Category

Bakery

Category

Kee Tsui Cake Shop is located on Fa Yuen Street. They are not any regular cake shop, they specialize in traditional Chinese pastries and cakes. It is family owned and has stayed that way that way.

They have gotten rave reviews from locals and tourists. Also, they won the Best Restaurant Awards in 2012 from Open Rice.

The shop is small and has tons of different baked goods.

A lot of the items created here give people a nostalgic feeling that brings them back to their childhood.

There aren’t too many traditional Chinese bakeries left since not that many people specialize in it anymore. By far, this is the best place to get these items.

We got a bunch of items to bring back home.

Called cows ears but I assure you the ingredients don’t include the ears of cows.

Egg Tarts

Little Chicken biscuits (Gai Jai Beng) that are savoury and chewy . It’s traditional and is often reminiscent of older style snacks that we don’t often see much of anymore.

Sweetheart Cakes (lo por beng)

Glutinous rice cakes with red bean filling (siu beng)

Guong Soo Beng is a traditional snack that goes back about 300 years. It’s like a dry biscuit. They have it in a smaller version, or the large version below.

Overall, this place is great if you grew up with these items as a kid. Probably would make gifts for the grandparents too. My grandpa said eating these items from Kee Tsui Cake Shop really reminded him of his childhood.

We even went in the typhoon to visit the shop.

We Rate Kee Tsui Cake Shop:

Address:
135 Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=135+Fa+Yuen+Street,+Mong+Kok&hnear=135+Fa+Yuen+St,+Hong+Kong&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

A few month ago a heard much hype from The Baker & The Chef that opened near Hastings and Cambie. They have items like sandwiches, soups, and of course baked goods.

The interior isn’t too large, but has lots of seating for singles or pairs of customers.

The Capilano Panini(Full- $8) has foccacia bread, grilled chicken breast, brie, mixed greens, and pesto. There are sticks of carrots and celery on the side, which is a nice touch. The sandwich was just average and nothing too impressive. It was just disappointing how little chicken there was in the sandwich. As you can see from the picture, it’s all in the center, so when you take your first bite, you won’t get chicken.

Overall, my friend and I thought this place was ok, but with a lot of other sandwich shops in close proximity, it’s hard to compete. It’s cool to get sandwiches named after cool Vancouver streets. Quite creative.

We Rate The Baker & The Chef:

Address:
320 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thebakerandthechef.com/

The Baker & The Chef Sandwich Cafe on Urbanspoon

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Caffe Divano opened another cafe in the Lower Mainland and this location is on Hastings in North Burnaby. I pass by it quite often when I go to Downtown, so I was curious what it offered. KoreanGirl also saw it every time she hops onto the 135 bus, so we made it a mission to have some coffee and chat about what girls normally talk about.

There are lots of tables to sit at and would make a great place to study! We came around 5pm, so there wasn’t a lot of people here.

They have freshly baked goods and when they come right out of the oven, the store smells pretty delicious.

They also have sandwiches, wraps and desserts.

Homemade Oreo Cookie is made of 2 soft chocolate cookies sandwiching vanilla frosting. KoreanGirl and I did enjoy it because the texture of the cookie was great!

Latte was really good! They used 49th Parallel Coffee for this drink and it sure kept me awake all night.

Spanish Latte is a bit different as it contains espresso, steamed milk and condensed milk.

Overall, KoreanGirl and I loved chatting here and having a coffee. The prices are comparable to other cafes nearby. If you are looking for a place thats different than Starbucks, give Caffe Divano a try.

We Rate Caffe Divano:

Address:
4568 Hastings St
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.caffedivano.ca/

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During this Summer, we were caught in a severe typhoon, but despite the warnings, we still headed out for some delicious lunch. Everyone had their umbrellas and if you had shoes on, they were guaranteed to be soaked. The typhoon actually increased in strength throughout the day reaching a No. 10 typhoon warning, which was the highest since 1999.

Kam Wah Cafe is located in the Prince Edward area very very close to Women’s Street. Their specialties are milk tea, egg tarts, pineapple bun with butter, and chicken wings. They have also won the Best Restaurant Awards in 2012 on Openrice.com.

