Saint Honoré Boulangerie
2335 NW Thurman Street (location visited)
315 1st Street Lake Oswego
Portland, OR

To those who haven’t realized yet, whenever I drive down to I-5, on my way back, I always bring in goodies for close friends and fellow food bloggers. So far, from the two places I have brought goodies from (check here and here), it seems it was quite well received. So, for today’s post, the challengue was the same: bring some goodies from Portland. The question is “from where?”. Since I was staying near the Uptown area, Saint Honoré Boulangerie ended up being the best option…

During my stay, I noticed this shop but I chose not to go for several reasons: too early, too late, plans to go somewhere else, etc. etc. But, finally, on my way back, I decided it might as well be a good time. See, there were other bakeries but it was also a matter of time: After all, another 5+ hours drive awaited me! Of course, there was the usual challenge of what to bring. Since I had already noticed the place was quite busy at times, I decided to check their site ahead of time and make a list of items to order. Also, given that Mijune is one of the people I stop for on my way back, I tailored those items for her, as well. (Hey, she is the queen of sweets and my reputation was on the line!). And, finally, I could only choose item that would survive that drive. I.e., I couldn’t order a Saint Honoré (yeah, paradoxical, considering this place’s name!), most cakes, etc. Well, that literally was a challenge for sorts but I was up for it!

Since I was there on a weekend, it was packed full. Almost all tables (including some outside) were taken. But, then again, I was planning to only order things to go. Alas, I was so focused on pastries that I overlook their other offerings, namely bread and sandwiches. Oh, well. However, if Saint Honoré would be a good place, that was an incentive to come back in the future!

So, box number one… From the top, chouquette, followed by two Mirliton de Rouen, then, to the left, two Gateau Orange et Gingembre and finally two almond croissant. In another box, tarte au citron and Normandy apple toast.

On that note, the tarte au citron was… Strange… Again, not sure if it was due to the transit time (it wasn’t consumed on the same day). It was citrus-y, all right but it wasn’t that smooth. The one part that caught me partially off-guard was the shell: it isn’t pastry based but almond based. As a result, it wasn’t “crunchy” but slightly grainy. However, the fact that the overall dessert wasn’t that sweet was a plus for me. As for the apple toast, it was a bit strange. Again, probably due to the transit time and so, the end result was somewhat dense. Now, the other part that threw me off a little bit was that it didn’t feel that much as a toast but, instead, a bread pudding. Once again, it wasn’t that sweet so it worked for me quite well.

I also wanted an order of 30 mini-cookies but there was some sort of communication breakdown: they weren’t sure if they had it or not. That’s why I dropped that item and, instead, noticed a bag of these: chouquettes. Think of it as a mini version of a croissant, with some rock sugar and simple syrup (not 100% sure about this, but it was sticky after handling these!). As a snack, these would be great and would certainly eat a couple of things. (Remember, not much of a sweets person!).

Back to the first big box, here, the almond croissant and the gateau orange et gingembre. The croissant wasn’t as crunchy as it could have been but, once again, I will blame the transit time plus fridge time. Still, even with that in consideration, it didn’t really work for me, as the almond taste didn’t came out. As for the gateau… Well, this was one of the items I knew I should get for Mijune and it didn’t fail. It had a really strong orange taste… Wait, make that *natural* orange taste because it had a lot of (candied?) orange peel in it (despite they say it is pureed). Now the ginger didn’t really come out so I can’t say much about that component. One note I must mention is that this is supposed to be flourless. If it is, I am quite impressed as I didn’t really miss it!

The canelet was an interesting piece of pastry. While it should have some rum in it, I didn’t taste any. Furthermore, some of the hints it should be there, like the vanilla, didn’t really popped out. However, what I really like was that custard-y texture. Yeah, I am sucker for custard so call it bias! Finally, the Mirliton de Rouen. The simplest way to describe this would be a pear tart; however, unlike some others, it had pieces of pear in it. What it has to do? Well, because they were cooked, it was really soft and, furthermore, it was moist. As a result, that moist feeling “spread out” to the rest of the pastry. Did I mention it wasn’t that sweet?

