I Jy Sheng [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: I Jy Sheng (一之軒信義店)

Address: No. 226, Section 2, Xinyi Road, Da’an District, Taipei 

Website: https://www.ijysheng.com/

Style: Chinese

Price: $$

 

I have to admit that I Jy Sheng was one of the bakeries I was avoiding on my trip; like Sun Merry or 85℃ (both of which I did manage to purposely overlook), it falls into the category of what I like to call a commercial bakery. They're like the fast food chain equivalent of a bakery and these are the big three: they've got it all and they're regularly restocking though the baked goods seem to come delivered more than baked. Like Sun Merry, I Jy Sheng has a wide assortment of gift boxes, though without a doubt most people are there for the standard baked goods lining the walls along with a few seasonal/special items. Given they don't really scream artisan bakery, they should be cheaper. Otherwise I don't really see the appeal, besides the fact that your only competition on this portion of Xinyi Rd, right next to Da'an Forest Park is well, Sun Merry. 

Of the two, I Jy Sheng had more people rushing to it, so I went to see what all the hype was about. Deciding to go with one of their limited items (at least there was some sort of display created in honour of them), I picked out the chocolate orange bun ($38). From the outside, this looked like a sort of marble/half-half bun. The combination of chocolate and orange is a good one, but I was disappointed upon biting inside that the "orange" dough was literally just that swirl on top. The rest of the bun was pure chocolate! The texture on top was nice, but beyond that, it was just a big ball of typical, slightly "foamy" sweet bread. 

Rating: **1/2

MySweeTooth

 Bakery: MySweeTooth

Address: 301 Main St W, Hamilton, ON 

Website: http://www.mysweetooth.ca/

Style: Asian 

Price: $$$$

This Asian-fusion bakery/cafe isn't exactly new, but it's taken me this long to review it because I was waiting for it to actually be open! For the longest time, this place had the goofiest hours and was closed on both Saturdays and Sundays. I mean, what kind of Asian food business is closed the entire weekend!? When else do you go to a dessert place? At last, however, they did decide to open Saturday afternoons and I had a chance to finally visit this place. Not exactly a bakery in the truest sense of the word, MySweeTooth (yes, one word, no T on Sweet) specializes in dainty Asian-inspired - or perhaps you could say Westernized Asian? - cakes and pastries with a decidedly Japanese undertone that I guess is the perfect complement to some bubble tea or other tea drinks. In addition to its previously inaccessible store hours, another drawback is the price. This place is expensive. Jaw-dropping expensive. Spending close to $50 for four pastries made me want to cry... 

I took three different items: the so-called "snow cube", a matcha crepe cake and two flavours of their cream puffs. The first was actually a cube-shaped cheesecake coated in a powder. It certainly looked more unusual than it actually was, especially once you cut it open to reveal a classic, creamy Asian-style cheesecake. I wasn't the biggest fan of the powder coating, which had a bit of a weird taste and texture. 

The matcha crepe cake ($9) was the loveliest and tastiest of the bunch, but in my opinion, it was hard to appreciate all the effort they put into making this cake. The dozen or so crepe layers were so paper-thin that when you ate it, all you felt and tasted in your mouth was all that matcha cream (and thick vanilla cream on the outside); the crepe simply disappeared and if that was the case it might as well have been a matcha mousse dessert. Kind of a shame. 

Lastly, the cream puffs ($5) come in a few flavours. I tried matcha and earl grey tea, I believe. Two types of tea, at any rate. This was quite good, but as with many cream puffs, I wish there wasn't *that* much cream; this is pretty much a thin shell filled to brim with cream. I end up scraping some of it out and I think the overwhelming amount of cream makes the dough get soggy incredibly quickly, especially on the bottom. Verdict: great variety for Hamilton, good taste, good quality, but feels like too much of a splurge!