The interior is typical of a Chinese Cafe. It’s normal to sit with strangers since there are limited tables to seat all the customers.

They have news articles along one of the walls of the shop, so you can read what others have said about them.

Hot Milk tea is delicious and needs to be mixed with sugar before drinking. You definitely want to order this if you are getting some of their buns or tarts.

Egg Tarts are very flakey on the outside and nice and firm in the egg mixture. It came very hot, so you know its fresh.

Pineapple bun with butter is their most famous item at the cafe.

The way I eat it is by mushing the bun with a fork until its flat. Then I use a knife and fork to eat it, so I don’t get crumbs all over my lap.

StirFried Beef Noodles was very very good here too. We were pleasantly surprised! It was a bit oily, but still has a great taste!

Overall, I thought this cafe was really good! Definitely take a trip here if you want some good pineapple buns, egg tarts, and milk tea!

We Rate Kam Wah Cafe:

Address:
47 Bute Street, Prince Edward

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=47+Bute+Street,+Prince+Edward&hnear=47+Bute+St,+Hong+Kong&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

Paul Lafayet is a 3 Michelin starred pastry chef who bring the citizens of Hong Kong authentic French pastries and desserts. This location is in K11 in Tsim Sha Tsui. They are best known for their yummy macarons and delicate cakes. The price is quite expensive compared to other food items in Hong Kong.

When you walk in, you will see their large display case of macarons on top with various different flavours.

Then below that are the variety of cakes. I bought a few different items about bought them home to eat after dinner.

I ordered 10 macaroons in total and they put them all neatly in a box so it doesn’t get crushed during the ride home.

Oolong Macaron was a unique flavour! The taste was very subtle, but well put together.

Chocolate Macaron was another delicious choice and great for everyone.

I loved the chocolate one because it was very chewy and rich with chocolate mousse in the middle.

Matcha Macaron also has a nice subtle flavour

Caramel Macaron was a bit more sweet than the others, but still has a good taste.

Pistachio macaron tasted good as well, but they could have done a but more to enhance the pistachio taste.

Raspberry macaron has a lot of color to it, so when you eat it, your lips and tongue turn a bit red.

Sesame macaron was one of my favorites. It’s not a common flavour to see around. Plus, they make this one look pretty.

Earl Grey Macaron is another tea flavoured macaron. I really do love tea infused macarons because it suits very well with a cup of tea. I found this particular macaron interesting because the 2 side of it are different colors!

Chocolate Mousse was what my little sister ordered. It comes in a cup and can be reused for other uses like making other desserts or drinking from it. The mousse was rich, smooth, and had a great flavour.

Cheese Cake with fresh blueberries on top was ok. It wasn’t as amazing as I thought it was, plus it was very small and quite expensive.

Overall the macarons had a nice flavours, but the texture of the macaron was not perfect. Since the weather of Hong Kong is quite humid, it made the macarons fall apart easily. You could twist the 2 side off like an oreo cookie. None of the items were disappointing, they all had great flavours.

We Rate Paul Lafayet

Address:
Shop G23, K11, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

Website:
http://www.paullafayet.com/ 

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=18+Hanoi+Road,+Tsim+Sha+Tsui&hnear=18+Hanoi+Rd,+Hong+Kong&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

Every Summer, my friends and I would go berry picking somewhere within driving distance of Vancouver. Last year we went to Driediger Farms , but this year I chose Krause Berry Farms a few blocks down. It is about 40 mins drive from the city.

Krause Berry Farms is family operated and offers visitors to participate in “U-Pick”, where you can go into the fields to pick blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. All you do is pay the weight of what you picked. It’s a great activity with friends or family.

If you are feeling lazy, you can purchase berries from their market.

Besides picking berries and purchasing produce, they also have a small playground, a petting farm, and carriage rides.

We headed into the blueberry patches and saw rows upon rows of bountiful blueberries. You have to pay attention to what you pick because there are berries that aren’t ripe yet.

