DeMille's Farm Market

 Bakery: DeMille's Farm Market

Address: 3710 Trans-Canada Hwy SW, Salmon Arm, BC 

 Website: http://www.demillesfarmmarket.com/

Style: Canadian

Price: $$ 

 

Every time I'm in Salmon Arm, I always feel a little surprised/disappointed that they don't have any classic bakeries. The kind that serve the good old-fashioned stuff - yup, I'm talking about doughnuts! There's no doughnut bakery in Salmon Arm! There's the pie place, the baklava/Mediterranean destination closed its doors and the German bakery is always empty, sold out of whatever sweet stuff they apparently sell (I have yet to encounter more than cookies and chocolate croissants). -_- Having done so many Cake Tours, I finally decided to focus exclusively on bakeries: selected cafes, no independent supermarkets, but as gimmicky as DeMille's is, I had to include it because they've got the good stuff: apple fritters! 

Yes, there are actually more baked goods, all ready to go on either the shelves with the bread or in the fridge. Some items are located in both - but be sure you don't grab the fridge stuff if you can get a hold of the room temperature products! The apple fritters come in packs of two ($3.59/2) and even with the saran wrap over them, they've got great glaze coverage. They're a little crispy, they've got a few chunks of apples, they were fresh (on Saturday). Sure, they don't have a full bakery, but the apple fritters are definitely worth trying! 

Rating: ***

吉士美麵包坊 [Mimi's Cake Tour]

Bakery: 吉士美麵包坊 (Ji Shi Mei Bakery)

Address: No. 10, Lane 484, Section 2, Zhonghua Road, Wanhua District, Taipei

Website: https://www.jismade.com/

Style: Chinese

Price: $$ 

There were several bakeries along this street and I made the decision to go to this one because it had the most people running to it. After paying, I discovered it probably had to do with the fact that it was time for the end-of-day discount. Nothing gets people to go to a bakery like that daily closing discount. At least it was a fairly common trend in Taipei - not too common, since I myself wouldn't have minded a few more after-dinner baked good discounts. ;) For the end of the day, it was pretty well-stocked with all bread varieties being accounted for. It certainly didn't feel like they were trying to get rid of leftover stock. 

I have to say that whenever I see some sort of "fruit" bun, I'm instantly suckered in, except that for whatever reason "fruit" seems to almost always involve blueberry. Unlike other blueberry buns I ended up trying, this one ($35 - 20% off = $28) used, instead of generic, gloopy blueberry jam, what looked like dried blueberries. I presume they were dried because baking dried fruit doesn't reinvigorate them; on the contrary, they lacked the flavour and juicy texture that using fresh fruit - or even that generic blueberry gloop - would have given the bun. The more eggy, streusel-like top wasn't bad, but underneath that and the dried blueberries, it was plain old, slightly dry, slightly bland sweet dough. I was definitely hoping for more excitement.

Rating: **1/2

百佳烘焙坊 [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: 百佳烘焙坊 (Bai jia hongbei fang)

Address: 2-1 145 Hangzhou South Road, Section 1, Zhongzheng District, Taipei

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

Style: Chinese

Price: $$ 

This small, hole-in-the-wall bakery doesn't look like anything special or remotely unique compared to all the other bakeries you'll encounter throughout the city, but I found the quality slightly higher than average, although perhaps the selection wasn't the biggest. Their gift box claim to fame is small, individually-wrapped cheesecakes along with some sort of milky sponge cake with a layer of red bean in the middle; even a plate of free samples, I can't say either looked particularly enticing. 

 One item that definitely set itself apart was this weird bun ($35). From what I could pick out from the name, it was known as a Japanese style cream/butter bun. I never encountered one in Japan and don't know what makes it Japanese, but the intricately twisted, scalloped dough with these sorts of petals on top gave an otherwise simple, yet tasty sugar bun great texture. A little crusty, quite delicate - nice to try something different!