Rating: ***

La Petite Perle [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: La Petite Perle (小珍珠烘焙坊)

Address: No. 25, Lane 243, Jinhua Street, Da’an District, Taipei 

Website: http://perle.looker.tw/

Style: Chinese, French

Price: $$ 

 

La Petitle Perle certainly lives up to its name: this little gem of a bakery might just be the loveliest bakery in Taipei. It's so homey - you almost feel like you're stepping into someone's kitchen and they've just taken out a tray of freshly baked bread. Because this place was one of the rare bakeries I stepped into and was greeted with the incredible aroma of hot-from-the-oven cinnamon buns. Oh man, that smell... they should get bonus points for that alone! 

Although this bakery has a mishmash of both classic French bread and pastries along with a few perennial classics (I guess it's hard to run away from pineapple and green onion buns), front and centre were those cinnamon buns ($40). It has to be their specialty. Despite that, they don't really look all the great; they're certainly not photogenic with that dark cinnamon oozing out of it and its smushed, from-the-bag look. I was actually worried it was burnt, because I've had many a cinnamon bun and never seen one this dark. You'd think it's chocolate icing, but it's not. However, this was excellent. Super gooey and rich, so fresh and flavourful - now *this* is a cinnamon bun! 

Rating: ***1/2

Antique [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Antique (愛天空/貓咪吐司)

Address: No. 8, Lane 134, Section 2, Zhongxiao East Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei

Website: facebook

Style: Chinese, European

Price: $$ 

This charming little artisan bakery offers something different compared to your typical Taiwanese bakery. The space is stylish, maybe a bit hard to navigate, and features a nice, albeit not too large selection of more Western-style bread that include some French pastries and - of course - some more rustic versions of Chinese bakery classics. Their newest item, cat-shaped bread, seems to be catering to the gourmet sliced bread trend (this is something I will never understand...), but why would you choose that over the other delectable pastries in-store? 

Um, well, maybe I'm not the one to talk, because from among flaky croissants and danishes, I couldn't resist the caterpillar bun ($40). With that face, how could I!? As cute as it was, I can't say it was worth it. For one, there actually wasn't that much to eat and I was disappointed that this was just a plain sweet bun. The body had a more chewy dough spooned on top of it to make the legs; this dough resembled a sugar cookie and those legs, small as they were, were the best part. After that, it was the body. The head, though, had no distinct taste. But come on, how often do you encounter caterpillar bread?

Rating: ***

Crown Pastries

Bakery: Crown Pastries

Address: 5083 Dixie Rd, Mississauga ON

Website: http://crownpastries.com/

Style: Middle Eastern, Syrian

Price: $$$ 

So someone wanted to get a baklava gift box and I couldn't help tagging along and giving this pastry shop a try. Unlike most Middle Eastern pastry shops, where the focus is without a doubt the baklava, the signature item here (at least they have a dedicated sign for it in the window) appears to be knafeh and a few other varieties of syrup-soaked, cheese-stuffed squares. But of course they still have many varieties of baklava along with a few buttery pastries and cookies - actually, one of my favourite items was their 'cream puff' (not pictured; called "shabiatt" in-store) with an incredible caramelized bottom. 

Those items that were pictured included all the varieties of squares I was talking about above. I'll admit that I did try knafeh before (a sort of cake made from syrupy semolina and filled with gooey cheese) and wasn't a fan. Seeing as it wasn't at a pastry shop, I thought I'd give it another try. Um, I think I have to admit defeat. This was better than the first one, but I just can't get over the combination of sweet, crumbly dough and that gummy, almost mozzarella-like cheese. 

There were two other squares: the one with stringy kataifi dough on top was filled with a creamier fresh cheese; this I preferred, but I still wasn't the biggest fan of the filling. Despite others liking this one the best, I liked the date-stuffed square the best. 

However, the best thing I got from this bakery had to be these pistachio "cookies": bite-sized, syrup-soaked nutty nuggets wrapped in filo dough. The texture was incredible. I started with just trying one and couldn't stop. Honestly, I would go back and just get a whole box of these next time, they were that good! 