If it’s a sunny day, remember to bring a hat or wear sunscreen. My friend brought me a small red straw hat to wear. It was really random, but at least I was shielded by the sun.

I got really excited when I see really big plump blueberries like these. We probably spent about an hour or so in the fields. Some people may take longer depending on how much care they put into picking the berries.

At times, you can hear people screaming in the blueberry patches. It’s because they are startled by the spiders and insects. It’s nature, so what can you expect? You will come across bugs in the fields but they won’t hurt you…at least I don’t think they will. The insects just look ugly.

There are also really big flying bugs too. Don’t let this detour you from picking blueberries. It’s part of the whole experience!

We picked about a whole bucket. If you do fill the whole bucket, it’s about 6 lbs and will cost around $10. Not bad of a price!

The Porch is the area where you can grab some food after picking your berries. They have a selection of different pies, donuts, pizza, roasted corn, drinks, ice cream and other yummy treats.

It’s usually a nice sunny day, so it’s really awesome to eat out on the patio. There are lots of seats and not too cold during blueberry picking season.

Raspberry Smoothie ($3.50) was really good and made out of the raspberries picked fresh from their fields.

Blueberry Smoothie ($3.50) was yummy as well. The downside about drinking this smoothie is that some of the blueberries might be stuck in your teeth. When you finish this drink, remember to check your teeth.

10″ Baked Corn Pizza ($14.95) is divided up into 4 slices. Ordering the whole pizza is great for a group of people. It contains a lot of corn, tomato sauce, cheese, green onions, peppers, and artichokes.

Slice of Corn Pizza ($3.99) you can alternatively order a slice instead of the whole pizza.

The pizza is packed full of corn and is very yummy. I just didn’t like the crust of the pizza. It didn’t seem very fresh.

Farm Fries ($3.95) were golden brown to perfection, but lacked in taste. It needed a bit more salt and needed to be a bit more crispy.

Roasted Corn wasn’t on the menu, but you can still order it. It is rubbed with a bit of butter and tastes yummy!

Slice of berry custard pie ($4.50) was loaded with tons of berries, but I wasn’t in love with the pie. I loved the look, but I found the combination of the custard and the glaze to be a bit too sweet.

Scoop of Raspberry Ice Cream ($2.50) was delicious in the hot weather.

Inside the market is a lot of produce, products and a bakery.

If you are too lazy to pick berries, you can purchase then from the counter. It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s still delicious and fresh.

Everyone fall in love with the custard berry pie. It’s $15.99 and you can be staring at this forever!

Overall, picking the berries and having lunch at Krause Berry Farms is pretty awesome. Some of the food from The Porch is a bit hit and miss, but you can’t go wrong with a refreshing smoothie. I really enjoyed the U-Pick portion of this adventure. I always pick a whole bucket so I can freeze them for later months to make milk shakes.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Check website for up to date prices and what berries are in season
  • Lots of activities
  • One of the more popular berry farms to go picking

Address:
6179 248 Street
Langley, BC

Website:
http://www.krauseberryfarms.com/

Phone:
(604) 856-5757


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After going to Seoul Tower, we decided to relax at Seoul Station to wait for a train to arrive. M’s Mom asked me “do you like bread”? I thought this was a strange question, but I said I enjoy pastries. She told me Paris Croissant has the best blueberry tart she’s ever had. Whenever she has the change to come to Seoul, she buys a bunch of blueberry tarts to bring back home.

Paris Croissant was created in 1986 and creates classic French bread and pastries. They also own Paris Baguette.

The interior of this location has seats available for customers to sit down. The bread products are located along the side and at the front counter.

They have a lot of pretty cakes and tarts! Very beautiful!

They have a large variety of buns! They aren’t all traditional french pastries, but they have a lot of Korean type of pastry items. The prices are a bit expensive compared to smaller bakeries.

M’s mom clearly bought a lot. Red bean sesame balls, blueberry tarts and pecan pie.

She bought me two items to try – the blueberry tart and the red bean sesame ball.

The Red Bean Sesame Ball was very delicious, there was a lot of red bean paste in the center and wasn’t too sweet. So goo!