Rating: ***

Les Chateaux Bakery

Bakery: Les Chateaux Bakery

Address: 8360 Kennedy Rd, Unionville, ON 

Website: http://les-chateaux-bakery.edan.io/

Style: Chinese

Price: $ 

Chances are, this is the same owner as the Thai restaurant next door. Located in New Kennedy Square shopping mall, this is one of a few Chinese bakeries in and around the mall and probably similar in quality and selection as the others, though it does enjoy a slightly better rating than its competition. Les Chateaux is what I call a standard Chinese bakery: sweet and savoury buns and tarts are laid out in plastic bins and there's a display case of cakes along one wall. Their egg tarts seem to enjoy the most popularity. I, on the other hand, was in the mood that day for those red bean sesame balls - a classic sugar doughnut would have sufficed as a replacement ^^; - and so I was a little disappointed that they had neither. In this sense, this bakery is first and foremost a bread bakery. If you're in the mood for pastries of any kind (besides egg tarts, perhaps), they don't really have that sort of thing. 

Scrambling to come up with some alternatives, I just grabbed a classic coconut bun, a sugar bun and a pack of cookies. I hadn't had a coconut bun since my trip to Taiwan and after that this one just didn't cut it, mostly because the ones here never have enough coconut. This was no exception to the rule. The sugar bun... tasted like it looked? Alright. 

Without a doubt the star of the show were the taro cookies. At least I think they were taro cookies. They had this purplish colour and nothing else really made sense. I liked these. They had a good texture that reminded me of traditional almond cookies (the kind they sell in gift boxes at the supermarket, usually from Macau). A bit pricey for just cookies, but pretty good. 

Rating: **1/2

Kashoseian [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Kashoseian (果匠正庵烘焙專職店)

Address: No. 54-1, Linyi Street, Zhongzheng District, Taipei 

Website: https://33222358bakery.business.site/

Style: Japanese/French 

Price: $$$   

Kashoseian is a tiny Japanese-inspired bakery with a French twist on an unassuming side street. Outside and in, it doesn't really look too daunting; actually, it's a bit of a disaster and, with the empty metal trays sitting off in one corner, stacks of boxes in every spare bit of space and the open-concept kitchen, you get the impression that you messed up and went through the back door or into a business that's not open to the public. Then you spot the prices. Ouch. Believe it or not, this was one of the most expensive spots I visited on my Taiwan trip. The selection is smaller than the bakery itself, with most shelf space being empty or containing one or two remaining items. Most items (except maybe the larger cake boxes) feature some sort of multi-deal, but as most had only singles left behind and you can't mix and match (I asked) even at the same price point, you feel like you're getting even more ripped off. 

So, admittedly, the trip to Kashoseian didn't start out good. I was the only customer and the only worker seemed done for the day and was only too happy to make sure I didn't take to my heels and run away. XD There were literally two individual sweet items left in the store and I had the choice between strawberry or chocolate. I took the strawberry white chocolate pastry ($70). This was, I hate to say it, so pretty and the dried strawberries, the fruit-rich white chocolate smelled - and tasted - amazing! You could taste the quality of the ingredients; however, there was one thing that I couldn't taste: the pastry itself. Given that this was a bakery and not a chocolate shop, it fell a little flat, simply because all you could really taste and feel was the chocolate. There was so little of the dough underneath that it added nothing to the chocolate in terms of taste (it had none) or texture. 

Rating: **1/2

鶯歌餅店 [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: 鶯歌餅店 (Yingge Cake Shop)

Address: No. 169-1, Guoqing Street, Yingge District, New Taipei City

Website: n/a

Style: Chinese

Price: $ 

Does the name say it all and this is your one-stop baked good destination for Yingge? Um, not exactly. Well, no matter what it is a no-frills, fully-stocked bakery that looks like they churn out a wide selection of cheap sweet and savoury bread throughout the day. Large posters and window decals on the outside and tables inside advertise their signature item: a sort of full-sized flat cake stuffed with a variety of sweet fillings that made me instantly think of a cross between a moon cake and Taiwanese pineapple cake, just flattened out into a giant cookie. Seeing as you can't get these in single-serve format, I decided to forego the flat cakes and went once again to that wall of bread. 