I know the way I wrote about some of the pastries was strange, i.e., there was always a “but”. However, instead of detracting itself from the overall dish, it was rather a plus. The fact that it wasn’t sugar overload (yeah, they are all pastries and what not) was, once again, a plus for me. So, from my perspective, it fit the bill. Probably not a comparison against Kreation Artisan Cake, Ganache Patisserie, Thomas Haas or Bakery Nouveau. But, it has qualities of its own which is what make it stand out from these other places. But… (Yeah, I am saying it again), it didn’t matter what I thought. Instead, what matters is what Mijune thought. So, for that, please, check *her* post!

Universal Bakery
3815 Rupert Street
Vancouver, BC

On Tuesday, I wrote about my visit to Cinco Estrelas, a Portuguese-Chinese greasy spoon type restaurant. In an interesting twist, I did something I seldom do: go get some sweets. In an even more interesting twist, I chose to follow the theme of that day: Portuguese-type sweets! That reminded me of a bakery I found the day I went to Chong Lee Market but was closed that day: Universal Bakery

Now, this isn’t the first time I have head/read about them. Fellow blogger gastronomydomine of the Foodosophy team wrote about it previously so I had a pretty good idea of what to order. Yes, I ordered exactly THAT.

Yes, Portuguese egg tarts aka pastel de nata. Given we have our share of Chinese readers, think a more rustic version of the egg tart (of course, keeping in mind that Chinese egg tart has its roots from this dish). Along with the egg tart, I ordered a… OK, I might have missed this one but I am sure the attendant said cheese tart…

In a sweetness level, it was sweeter than most Chinese egg tart (with the caveat I am not that much of a sweets person). Furthermore, its consistency wasn’t that smooth (again, compared to Chinese egg tart. If you check the picture above, you should notice it has a quite rough consistency and didn’t collapse after I “tore” it into two. If I had to choose between a Chinese version vs this, I think I will go for the Portuguese one: that “burnt” top was a really nice, different touch.

The “cheese” tart wasn’t savoury at all. In fact, it was extremely greasy and even sweeter than the egg version. If I had to draw some comparison, well, unfortunately, I don’t think I really can. Since I am not that much of a sweets/desserts person (again, this visit being sort of a fluke), I can’t really describe that different taste and texture.

Should I mention I went overkill? This is their creme caramel. Well, Cake-Ya is not the only player in town! Compared to the Japanese version, this one wasn’t as smooth. In fact, I thought it was quite dense. It wasn’t bad but, hey, again, not a dessert/sweets person! Aside from it sweet taste, the one other unique characteristic is the burned top (which, when it is flipped, it will be the bottom). That layer provided something different (as in some “chewyness” which would have otherwise be a “regular” custard.

I saw some breads and, while not necessarily Portuguese, they still looked quite good. As for sweets, well, I won’t mind coming back for some of their goods – which is quite a statement for me! Hmmmm… Should I bring one of the female bloggers/readers for her to try? I am sure they will have a way better line of thought/opinion!

Calabria Bakery
5036 Victoria Drive
Vancouver, BC

This is a case of me blaming somebody else for a post. In this case, I am blaming Jessica! Long time ago, she had a quest for the ultimate cannoli which, in a way, I took over but also dropped since I don’t have desserts that often. But, looking across the street of Lam Hoa Quan, there was Calabria Bakery…

One thing that did not necessarily attracted me was how dark it looks from outside. However, with enough goodies on display, I was curious to find out what they had. After going back and forth, I picked up some and took it home. And, to start off…

Haystack

Unfortunately, I did not have a piece of these so I can’t necessarily comment about it. What happened? Errrrr… Long story, let’s just leave it there, OK?

Tiramisu

Given that it is an Italian bakery, there was no way I won’t have a piece of tiramisu. Now, for some reason, I am not sure if I would call this a tiramisu. The top layer had a creamier consistency compared to what I am used to. When I was taking that piece out of the box, I held in on the side for a moment and rather than giving itself in (hence, making a mess), it retained the shape for a moment. Think almost the consistency of cream cheese. However, when I bit into it, it was actually softer than what I thought at first. I wasn’t that sweet; instead, I had more coffee overtones than sugary ones. As for the bottom layer, it had the texture of a light fluffy cake. I found this quite acceptable.

