GaKuDen [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: GaKuDen Bakery (樂田麵包屋)
Address: No. 99, Hengyang Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei
Website: facebook
Style: Chinese 
Price: $$ 

Welcome to the Cake Tour, Taiwan! I was recently lucky enough to be in Taiwan for about 7 weeks, giving me ample time to review a ton of bakeries. GaKuDen was my very first stop and I was pleasantly surprised by its large selection of appealing baked goods with a certain Japanese flair as well as plenty of Western treats like croissants, pound cake and cookies. Most consists of bread with sweet goods interspersed here and there. Like most food in Taiwan, it initially came across as more expensive than I'd expected, but I soon came to learn that for its quality and location, GaKuDen was very well priced. Labels have English descriptions.

I was torn between a few items and eventually went with the lemon glaze doughnut ($35). While resembling more a sweet bread than a doughnut in terms of texture, I loved it! It had this unmistakable Eastern European taste; the dough was airy and that hint of lemon in the icing with the almonds was so good. The only minus was that it came in a plastic bag that made it heat up and melt incredibly quickly, resulting in a sticky mess and most of the icing remaining on the inside of the bag. Nonetheless, a fantastic start to my Taiwan tour!

Rating: ***1/2