Sam's Queenston Bakery

Bakery: Sam's Queenston Bakery

Address: 341 Queenston Rd, Hamilton, ON

Website: http://www.samsqueenstonbakery.com/

Style: Italian

Price: $$

In addition to the one zeppola from Markham for the latest zeppole challenge, I managed to get two more places in Hamilton that had not yet been reviewed. The first was this well-established bakery that looks and feels - and without a doubt is - like an institution. Just check out that sign, not to mention those rows upon rows of golden brown, bubbly cannoli! 

But of course I wasn't there for cannoli (this time around), but the zeppole. Sam's set itself apart in that it had offered two types of zeppole: the classic custard with Amarena cherries and a sort of zeppole/cannoli hybrid with ricotta cream. The ricotta cream version had, in my opinion, this round's best shell. The dough really was fantastic, though it could do without those gross candied fruit bit on top. ;) The cream was also very good, but it felt a little wrong to have a zeppola with ricotta cream. Turns out, I do have a huge soft spot for those Amarena cherries; however, having taken both versions from Sam's, I thought this bakery's ricotta version was better than the cherry.

 

Rating: *** 

Calabria Bakery

 Bakery: Calabria Bakery

Address: 5694 Hwy 7, Markham ON

Website: http://www.calabriabakery.ca/

Style: Italian 

Price: $$

It being zeppole season, I thought of reviving the good old Zeppole Challenge. This, however, proved to be easier said than done, as I had a hard time finding unexplored bakeries that sold zeppole and hadn't taken part in any zeppole challenges from previous years. Finally, there was this entry from Markham. 

This contender really didn't look bad: it had some nice amarena cherry presence. The dough looked nice and airy; however, what really got to me was that with every bite I just got a fridge taste (perhaps my initial "tastes like mortadella" was a little harsh...), as in it had been sitting around for some time. As such, the dough was a bit soggy, especially on the bottom. Honestly, this one looked so promising - actually seemed better than its winning competitors in appearance - and wasn't all that bad, but when you can taste something is not fresh, it's quite the disappointment. Sadly, I was far from impressed.

Rating: **

Fleur du Jour

Bakery: Fleur du Jour

Address: 603 St Clair Ave W, Toronto, ON 

Website: http://www.fleurdujour.ca/

Style: French

Price: $$$$

 

This bakery has quite the rave reviews, so I was curious about checking it out - especially since I heard something about kouign amann. And you know my opinion on kouign amann... Nonetheless, Fleur du Jour is a sparsely filled patisserie selling a handful of flaky baked goods and pretty pastries. It felt and looked a little barren when I was there. I mean, perhaps it gets super busy in the morning and people snatch everything up, but being there before noon, it seemed more dismal than anything else. 

The reason for coming, the kouign amann, has to take the prize for the most expensive individual baked good of all time. At $8.95 (!?!), I was assuming there was a mistake, but it was not a misprint. Had it been anything else, I just wouldn't have taken it. The higher you charge, the higher my expectations... This mini loaf-shaped was browned and crusty on top while the bottom was soft and somewhat wet, thus lacking the caramelized sugar crust that, in my opinion, is what makes the kouign amann so great. In addition to this, it didn't have that multi-tiered, buttery dough I love; you could see there was some folding going on on top, but it seemed a shame, since you didn't have that taste and texture inside. Honestly, it didn't taste buttery and (especially with that extra crusty outside) felt like a cinnamon bread - I was almost tempted to slice it up, stick it in the toaster and serve with butter. For the price, it was a huge let-down! 

The raspberry pistachio pastry was more reasonably priced; it was also softer and less browned on top, which was appreciated. That being said, I wasn't the biggest fan of the all-over glaze, which ruined that initial crunch and layered softness underneath you get when biting into a French pastry - isn't that the best part? 

Was the opera cake the best? Probably. I'm not the biggest chocolate fan and the opera cake in general is a little too rich, too creamy for my palette, but I thought it better executed than the two flaky pastries. The cream swirl on top had a bit of a crust on it from sitting for too long, but I enjoyed the different layers of chocolate and coffee cream. However, for all the effort I spent in coming here and all the money I spent, I can't say I was satisfied with what I got in return. 