Cream horn

This might be a little bit of lost-in-translation. I was there for the cannoli and I indeed asked for one. However, I pointed them in the display and somehow it seems I pointed them to the cream horn instead. I didn’t catch this “error” until I got home.s Oh, well… The exterior was in lines of puff pastry and despite the big sugary crystals, they weren’t overwhelmingly sweet. The cream center was, well, a cream filling; I couldn’t taste anything interesting out of it.

At that point, I wasn’t that excited about the offerings but you must keep in mind that I am not THAT much into sweets anymore. However, the fact I didn’t have a cannoli would have meant a bigger epic fail. So, one day, I dropped by again…

Sicilian Cannoli

For some reason, there was an emphasis on the “Sicilian cannoli” portion so on my second visit, I explicitly said “Sicilian cannoli” without pointing anywhere. Now, I know lightning looks strange but I wasn’t going home anytime soon and was afraid of how the filling would react on a semi-long trip. Anyway, this is more on the lines of what I have had before and… I don’t know. The filling was not sweet, it felt it was just ricotta cheese without anything else to bring up a notch. But what really threw me off slightly was the shell: it had some oily parts, as if they were fried in low temperature (hence the dough soaked some of the oil). Notice in the second picture above how the paper bag “soaked” that a little bit, not to mention it is something noticeable on the top? I am willing to give them the benefit of doubt and say it might be the moisture of the filling; however, it didn’t taste that way.

While the cannoli didn’t really impress me, I will give them some credit for the rest of the desserts and breads. Sure, I didn’t buy any of those but, at least, they were enticing enough. They also have amaretto cookies which was mentioned as gluten free (this is for Peter and Darina!) and some whole pies which, well, if it wasn’t because I was by myself, I might have gotten one to share. Would I come back? I think it is a good possibility, specially considering that some of the pieces were relatively cheap and given the neighbourhood. Having a break for non-Chinese goodies might be a good thing!

Bakery Nouveau
4737 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA

Yesterday, I wrote about Salumi, where I picked some goodies on my way back from Tacoma. However, that wasn’t the only place I stopped by. There was one other place where I decided to grab some goodies to share with my fellow friend food bloggers: Bakery Nouveau. I won’t disclose the reasons why I chose this place but will say that I had the hunch it would be good. How good was my hunch? Well, instead of me saying it, I will defer that to Mijune (of Follow Me Foodie), Anita (of La Petite Foodie) and Sherman (of Sherman’s Food Adventures) whom I brought these goodies. So, what about this post, then? Instead of my usual commentary, this will be mostly a photo essay. So, without further ado, the links to Mijune, Anita and Sherman’s site and some picture of their goodies! (Oh, I must mention you should visit all their sites, as they did not necessarily have the same goodies!).

Mijune’s post is up!
Anita’s post is pending.
Sherman’s post is up!

Yup, they have chocolates, too!

And sandwiches!

And breads, too!

Goodies…

More goodies!

Yes, even more goodies!

German Chocolate Cake, which Mijune shared with me.

Blueberry pistachio, which I got one piece for myself (and shared with Mijune) and another piece for Anita.

Some macaroons for Mijune and Anita.

Double-baked almond croissant… Would it be better than Thomas Hass‘? Ask Mijune, Anita and Sherman, as they all had it!

Peppermint cheesecake for Sherman and Viv.

A special request by Sherman, something “lemony”, in this case: lemon croissant.

Uprising Breads Bakery
1697 Venables Street
Vancouver, BC

Note: Today, I have a two-post “special”. The “other” post – Vancouver’s Bakers Market, can be found here.

A week and a half ago, during Thanksgiving weekend (as a reminder for non-Canadian readers, specially if you are from the US: we celebrate Thanksgiving in the second Monday for October), I was invited to my family friend CL’s home. Wait, did I say family friend? Don’t my parents live in Panama? I have a long history with CL, since he has known me since I was a child, before he moved to Canada and my parents moved to Panama. And, what happened when I moved here to Canada? Originally I was planning to go to Toronto but my mother “suggested” me I should go to Vancouver and stay at CL’s place instead. I am very thankful for what he has done for me on all these years and there was absolutely no what I won’t accept his invite to have the Thanksgiving dinner at his home. But, but… Despite I was the only non-family guest and was assured there was no need for me to bring anything, I won’t show up empty handed. Originally, I wanted to go to Fratelli’s to bring a cake or pie but, alas, it was closed (I forgot they are closed on Sundays). I thought then “I guess I will have to fall back on buying something from Save-on-Foods…”. That was until I was driving north on Commercial Drive when I recalled another nearby bakery and that fellow blogger Sherman wrote about previously: Uprising Breads Bakery.