Of all those cheap varieties, the one that looked the best was what certainly looked like a typical coconut butterfly bun ($18); however, there wasn't that much of a coconut taste. It was definitely oily, which you sometimes see in a coconut bun with extra generous filling, but it had no real distinct taste. A little on the eggy side, yes, but beyond that I couldn't really say what it was supposed to be. Actually, the one saving grace for this bakery as the cheese bun ($25) which was better than the sweet bun, though I had better elsewhere. Cheap in both price and taste. 

Rating: **

Patisserie La Cigogne

Bakery: Patisserie La Cigogne 

Address: 1419 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON

Website: http://patisserielacigogne.com/

Style: French

Price: $$$$ 

Back when I used to comb through best-of lists to see if I'd missed out on any highly rated or must-visit bakeries, I recall seeing La Cigogne. At any rate, it's been on my list for awhile, but as the location is a bit inconvenient and I really have no reason to be in the area, I never got around to it. Finally, however, the opportunity presented itself. La Cigogne aims to serve as thoroughly French pastries, cake and savoury items as possible. Expect buttery baked goods and many varieties of elegant mousse and chocolate creations (they even have a full-colour catalogue for the latter). 

Seeing as they seem to be known/specialize in those pretty cakes, I decided to try two: the Dream of China and the Bacarra (both $7.95 each). The first... certainly didn't look like that in store. ;__; I was actually a little frustrated because this isn't the first time I went to a fancy patisserie and opened the box to find total collapse because there was a collision with the other cake in the box. For the price you pay, items should always be packed separately - you don't order two dishes for takeout and get them in one container. Nevertheless, the (Shattered) Dream was almost entirely strawberry mousse with a bit of passion fruit in the middle; the half-macarons used as garnish were mentioned in the description, but I personally found they didn't match the airy delicacy of the cake itself and simply got in the way. 

In contrast, I preferred the Bacarra: pistachio cake with caramel cream, a thin layer of apricot jam and what is described as a "dark chocolate ganache" but what was in reality two brittle pieces of chocolate bark on both ends of the cake. As with the macarons, you had the soft, spongy and creamy cake that was at odds with the chocolate, which couldn't be cut or chunked off so you could enjoy it with every piece. In both cases, I felt that given the number of components the cakes should have had a more complex, sophisticated taste and melt-in-your-mouth texture.

 Actually, for roughly half the price, the one thing that was truly excellent was the pistachio pastry. Had I known, I would have skipped the cake altogether. Delectably buttery, flaky and made even more chewy thanks to that delicious chopped pistachio filling. Just grab two instead of one cake: you won't regret it! 

Rating: ***

好比烘焙坊 [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: 好比烘焙坊 (Like Bakery)

Address: No. 2, Lane 210, Jianguo Road, Yingge District, New Taipei City

Website: n/a

Style: Chinese

Price: $$  

This humble bakery is located off what I'd call the main shopping street for locals in Yingge and perhaps doesn't see much irregular traffic, since the worker seemed particularly happy to see me there. Most of the time, your baked good is flung silently into a plastic bag and you're shovelled out; welcoming service at a bakery isn't the most common sight, so I was flattered. Unlike most "bread bakeries", I found this particular didn't have the copious varieties of sweet buns. They seemed to focus a lot on bread... as in plain white bread, thick-cut and sold in semi-loaves (you know the kind) and different types of cream cakes. I guess the dough used in cream rolls is essentially quite similar to white bread.

If that's their specialty, I decided to go with the marble cream cake slice ($30). The dough had a nice dense yet spongy consistency that I liked; the marble effect was there in look, but perhaps could have used more cocoa for the chocolate parts. I feel like many people would complain about the amount of cream - or lack thereof - but I actually liked just having that hint of milky cream inside. Not too little so as not to taste it, not too much like you usually see. Good - and my pick for top bakery (of the two I tried) in Yingge. 