 

Rating: **

Artisan Bakery

Bakery: Artisan Bakery

Address: 864 Dundas St, London ON

Website: http://www.artisanbakery.ca/

Style: Canadian

Price: $$ 

 

With a storefront as well as a spot in the public market, Artisan Bakery serves up a pretty good selection of homey classics and a couple fancier pastries such as croissants... as long as you know their hours, since they're closed half the week. 

For me, the unique, stand-out item from this bakery had to be the Nanaimo bar mini doughnut. You don't see so much Nanaimo bar love in this part of the country, and the idea was an intriguing one. The idea was probably the highlight, as the doughnut itself was a ring-shaped marble (chocolate/vanilla) coffee cake with a dab of cream and some chocolate chunk on top - there was nothing in this that evoked the decadent chocolate and custard cream creation that is the Nanaimo bar. I'm not even sure if this qualified as a doughnut... 

In addition to the doughnut, I grabbed a cheesecake slice and the berry danish. Despite it not looking the greatest with that fruity centre running off to one side, the danish was the tastiest of the bunch. I liked the real fruit (none of this gloopy stuff) and the dough - though more a sweet bread than danish dough - was pretty good. The cheesecake wasn't too thick and cheesy, but I wasn't a fan of the granola topping, especially the big oats. I felt it detracted from the smoothness of the cheese mass. All in all, not bad but could use some work. 

Rating: **1/2

Pasaj

Bakery: Pasaj

Address: 1100 Queen St E, Toronto ON

Website: http://www.pasajtoronto.com/

Style: Turkish 

Price: $$$$

 

I recently posted a review for a Turkish bakery and, being in the mood for more Turkish, did a little research and found out about to this cafe famous for its breakfast/brunch. Though not quite a bakery, they have a small selection of Turkish/Middle Eastern pastries and other sweets. A very pricey selection, that is. It's always puzzled me... does this part of Toronto have ridiculously high rent for retail or something? Because it has to be the most expensive destination for food in the city. I am not kidding. Is it just me? I mean, it's not like the neighbourhood is that prestigious or something... 

I read that the signature item is their "famous" Istanbul eclairs. I was dubious of the whole "famous" part, but there are actually websites listing where you can get the best eclairs in Istanbul... who knew? These are smaller than expected and, in my opinion, overpowered by the chocolate topping. Not that much cream could actually fit inside, so it lost the whole concept of an eclair. Equally tiny was the piece of baklava. For its size it had a nice amount of nutty filling and the ratio was quite good, but it was too wet and soggy - there was simply too much syrup. 

Lastly, the surprise winner was the date square. Now, I do love dates, so why the surprise? In truth, I was expecting something different, perhaps infused with more Middle Eastern flavours than a classic Canadian date square with an oat granola topping. That being said, it was nice and chewy and I liked the texture of that top. Overall, I wasn't the biggest fan of the miniature pastries - I think they would have been more in proportion had they been slightly bigger. The price, on the other hand, really was too much for what you get. 

Rating: **

Basket of Bread

 Bakery: Basket of Bread

Address: 2783 Lake Shore Blvd W, Etobicoke ON

Website: n/a

Style: Polish

Price: $

 

This newer Polish bakery took a few attempts to actually get something sweet to review, but boy was it worth it! The first time I found it completely closed when it was supposed to be open. The second time all they had left was three loaves of bread. At last, on the third try, I hit the jackpot: trays of "mini" Polish doughnuts (pączki; $0.79) in the window along with small and larger sweet breads. The thing that really sets Basket of Bread apart is the fact that it's a bakery and not a Polish deli. No cold cuts here, that's for sure!

