Out & About #176 | Toronto Things: Nohohon + Nutella Café

Nothing screams #TGIF more than a post-work bubble tea run followed by checking out/indulging in Canada's first Nutella Café!

​We ventured out along Queen St., with the original mindset of trying out a toasty version of Nohohon's Lavenderbrew (well, I did anyway). But that later changed as I caught sight of the new menu items: Japanese Candy Cane Cocoa and Nohohon Gingerbrew.
Given that the next stop was bound to be filled with chocolatey goodness, I skipped the first option and decided to go for a hot Gingerbrew with chewy tapioca pearls. A Green Haze (matcha latte with a gentle touch of hazelnut) with tapioca was also ordered.

Skim milk is a fairly new substitution option on Nohohon's menu, and I honestly couldn't be more fond of it! Upon delivery of my drink, I was informed that the drink might fall onto the watery side due to the low fat content of the milk. As someone accustomed to drinking skim, this didn't prove to be an issue to me - in fact, the tea and gingerbread-y flavours were further enhanced because of it! However, it was a good reminder to customers as bubble teas and lattes are commonly composed of 3.25% cream (homo milk), 2% milk, and sometimes whole milk.

Of course, Nohohon proved to be as awesome as always! The tapioca was chewy, but not overcooked; the sweet, syrupy fragrance had filled the tea room when we first entered and made the ordering process feel even cozier. While I didn't try the Green Haze, it is definitely on my list for when warmer weather arrives. Until then, though, I think I'll stick with their wonderfully toasty Japanese-inspired beverages. (If only they were located in closer proximity, I'd be dropping by for every single coffee run, even during subzero temperatures.)

Cold and hot drinks in hand, we then proceeded to Spadina and Bremner/Fort York. The Nutella Café is located within a rather compact Sobeys, just to the right (east) of the entranceway on Fort York Blvd.

The insane number of Nutella jars is quite a sight to take in - medium- and large-sized jars lined the shelves while smaller Nutella to-go packets were stacked near the cashier.

In the display case lay several Nutella-filled pastries, including danishes and powdered sugar-dusted donuts ("Bombes"); loafs and Pizzelle biscuits covered/drizzled in the chocolate hazelnut spread were items also part of the menu.

View the full album HERE !

After a brief look at the menu, we opted for two Nutella crepes - one with banana slices and another with strawberries, as per the cashier's recommendation. The line behind me grew as I veered off the the side to watch the chefs ladle batches of thick, pale yellow batter onto the griddle and distribute the formula uniformly using what seemed to be a metal crepe wand.

Find the full gif set HERE !

While waiting, I noticed that small sample cups containing their Original Crepe had been placed near the cooking area. We grabbed two of the pancake-roll-like specimens to try.

The orders arrived swiftly, requiring only a few minutes for both to produced and placed into triangular-shaped boxes.

Immediately transported to the table, the boxes revealed our decadent crepe orders. It was observed that the Original Crepe with Strawberries was distinguished from the version containing banana slices with a petite triangle of semi-ripe strawberry displayed on top.

After a quick round of shots were captured, I took to slicing myself a piece of the coveted sweet crepe.
The first bite was subtly sweet, comprising of the ideal crepe to filling ratio; the second was much sweeter, with Nutella gradually oozing out from the impact of the plastic weapon - er knife.

The crepe was soggy for the most part, resembling a pancake mix that had been accidentally diluted. My personal preference lay with crispy edges à la Crepe de Licious or Crystal Mall, though I wasn't prepared to abandon hope just yet.

Each chew became progressively more difficult - the generous squirts of Nutella had caused the crepe to adhere to the roof of my mouth, making it almost impossible to remove had bottled water not come to my aid. To put it simply, it was "sticky and sweet" taken to the next level. The layers of spread had far surpassed the amount of strawberries, meaning that the sole refreshing element of the dessert could only be tasted every ten bites or so.

Tasting the Original Crepe with Banana Slices was equivalent to being subject to a full-force punch of diabetes-inducing sugariness - the result of pairing an already sweet spread with overly ripe, mushy banana.

We later understood why the cafe also sold coffee and tea, and concluded that these desserts were not for the faint of heart. Only true Nutella-lovers could withstand their ferocity, and unfortunately, we clearly did not possess traits of the Chosen ones.

Perhaps it hadn't been the brightest idea to choose two crepes; they were extremely sweet and sticky to the point where munching on them with dignity was a tricky task to accomplish. The location of the cafe isn't particularly out of the way, as Union can be easily reached via the 510 streetcar, however I can't say that I'm eager to revisit after this first experience. I'm definitely not eliminating the cafe from my list though, as I have a feeling that their more "subtle" offerings (such as the Artisan Loaf with Nutella) ought to be worth checking out for non-elite community.

Returning to the Downtown Core, we realized that we would just miss the return train, and thus opted to explore the area until the next one would arrive. 

Missing the train actually proved to be a positive thing, as a certain someone had pointed out: I would have never had the chance to admire and leisurely snap some shots of Brookfield Place's stunning light decors otherwise.

Wallowing in soft piano tunes and strings of yellow-orange synthetic fireflies contrasted with a sea-blue, snowflake-filled backdrop was a lovely experience.

​(It also prepared us for the train-boarding moment of chaos that followed - old ladies thrusting their eco-bag-adorned limbs at your stomach and lofty, angsty businesspeople climbing over you to tap their PRESTO was a highly unenjoyable first experience for me. Really, what are manners in Toronto?)

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