Nottes Bon Ton

Bakery: Nottes Bon Ton Pastry & Confectionery
Address: 3150 W Broadway, Vancouver BC 
Website: http://www.nottesbontonpastry.com/
Style: European 
Price: $$ 

Out of curiosity, I was once checking bakeries for sale and saw that Nottes Bon Ton was up for sale. I was stunned; I had to review this institution before it potentially closed down!! Seeing as I wasn't able to go immediately and it's still alive and well, perhaps it was simply a change of management? Perhaps nothing at all happened?

Nonetheless, Nottes Bon Ton Pastry is as old-school European pastry shop as you can get. From the long wall of cakes to the packaging, it's a bit like going back in time - and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. On the contrary. It's quite refreshing, especially compared to the minimalist chic of the city's newest patisseries. The bakery features a VAST assortment of small tea cakes (bite-sized cakes and sweets), cookies, full-sized cakes, croissants, etc. The one thing that did surprise me amid this selection was the decided Eastern European presence (only certain countries do Dobos tort, after all) which seemed a bit at odds with the Diplomats and Florentines, so maybe there was a management change after all?

 Well, I do often take a Dobos (around $3) when I see it and this wasn't an exception. The cake was alright; the chocolate was good and there was plenty of it, but it was missing that characteristic caramel flavour. In addition, there was the distressing and disappointing fact that the cake was, put simply, stale. In hindsight, the selection truly is impressive, but at the same time you can also say they have way too much for sale. I came on a Tuesday. The place is closed Sundays and Mondays, so you don't really know how old the cake is, which is unfortunate. As I've said a few times throughout my reviews, there's no excuse for stale cake! 

Rating: **

Crémy

Bakery: Crémy
Address: 2202 Mont-Royal Ave E, Montreal QC 
Website: https://cremypatisserie.com/
Style: Doughnuts, European
Price: $$ 

 This time around, I wanted to find out whether Montreal had any doughnut shops or bakeries specializing in doughnuts that I wasn't aware of. One of the first that appeared in this search was Crémy. Without a doubt, the focus at Crémy is doughnuts. Yes, they have a small selection of pastries, breads and baked goods and seem to be place to go if you're craving a doughnut burger (you heard me right), but truth be told, I don't actually have any personal recollection of that. All I do remember is that wall of doughnuts right upon entering.

And it's a fairly impressive sight, though perhaps Crémy tends to stick to mostly classic flavours like chocolate dip, sprinkled and lemon glazed cruellers. However, there's nothing wrong with sticking to old-school flavours and getting it right. That being said, there are a few doughnut flavours - like the maple bacon and pistachio - that are more on the unique side.

Go all out? Choose something basic? Quite the dilemma. I made a compromise: the beignet aux pommes (apple fritter; $3.05). In a sense, my translation of 'apple fritter' is a bit deceiving, since this was an old-fashioned stuffed apple doughnut with a generous fruit filling right in the middle as opposed to apples being scattered here and there. The dough was delicately spiced with a glaze on the outside; overall, it was quite the hearty doughnut. Fantastic texture, super flavourful. Yummy!

Rating: ***1/2

Kuchen Brot [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Kuchen Brot
Address: 28 Yeonhuimat-ro, Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
Website: n/a 
Style: Korean 
Price: $$ 

This was the inaugural bakery of my trip to South Korea and, strangely enough, very few equalled or exceeded this fantastic neighbourhood bakery just north of the Hongdae business "cluster". Kuchen Brot is what I would term a classic Korean bakery: grab a tray and make your way down the aisles of Westernized, but not entirely Western, sweet and savoury baked goods. A few French-inspired like the madeleines, others a bit more North American like the pies and chocolate cake and others after that are quintessentially Korean like the cream buns. Outwardly, they don't look that much different from other bakeries, but taking a bite was a very pleasant and wholly welcome surprise.

 The first item was a massive, generous cream bun (2,800 won) with a fantastic crusty exterior and plenty of rich, delicious cream on the inside. Maybe a bit too much, but a little extra cream was nothing to complain about. This was like ice cream.

Beyond this, there were the twist doughnuts (1,200 won). Yes, those twist doughnuts. Freshly fried, perfectly plum; impeccably crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Coated in simple sugar. And incredibly good. This was the reason for the onslaught of twist doughnut trials that followed me on my trip throughout South Korea. One or two did reach the same level, but there is still something sentimental about that first really good bakery. Thanks for the memories, Kuchen Brot.