As a pączki expert, I have to say that the GTA is certainly lacking, especially after the good spots closed their doors. Those available are all the same: gigantic balls of puffy dough that hardly even qualify as doughnuts and can be never be considered fresh. Finally, there's someone who knows what they're doing! These are just the perfect size for you to appreciate that fantastic golden brown crust and yummy glaze. Inside, the dough is fresh and spongy. Amazing! My only real issue was that the raspberry filling is too generic and more gloopy than fruity, a somewhat lacklustre finish to a fantastic doughnut. 

Besides the doughnuts, I tried the peach cheesecake, which was excellent (the cherry cheesecake I had on another occasion, not so much; again the "cherry" was just tasteless red goop that ruined the cheesecake instead of embellishing it), as well as the poppy seed strudel ($4.99). This fresh, moist sweet bread had a delicious poppy seed mass (it could have used more) and was topped with crumble and icing. In short: my new favourite destination for Polish baking! I've been back since my inaugural trip and will keep on returning. 

Rating: ***1/2

Gerrard St. Bakery

Bakery: Andrea's Gerrard St. Bakery

Address: 635 Gerrard St E, Toronto ON

Website:  https://www.gerrardstreetbakery.com/

Style: Canadian

Price: $$$

 

This is an area of Toronto I'm seldom in, so I don't know how long this bakery, located right in the midst of the Gerrard St. Chinatown, has been here. Maybe it isn't as old and established as the name suggests, but it nonetheless serves a decent, though not too large selection of classic Canadian squares, tarts and other humble goodies. I recall hearing something about it being famous for their butter tarts, so I'll confess I came here with a purpose. To my disappointment, those "famous", albeit quite pricey butter tarts were gone.... 

I had to make do with the next best thing. At least, the pecan nut cake square was as close to a butter tart as I could get. This was in no way a compromise where I suffered in the end: this pecan square smelled amazing before I even got a chance to try it! That crunchy nut topping, the impeccably chewy filling with a delicious shortbread dough underneath - I can see how the butter tarts would be good. 

Equally fragrant and deliciously chewy and gooey was the gingerbread bundt cake. It didn't look like much when I took it out of the box, but you could really taste - and smell - the spice in this cake. Great texture, good taste. Overall a bit pricey and still a bit bummed that I didn't get what I came for, but good stuff nonetheless. 

Rating: ***

Gulbay Turkish Bakery

Bakery: Gulbay Turkish Bakery

Address: 90 Winges Rd #21, Woodbridge ON

Website: n/a 

Style: Turkish

Price: $$ 

I'm always a sucker for less common ethnic baking and Turkish bakeries definitely fall into this category (though I do have another one coming up shortly); this small bakery, though focusing predominantly on savoury baked goods and breads, does have limited selection of sweet items you probably won't find anywhere else. 

Beyond the Turkish-style pita bread and bagels, there were a few treats that I totally jumped at the chance to try. Namely, the korek ($10), which they called a poppy seed cake. Poppy seed? *__* You know you can count me in! Prompted by my initial surprise at not finding anything black inside, I did some online research and found that korek is actually stuffed with white poppy seed and walnut. That white poppy seed had a definite sesame seed taste and... I was pretty darn devastated. Fluffy, semi-sweet bread with a delicate undertone of halvah and nuts that - like everything both sweet and savoury from this bakery - could have most certainly benefited from more filling, notwithstanding my disappointment at not being the poppy seed cake I was envisioning... 

The other item was the intriguing "mom's cookie" ($2). Except I'm not quite sure I could call it a cookie, certainly not the cookie you and I are thinking of. For lack of a better description, it was like a ever so slightly spiced raisin bun with a rock-hard crust. Eating it, it seemed rather dull on its own, like it needed to be sliced and served with butter. I'm not sure if that was the intended purpose, but I'll admit I was expecting something a little more exciting?

Rating: **1/2

Earth to Table: Bread Bar

Bakery: Earth to Table: Bread Bar

Address: 258 Locke St S, Hamilton, ON

Website: http://www.breadbar.ca/

Style: Canadian

Price: $$$

 

"Conveniently" located a few doors down from Donut Monster is this cafe-style pizzeria with a couple locations in and around (if you consider Guelph "around") Hamilton. Um, yes, I did say pizzeria. Actually, I was here to pick some pizza for someone and noticed that the "bread bar" component of this business includes a decent selection of classic home-baked goodies that include butter tarts, cookies, squares etc. 

