Granny's Fruit Stand

Bakery: Granny's Fruit Stand 
Address: 13810 BC-97, Summerland BC 
Website: n/a 
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$$ 

Driving along Hwy 97 between Peachland and Osoyoos, you stumble across quite a few fruit stands, some more business-saavy and gimmicky than others. One such example is Granny's Fruit Stand, which in addition to the typical assortment of produce, local goods, ice cream and whatnot have a full-fledged on-site bakery with seating!

Amid the white-washed walls and wooden accents, maybe their shelves aren't filled with all that much, but they do have a nice, petite selection of classic squares, pies and cinnamon buns. It seems a bit small-scale, but I always think that that way, you'll get fresh treats, though items were a bit pricey, but well, it's a fruit stand on Hwy 97. What else can you expect....

It being a produce stand in peak cherry season, I passed by the sticky cinnamon buns, which would have been my first pick, and went instead for a slice of cherry pie ($3.75; other flavours are available). The filling was delicious: stuffed with whole, super sweet dark cherries, it was the kind of pie filling I like: textured and flavourful, extra fruity, and lacking in gloop factor, though a little tartness and less sugar would have brought out the taste of the cherries more. The pie shell was nice and flaky, albeit a bit too thin for so hefty a filling, especially on the bottom. The tip, in particular, was a little hard to handle.

Rating: **1/2

Casa Romana

 Bakery: Casa Romana 
Address: 609 Ford Dr, Oakville ON 
Website: https://casaromanasweets.com/
Style: Romanian, European
Price: $$$ 

A while back, I was in Starsky supermarket when an older gentleman came up to me and started explaining that a new European bakery in Oakville had just opened and they had very good cakes. I was on cloud nine for the rest of my shopping trip; of all people in the store, why did he go to me? It was fate. It was meant to be. Oh, I was so excited! At home, I checked their website; in some ways, Casa Romana isn't really a bakery at all (even their sign doesn't say so), but a patisserie or, more specifically, a cake/dessert shop and cafe. It's not often you come across this undeniably European concept in the GTA. They did advertise a number of items online that drew my attention, namely Romanian doughnuts which I absolutely had to try, but without a doubt their focus is on pretty individual cake pieces featuring classic Romanian and Eastern European as well as pan-European varieties.

So, one Friday, I made my way over to Casa Romana and I was ready for it! Perhaps the build-up was just too monumental, the expectations too high, since I was disappointed to find that the sweet baked goods and doughnuts mentioned online were nowhere to be seen. The worker explained that all they had included savoury buns with bacon, another with feta cheese... asking about sweet ones, she pointed to some croissants and a chocolate pastry that I'd seen before....

 I do like my cake, too, though, so in the end I opted for two of the more traditional slices ($3.99 each, taxes included). The Amandina is like the national cake of Romania and is essentially a chocolate cake coated in ganache and soaked in a sugar syrup (a hint of something extra if you get lucky). It's a simple, but not so simple cake and I was ready to dive in. Nice thick chocolate ganache on top, though the swirl of frosting was totally unnecessary, the layers of dough and cream were certainly glistening, but digging in, I found the aforementioned syrup had come out too watery and instead of a moistened cake, the dough was mushy and that syrup didn't have the sweetness or flavour that I was hoping for. Taste was pretty good, but the texture of soggy dough wasn't the most enjoyable.

The second cake was a Dobosh. I think the Dobosh torte is one cake that I'm willing to try anywhere. There are always the regional variations and personal touches, but it still remains a towering mass of sponge cake and cream. This one had a hardened caramel top, except that it was burnt... very dark, almost heavy molasses brown with the distinctive taste of it having been on the stove for too long or at too high a temperature. More than that, I was sad to find the cake was stale. I mean, everything else was more or less a matter of personal opinion, but a stale cake doesn't lie: the cream and dough had that telltale crust on one side and just tasted old. :(

I was so incredibly thrilled with the opening of this lovely cake shop and was ready to immediately add it to my list of places I'd regularly return to, but first impressions are key in winning over customers and in my opinion, there's no excuse for selling anything that's stale (unless marked and priced accordingly).

Rating: **

Barb's Bakery & Bistro

Bakery: Barb's Bakery and Bistro 
Address: 121 McPhillips Ave, Ganges BC 
Website: http://www.barbsbakeryandbistro.ca/
Style: Canadian
Price: $$ 

Despite the fact that Barb's is tucked away behind a plaza, just behind the main street, this seems to be the popping place in town when it comes to bakeries. With its large outdoor patio, ample indoor seating and large selection (and large, somewhat confusing lines), Barb's is a busy place. Which can definitely be a good sign. Another good sign is the shelves and baskets of rustic pastries and baked goods and unique takes on classics, like ginger buns alongside the more traditional cinnamon variety. Of course, my attention immediately went to the not one, but two poppy seed baked goods! Oh yeah!

So, would it be the poppy seed twist bun on top of the counter? Or the poppy seed raspberry square in the fridge along with the other squares? It was quite the dilemma, but seeing as the twist didn't seem to have that much poppy seed rolled up inside it, I opted for the latter. The poppy seed raspberry square ($2.95) consisted of two thicker layers of shortbread dough with a poppy seed mass in the middle of bit of raspberry jam spread along the bottom. Good flavours, with just the right amount of jam, a slightly crusty, cookie-like dough and a nice poppy seed mass, though I felt like it was lacking in poppy seeds; a little more would have made it much more flavourful. Still, a surprising, and quite tasty find.