Rating: ***

Ho Kuo Yuan Pastry Shop [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Ho Kuo Yuan Pastry Shop (禾菓園烘焙坊)

Address: No. 49-2, Section 2, Jinan Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei 

Website: n/a

Style: Chinese

Price: $$

 

There's nothing special about this standard, rather dingy bakery. It doesn't have the selection and up-to-date look other bakeries have. It's a bit empty, the lightning doesn't exactly show off the goods in a flattering way and the monotonous whir of some sort of machinery is the only thing breaking up the uncomfortable silence. Really, it's as old-school bakery as it gets, but I was here with a purpose. 

I'm very rarely influenced by reviews saying to try a particular item, but in this case the review made special mention of an "apple pie". I've said it before, but I always find that Chinese baking lacks anything with real fruit. And I'm not talking about beans or the thick paste-like filling inside pineapple cakes. So I was really intrigued. I walked in, immediately spotted what I wanted and walked out with this apple pie ($30). To my surprise, it was more European than I imagined. The dough was slightly flaky with a softer dough on the inside. There were small chunks of dough and a hint of lemon in either the fruit filling or the dough. It reminded me a lot of an apple strudel I used to buy at a local Polish bakery, so I was impressed - an unlikely find in an otherwise mediocre bakery! 

Rating: ***

Tiramisu [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Tiramisu (提拉米蘇精緻蛋糕)

Address: No. 55, Section 1, Chengde Road, Datong District, Taipei

Website: https://www.tiramisu.com.tw/

Style: Cake

Price: $

 

Unlike the majority of bakeries and stops on my Taiwanese Cake Tour, Tiramisu specializes solely in cake; more a cake counter than bakery or even dessert spot, they have their display facing the street and you can either grab your cake slices for takeaway or go inside to the seating area and eat it there. However, without a doubt Tiramisu's claim to fame is their prices. It's the one thing everyone raves about and, even after having read the reviews, I was expecting well-priced slices of cake, but I didn't expect them to be *that* cheap. I mean, you can get a cake at Tiramisu for the same/less than the average price in Taipei for a pineapple bun (i.e. the cheapest kinds of bread at your typical bakery)! Unbelievable. 

That being said, people also rave about their quality, but some cakes simply didn't make the grade visually. The green tea ones, in particular, were way too bright green and had that commercial bakery look to them (not to mention they just pluck slices from the stacks of boxes in the fridge whenever they're restocking). It just didn't appeal to me. Others such as the chocolate ones don't look too bad, though. In honour of the name, I had to try the tiramisu ($25). I'm always pretty wary of Asian takes on classic European desserts, but this was pretty good. The flavour was there, even though there was too much chocolate cake and no "soaked element" for it to be really called a tiramisu, but it was better than expected. 

I also tried the cheesecake ($25). They had another variety, but this was simpler and more Japanese-style in both look and taste. As with some Japanese-style cheesecakes, I'm not exactly sure how much cheese actually went into this - it definitely didn't taste like much. Probably not a lot of eggs either, but it was pretty good. I'm not sure which I preferred more: this or the tiramisu. Maybe it's not the most premium destination for cakes, but it's still more than worth a stop. 

Rating: ***

French Revolution

Bakery: French Revolution Bakery & Creperie

Address: 2 King St W, Dundas ON

Website: https://www.frbakery.ca/

Style: French, North American

Price: $$ 

I'm surprised how there always seems to be a new bakery to review in the small town of Dundas! The latest to be added to my roster is French Revolution, which despite its name and Eiffel Tower motifs isn't actually very French in terms of its selection. Yes, there are the croissants and apparently crepes, but everything else is pretty much the typical assortment you'll find at many small-town Canadian bakeries: squares and pies. Even their small cakes and tarts have this distinctly home-style North American look to them. Not that that necessarily matters - it's the taste that counts, but if you're expecting something terribly authentic, it's not here.

