in baskets and trays are scattered along antique furniture and rustic shelves. Suffice to say, it's a pretty cool place.

Another thing that Kamakura seems to specialize in is absolutely adorable treats in the shape of snowmen, Anpan man, and Hello Kitty. I took the turtle green tea melon pan (140 yen). ^^ The turtle's legs and head were made from delicious sugar cookie dough (though it was emotionally difficult eating that smile) while the main body was  incredibly fresh, super soft on the inside and crunchy on the inside. I didn't expect the small pocket of custard right underneath the turtle's shell - that combined with everything else made a fantastic melon pan! The best in Hokkaido and my top bakery pick for Hakodate.

Rating: ***1/2

Valemount Swiss Bakery

Bakery: Valemount Swiss Bakery
Address: 1020 Main St, Valemount, BC 
Website: http://www.valemountswissbakery.com
Style: European, Swiss, Polish 
Price: $$ 

I've actually taken thew turn off for Valemount on the way to Jasper for the express purpose of visiting the Valemount Swiss Bakery a few times now and have found it closed, so do note that even in summer, you should check if it really is open.


Truth be told, I've always been interested in visiting the Swiss Bakery because of the Polish flag hanging outside alongside the Swiss one. Sure, it's random, but I'm of Polish heritage myself so it had to be done. Inside the small space - filled with people waiting while I was there on top of that - the baked goods are a mishmash of European, Eastern European and standard Canadian bakery fare: breads behind the counter and sweets scattered throughout. Honestly, the layout adds to the chaos with items located in various corners of the already tight space that only workers can handle.

However, as soon as I spotted those poppy seed baked goods, I knew what I had to have. Forget everything else! The poppy seed bun ($3.00) looked great, albeit a little clumsy with its three-ply shape. The dough was stiff and airy, perfectly suited to this type of bun and especially good because it was so fresh. The icing drizzled on top with the poppy seeds was also very good; however, I would have really liked it to have a lot more poppy seed and less raisins - it was a little dry and doughy as it was.

Rating: ***

Motomachi Bon Pan [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Motomachi Bon Pan (パン工房 元町ぼん･ぱん)
Address: 16-1 Suehirocho, Hakodate, Hokkaido
Website: http://www.hakodate-genkiclub.com/bonpan/
Style: Japanese
Price: $$ 

This small corner bakery was my next stop in fairly bakery-rich Motomachi. The baked goods are  simple, mostly soft, well-priced sweet and savoury buns and sliced bread with quite a few unique deep-fried treats that I hadn't really seen elsewhere.

One of these was the fried bread, a.k.a. the "crunchy doughnut" (130 yen), a sort of French toast that was unexpectedly stuffed with custard (and here I was thinking at first it was unbaked dough XD). I liked the texture of the bread that was nicely fried and well, crunchy on the outside with its dusting of sugar and soft inside. The custard was a little thick and there was quite a bit of it once you got into the middle, but it was good in taste.

Nothing necessarily fancy or one-of-a-kind, but one of the better bakeries in Hakodate.

Rating: ***

Deer Island Bakery

Bakery: Deer Island Bakery
Address: 2068 W 41st Ave, Vancouver BC 
Website: n/a
Style: Chinese
Price: $-$$

Still somewhat fuming from my visit to the Chinese bakery around the corner, it was nice to find in Deer Island a classic unpretentious bakery that sells mostly HK-style sweet and savoury buns, along with a few almost healthier, more "Western" - albeit still soft and hamburger bun-like in texture - breads such as the multigrain or orange bretzel. It being later in the evening, many were already gone, but the crowds were nonetheless out stocking up on pineapple pork and coconut cream buns. Though they don't really have anything more traditional or elaborate besides egg tarts (sold out) and a few cakes, the prices are reasonable and I would say the level of quality is above average. Sure, I was a little annoyed at the "only one thing!?" comment when paying, but I'll let it slide....

Personally, I'm not that big a fan of coconut in general, but the giant/deluxe coconut butterfly bun ($1.60) was one of the few more Chinese buns left behind; it also happened to be the last one, so I figured it was a popular pick among regulars. Despite its bigger size, it was a fairly standard bun with a generous layer of coconut right underneath the thin top. Personally, I would have liked if the coconut would have been a little more incorporated into the dough instead of having parts with pure coconut and then other parts that were just plain dough that didn't have much flavour. The powdered sugar on top was a little crusty too. Overall, it was alright, nothing special.

Rating: **1/2

Pain屋 [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Pain屋
Address: 22-12 Horaicho, Hakodate, Hokkaido
Website: n/a 
Style: Japanese, French
Price: $$ 

 Literally translating into "Pain shop" or "bread shop", if you will, I thought of just leaving the name of this bakery as-is. Nevertheless, Pain屋 is little French-style bake shop specializing in rustic bread and flaky pastries that focus heavily on danishes with a variety of fillings; of course, there's the classic Japanese baked goods as well like an pan and melon pan, but how you can resist the intricate, multi-layered croissants, cinnamon rolls, pains au chocolat, and danishes topped with pears, cherries and banana?

I went with the undeniably unique nut danish (a.k.a. something to do with "woodcutter"; 184 yen). This was well worth the price given how many nuts and nut types were rolled inside this deceitfully simple treat. Personally, I found some of the chunks too big since there was nothing keeping the nuts inside and they just ended up falling out. I really liked the icing drizzled on top and it was delicious with the flaky dough, though the latter was a little browned on the bottom, giving this delicately flavoured pastry undertones of burnt toast. :/

Rating: **1/2