The worker was recommending the salted caramel brownie ($4.95), so I thought I'd give it a try, even though it probably wouldn't be my top pick otherwise. Especially since I found it quite expensive for a brownie; dine-in pictures show it topped with caramel sauce and ice cream... not sure if that's included in the price and you just suffer the take-out blues, but on its own, it seemed a bit much. And a bit much in terms of decadence. Chunks of slightly chewy, slightly crunchy caramel on top of a rich caramel sauce-coated brownie. Good, great texture for a brownie - but honestly, the bread pudding looks so much better! 

Rating: **1/2

Nordic Foods

Bakery: Nordic Foods

Address: 1235 Bayly St #8, Pickering, ON

Website: http://www.nordicfoods.org/

Style: Finnish

Price: $$-$$$ 

I actually came to this Finnish/Scandinavian deli on the hunt for Finnish rye bread and never expected that they'd have anything sweet as well! I've always said that nothing interesting is ever on the bottom of a condo building, but this place seems to be an exception - albeit it *is* a weird place for any sort of deli, let alone a Finnish one. And to increase the weirdness of the whole experience, the owner was sitting outside in his car because he found his store too cold. Then any baked goods were just randomly taken out of plastic boxes scattered here and there. It felt a little like stepping into an off-kilter Scandinavian comedy. XD 

To my utter delight, Nordic Foods sells Finnish doughnuts! (And I learned only when leaving that they have bags of frozen cinnamon buns as well... if only I'd known earlier) Like everything else, they were dug out of a plastic Tupperware bin and didn't taste like they had been made that day (Saturday), which was unfortunate, because they were so fragrant and flavourful. Just the right amount of jelly, delicious dough. Once heated up in the microwave, so good. They would have been so much better had they been fresh; maybe weekdays are better? Still, how  missed Finnish baked goods~ 

Rating: ***

Blé [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Blé (布里王子の麵包廚房)

Address: No. 3, Beiping West Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei

Website: n/a

Style: Chinese

Price: $$

Unfortunately, with this review, my massive slew of bakeries from my Taiwan tour has come to an end. This 'unfortunately' has a dual meaning. Both in the sense that my Taiwanese reviews are finally over and that they had to end with Ble. In a sense, they should have ended with the previous post, but I was surprised by this bakery in the vast underground area in and around Taipei main station and I couldn't resist adding just one more bakery to the repertoire. The "bakeries" in the train station almost exclusively sell pre-packed gift boxes of pineapple cake or the latest dessert trend, so I was pleasantly impressed by the fact that this one was a standard bakery selling various sweet and savoury bread. That being said, this is a smaller chain with a few locations throughout Taipei. Despite that, the baked goods, including mostly single-serve, grab-and-go buns, had a decidedly generic, commercial look to them.

I took two items. One, not pictured, was the cheese and chive bun, which I had had elsewhere and gave me a craving for it here. The cheese was so wet and slimy, while the onion (and garlic) was so overpowering that I had this unpleasant taste in my mouth for the rest of the day. But this is a sweet tour: I had the taro? bun ($38). Rather, I didn't know it was taro until I bit into it and found it stuffed with a thick purple paste. x__x Anything would have worked better than taro... I ended up scraping a lot of it out, but even then I was left with a bun that was soft and foamy; even the topping, which should have added some texture, was soft and unnoticeable. Honestly, one of the biggest duds of the whole trip! This was followed up by me cracking my laptop screen... such was the conclusion of my time in Taiwan. I probably should have never returned to Canada - that was my sign. :( 

Rating: *1/2

Spicer's Bakery

Bakery: Spicer's Bakery & Deli

Address: 2386 Main St #1, London, ON

Website: http://spicersbakery.ca/

Style: Canadian, Doughnuts

Price: $$ 

 