Please do not let the picture above deceive you! It was one of those calm before the storm pictures. On the other side of the bakery, there was an area you could sit and have your goodies. It just happen nobody was in the “middle” of the shop at that time. A couple of seconds after I took this picture, there were people looking at the baked goods and queueing to pay for them. And what type of goodies we are talking about?

There were your regular suspects, i.e., pies, cookies, cakes (actually, I am not 100% certain of this one, though I am sure there were), scones, muffins, et al. On that note, some of the goodies were abnormally large for a single serving, like the scones above were easily the size of a large grapefruit! Being located near Commercial Drive, there are some “unique” ingredients and/or characteristics to the goodies found there: vegan, organic (?), et al. For the most part, I don’t mind what is being used, provided it is not poisonous/toxic to me and tastes good! And, as a guinea pig, I got for myself this:

Now, let’s fall back a little bit: How can you make chocolate cookies if the chocolate requires some form of fat – usually butter, which is an animal product? Are we stretching the boundaries here? And then, how “strong” would the flavour be? I will have to admit these were quite interesting, as it had some fibrous component that gave an unique texture to it. The best way to describe it would be shredded coconut. As for the chocolate taste, I wished it had more of it as I thought it felt short. Regardless, it is a quite good variant for chocolate cookies, specially if your favourite happens to be Oreo.

But wait! I did not go there for the cookies! I was there to get something for the Thanksgiving dinner, remember? In this case, I wanted something more characteristic of this holiday: Apple pie! Oh, wait, take that back, pumpkin pie! At $10, it is not the cheapest one around but I was certain to an extent this one would be good. However, I had to endure a couple of hours of patiently waiting for the dinner and, afterwards, dessert to find out…

Here, my slice which was served with some ice cream. And, of course, for “decoration” purposes, I grabbed that star, hehehehe. I will have to say the pie felt somewhere in-between: not too sweet, yet it failed to pack a punch. I could easily taste the pumpkin but it was somehow muted. As for other ingredients in the back, I am sure I tasted nutmeg and something similar to cinnamon; however, I can’t be certain of these, as I had some wine (Riesling, which I brought as well) and was a bit tipsy (wine + possible side effects of over-eating). Let’s just say if I get some, it will most likely be for holidays only.

Overall, the cookies were good and, although the pie felt slightly flat, I thought the goodies overall were quite, well, good. The question is: would I come back here or go to Fratelli’s? Unfortunately, Fratelli’s has the upper hand in the meantime but Uprising Breads Bakery is quite a good alternative for some other goodies.

Vancouver’s Bakers Market
118 – 408 East Kent Avenue South
Vancouver, BC
Saturday only event – check website for hours/days

Note: Today, I have a two-post “special”. The second post – Uprising Bread Bakery, can be found here.

Although Vancouver is nowhere near the largest cities in the world, at least we have lots of eateries and food related events. Where to go? What to eat? While I am sure a lot of us food bloggers have filled that niche to a certain extent, there is still the question: where do *we* look for events/places to eat? We look at each other, of course! Fellow blogger Mijune of Follow Me Foodie wrote about a bakers market not long ago and, while I have overgrown that mad desire for sweets and not fond in any way of cupcakes, I thought “hey, why not!”. So, ready with some insulin along, I went to the local Vancouver’s Bakers Market.

Note #1, this is located almost in the middle of nowhere! If it wasn’t for some pink signs in South East Marine Drive, most people won’t even know the market is taking place. To add to the problem, it is located in an industrial area and, again, there is nothing that would tell you “we are here”! And, finally, a caveat emptor for guys: if you do go with your significant other, be wary you might have to go through a wedding decoration shop before you get to the market!