The blueberry tart was also delicious. I’ve never had anything like it. There were lots of blueberries inside, so every bite has a berry.

Overall, this place has great items, but it a tad expensive. I would definitely go back to Korea to try more of their items.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Expensive
  • Good amount of seating
  • Blueberry tart is awesome
  • Relaxing atmosphere to talk with friends

We Rate Paris Croissant:

Address:
Various locations all over Korea

Website:
http://www.pariscroissant.co.kr/


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I was running around the airport at Seoul International Airport in Incheon and M kept telling me I had to try the milk bread at Paris Baguette.

Paris Baguette has over 2,900 stores across Korea and with several locations around the world. The bakery was founded in the 1950s as a small family business, but grew over the decades to become what it is today. They specialize in Korean and Japanese-style breads.

The Milk Bread is one of their most popular item and it’s made of flour, butter, sugar, salt, water, milk, egg, and yeast. I grabbed a loaf of it and hand carried it back to Hong Kong. My mom kept telling me to just stuff it into a bag, but I took a lot of care into making sure it didn’t get squished. After the 3 hr flight and a long bus ride, the Milk bread made it safely on our dining table.

The bread does taste a little bit different, but it’s very delicious. I can’t put my finger on why it was good, but I would definitely get some more. It’s good by itself or toasted. My little sister love it so much that she ate half the bag.

Address:
Various locations in South Korea, and all over the world

Website: 
www.parisbaguetteusa.com 


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Maxim’s Cakes can be found everywhere in Hong Kong. Most MTR stations with have one inside. Even if you look along the streets of popular areas, you are bound to run into this bakery. It was founded in the 1960’s and has grown into the largest cake store in Hong Kong.

We came here after a long day of shopping and decided to get a few cakes for my sister. We always see her eyeing the cakes and I think it was time to get her some. Plus, there was a sale. We love sales.

There are lots of bread and little pastries.

In the glass case are all the cakes!

People in Hong Kong really love Angry Birds for some reason. They even have Angry Birds jello cups available.

Angry Bird cakes can be seen too! They also have then in Vancouver T&T too. They look too good to eat, plus who knows how good or bad they taste.

We grabbed a bunch of smaller cakes to bring back home. There was a buy 3 get 1 free deal, so we bought 6 cakes to get 2 free. We really didn’t need so many slices of cakes, but discounts make asian people buy more. It’s in our genes to find good deals.

Blueberry Cake had a nice strong blueberry flavour, but it wasn’t too sweet. It has layers of blueberry mousse and cake. Then, it’s topped with blueberries and a jelly. If you are a blueberry fan, you must get this.

Cheesecake was not too sweet as well, it had a very smooth texture that went eaten.

Chestnut tart was my favorite! It is topped with a mound of chestnut paste, whipped cream, chocolate on top of a crispy tart. Very delicious!

Chocolate Mousse Cake has layers upon layers of chocolate with a douse of coco powder on top. Remember not to inhale when eating this since you don’t want to start coughing due to the coco powder up your nose.

Mango tart has huge chunks of mango on top of whipped cream, chocolate and the tart. It’s very good and the mangos don’t fall off as easily as you think. Highly recommended for those mango lovers.

We definitely enjoyed all our cakes. Pretty decent for a chain store. I would return if I really have a craving for a quick slice of cake. There are numerous other cake shops in Hong Kong, so don’t think this is your only option.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Ask if there are discounts
  • All cakes are pretty good

We Rate Maxim’s Cakes:

Address:
Shop 10-12 at Paid Concourse,
MTR Tin Shui Wai Station, Hong Kong

Website:
http://www.maxims.com.hk/en/main.asp


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Ess-A-Bagel is located in Midtown East in New York. They are best known for their bagels and it was conveniently located less than a black away from my hotel! CanuckGirl went twice and told me it was very awesome and delicious!

You can order bagels at the back of the store, but if you want it prepared, you need to go to the counter on the left.

They have a lot of cream cheese! Imagine a gelato shop but instead of gelato, it’s cream cheese.

