Category: bakeries

Chinatown: Bakery Favourites

Aside from supermarket treats, another stalwart Chinatown tradition from my youth were trips to Chinese bakeries. For just a few dollars, a box of sweet or savoury pastries could be mixed and matched to your heart’s content.

They have fruit cakes too!

While the giant T & T Supermarket (#2580, 8882 170 Street) in West Edmonton Mall makes it convenient by individually wrapping buns, I have to admit my favourite bakery in the city is Garden Bakery (10019 106 Avenue) because of their self-serve set-up. With a tray in one hand and a pair of small tongs in the other, there’s nothing like having to fight the urge to stack just one more filled pastry on top of your already bursting portion.

A few of my family’s picks:

Chopstick Doughnuts, deep fried until they’re crispy on the outside but still soft and chewy on the inside, are great served with congee.

Mini Pork Dumplings, also deep fried, are best eaten on the same day they’re purchased. Felicia’s favourite, they’re also a popular item served at dim sum.

 

Sesame Red Bean Balls are death, if not only because I can never seem to stop after eating one. The creamy, sweet red bean paste in the centre is complimented by the savoury crispness of the exterior.

Amanda’s favourite Swiss Rolls are individually packaged to preserve the fresh sponge cake separating layers of light cream. The cake is also sold in larger rolls.

Mini Cocktail Buns are my Dad’s favourite because of their smooth coconut filling.

Mini Cream Buns, filled with a rich, illustrious pastry cream then dusted with coconut, are always a showstopper.

Steamed BBQ Pork Buns, shown here in a cooler and ready to be heated, are a dim sum favourite of mine. But should you not have time to sit down for a meal, are available at the bakery to grab-and-go.

 

Last but certainly not least – Egg Tarts. The creamy custard is worth a trip to the bakery alone.

Given that my office is just a few minutes away from the bakery, it’ll be too tempting not to just pop in now and then for an immediately satisfying treat.

Clever Name but Rather Lame: Wild Flour Bakery

This guest post was written by Mack, an Edmonton-based geek who fancies himself a part-time foodie. You can find him online at his blog, and on Twitter.

On Sunday morning I decided to skip the conference-provided breakfast in favor of making a stop at Wild Flour Bakery, located at 211 Bear Street. I had asked Sharon for a couple of restaurant recommendations before making my way to Banff, and Wild Flour was one of the two she gave me. I think the name was probably 80% of the reason she suggested it, but I figured I’d give it a shot anyway.

Wild Flour Bakery

I arrived at Wild Flour just after 8 AM. They are open every day throughout the summer months from 7 AM until 6 PM. There was a couple ordering some of Wild Flour’s artisan breads ahead of me, so I had time to look around and take some photos. The space is very modern looking, and fairly open with seating for about 40 patrons.

The menu is broken into four sections: drinks, breakfast, sweets & treats, and lunch. I decided to order a medium Organic Fair Trade Coffee ($1.75 – they serve Kicking Horse) and the Toasted Breakfast Sandwich ($5.50, also available with two slices of Valbella ham for an addition $1.50).

At this point, things started to go downhill (that didn’t take long did it?). Maybe I’ve been spoiled at Starbucks where a barista always hands you a full cup of coffee, but I thought it was odd that I was given a cup to fill on my own. At the end of the counter were three coffee butlers, two bold roast and one medium roast. I set about filling my cup with the medium, only to find that it wouldn’t stop coming out! I started to say "It’s not stopping!" and when one of the employees finally noticed, she remarked "oh no not again!" Apparently they jam open quite frequently. Anyway, when I eventually got my cup full of bold roast I nearly burned my hand! The coffee was ridiculously hot, and there were no sleeves.

I took a seat in the corner and started reading some of the free newspapers they had available. Wild Flour prides itself on cooking with organic and local ingredients, and on making everything from scratch. With that in mind, I didn’t expect my breakfast sandwich to be ready immediately, but after about fifteen minutes of waiting I started to wonder. I took my order slip (my order number was the normally lucky 88…not so lucky this time) up to the counter to inquire. I was informed that they had "lost" my order, and that they’d make it right away. At this point I thought to myself – epic fail! It’s never acceptable for a restaurant to lose an order, especially when it isn’t that busy.

My breakfast sandwich arrived about five minutes later. The menu describes it as: "Our herbed egg frittata & three year old Quebec cheddar on sourdough." Unfortunately, the description is a lot tastier than the sandwich itself. I found the egg kind of spongy and far too thick. I think there should have been more cheese too!

On the whole, my experience at Wild Flour was a negative one. Even without the coffee incident and lost order, the breakfast sandwich wasn’t worth the money and the employees were probably the least friendly of any I encountered in Banff. I could probably be persuaded to give their lunch menu a shot, but I definitely won’t be rushing back to Wild Flour the next time I’m in Banff.

Wild Flour Bakery

Inside Wild Flour Bakery

Wild Flour Bakery

Seating

Toasted Breakfast Sandwich

Toasted Breakfast Sandwich

More Bakery than Cafe: Breadland Organic Whole Grain Bakery

After reading a backstory about the owners of Breadland Organic Bakery (11642 104 Avenue) in Vue Weekly last fall, I included it on my list of places to hit.

I convinced Cristy to come to Breadland with me for lunch on Wednesday. It took us a while to find the non-descript storefront in the maze of Oliver Square, but we eventually located the bakery next to Second Cup.

Breadland is known for their use of organic ingredients and spelt flour, a whole grain version that is apparently easier to digest. We entered the empty space, greeted by a quaint seating area decorated with care, and racks of fresh-baked loaves behind the counter. Two coolers held various desserts and lunch items. Breadland also sells organic chicken eggs and coffee from St. City Roasters.