But, once you arrive to the market, another thing will hit you right away: “market” might be stretching it a little bit. The area is less than 30 square metre (6 metres by 5 metres, around ~20 feet by ~17 feet). So, at times, it felt extremely crowded. One final note that might detract some people is the warning that the goodies prepared here might not be prepared in inspected kitchens. Now, that does not mean there is anything shady about it; rather, it might mean it was prepared in a regular oven in somebody’s home. Heck, I might trust them more than some industrial made products! And, now, the goodies…

I don’t remember the name of the person who prepared this but she seems to be related to the owner of the shop. That is because she was telling people on the back “to prepare lunch using a panini in the back”. And, I will tell you, the sandwich they made looked really good! As for this stand, I bought a sour-dough which I found had a quite chewy crust. It might be both good or bad, depending on how you like your bread. I must also mention there was a stand next to this one and I never figured out if it was part of the same stand or a different one. As a result, I did not “drop” by to check their goodies.

These pastries are from Homestead Specialty Baking. In addition to these, they also had brownies which ended up being more on the lines of chocolate cakes.

If my memory serves me right, these are from Desserts & More (contact information available upon request). I did not try them simply because, again, no love for cupcakes.

These were made by Ms Ranjit (contact information available upon request). Just in case, I did ask if they had Clyde, as well! To those are too young or do not understand the joke, the four ghost in Pac-Man are Inky (cyan), Pinky (pink!), Blinky (red) and Clyde (orange). These are sold in set of three but, then again, my no-love-for-cupcakes…

Some chocolate goodies from My Chocolate Tree. Interestingly, the person in charge of this stand have Moo cards. In the case you were wondering, yes, some of us have Moo presentation cards – in my case, I have them personalised from pictures of food I have taken!

Cupcakes from Picture Perfect Cakes. Although I have no love for cupcakes, that does not mean they can’t be used as a subject. In this case, to play with the lens aperture to “capture” the cupcakes in the background. I would have taken out my mini tripod but, aside of the people there, it would be really odd looking for the owner of the table to allow me to do that. (On that note, I asked permission from all tables before I took any picture).

Choux pastries from Wendy Boys Chocolates. They also had some chocolate sauces and brownies, which happened to be raspberry (?) brownies. I bought one of them and found them a bit strange. While moist, it wasn’t extremely bitter (chocolate-wise) and the seeds of the berries were a bit distracting. I guess other people would enjoy it more than me.

Desserts & More stand (contact information available upon request). If you need a stand that yells “baked by grandma”, it would have been this one. Had I been here before Thanksgiving, I might have purchased a pie!

Cupcakes from Something Yummy. Again… Cupcakes… Oh, BTW, I apologize for the second picture – a customer was purchasing the cupcake when I was snapping the picture!

And, finally, some real cakes.

Overall, this is an interesting event; however, I have a limit on how much sweets I am willing to eat so it is unlikely I will drop by in the near future. And, did I mention I don’t like cupcakes? But, for people who do like sweets, this might be a place to be in a Saturday noon. Just make sure you are between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., as they are open only during those hours! Mijune, thanks for letting us know about this event!

Side note: Why I don’t like cupcakes? While I can eat them without any issues, given options, cupcakes would be nowhere near in my list. Among the “issues” I have include it being extremely sweet and, as might easily guess, I find it overrated. For something that size, I would rather have a petit four. Funny, I should mention I have no issues with muffins, but then again, muffins are quickbreads.

A lot of things happened on my trip to Miami/Miramar. As mentioned in a previous post, for the most part, it was good despite some wacky things happened/mentioned. For today’s post, a somewhat random mix of other places I went to eat which I could have put into individual posts. So, why not? It is just that I wasn’t sure if there was enough material (not to mention the quality of that material) so, as a result, I thought it would be better to have a single large post. Hope it works!

One of the very few issues with traveling from Vancouver to somewhere on the east side of North America, sometimes even on Central time zone is that you leave somewhat early (before 8:00 a.m.) and you arrive already in late afternoon/early night. Despite Miami is on the far south-east of the United States, it was a good thing there was an easy connection path there. In my case, my connection was through Houston which allowed me to arrive at Miami at around 7:30 p.m. Compared that to my trip to Baltimore, where I arrived at 9:00 p.m., via Toronto, aka, Pearson.