Sesame Bagel ($1) was not as fresh as the one I had devoured in montreal. I had the sesame bagel toasted on each side and didn’t add any cream cheese inside. I wanted to taste the bagel itself, which I guess was a mistake. It’s not very great on its own, you really need something to go with this.

I took the bagel back with me as I waited for my flight to Vancouver. As I sat there eating my plain cream cheese-less bagel, I really wish I ordered it with cream cheese or some other type of filling. Departing New York with regret because I wish I could have eaten more.

Address:
831 3rd Ave Ste 1
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.ess-a-bagel.com/

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If you have ever watched Sex in the City, you will know about this famous bakery. CanuckGirl and I were just walking around Rockefeller Center and suddenly just saw the bakery and immediately lined up. Since this isn’t the original location, it wasn’t too busy. It wasn’t too difficult getting a few of their cupcakes. For those who have never seen the clip of Carrie eating Magnolia Cupcakes, the clip is below.

The exterior and interior is very beautiful and a bit retro. You order on the left and you pay at the cashier in the back.

I went straight for the cupcakes and they had a few different varieties.

Once I picked my cupcakes, they all went into a very travel friendly box!

Your cupcakes won’t be moving around the box! Definitely very travel friendly! Too bad I couldn’t wait to eat it…so we ate it on a street corner. We couldn’t find a table.

S’mores Cupcake ($3.50) was very messy to eat! The wrapper was sticky so it will definitely need some napkins.

The cupcake is comprised of a graham flavored cupcake dipped and filled with chocolate ganache with a meringue icing. It was good, but not the best cupcake I’ve had.

Red Velvet Cupcake ($3.50) was bright red and topped with a meringue icing.

It was very bright inside and obviously has a lot of food coloring. The color of the cupcake is very vibrant, but the flavour wasn’t anything exciting.

Overall, its a great place for Sex in the City fans to go to and reminisce, but the quality and the flavours aren’t there.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Very close to Rockafeller Centre
  • Is not the original location
  • Can get a bit busy during peak hours

We Rate Magnolia Bakery
Address:
1240 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.magnoliabakery.com/

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When visiting New York City, we knew we had to try the Momofuku Milk Bar. People around the world rave about their amazing desserts. I’ve never heard of a milk bar before, so this would be a fun-filled adventure to East Village with CanuckGirl. They have various locations around New York. They even sell their popular Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook here too.

Blueberry Miso + Cereal Milk Soft Serve Ice Cream ($4.50) I didn’t know which flavour to get since they were so good, so I asked them to twist the two flavours. To my surprise, they were able to do it. I think my favorite would have to be cereal milk because it reminded me of the sweetened milk after you eat your cereal. Highly recommended.

Another item on the menu that really intrigued me was the crack pie. Looking at the first few ingredients, you know this isn’t a pie if you are on a diet. Butter, sugar, brown sugar and cream.

Crack Pie ($5.25) was so good. Bad for the hips, but very delicious. It will definitely satisfy any sweet tooth.

All the items that was sold at this shop was all pre-packaged, so don’t expect a bakery type of setting. There are very little seats inside, so most people just do take-out. The locations do vary, so not all locations have all their items.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Order anything with Cereal Milk!
  • Crack Pie is a must!
  • Under $10
  • Very little space to sit and eat

We Rate Momofuku Milk Bar:

Address:
251 E 13th St
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.momofuku.com/restaurants/milk-bar/

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Mike’s Pastry is very famous and popular amongst tourists. I’m not exactly sure why it’s so famous, but there were tons of people lining up to get a taste of their pastries. CanuckGirl and I decided to come here for a snack because Trip Advisor told us we had to check this place out.

There are no lines here, you have to budge and shove your way to the counter to get someone to take your order. Even though there are tons of people, you can get out of here with your box of pastries quite fast.

Pistachio Cannoli ($3.50) is a traditional Italian pastry, but with bits of pistachio at both ends.

