Top Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Top Bakery (Top烘焙房)
Address: No. 2, Fuguo Road, Hualien
Website: facebook
Style: Chinese
Price: $$

My final bakery stop in Hualien, Top Bakery is located north of the train station and is notable for its remarkably spacious interior and impressive selection of more than just the sweet and savoury buns you encounter everywhere. I was almost overwhelmed by the amount of bread, pastries and refrigerated creamy treats, though for me the item most worthy of mention was the shelf of cake stands featuring several varieties of pre-sliced coffee cakes. It came as such a welcome change - finally, something truly different that's not just a bunch of carbon copy baked goods! *-*

Yes, I was suffering from pineapple and milk cream, etc. bun overdose at the time and was in desperate need of something more unique and hopefully less bready as well. Fortunately, there was the orange coffee cake ($50). The cake had whole candied orange embedded into the top and featured chunks of orange in the dough itself. That dough was moist and fresh, though the parts with no orange didn't have any distinct taste. Nevertheless, this looked and tasted homemade - and that's quite a compliment if you couldn't tell.

Rating: ***