Now, not that that matters that much other than you “lose” most of the day; however, I do have one personal problem: jet lag. I am really sensitive to it and every time I have travelled to the east, I simply can’t sleep well until my third night – more or less by then I have to prepare to fly back. I am sure most of you will have a solution, some of them involving drugs, but it is not something I want to use unless absolutely necessary. However, somebody told me of an odd alternative: to force your body to adapt to the destination time zone, change your eating times by skipping a meal. That way, when you arrive at your destination, you will most likely eat something and hit the bed. Of course, since I have to take Gravol, I would most likely be sleeping during most of the flight…

Anyway, after I arrived, I had to drive to the hotel. Let’s just say that I hate highways specially when I easily miss the exits and, as a result, I don’t know where I end up. That has happened to me… A LOT. On this trip… Yes, it happened but fortunately it wasn’t that bad. However, since I didn’t really plan for this trip and where to eat, on my first night I ended up going to that one place everybody “hates”… MickeyD’s. OK, don’t kill me! I think that MickeyD’s have a place in our society obsessed with large, fast, cheap and familiar east; and that is what they provide. However, people ought to deserve better. Once there, though, rather than get something I (think I) would be able to get here (hey, I haven’t been there in ages, how would I know!), I got this:

This is their Angus Third Pounder with Mushroom and Swiss (Cheese?). I won’t try to make any comparison to, say, Burger Heaven or even Burger Burger. As for the burger itself, despite the (uncooked) weight of the patty, it was dry. However there was a redeeming quality: the umami/savoury-ness that the mushroom gave to the sandwich was really good. Each bite had that unique bottom mushroom taste. But, despite that fact, $$$-wise in no way this meal was worth it, specially considering it was about the same, if not slightly more expensive than others meals I would have on this trip and they were better in a lot of ways…. But, wait, my adventures with MickeyD’s did not finish that night! Unfortunately, next morning, again, since I wasn’t sure where was what yet, I had two options: buffet breakfast at the hotel (for a charge) or going to MickeyD’s again. Out of sheer curiosity, I went to MickeyD’s again and, after looking at the menu, I went for broke and got this:

Just for the record, I did NOT finish this. I got it mainly for curiosity, i.e., how large servings would be – something that ended up being a constant on this trip. As for taste, if you choose to go to MickeyD’s next time for breakfast, skip this and go for a single Egg McMuffin instead. And, now, talking about other meals in fast food places…

That is Chick-Fil-A, a fast food chain that, as far as I know, there are no locations in Canada – or, at least, not in Vancouver. I have had previous chances to go there in other locations but for some reason decided not to. Before anybody start bashing me with going to yet another fast food chain, I must admit that while driving around, I missed the exits to the other restaurants I would end up going for lunch (La Carreta, Cancun Grill, et al). Did I mention something about driving fast? (On their defence, the road layout and signaling in the US is way better than what we have here).

As for the food itself, I got one of their combo sandwiches, here their chargrilled chicken club sandwich with waffle french fries as a side (there were other sides available like salads and coleslaw but, oh, well… The fries will have to admit disappointed a little bit. Given they were sliced this way, I would have hoped it would be on the crunchy side; however, it wasn’t either crunchy nor fluffy inside. Instead, it was almost a mush. The honey mustard sauce given for the sandwich helped but I think I should have gone for the salad or coleslaw instead… -_- The sandwich, on the other hand, was good, as it was a piece of “grilled” chicken breast rather than breaded and fried (KFC?). Furthermore, it was moist, something that is always a problem with this piece of meat. Had they added some more condiments in the sandwich, it would have been better. Oh, wait, I used the honey mustard on the fries…

On my way back to the I noticed one place that where my experience has been go so far: Panera Bread. I blogged about it once previously on my trip to Jefferson City – check it here. So, I though, do I want to go to MickeyD’s again for breakfast? Nah…

On the morning, they have several breakfast goodies, like bagels, pastries, breakfast yoghurt, and some breakfast sandwiches et al. However, while that is good, I wanted something different, in this case, I got:

That is a turkey sausage and potato egg souffle. While the serving isn’t really large (specially comparing to the mammoth size servings of some of the dishes), taste-wise, it was really good – not to mention filling without being bloating. It had some layers of savoury-ness in the turkey, sweetness in the crust and a blank palette of sorts in the egg. It was a nice balance of ingredients. And, to go along, I had a nice cup of Earl Grey.

Finally, to close this mix-match, I wrote previously about a place I went but won’t blog. To “tease” everybody, here is what I had on that restaurant visit, hehehehe…

Sabor Latino Bakery
1211 Nanaimo Street
Vancouver, BC

Whenever I look for “new” places to try, I usually check other people’s blog. Once in a while, I listen to readers. A couple of months ago, when I wrote about Panaderia Latina Bakery, fmed mentioned about another Latin American bakery in Nanaimo Street. It was only a matter of time for me to visit it, which I did last week.