Don’t be fooled by the pictures because it is packed full of cream! It’s quite dense and will make you full. It was so rich that I could only finish half of it in one sitting. The outside shell was nice and crunchy. What I didn’t like about it was how green and artificial it looked. I had to make sure it didn’t dye my lips green.

Hazelnut Cannoli ($3.50) was similar except for the bits of hazelnuts on both ends. The flavour was similar since a majority of the cannoli was the Ricotta Cheese in the center.

Overall, it was great to try out their famous cannoli’s, but you can get quite sick of the after a while. Most people take the pastries to go. One of the servers said to CanuckGirl that it would last a few days…but I don’t think you should leave these uneaten for more than a day. The crust do eventually begin to get soggy due to the Ricotta Cheese. It’s best to eat them right away for within a few hours.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Very Touristy
  • Best to share with a friend
  • Long lines but it goes quick

We Rate Mike’s Pastry:

Address:
300 Hanover St
Boston, MA

Website:
http://www.mikespastry.com/

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St. Viateur Bagel and Cafe is known best for their freshly made bagels. It is a family owned business since 1957. They are open 24 hours and sell about 1000 bagels each day! This isn’t their original location, but they still make fresh bagels here too.

CanuckGirl and I were passing by and we just had to have a taste of their famous bagels!

Right at the counter of the cashier, you can see them make all the bagels. They are very fresh! If you look into the oven, they have a few dozen in their making. It’s really fun seeing them work their magic.

Their mascot is called sesame and he can be seen depicted on their bags, murals and interior decor.

Sesame Bagel ($0.70) was still very hot when we got it. We decided to get this flavour since the mascot is a sesame bagel. It was the most mazing bagel I’ve ever had. 1000000x better than anything in Vancouver. We ate this bagel right away and it was crunchy on the outside and super hot and chewy on the inside.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Must get the sesame bagel and eat it right way!
  • Cheap
  • Can’t sit down in the cafe if you are just ordering a bagel

We Rate St. Viateur Bagel & Cafe

Address:
1127 Ave Du Mont-Royal E
Montréal, QC

Website:
http://www.stviateurbagel.com/

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Since I was in the area, I decided to stop off to grab some treats for myself at French Made Baking. It was a nice day, so I felt like I needed to spoil myself. I initially wanted to get a pack of macarons, but I found some other delicious goodies too!

French Made Baking is near Broadway and Kingsway and they sell some delicious pastries! They have caneles, macarons, croissants, tarts, and other items.

Box of 6 assorted macarons ($10) looked scrumptious and it came in all the different flavours like earl grey, pistachio, lemon, vanilla bean.

The macarons were not all uniform in size, some were a bit thinner, some had a bit more filling. The consistency differed slightly, some crumbled easily and some had a good texture. Each macaron still had its own distinct subtle flavour. My favorites are earl grey and pistachio.

Chocolate Almond Croissant was friggin delicious! It has a stick of chocolate in the center and biting into the croissant revealed a very crisp texture with the delicious taste of the almond. It wasn’t too sweet and the flavours of the chocolate, almonds, butter and powdered sugar just went so well together.

Just looking at it, you know it’ll be super delicious. I’d come back for this!

Overall, the croissant blew my mind.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Must get the croissants!
  • Consistency of macarons could be a bit better
  • Some items can be a hit and a miss
  • Under $10
  • Limited seats

We Rate French Made Baking:

Address:
81 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://frenchmadebaking.com/
Twitter:
@FrMadeBaking

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Footo Delights specializes in croissants and everything is made in-store with no artificial ingredients. Since I was on my lunch break, I saw their Twitter saying they had the maple bacon croissant available. It’s not too far from my office, so I headed down in search of their croissant.

There is always a good selection of croissant. They also have a baking schedule, I made it just in time for a new batch of croissants. If you’re lucky, they may have some of their specialty croissants available too – garlic, maple bacon or apple cheddar. They also have their regular flavours too – almond, chocolate, spinach+feta, white chocolate pistachio and other ones.

Turkey Pesto Croissant Sandwich ($5.49) was freshly made and has lettuce, tomatoes, turkey, pesto and cheese in a regular butter croissant. It could have used a tad more pesto, but other than that, it was a good simple sandwich.

