mon K Patisserie

My friend, who lives in the neighborhood has asked me several times if I’ve tried mon K’s Patisserie.  The answer was always no because I’m never in her neighborhood!  Aside from visiting her, there’s really not much of a reason for me to go into that area.  But once the opportunity opened up, I stopped by mon K. 

Mon K is a small Japanese owned bakery/patisserie/café.  With it being located in the area that it’s located in, I was very surprised with the number of Japanese people sitting in there early in the morning, enjoying their coffee, eating their pastry, and reading the newspapers.  The store itself is small, just a few tables.  I’m not sure if it’s because I went so early, but their selection was pretty good.  I picked up a few plain croissants, some chocolate croissants, some almond croissants, and a hazelnut twist.   Because I gave most of them away, I only got to try a plain croissant, and the hazelnut twist.  I actually couldn’t wait, and ended up eating the plain croissant in the car right after I picked it up.  Both were nice and buttery, and flakey.  The hazelnut twist, because I didn't eat it until the day after, I reheated in my brand new toaster oven!  The hazelnut twist reminded me of a Ferrero Rocher in croissant form.  Delicious!

Fresh Croissant

Reheated Hazelnut Twist

This little patisserie has a lot more to offer then croissants, they have little cakes and cookies too, of which I didn't get a chance to try.  Until next time.....

mon K Patisserie

1040 Coxwell Ave.,

Toronto, ON

M4C 3G5

Phone:  (416) 696-8181

Hours:  Monday CLOSED

             Tuesday - Thursday 9:00a - 4:30p

             Friday - Saturday 9:00a - 5:00p

             Sunday CLOSED

http://www.monkpatisserie.ca

Duo Patisserie

French pastries in Richmond Hill?!?!?  Something that I never would have thought would actually happen.  Super duper excited, but I was still on my Elimination Diet, so I had to wait.  I waited until I was in the food introduction phase.  Croissants and coffee here I come!

My first visit was a late afternoon on Sunday.  There wasn't ANYTHING left, except for macarons.  No croissants, no cakes.  So I ordered a coffee and then my jaw dropped open.  They have the Modbar.....so pretty....so ridiculous expensive for an expresso machine.  My flat white was pretty smooth, but the hubby's cappuccino was a bit sour at the end.  Not sure if it was the bean it self...or just a pull that wasn't done that well.

Modbar

We returned so we could try the pastries.  The mont blanc, everyone raves a bout.  I loved it because I like chestnut.  The base is a butter tart, with a sponge/pound cake 'insert'.  Guess to prevent a soggy tart shell?  Whipped cream piled up inside, with pureed chestnut piping on the outside.  We also picked up a lemon tart.  Same base, but lemon custard filling.  Just the right amount of lemon and tartness.  The last was a sort of chocolate mousse on a crispy wafer kind of base.  The flavour of it was very similar to the Ferrero Rocher chocolate, with the addition of toasted black and white sesame seeds.  Overall pretty good pastries, good flavours and not overly sweet.

Pastries

For the bakery items, my food boyfriend was kind enough to pick up some croissants for us to try.  I have to say, look wise, they are beautiful, exactly what I envision for a croissant.  Taste and texture wise, it was a bit of a miss for me.  Now, this is all personal preference.  I found there to be less butter taste than croissants I have tried elsewhere.  And texture wise, I found it to be a little bready.  With that being said, both my food boyfriend and the hubby prefer this croissant over other bakeries.  Note, I didn't get to try the other 2 flavours, this was a picture that was sent to me by a friend, since we dug in to the croissant before I remembered to take a picture.

Croissants

A few weeks later, I did try a citrus round croissant type thing, it wasn't called a croissant though.  I wish I remember the name.  But this had amazing butter flavour, and was flakey enough for my liking.

Duo Patisserie
4, 230 Commerce Valley Dr E.,
Markham, ON
L3T 7Y3

Phone:  905-763-2232

http://www.duo-patisserie.com

Thobors Boulangerie Patisserie Cafe

This is a little piece of Paris heaven for me.  Which makes me happy and sad at the same time.  I love Paris so much, and the last time I was there was when I went backpacking in 2005.  Even though I saw Paris through the eyes of a poor student, I still fell in love with it.  To this day I long to go back.  Each and every time I hear that a friend is going to Paris, it makes me cry a little inside.  Thats how much I want to go back.  I think for now, Thobors is the closest I can get to Paris.