Yes, that is the sign. In fact, when I was driving in the area, I passed by at least two times before stopping and then look by the exact address. It is quite unlikely you will end up in this place accident, as it is not really noticeable at all, not to mention the area is mostly a residential area. Not that it would discourage me, instead, I was hoping it will be one of those small hidden gems.

Yes, it seems it is a trend that all Latin American restaurants/bakeries have a small “grocery” area…

I must admit that, when I walked in, I had some odd mixed feeling. In a way, it felt that their current location was mostly to provide a store front, not that much for sale to walk-in customers. Not that it is bad; instead, it was the question of what would be then provided to walk-ins… However, as in most of my “adventures”, I was determined to go and taste what they had to offer.

At that moment, the lonely person working in the bakery walked out and checked on me. Aside from that shelf with Latin American type groceries and a counter with pastries, they had a small “menu”. As a result, choosing what to order wasn’t that difficult. In fact, as soon as I looked at it, I knew what I wanted…

Tamal de Pollo, or chicken tamale. They also had a variety called tamal de chipilin. I think I should have ordered one of those as well but I have absolutely no regret getting the chicken version. As for the tamal itself, it was not completely wrapped in banana leaves; instead, there was one piece of leaf and then wrapped in foil. Not authentic in any way but, when the “best” material is not available, I guess you have to work with you can think of. Since it was extremely hot (as in temperature, not spice), the texture of the cornmeal was quite “soft”, and hasn’t “settled” yet. How soft? Almost silky I would say. The chicken, well, this might be something not everybody would like: it could either be white meat or dark meat (with bone in!). It wasn’t as seasoned as it could be but good in its own ways.

To drink, I had a bottle of Mexican soda/pop. As you can see from the lable, it is tamarind. It was a complete flop, though: Aside from some sugar-y taste, it felt completely flat. Should have pass and get some water instead. Oh, well.

I also got an enchilada, which, yes, looks a lot like a samosa. However, unlike a samosa which is mostly vegetarian, an enchilada is mostly meat. What? Not a tortilla with some fillings wrapped and then some cheese/sauces added on top? Well, that is a Mexican enchilada; this is enchilada known in other parts of Latin America. No wonder I am always confused in Mexican restaurants! As for the enchilada itself, the meat could have been slightly more “juicy” but, otherwise, it had a good, meat-y/umami taste.

Overall, this is a place I would come back to satisfy some Latin American food cravings. I won’t even try to make comparisons with other Latin American restaurants or whether which tamal is better. After all, you only have that many options… And, to fmed, thanks for letting me about this place!

Vienna Treasures
909 – 12th Street
New Westminster, BC

When given the option, I would rather call shotgun rather than drive myself. However, when push comes to shove, I have no problems being behind the wheel. On a hot day, I took a leisure drive in the suburbs scouting for places that might look interesting to blog (yes, I try to find holes-in-the-wall, out of the way places). One of those places is the topic of today’s post: Vienna Treasures.

The truth is… I couldn’t take a better picture of the store front. There was that post and the traffic…

I was aware of this place before this visit – they had a stand in the Scandinavian Mid Summer Festival but I forgot completely about them (blame the Scandinavian goodies). However, their baked goods looked quite good so I knew I had to go to their store some other time.

When I walked in, I was greeted by the owner, along with a group of people who was sitting in the small dining area. And that might be an overstatement, as there are only two tables inside (plus a couple outside since it is summer). They did their best to keep things cool with an additional A/C inside. But, alas, it was a sunny and hot day (by Vancouver standards, of course!). I will have to say the owner was quite accommodating about her customers. When I asked if I could take pictures (no way around this one, as, again, the shop was really small), she was more than happy. European hospitality?

After giving a long thought, I decided for two slices of mocha cake. Actually, they weren’t that big and looked more like the leftover pieces (as it was “on sale” that day and they were the last pieces). Well, I don’t mind the “ugly” pieces – after all, food is food! I was able to taste both the coffee and the chocolate, though more of the later. One thing I noticed at the first bite was its moistness (sp?); however, I will blame it to the butter! When I grabbed a piece with my hand (rather than using the fork), it was really “greasy”. Hmmmmm…. Butter!!!!