 

The two tarts - the chocolate raspberry and the cappuccino - were disappointing. For me, the most important aspect of a tart is the shell and, first of all, I have to say I'm a fan of a chocolate shell. I don't like the idea, not too thrilled with the taste, but these were way too hard. Tarts are not cookies; they're not supposed to crack off and be eaten on their own. You should be able to enjoy the tart shell and filling in one bite. When the shell is too hard, that becomes hard to do and the texture doesn't match the softer filling. The chocolate raspberry tasted like chocolate truffle: I didn't anticipate so much pure chocolate under the fruit. It was way too rich for me and pairing that with a chocolate shell was overwhelming. 

By contrast, the chocolate croissant had good texture. The dough itself could have been more flavourful/buttery, but there was a good amount of chocolate and it had a nice crunch to it. 

Rating: **1/2

Pozzo Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Pozzo Bakery (普諾麵包坊)

Address: No. 172, Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road, Da’an District, Taipei 

Website: http://www.sanwant.com/

Style: Chinese

Price: $$$  

Aiming to be a little more upscale than your typical neighbourhood bakery, Pozzo is fully stocked with as many types of bread, baked goods and cake as the space can handle, most with English labels. This gives the space a cluttered feel, especially when the organization is a bit hodgepodge - I so wish bakeries would relegate all savoury items to one area and not intersperse them among the sweet baked goods. They're also a bit more expensive, with some products seeming a little pricey for what you get. 

Wanting to diversify and try something different for once, I'd seen this pastry-topped bun elsewhere but this was the first time it had an English label: milk cream flaky bun ($37). Okay, so I didn't really need the English label for that... This honestly looked a lot better from the outside, with this puff pastry spread out over the top. Underneath that puff pastry, it was a typical fluffy sweet bun with a pathetic amount of cream on the inside. The cream was thick and snotty and I wasn't really sure what it tasted like; actually, it was pretty gross, but come on! this was 90% white bread. The pastry on top wasn't flaky at all and chunked off in big sheets... yeah, it wasn't very good. 

Rating: **

Carol Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Carol Bakery (凱樂烘培)

Address: No. 25, Section 1, Heping East Road, Da’an District, Taipei 

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

Style: Chinese

Price: $$  

As far as bakeries go, Carol Bakery - a smaller local bakery chain with most of its locations in Da'an District - is as unoriginal and average as it gets. Falling into "Chinese clone bakery" category, they don't really specialize in anything or have anything truly unique. They have all your typical bread varieties that aren't necessarily presented in the most appetizing and appealing way possible. They're cheap(er), though and they kind of look the part. The products aren't bad, though; they're just dependably mediocre: neither amazing nor horrible. 

At least, that's what was going through my head as I wandered throughout the bakery, trying to figure out what to get. Nothing really stood out for me. Sometimes everyone is going for the same thing or they stick up posters advertising a particular item, but neither applied. Finally, I settled on the coffee bun ($30). After all that hesitation, I was pleasantly surprised to find it better than expected. Maybe it didn't beat out the exceptional ones I had elsewhere, but it was fresh and had a nice crust, which I really enjoyed, as well as a nice, delicate coffee taste. Pretty good. Sorry I misjudged you, Carol Bakery. 

Rating: ***

Amore Mio

 Bakery: Amore Mio 

Address: 270 Bernard Ave, Kelowna BC 

Website: http://amoremiogelato.com/

Style: Italian

Price: $$  

I went to this decidedly European coffee/gelato shop a few times before it really dawned on me that they have a pretty impressive selection of Italian cakes and pastries. Given that the closest Italian bakery is probably Vancouver, Amore Mio is pretty much your only local destination for specialties like tiramisu, cannoli, bombolini and other less prevalent Italian treats, not to mention the prices are very reasonable. I can't believe it took me this long to make a Cake Tour of it! 