Thobors is a cute little French bakery/patisserie.  It's not only that they make French pastries, but everyone that works there speaks fluent French (speaks English with a thick French accent), and they typically converse in French.  The regulars that walk in the door all speak French too!

When I walked in the door, even though the space was quite small, I was overwhelmed with the selection of cakes, pastries, and breads.  We went for breakfast, so I ordered an omelette with tomatoes, mushrooms & cheese, and the hubby ordered a ham and cheese thing in a puff pastry.  After I paid for my order, I saw this older couple already sitting down and eating just a baguette with butter and jam.  I HAVE FOUND MY PLACE!  I've been looking all over for a place that would serve just that.  I have been on the hunt since Paris.  Something so simple, but yet so hard to find!  Back to my breakfast.  My omelette was made very well.  Eggs were cooked just right.  I find typically when I order omelettes, they always come overcooked.

Omelette

The puff pastry was TO DIE FOR.  Super buttery, flakey mixed with cheesy goodness.  It was so good that we decided to get a loaf of bread, and a bunch of croissants to try at home!

Puff Pastry

Sourdough and Croissants/Pain au Chocolat

While doing some research on Thobors, they say they use Belgian butter, which is supposed to have a different percentage of fat vs water.  Whatever it is, when the croissants are reheated in my little toaster oven, it has a delicious buttery flakey texture.  I would say it's my fave so far!  I'm glad Thobors is so far away from home, otherwise I would get so fat....

Thobors Boulangerie Patisserie Cafe
627 Mt. Pleasant Rd.
Toronto, ON
M4S 2M9

Phone: 416-544-1733

Hours: Wednesday to Saturday 7:30am - 6:30pm
            Sunday 7:30am - 5:30pm

http://www.thobors.ca/index.htm

Rahier Patisserie

I paid Rahier a visit the day after I came back from Vancouver, where the coffee is amazing, and there's an abundance of great pastries, including croissants.  I can't even count how many I had over there.  I still have to blog about the eateries in Vancouver, but I have to find time to put together some of the pictures so the post won't be so super blog heavy.

I just wanted a simple breakfast of croissant and latte.  I googled best Croissant, and looked for the one that was in closest proximity of my appointment for the day.  And it turned out to be Rahier.  I think I should have walked out as soon as I stepped my foot in the door.  I didn't smell any fresh bread or pastries, even though behind the counter, it was full.  I got a pain au chocolat (because my husband prefers those) and latte, the husband got a roast beef sandwich on baguette and a regular coffee and sat down.

Presentation wise, the latte was really bad.  I don't know if it was because there was such beautiful latte art at all coffee shops in Vancouver that I got used to it.  The pain au chocolat was gorgeous.  But that ends there.  Hardly any butter flavour and was more bready than anything.  So disappointed. Rahier was listed as #8 back in 2010.  Did I come here too late?  The baguette was horrible.  The bread was chewy, and they didn't warm it up.  Coffee was just so-so.  So far the best croissant in Toronto in my opinion is Jules.  I should have gone there instead.

Pain au Chocolat, Latte, Coffee, and Baguette Sandwich

Rahier Patisserie
1586 Bayview Avenue,
Toronto, ON
M4G 3B7
416-482-0917

Hours:  Monday - Sunday 7am - 5pm

http://www.rahierpatisserie.com/index.html

French Corner Bakery & Patisserie

My food partner in crime at work is on maternity leave, meaning I haven’t been out looking for new places to try.  I can’t remember why I Googled for a bakery near work, but I did, and I’m glad I did.  This cute little bakery I supposed to have really good pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants).  However, by the time I went (lunch time), they were sold out already.  I bought a dozen macarons because they looked good, and a piece of tomato focaccia for lunch. 

The focaccia was delicious.  Lots of fresh tomato flavor.  And it was huge!  I was so stuffed after.  I would love to try more of their breads from this bakery one day.

The macarons, while they looked good, was just ok.  The macaron shell was a little tough, while the insides remained chewy.  The fillings were good and tasted of what it was supposed to taste of, with none of that artificial flavorings.  The price was less than $2 each from what I remember.  So its cheap and good enough for a macaron craving fix.

Tomato Foccacia

Macarons

French Corner Bakery & Patisserie

1224 Dundas Street W.,

Mississauga, ON,

L5C 4G7

Hours: Monday - Saturday 8:00am - 7:00pm

            Sunday 8:00am - 5:00pm

https://www.facebook.com/FrenchCornerCafeBakeryAndPatisserie