I also bought something to go, here “Hazelnute Suprise”. As for what the surprise is supposed to know, I can’t say; however, they were good. It was not crumbly like a cookie, nor soft as a timbit – I would say it falls something in between. One thing that I noticed afterwards was the knot: I am not sure if it could have been done by a machine, as it was “turned” around first and then the knot was made. If it was not machine made, does that mean these were individually packed? Talk about dedication…

Overall, I really liked their goodies and most of my work colleagues whom I shared the bag of Hazelnut Surprise (whether they were happy because somebody was giving them treats or they were actually good, I can’t tell, but I liked them nonetheless). Though their baked goods might not be as cheap as most bakeries found in malls, I could feel they were made with pride and love – and that is not something you would easily argue against. If it wasn’t because it was in the a remote location, I think I would visit this place more often…

Finally, to close this post, here is a picture for H.Peter of GF Patisserie – The Celiac Husband. Enjoy! ^_^

Panaderia Latina Bakery
4906 Joyce Street
Vancouver, BC

Just as the subject might suggest… Here I go again, Latin American food! Panaderia Latina Bakery (which, if you know Spanish, will fall into the category of Redundancy Department of Redundancy) came to my attention after an article The Georgia Straight (check the full article here). Non-Mexican food? That was all I needed to know…

Located just north of Joyce-Collingwood Skytrain Station, I will have to admit this is a case of, if you don’t know it is there, it is highly unlikely you will run into it. Really, chances you will run into this place is almost nil, as it would be unlikely anybody would be driving here. But, when I was there, I noticed there was a mix of Spanish speaking people and your regular customers.

Being a bakery, you would expect their specialty be pastries, right? Well, they had its share. I saw some of the pastries I used to have in Panama, like oreja (literally, ears; sometimes known as elephant ears), budin (known in Panama as mamallena, bread pudding in English speaking countries), mil hojas (literally thousand leaves, also known as mille-feuille), merengue and so on. I was so tempted to get some but I don’t think I would have eaten that much. Instead, I went for something else.

In addition to selling pastries, they also sell some Latin American groceries.

What else do they sell? In addition to the groceries and pastries, and on the same vein as Italian delis, they have sandwiches. Now, Panama is not known for sandwiches (as diet is more of rice or maize based) but thanks to it being a melting pot, you will find gyro, cubano and so on. So, in a way, I was not sure what to expect from their sandwiches. Even asking for the description did not really help. In the end, I ordered a sandwich called Guatón (just under $10).

What a $10 sandwich?! Now, I will have to say that, when I inquired about it, I was advised it would be a large sandwich with tomato, green beans and meat (I was told carne, in Spanish, that would be a generic term for meat, though usually it refers to beef). This was not only big… It was loaded!

As mentioned above, it had your usual tomato, option for cheese (which I chose to skip), green beans, which I will have to admit was something odd but worked in the end, and thin slices of beef – think something similar to a beef dip. However, unlike a beef dip, where you would “dunk” the sandwich in the broth, here, the “liquid” from the beans, plus the beef’s own juices moisten the bread. And, while the bread was not grilled/toasted, it was soft and absorbed the juices very well. I will admit it was not really savoury; however, it had a good balance of flavours.

Wait, did I say it was big? By now, you should know that I am very really heavy eater, i.e., I can eat… A LOT (though not as much as I did a couple of years back). But, this one was heavy. To make it short, I could not finish it… However, no regrets.

I knew I needed to visit this place a second time and so I did by ordering another sandwich, this time a barros luco. Again, it was a steak sandwich but it had mozzarella cheese rather than the green beans. And, again, while the bread was not crusty (i.e., it was soft), it, again, absorbed the flavours from the rest of the ingredients.

On that same trip to buy the second sandwich, I grab something that will raise some eyebrows. What is this? Chicharrón, aka, pork rind! While it was not the best I have had, it did manage to satisfy that crave I did not know I had… ^_^;;;

Overall, this is a place I would like to be a frequent customer. Even when I did not have a pastry, just by the looks of it, I can dare to say it is certain it will taste good. After all, when expatriates come to you to satisfy their cravings, you ought to be doing something well, right? But, when others do the same, you have something good.