I took a piece of the tiramisu along with a slice of the torta caprese. Nonetheless, the tiramisu was really good. Many places turn this into a cake, but I liked how this one still retained its more dessert nature. Plenty of cream interspersed with soft biscotti and coffee. Of course, it was lacking in the booze department, but they always are... unless you come for my tiramisu. ;)

I always associate torta caprese with chocolate, but they had a chocolate as well as a lemon one; I took the lemon. This cake is traditionally made with almond flour (and therefore gluten-free) and the use of almond flour gives it an incredible chewy texture. This is complemented by a delicate hint of lemon. It truly is a great place to pop into for a sweet treat, even when you're not in the mood for ice cream - and if you're lucky and there are some fresh bombolini made that day, be sure to grab one! 

Rating: ***1/2

Sheng Kee Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Sheng Kee Bakery (生計食品有限公司)

Address: No. 15, Section 3, Roosevelt Rd, Da’an District, Taipei 

Website: n/a 

Style: Chinese

Price: $$ 

 

When trying to locate this bakery for the purpose of my review, I discovered that Sheng Kee happens to be a bakery chain in California; I wonder if the two are related. Given the lack of a website or additional information and how long the bakery has been in business, it could go either way. Unlike most Taiwanese bakeries, where "bread" is the highlight, this is what I call a gift-box bakery. Perhaps confectionery would be more appropriate? At any rate, a place that is more known for its traditional Chinese pastries, all wrapped in plastic baggies and packed in pretty gift boxes. Of course, they still do sell bread (most in bagged multi-packs) and some cakes and sandwiches, but not a lot. I found the place rather empty, both in terms of selection and customers. 

It's always frustrating that the more traditional pastries are never designed for individual consumption. I just want to try one, not buy the nicely packaged gift box or big bags of eight. And they're never really appealing when they're all hermetically sealed; it never looks fresh. Out of their wall of individual, freshly-baked items, the most unique was their selection of mini muffins, available in three flavours ($20 each). I'd yet to see muffins. As expected, the texture of the muffins was more a pound cake than a more dense muffin dough: spongy and moist, rather sweet. One was walnut and the other turned out to be banana bread. Not being a fan of bananas, I regretted not getting the other one (chocolate chip), but I liked the walnut one. I would, however, probably take something else on a return trip. 

Rating: **1/2

Xindong Wang Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Xindong Wang Bakery (新東王烘焙坊)

Address: No. 61, Section 1, Nanchang Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei

Website:  http://hsintungwangnew.blogspot.tw/

Style: Chinese

Price: $$

Given the fact that this bakery's sign has a huge "Baker" sign above it - easily twice the size of their name in Chinese - I was assuming that that was the name. Guess not. Obviously, the giant "Baker" sign is a beacon, letting you know from several blocks down that a bakery is up ahead... except that it worked, so I shouldn't be laughing too hard! Nonetheless, despite there being quite a number of bakeries down this very street and not too far from each other, this is a busy, fully-stocked bakery with probably the most traffic out of all the places I tried. Accordingly, they have a wide selection of classic bread and bun varieties along with quite a number of refrigerated cakes and pastries. If you're a chocolate fan, I felt like they have more chocolate items - from chocolate-stuffed bread to cream rolls - than average, but that might have just been my impression. 

One of the special/unique items there was their coffee cake, apparently known as "Grandma Cake" (老奶奶蛋糕; $45/slice). This is sold as slices and was quite a popular pick, so I figured it would be a good choice. I'm always happy to have something different and I appreciate these more home-style treats. This was a simple vanilla pound cake with a slightly tart lemon icing, whose tip somehow disappeared. It was a shame since it was good the cake was best when enjoyed together with the icing. Simple, maybe a bit unexciting, but I liked it - and was all too happy for something that wasn't bread. 