Rather an unlikely bakery franchise, Spicers actually has three locations in and around the London area; this one is their original location. Specializing in classic, home-style baking and selling simple treats like squares, cookies and pies, the focus is nonetheless on their doughnuts. At least, I would give them the highly attractive title of "doughnut bakery". Attractive for me, that is. ;) 

Therefore, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I came away with a box of them. They have a decent selection of classics like sprinkled ring doughnuts along with a couple more unique types such as the Black Forest. My box contained a Boston cream, blueberry fritter, jam-filled and the croissant.The round ones were good, but didn't quite stand out. When ordering, the croissant wasn't labelled so I asked what it was and the worker replied "it was just a deep-fried croissant with glaze". It's almost laughable what an understatement that was... the croissant was the best one! Crunchy, flaky, a little rich - just a deep-fried croissant with glaze, indeed.

Rating: ***

Chez Charlotte [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Pastry Products Chez Charlotte (夏酪堤蛋糕工房)

Address: No. 86, Neijiang Street, Wanhua District, Taipei

Website: facebook 

Style: Cake, Asian

Price: $$$ 

Anticipating this to be my last bakery stop in Taiwan, I wanted something a little more special. This small cake shop kept popping up on Google maps as the nonsensical "Summer cheese cake embankment Kobo", so I figured it had to be something not worth checking out. However, I was once on the bus and spotted it through the window and realized that it was legitimate! Chez Charlotte is almost exclusively a cake shop; in its small space, there's a single display case with several varieties of cake slices (many of which are cheesecake) and a handful of bagged cookies on top. That's it. I'm not sure if they get a lot of business, since not only did the display case look a little barren compared to older photos online, it was hard to actually get someone's attention in the back. Also, I noticed that some cake slices looked really stale, the worst of which were rather hastily removed by the lady. It gave the impression that no one checked up on the products when the store opened that morning - and that impression wasn't the most appetizing one, to be sure. 

That being said, I decided on the cherry cheesecake ($70), one of the reasons being that it was more fully stocked than other varieties I was interested in, indicating that it was perhaps more recently baked. Despite the cherries on top starting to dye the cake underneath, I was relieved to find it was quite fresh. I like fluffier, more delicate Asian-style cheesecakes, so I was a little concerned with the first forkful about how thick and cheesy it was. It was really going for that NY cheesecake style - and everyone knows what I think of NY-style cheesecake. x_x But it wasn't as unyielding and decadently cheesy as I feared; actually, it was a nice compromise. I wasn't too big a fan of the cherry compote on top, but I enjoyed it. My final bakery was, suffice to say, a lot better than my final dinner. 

Rating: ***

Yamazaki [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Yamazaki (山崎麵包)

Address: No. 86, Section 1, Chongqing South Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei

Website: http://www.yamazaki-bc.com.tw/

Style: Chinese

Price: $$  

This is probably the last remaining bakery I had to do in Zhongzheng District and I saved it until the very end, simply because it just screams mega bakery franchise imported from Japan. And sure enough, Yamazaki has about 15 locations throughout Taiwan, but I can't find any definitive information about it actually being from Japan. In that case, it's aiming to look like a mega bakery franchise imported from Japan. Which isn't much better. The wide selection and high customer traffic is in keeping with a more commercial bakery, so I can't say I was expecting much beyond simply getting the bakery done. However, Yamazaki isn't as bad and generic as I anticipated, though at the same time it isn't really Japanese either! ;P

I wasn't planning on it, but the sugar doughnut ($30) did lure me in... as it usually always does. .__.; Hey, not that many bakeries have them, okay! I'll admit this one didn't look like much with its lack of sugar and puffy dough, but it was actually pretty good. Fried a nice golden brown, the dough was moist and soft and didn't have that factory taste you sometimes get with bigger chains. Perhaps it wouldn't be my top choice for baked goods in the area, but it does its job. 