As a final note, though, I still can't seem to forgive the worker for throwing my poppy seed square into the same paper bag as a tomato pesto stick... There are some things that just can't come into contact with each other. x___x

Rating: ***

Bakery Lamp [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Bakery Lamp 
Address: 68 Honmachi, Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture
Website: facebook 
Style: Japanese
Price: $$ 

I think that whenever there's mention of a "hideaway" place, a sort of secret spot in some back alley or up/down a pair of nondescript stairs, it's usually a cafe or a restaurant. Maybe a quirky boutique. It's almost impossible for that to be a bakery and yet this time around, Bakery Lamp is indeed a "hideaway" bakery, located just behind the main boulevard leading up to Himeji castle in a lovely narrow alleyway that gives you the impression that you've just stepped into a bakery's back kitchen. Inside, the bakery is just as narrow as the passageway leading to it with workers running back and forth with cookie sheets and people (many with burgers) manoeuvring around hodgepodge tables filled with round plates of rustic baked goods and the old building's supportive pillars. A bit like being invited to a big impromptu buffet at a quirky friend's house. It is indeed a special place.

Somewhat in keeping with the eclectic, perhaps even eccentric atmosphere, the baked goods are more rustic, artisan-style.Upon further examination, however, I found that most items were of the savoury variety, including lots of cheese buns, breads and bagels. Though there were also croissants, red bean buns, and breads with fruit and nuts, the selection was more bready, and not necessarily sweet.

Still, I did end up picking out one item: ever since my inaugural one in Kyoto, I'd been on a bit of a melon bun roll and I just couldn't resist the earl grey melon bun here (151 yen). Not quite as perfectly round and perfectly covered as other bakeries, though there was definitely something charming about that in and of itself, Bakery Lamp's version was dotted with tea leaves throughout. The dough was airy, a bit stiff with a nice crunchy topping. Good texture, very good taste. Out of all the three bakeries I visited, Bakery Lamp has to be my bakery pick for Himeji.

Rating: ***

The Cake Smith

Bakery: The Cake Smith 
Address: 2352 Bloor St W, Toronto ON 
Website: http://www.thecakesmithinc.com
Style: Cakes, Eastern European, Ukrainian
Price: $$-$$$ 

Slightly more upscale and cake-centric than its nearby Bloor West bakery competition, I first poked my head inside The Cake Smith about a year ago and thought that, with its selection of classic Ukrainian/Eastern European-style cakes, it would make a great option for when I needed a good cake. After all, with the exception of a few pastries and cookies, The Cake Smith well, sold cake and nothing but. An admirable undertaking, indeed.

Fast forward a bit. Whether it was just my impression or the selection was more varied and exciting in the beginning, I made my eventual return, intent on buying a whole cake. To my disappointment, I found that the choices were very limited and one-dimensional, with many of the cakes being of the standard buttercream variety. At the very least, that was what I was told by the worker, since none of the cakes were labelled and when inquiring if a certain cake corresponded to the same as the cake slice (judging by the outside decorations), I was told that they were all the same on the inside and it was just the outside that was different, except that some were chocolate and others vanilla cake dough. Oh, there was a Red Velvet as well. I asked if there was a large honey cake. Nope. My plans were thwarted. Why were there different types of cake slices, but not cakes?  And why were the cakes decorated differently if they were "all the same on the inside"? I was confused and disappointed!

Really set on that honey cake, I just went ahead and grabbed a slice ($4.50). After all, I love honey cake and I wouldn't let the opportunity to try a new one pass me by. This one had a series of lovely layers of almost crepe-thin spiced cake dough with almost equal parts cream. You could smell and taste the honey with each bite and the crumble with crushed walnuts was a nice and flavourful touch. Yup, despite all the frustration with getting a whole cake, this was a honey cake worth trying.

Rating: ***

Green [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Green 
Address: 908, Kinosakicho Yushima, Toyooka-shi, Hyogo-ken 
Website: n/a 
Style: Japanese
Price: $$ 

I thought that walking around the small hot springs tourist town of Kinosakionsen would be enough to find any bakeries. After all, one would assume it would be located along the main shopping street along the canal or at least along the street leading down to the train station. Yes, there was a cheese tart stand, but it took only one cheese tart for me to know I'm never having another one again, and other pastry shops typical of those that line temple or castle streets, the ones with pre-packed gift boxes filled with cookies, crackers, mochi.

However, there is a bakery in Kinosakionsen, but it's located on a predominantly industrial road featuring car mechanics and a gas station. It's definitely not the most picturesque of walks in an otherwise picturesque town, and perhaps the spacious bakery is just paradoxical. Green is, after all, a pretty bakery. There's plenty of room for cakes behind the display cases and two walls dedicated to sweet and savoury baked goods along with some seating, but there's this distinct feeling that it's seen better days. For one, absolutely no staff was to be seen upon entering and only when I had been waiting at the counter to pay did someone poke their head and then yell for someone to come to the cash, which they did almost reluctantly.

Anyways, a few cakes were located behind the counter, most looking like variations on cream cake with fruit on top, and the trays of baked goods didn't have much selection. Lots of empty room and lots of repeated items (hot dog buns, namely) stuffed here and there to give the illusion of it being less empty than it really was.

With some deliberation, and feeling a bit at a loss as to what to take, I almost reluctantly grabbed a simple cram bun (129 yen) and, despite everything mentioned above, I did end up enjoying it. Actually, it was really good. Fluffy dough with a bit of egg wash atop a not very aesthetically-pleasing gash of exploding custard stuffed with just the right amount of delicious cream. I came out of the bakery feeling very skeptical, but I was satisfied with what I ended up sampling.

Rating: ***