Maple Bacon Croissant ($2.75) is filled with maple cream with bits of bacon inside. On the outside, there is a maple syrup glaze and more bacon. I loved the large bacon chunks on top and went really well with the croissant. It wasn’t too sweet and I think it’s my 2nd favorite croissant. My favorite is still the white chocolate pistachio croissant.

Brenda was also kind enough give to a box of assorted goodies to my coworkers back at the office. There’s scottish scones, mini croissants and a few of the regular sized croissants. Let just say, at the end of the day…this box is empty.

Overall, pretty good croissants and it also makes for a quick snack.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Made with natural ingredients
  • Small, local and independently owned
  • Highly recommend the white chocolate pistachio croissant, maple bacon croissant and Turkey Pesto Croissant Sandwich
  • Closest Skytrain: Stadium or Granville

We Rate Footo Delights:

Address:
820 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC
Website:
www.footodelights.com

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FootoDelights

Twitter: @FootoDelights

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Creme de la Crumb is a bake shop that serves up pastries and sandwiches. Everything is made fresh and brings in a busy crowd during lunch. The interior is quite small and everything is take-out. There are no chairs inside either. So, if you have an office near by, you probably should bring the food back and eat there.

My co-worker and I came here to try out their sandwiches. It was a block away from our office, so it was a quick walk. We arrived at 12:30pm and most of the items were already sold out. I guess you gotta arrive early if you want a particular item.

Cinnamon Bun ($3.25) was freshly made and I really couldn’t resist getting this little treat. It was a tad expensive for just a cinnamon bun, but it was good! The vanilla bean cream cheese frosting was not overly sweet and went well with the moist layers of the bun.

Oven Roasted Turkey Breast with Havarti Sandwich has a fig marmalade and greens between cranberry pecan bread. It was nicely toasted on the outside. It was a good sandwich, but I wish there was a bit more filling inside. I gobbled up this sandwich so fast. It was a good sandwich, but I don’t think I was too amazed by it.

Pulled Pork Sandwich is what HispterGirl had. It is also toasted on the outside. She said it was good but I forgot to ask more questions to her since we were so busy in the lunch room watching cat videos. Just go on Youtube and search up ‘Maru’. Cutest Cat in the world!!

Overall, the food from Creme de la Crumb was good, but can be a tad expensive. It’s still an option if you really hate line ups at the other restaurants.

We Rate Creme de la Crumb:

Address:
466 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.cremedelacrumb.com/

Crème de la Crumb Bakeshop (Granville) on Urbanspoon


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Cartems Donuterie opened up a pop-up shop in Gastown and another near Commercial. A pop-up shop means its only temporary. They sell unique donuts with very unique flavours and cater to people who are gluten-free and vegan.

My coworkers and I have heard a lot of buzz about Cartems Donuterie on Twitter and in the papers, so we decided to check them out during lunch. We also heard they like to be sold out quite fast, so we just monitored their twitter account to see what flavours were coming out next. On their first batch of donuts, they sold out in 39 minutes! So, we waited for their next batch to be ready before we headed out of the office.

They take online orders ( 2 days in advance) as well, just in case you don’t want to run into the problem with sold out donuts or the flavours you want aren’t there. They do free delivery in Downtown too.

Everything is made fresh with local ingredients! They don’t do their baking in the Gastown location since its just delivered to that location. It’s not a bad thing since it’s still fresh!

The shop is very small. When we went there, there were only 2 flavours left. 🙁 They are popular donuts.

It didn’t bother us too much since there were at least some donuts left and the guy serving us was very nice! There are no tables inside, so all the donuts you get at the store are for takeout.

After walking back to the office with our rain-soaked box of Cartems Donuts, we just dug in!

Since there were only 2 types of donuts left, we just grabbed a box of half a dozen ($15). They gave us an extra one since one of the donuts were a bit smaller. I didn’t notice the size difference, but a free donut is a good donut (hehehe…that was my asian side of me speaking).