Rating: ***

Red Ganache

Bakery: Red Ganache

Address: 5592 Robinson St, Niagara Falls ON 

Website: https://www.redganache.com/

Style: North American

Price: $$

 

While the sign/subtitle considers this small, cozy spot a bake shop, I would actually say it fits the bill of a confectionery more than actual bake shop. Their specialty is without a doubt their array of reasonably priced cake slices, but they also sell chocolates, ice cream and other sweets such as packaged shortbread, tarts and macarons. The selection isn't large, but it's fairly impressive given the size of the space. 

I tried two items: the first was a peach tart. I liked the taste and texture of the tart shell (it was just the right thickness as well) along with the almond base, but I felt like the fruit payer on top was more jelly than actual fruit. Maybe it would have been better if they didn't serve the peach in such big chunks and instead sliced them thinner and covered the entire top of the tart? Good if you snagged a peach but somewhat lacking if you didn't. 

Despite normally preferring a fruit tart over a rich and decadent cake, I have to say that the highlight of the two had to be the Black Forest cake. I like the concept of a Black Forest cake, but I never like it when bakeries turn into it being chocolate cake and cream with a cherry jam layer or something lame - here, the cherries were indeed the star of the show. There were nice big chunks of sweet cherries with every bite. I still think that top layer of cream was a bit too thick, but otherwise it was pretty good for this type of cake. 

Rating: **1/2

Hoo. Donut [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Hoo. Donut (呼點甜甜圈)

Address: No. 7-2, Section 2, Nanchang Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei 

Website: https://www.hoodonut.tw/

Style: Doughnuts

Price: $$$

 

It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes there comes along a business and it's like I invented it. The logo or brand concept teamed up with some great food - it's so exciting when it's all my style. A Mimi approved business, if you will. Well, Hoo. Donut (yes, with a period) is Mimi approved. 

The random combination of soft and squishy Japanese-style baked doughnuts in a variety of Asian flavours and doughnut-loving... hedgehog that appears on everything, from their sign outside to their bags and napkins. It's brilliant! 

The doughnuts are available at a few price points, depending on flavour and filling. I usually like to try plain doughnuts when visiting a place for the first time, but I felt the matcha ($50) was a compromise I was more than willing to make. Some, expecting a more traditional doughnut texture, may be surprised at the soft, almost sponge cake consistency of the dough; it's a little chewy, quite moist and, maybe a doughnut in shape only, but I loved it. The delicate flavour of the matcha was just right. My only complaint was that it was so small but too pricey to buy another one (though had I known it was this small, I probably would have bought two regardless of the price ._.). 

Rating: ***1/2

Bread Kitchen [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Bread Kitchen (麵包廚房)

Address: No. 66, Emei St, Wanhua District, Taipei 

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

Style: French, European

Price: $$$$  

This French-inspired bakery selling a small selection of mostly artisan bread and slices of cake was actually down the street from my first apartment in Taipei and when I had to quit apartment #1, I still hadn't had the chance to visit this place. It was only towards the end of my prolonged stay that I returned here. Having now quite a bit of bakery experience, I was astounded at the prices. From the outside, it didn't necessarily look more fancy than a better-than-average European-style bakery, but the cake slices in particular were jaw-dropping. On average, I paid less for my dinners! Due to the cost alone, I was contemplating walking out, but the worker was on hand and I was the only person inside at the time...

Despite my initial complaints, the cake slices are the most "worth it" - after all, for the same whopping price, you get a cinnamon bun. Bakeries, even the most exclusive of French patisseries, usually make a distinction between cakes and baked goods. Not in the mood for layered cream cake, which was the majority, I went with their simple cheesecake ($150!!). It was good. Sometimes you go to cheaper bakeries or franchises and the cakes especially taste cheap, so it was nice to be able to taste the quality. The cheesecake was creamy and rich without being too overtly cheesy. I liked the crumble bottom as well, though the edges were a little too brown and you could taste it. I did enjoy it, but for the price it definitely needed more wow factor. 

Rating: **1/2