 

Rating: *** 

Mita Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Mita Bakery (米塔手感烘焙)

Address:  No. 24, Section 1, Nanjing East Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei 

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

Style: Chinese

Price: $$ 

 

Mita as a brand is actually more prominent as a pasta/Italian restaurant chain with three locations scattered throughout the city. What Italian cuisine has to do with mostly standard Chinese baked goods is beyond me; suffice to say, Mita - the bakery - has only one location and is housed in a fairly large space with a seating area/cafe on one side and a good selection of classic Chinese bread, a few attempts at fancier pastries and cakes; labels are for the most part have English. They are aiming to be fancier than your average bakery, to be sure, but if they want that to happen then they should really work on their customer service. Stop chatting, start working, girls! x_x 

Taking full advantage of those more "fancier" selections, I wanted something I had yet to see elsewhere. That was the rather lovely, puck-shaped flavoured pineapple buns ($40), coming in a handful of different colours. I took the green matcha one. The label said matcha. The "crust" was certainly matcha, but inside, I was surprised to find it stuffed with red bean. It didn't say anything about red bean on the Chinese label! And I really didn't want a whole hollow space filled with chunky, skin-on beans. Maybe in this case it was a good thing that the bun was more air than anything else. Also, besides the crust, the dough underneath was just standard pineapple bun dough so given that the matcha was pretty much the accent, I couldn't help but feel that labelling it as such was deceiving. Disappointing. 

Rating: **

Nord Lyon

Bakery: Nord Lyon

Address: 665 Queen St W, Toronto, ON

Website: http://nordlyon.com/

Style: French

Price: $$$  

This newer bakery/bistro on Queen St W came as a pleasant surprise the last time I was in the area; I do like to see places opening up as opposed to closing down.... Part bakery with French pastries and croissants, part cafe and part lunch and brunch spot with sandwiches and savoury options, it does feel a bit like one of those gourmet corporate lunch spots in basement passages downtown or at airports. I guess that's owing to the fact they have a little bit of everything.

Wanting to get something different/unique as opposed to the usual flaky pastries, I took one slice of flan ($5.75) and the fruit crumble ($4.50). Bringing them back home for photos, I was immediately taken with how unattractively they were presented. For a "French bakery" I found it rather surprising. I mean, it was nice that the portions were quite large, but at the same time, it was just one honking slab. The fruit crumble wasn't even cut straight. Both also featured this congealed red glaze that was a bit unpleasantly gooey. 

Taste was pretty good; the fruit crumble in particular had a very homemade taste which I liked. The one definite minus was that the flan had one distinctly semi-solidified stale edge which really should have been their job to slice off, not mine. Otherwise, not bad, but it lacked the refinement in taste, texture and appearance you expect from not only French, but any better bakery.

Rating: **1/2

Sharing Nature [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Sharing Nature (善菓屋)

Address: 15-1 Nanjing West Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei

Website: https://www.gooddeedstw.com/

Style: Chinese, French

Price: $$$ 

Perhaps a case of the name lost in translation, I'm not sure how "Good Fruit House" turned into "Sharing Nature", but I suppose the latter is more appropriate for the concept. This bakery and soft ice cream shop with three locations in central Taipei has the goal of creating a "healthier" bakery; at any rate, no artificial flavours, quality, natural ingredients, etc. Of course, you often have to pay for quality and this is no exception; however, with their smattering of French-style baked good and perhaps a hint of Japanese bakery, the selection was a nice change. And, to tell the truth, it did look better than your average bakery, though they didn't have so much to offer - this may also be owing to the fact that they're located in the basement of a department store (Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, to be exact). 

Going with one of their more European baked goods, I went with the lemon croissant ($55). Really, it was only because the other flavour was more expensive and the other pastries cost even more. Many times I'm not a big fan of croissants, but I was very pleased with my purchase when I took it back and took one whiff of that delicious lemon aroma. The icing on top was so flavourful, with a hint of sourness that I even picked up the broken bits and ate them on their own. So good. The dough underneath was excellent. I had croissants and French pastries and, let's admit it, Asians sometimes can't get that flaky crunch right and they simply taste like imitations. This was delicious: fantastic crunch, rich buttery flavour and no weird or off-putting tastes you encounter. We can Share Nature but I'm not sharing this with anyone! ;) 

Rating: ***1/2