Cinnamon Sugar Donut ($3 each) was coated with a lot of sugar on the outside. It was beautifully fried! When you bite into it, the outside is crunchy and the inside is spongey. There was a good balance between the ingredients.

Sweet Heat Donut ($3 each) tasted like a slightly dense chocolate donut. The dominant flavour is the chocolate, but there is a very very subtle taste of the chilies.

Overall, the donuts were good, but since I am not a donut fanatic…I don’t exactly have a huge love for them. With $3 per donut, I would probably try more of the other flavours that are more unique.


Since I wanted to try more of their flavours, Angela of Munchkie’s Munchies and I decided to order a dozen and split them during lunch. Such a healthy lunch right? Don’t attempt eating a whole box of 12, since thats really just unhealthy on many levels. The dozen donuts cost $30.

Ordering online was quite painless, choose the donuts you want in multiples of 12 and pay through PayPal. You just need to make your order 2 days in advance. The order arrived on time and I had no issues.

Even though we ordered one of each flavour, we couldn’t try the Bee Sting donut since they didn’t have it. The donuts came in various shapes and sizes. Some were smaller, some were larger.

Triple Chocolate Threat ($3 each) is made with a base of chocolate cake, then topped with ganache and crispy chocolate pearls.

This donut was a bit dense and slightly dry. I liked the texture of the chocolate pearls that complimented the donut.

Flourless Bouquet Gluten-Free Donut ($3 each) but it’s still made in an area with gluten. Eat with caution depending on what your level of sensitivity is towards gluten. The donut has a berry tea glaze on top.

I found the glaze to be quite sweet, but it did have a strong berry taste to it.

Cinnamon Sugar Donut ($3 each) was coated with sugar and cinnamon on the outside. The quality of the donut could have been a bit improved since the shape of it was a bit weird.

What I like about this donut is the crunchy exterior and then the soft inside of it. This donut isn’t super special or unique, but it is good.

Sweet Snow Donut ($3 each) has a white chocolate glaze with large organic coconut shavings.

I’m not a big fan of coconut, but I liked how the taste was subtle and didn’t dominate the flavour. Good balance.

Sweet Heat Donut ($3 each) tasted a little bit different this time around.

The chili flavour was more prominent but not too overwhelming. It just tickled your lips a little. It was kinda a cool feeling.

Earl Grey Donut is infused with organic earl grey tea and a earl grey glaze with edible flowers.

I really liked this donut because it has a good subtle flavour of the tea. Very unique and its a must order.

Breakfast Donut has organic figs, flax seeds, and honey. This was definitely a donut for the wee mornings.

It was quite dense and packed with a lot of ingredients, but it kinda tasted like a bran muffin.

Carrot Cake Donut has carrots in their donut dough with a caramel glaze and topped with candied carrots and oats.

I felt like it didn’t represent a carrot cake since it needed a bit more cinnamon to really bring out that taste.

Classic Donut is topped with a vanilla bean glaze.

I liked the simple taste of the donut. Good fresh ingredients done right.

No Animals? No problems! Vegan Donut has chocolate cake, topped with chocolate ganache and chocolate sprinkles.

I LOVED this donut! Even though it’s vegan, it was so moist and chocolaty. I would definitely order this again!

Overall, there is a bit of a consistency issue with the donuts, but Cartems has a great concept in trying to bring unique flavours and ingredients into their donuts. Plus, they do cater to vegans and gluten-free individuals. I am sure in time they will improve on their products! Don’t forget to check out  Munchkie’s Munchies‘s review of Cartems!

Words of Wisdom:

  • My Favorite: Earl grey, Sweet Heat, Vegan, and Classic
  • Pricey for just a donut
  • Order Online to be guaranteed the flavours you want
  • Free delivery to the Downtown core
  • Under $10
  • Closest Skytrain: Stadium
  • Follow them on Twitter (@cartemsdonuts ) for availability of supply + flavours
  • Vegan + Gluten-Free Options

We Rate Cartems Donuterie

Address:
408 Carrall Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://cartems.com/

Cartems Donuterie (Pop-up Shop) on Urbanspoon


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