Rating: ***

Ambrosia Corner Bakery

Bakery: Ambrosia Corner Bakery

Address: 324 Frederick St, Kitchener ON

Website: https://ambrosiacornerbakery.com/

Style: Canadian

Price: $$-$$$

 

Honestly, as much as I hate nitpicking about aspects that don't involve the baked goods themselves, some bakeries really do deserve minus points for their hours. This has been on my list for so long, but they're always closed. They're closed 4 days a week! They close at 1 on Saturdays and 3 the other two days. Which begs the question: do you want b

usiness or not? It's always frustrating and mind-boggling for me, because there are bakeries who are trying their best to keep their business afloat and then there the ones where you as a customer have to bend over backwards to buy something from. It definitely didn't put me in the best mindset. 

What else didn't? The fact that I was running like mad to make it before closing to try their kouign amann - yes, they make kouign amann and any bakery that does will have it tested by me - and they were gone. Actually, a lot was gone and I had to make do with whatever was left behind. 

For a place that does make kouign amann (whatever date and time that might be), I was surprised that the other baked goods were a little more hodgepodge and didn't include as many pastries as I would have expected; instead, it was very scone- and square-heavy. The sticky and monkey buns, for instance, were something that you could find at a classic Canadian/English bakery. I preferred the ooey and gooey one, which I presume was the sticky bun. 

However, the best of the three was the blueberry brioche. At first, I regretted taking it because as I was plating it looked very dry and I was worried it would just be a ball of plain, dry dough, but it was very tasty and not as dry as it looked. Great texture, a little fruit. Not bad, but it's not worth speeding down the highway just to make it here in time! 

Rating: **1/2

Hogan Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Hogan Bakery (哈肯舖烘焙)

Address: No. 11-B2F, Songgao Road, Xinyi District, Taipei

Website: http://www.hoganbakery.com.tw/

Style: Chinese, European

Price: $$$ 

This sleek and modern bakery is located in the basement and just outside the Eslite food department (i.e. you actually have to leave the Eslite store - it took me awhile to figure that out), very nearly lost among all the underground food businesses in the area. Of course, any time you get a bakery where some effort has been put into the decor, you're going to have to pay for it. Hogan is no exception. They do, however, have a fairly impressive selection of more rustic, Western-inspired bread and baked goods that range from several varieties of bagels and pound cake to cannelés and croissants. Given that they don't have the same old bun sweet and savoury bun types you'll find everywhere, Hogan is indeed something different - and a breath of fresh air. The vast majority of labels include English. 

I knew what I wanted the moment I saw it: the "caramel pastry" ($47). Also known as a kouign amann. No one can fool me and, as seen in previous posts, if I see a kouign amann I get one. To my surprise and delight, I encountered a few kouign amann in Taiwan. This one was my least favourite. The dough was flaky, but lacked any sort of distinct flavour. It wasn't buttery at all, which is a big no-no for this sort of pastry. Anyone who's had a kouign amann knows that the best part is that incredible, chewy caramelized sugar bottom; here, the sugar pooled and formed a thick layer of rock-solid candy. I had to end up just peeling the whole layer off. It was impossible to eat, certainly not together with the pastry. Honestly, I was expected more from Hogan.

Rating: **1/2

La Maison du Danemark [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: La Maison du Danemark (丹麥之屋 法式西點麵包)

Address: No. 1, Alley 29, Lane 372, Section 5, Zhongxiao East Road, Xinyi District, Taipei

Website: http://www.houseofdenmark.co/ 

Style: Chinese

Price: $$ 

Already having plenty of bakery experience from all my reviews throughout Taiwan, it's somewhat surprising that this slightly rundown neighbourhood bakery has a website - not to mention an online ordering system! With these kinds of credentials, you'd only expect a well-established chain, not a stand-alone bakery with one other location nearby. Nevertheless, while I found that French- and German-style bakeries tried to include at least one or two more "authentic" baked goods, the same could not be said here. While there were a few Danish flags, there wasn't anything super Danish about the indicated products, but I guess some effort was made to at least include some European-looking stuff.