I was hoping for more substantial lunch choices (as alluded to in the Vue Weekly article), but all Cristy and I had to choose from was a daily soup (vegetarian chili that day), a pizza, and a quiche. We agreed to split a slice of the sprouted spelt crust vegetarian pizza ($5) and a spelt spinach quiche ($4).

The servings were unfortunately small (or fortuitously small, allowing for consumption of dessert), and cold. We didn’t ask to have our portions heated, so perhaps it can be done, but I would assume that most of Breadland’s nearly year-old business comes from customers interested in takeaway only. In any case, the pizza, topped with an interesting mix of lentils and beans, was as good as a cold slice of pizza could have been. The quiche was the main attraction, however – with a base of buttery crust, the custardy filling was streaked with velvety cheese and spinach.

For dessert, we chose to share a chocolate croissant ($3), and a gluten free coconut cashew ball ($4). The coconut confection wasn’t my favorite, but the croissant was fresh – crisp and buttery, I would have actually preferred no filling, as the chocolate was a tad too sweet and concentrated for my liking.

More expensive than your conventional café and without too many options, Breadland isn’t an ideal place for lunch. That said, I wouldn’t mind stopping by to try out a loaf or two in the future.

Exterior

Interior

Fresh bread!

Dessert case

Lunch

Dessert

Fresh Start Bakery

I decided to check out Fresh Start Bakery (484 Riverbend Square) with my parents while we were in the area this afternoon. I had originally read about the cafe in Vue Weekly, and noticing the apparent hunger in Edmonton for upscale breads and treats (Fresh Start joins Cobbs Bread and the more established Bon Ton and Bee Bell Bakeries), it seemed time to try the city’s latest.

Catering to the wealthy and idle, the cafe was clean and spacious, with stone accents and marble counters to boot. Atop the hearth sat a flat-panel television screen, listing the country songs being played on the digital radio station. The bakery counter was located to the left of the entrance, displaying fresh loaves and desserts too saccharine for a late lunch. My dieter’s sensibility drove me instead to the bistro showcase.

Given the location of this cafe, expensive dishes were to be expected. The bistro side offered some freshly-prepared goods, including paninis, rice bowls, and pizza, but also some heat-from-the-cooler standard coffee shop fare, such as quiche and shepherd’s pie. I opted for the latter, while my Mum ordered a large bowl of beef and vegetable soup.

The pie was nicely plated, but sadly, I couldn’t tell if it had been microwaved or oven-heated (usually indicative of the former). Still, the beef was well-seasoned, with a reasonable quantity of vegetables, and the cookie-pressed mashed potato florets created a distinctive presentation. My Mum’s soup was disappointing in size ($5.99 for the bowl), but she did appreciate the low sodium flavored broth and generous portion of beef included.

Before heading home, we opted to take home some baked goods. I chose a Montreal-style cheese bagel, and after a frustrating “Who’s on first?” type exchange with the clerk (“No, we want the goosen, NOT the cinnamon bun!”), my mum ended up with a cinnamon bun (don’t ask). I found the bagel to be worth a return trip – crunchy with a sumptuous cheesy essence. My Dad commented that the cinnamon bun was good, but inferior to Mum’s own.

Fresh Start can be considered an alternative to the run of the mill coffee chain, and if I happen to be in Riverbend in the future, I wouldn’t overlook dropping by for a cup of coffee. But I’d be sure to load up on a heartier meal elsewhere first.

Fresh Start Bakery (I neglected to bring my camera, so I was forced to take an image from the website).

Cupcakes!

I am not afraid to admit that I have a cupcake fetish, or at the very least am in the midst of a cupcake phase.

Ever since Magnolia Bakery hit it big in New York, gourmet cupcake shops have been springing up in major centres across North America. Even Edmonton, as small as we are, currently supports four cupcake franchises: two physical stores and two home-based businesses.

  • The Cupcake Shoppe: a home-based business, they deliver, and have sold their product at St. Albert’s Outdoor Farmer’s Market in the past. I haven’t yet had a chance to try out their cupcakes, so I will withhold judgment until then.
  • BabyCakes Bakeshoppe (6861-170 Street): a cupcake bakery and tea room, I just read about this location in the Edmonton Journal. I will be sure to make a stop there sometime soon.
  • The Cupcake Bakeshoppe & Cafe (17298 Stony Plain Road): I visited this cafe a few weeks ago with a friend of mine, and after much anticipation, I was sorely disappointed. The cafe itself was quite charming, but the cupcakes were not what I expected. Because they were refrigerated, it was hard to determine whether or not they were freshly made. Moreover, the icing was of the buttercream variety – not sweet enough for my tooth. The server explained that they only use imported Belgian fruit purees in the icing, but to me, the strawberry icing atop “The Diva” tasted strangely reminiscent of artificially-flavored Pocky. I will return sometime soon, if not only to try the ‘cakes that they had sold out of (“The Don” especially), but I will remain cautiously optimistic.
  • Whimsical Cake Studio: another home-based business, they are clearly my favorite (with the best website too!). They also deliver, and sell their product at the St. Albert and Downtown Farmer’s Markets. Over the summer, Whimsical was profiled in the Edmonton Journal, which is where I discovered the company. I had my first taste of their cupcakes at the city centre market, and felt even more privileged when I managed to score the last two they had for sale that Saturday (yes, there was a little boy behind me in line. No mercy when it comes to cupcakes). The ‘cake was obviously freshly baked, and the icing was a little taste of heaven – sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. If you’re interested, Whimsical will be setting up booths on November 4 & 18 at Churchill Square. Details here.

An unidentified Whimsical cupcake (picture courtesy of a coworker with a talent for photography).

EDIT: on a cupcake-related note, I discovered Johnny Cupcakes clothing today. They make one cute shirt.