Rating: ****

Daango Pastry Lab

Bakery: Daango Pastry Lab 
Address: 202 Baldwin St, Toronto ON
Website: http://www.daango.com/
Style: Asian, North American 
Price: $$-$$$ 

Someone brought this cute, somewhat gimmicky pastry shop to my attention, informing me that it was founded by a pastry chef who was featured on Masterchef Canada. Now, I'm not sure if that gives the shop celebrity status, but there seems to be a certain degree of hype surrounding it: from the professionally designed packaging to the Instagram-friendly treats. Yes, Daango specializes in cakes, desserts and colourful macarons whose focus is their appearance. Think silly critters, uniquely shaped cake slices and unusual containers for creamy desserts. Nevertheless, adorable faces or not, the question is: is all that fanfare worth it?

 Always a fan of matcha, I went with two of their matcha-themed selections: the "Zen" matcha cream cake with red bean and black sesame ($6.50) and the black sesame and matcha "Terra" pudding ($5.50). With its clear plastic shell resembling a window planter, the cake crumb soil layer and little plant trying to make the most of the favourable growing conditions, the "Terra" was certainly the photogenic one, though "digging" into it, I found the flavour of the matcha not as pronounced as I like it. The "Zen", for that matter, suffered from the same problem; there was simply too little matcha for you to taste it, especially when combined with stronger, more overpowering flavours like black sesame or chocolate. The excessive use of intense food colouring also cheapened the products; often, you pay more for better food quality and I felt like the quality of the ingredients was lacking here.

Nonetheless, the pudding was the star of the two. The cake... I personally was not a fan of the salted crumble on top. There was enough complexity with the red bean, sesame and green tea, without adding that extra component; it didn't match at all. Usually, places add too much sugar, but I think the cake could have been sweeter. Or at least the red bean layer. Not sure. There was definitely something missing and it wasn't salt: it needed more flavour, or the flavours that were already there needed more emphasis. All in all: all sizzle, no bite.

Rating: **

Moore's Bakery

Bakery: Moore's Bakery 
Address: 2128 W 41st Ave, Vancouver BC 
Website: https://mooresbakery.wixsite.com/moores-bakery
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

With the number of fancy, higher end patisseries located throughout Vancouver, you don't often encounter a classic Canadian bakery in the city. You know what I mean: serving old-school baked goods like date squares, butter tarts, brownies, etc. And sometimes, it's precisely those uncomplicated, home-style baked goods that you're craving.

That's where Moore's Bakery comes in. They may not be the most elegant of bakeries; maybe they're not the most photographed, but they sell reasonably priced, unpretentious treats that - most importantly - taste good. 

 One item that I seem to regularly go for is the Nanaimo bar ($2.50). Sometimes, bakeries make it too sweet and creamy, but Moore's gets it right: it has these granola undertones, or maybe almost like a classic macaroon. A bit like Jordan's chocolate granola cereal, perhaps. It featured good, quality chocolate and wholesome oats; the custard was more yellow and heavier than usual. It was quite good; in fact: If you like the combination of chocolate and granola, you'll love Moore's Nanaimo bars!

Rating: *** 

Louise Boulangerie

Bakery: Louise 
Address: 6835 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal QC
Website: facebook 
Style: French, Canadian 
Price: $$ 

Louise is one of those rare bakeries that you know you're getting closer to, even when you have no idea where it is. First there's the people walking past with loaves of bread in tow. Then comes the phenomenal aroma of freshly baked bread literally wafting down the block. Nowadays, you hardly encounter a bakery that smells good on the inside, much less on the outside. Suffice to say, I was looking forward to Louise before I even saw it.

Of course, if you've noticed the common theme throughout the first paragraph, Louise is a "boulangerie": a bread bakery. Their focus is without a doubt on bread and even their sweet goods are very bread-based, such as their brioches and chocolate or raisin breads. That aside, they do have plenty of sweet options: the fairly standard selection of French pastries along with a more unusual selection of more North American treats: cookies, pies, loaf cakes, muffins and brownies.

I wanted something unique. I also happened to want the one thing that didn't have a label, so I don't know the actual name. I called it a bread pudding apple cake (around $3), though now that I look back on it, I don't think there were actually any apples in it. This was a classic bread pudding with hints of cinnamon and a bit too many raisins. ;) I would have liked it to be more chunky and... maybe have less raisins, but the bread pudding was moist, slightly chewy and flavourful. The smell doesn't lie!

Rating: ***