One of the few baked goods with that Denmark flag was the cinnamon bun ($36). Yeah, I can definitely see the connection. Either way, I do like cinnamon buns and this looked like a more flaky, Danish-style dough, certainly compared to the more bread-like cinnamon buns you find in Chinese bakeries. Actually, appearances were a little deceiving since it wasn't nearly as flaky as it looked. Although good in taste with a nice, flavourful cinnamon mass, though a bit skimpy, it was more bready and less unique than I was hoping for. Oh well. 

Rating: ***

The Fritter Shop

Bakery: The Fritter Shop

Address: 900 King St, London, ON 

Website: https://thefrittershop.com/

Style: Fritters

Price: $$ 

 

As unlikely as the idea of a fritter franchise may sound, this bakery actually has 4 (or more?) locations in a few surprising places, London and Hamilton being the most prominent. Now, you can imagine my excitement of visiting what should be a fritter specialist - the decor consisting of Dutch newspaper articles seemingly plastered on one wall only increased that excitement. Are these then appelbeignets!? At this point I was already licking my lips... 

There were two possible ways this could go: The Fritter Shop exceeded or met my expectations or it was a letdown. Unfortunately, it was the latter. These guys are unique in that they sell several flavours of "fritters" ($2.50 each; discounts on multi-packs) - except that given the fact that the raspberry and blueberry ones are filled with jam, when does a fritter turn into a plain old jelly doughnut? I liked how the apple fritters had the classic apple ring inside, but the downfall in all cases was the dough. It wasn't sweet at all and has the taste and texture of a savoury patty. A fellow taster said it reminded him of the handheld apple pies fast food places sell. It was a little too soft, didn't have much taste and there was something... commercial about it. This place had the potential to be a lot better than it was.

Rating: **1/2

奇美烘培坊 [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: 奇美烘培坊 (Qimei Bakery)

Address: No. 84, Jianzhong Street, Xinzhuang District, New Taipei 

Website: n/a

Style: Chinese

Price: $-$$ 

 

My final bakery stop for New Taipei, Qimei was certainly the most old-school of the bunch: a little on the dingy side, it looks like nothing here has changed much since it opened its doors many a year ago. The selection of classic sweet and savoury bread, buns and cakes is fairly impressive and well-priced, though there's no real specialty or focus. 

It being strawberry season, I'd been going from one bakery to another, wondering if I should splurge on some of their strawberry baked goods. They'd been tempting me all day long and I finally went with this cheap compromise ($30). From above, it looked like a tart. When I took it out of the bag, I realized it wasn't a tart at all; it was pretty much a pineapple bun cut in half with some of bread scooped out of the middle and filled with custard. Soft white bread with a little crunch on the bottom and a lot of thick, not very good pudding was what I was left with. Given the delicacy of the bun, there was way too much of the custard and it simply didn't match. The strawberries had a thick layer of clear glaze on then that seeped down and over the top of the bun, creating a firm, jello-like film. What a dud!

Rating: **

Chuang Sheng [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Chuang Sheng Bakeshop (創盛號烘焙本舖) 

Address: No. 136, Xintai Road, Xinzhuang District, New Taipei

Website: https://bakery-5632.business.site

Style: Chinese

Price: $$  

This bakery recently opened when I visited it, so I don't know if the hype has died down or it's still as insane as it was when I showed up, but the hype is without a doubt for one item and one item only. As a matter of fact, if you wanted it, you had to line up outside and wait for it to come straight from the oven. What could possibly cause so much hysteria? Russian bread. Big, eye-shaped and brushed with butter. In some ways, it's just a loaf of (strangely semi-sweet) bread and there are many bakeries in Taipei and beyond that sell them, but even I was contemplating it when the worker carried out a steaming tray from the back and started basting the loaves right in the middle of the store. That is, until I saw the line. 

Instead, the butter crust bun (my name; $28) looked simple, yet appetizing. It somewhat resembled a pineapple bun, but this proved to be in concept alone, since the taste and texture were entirely different. The outer crust was almost a shortbread in that it was so decadent and buttery; it had great crunch. The bun underneath was less spectacular, but was definitely better than average: a light, fluffy sweet bread dough. Turns this bakery doesn't just make good Russian bread, after all.

 

Rating: ***