Out & About #921 | Bloom Cafe, Chinatown Bakeries + Genmaicha Ube Yema Roll Cake

7/30/2023

A taste of the baklava platter from the division-wide training session had prompted me to explore the confectionery further, especially when a fellow tablemate informed me of his go-to destination of Baklawa King. One of two outposts was located in close proximity to the sleepy polar bear, which naturally led to my fee-free UberEats request being honoured.

An assorted selection supposedly rang in at twenty-five dollars. From the total, I was allotted a portion, comprising of Borma with Pistachio, Diamond with Cashews, Assabeh with Almonds, Swar with Pistachio, and Wardeh with Pistachio.

The nutty, bite-sized parcels were ranked in the following order:

Wardeh with Pistachio - for its harmonious combination of flaky phyllo pastry and chewy sweetness
Assabeh with Almonds - for a similar reason to the Wardeh, merely with less complexity
Diamond with Cashews - as the flavours were distinctly divided into an upper half of crispy layers and bottom half of consolidated sugar instead of a mouthful of uniformity
Swar with Pistachio - for its sweetness was overwhelming
Borma with Pistachio - for the creation was not nearly as enjoyable as the one I had sampled previously: the nuts tasted burnt, while the thready strands of dough were excessively saturated with syrup

Also bestowed upon me were two Pineapple Buns and one Hot Dog Bun from Papa John's Bakery. The former was met with dismal feedback, for the bun was needlessly dense with an atrociously thin, crumbly topping resulting in minimal contentment.

Finding myself back in the scorching, stinky downtown district, I set out northbound to familiarize myself with destinations that the sleepy polar bear had visited in a static group gathering the weekend past, braving both rainfall and ruthless UV exposure with but a single umbrella.

Retailers along Yonge Street primarily comprised of casual eateries. Woven between them was the occasional apparel and specialty goods boutique.

Along my trek, I came across funky-looking Nyanko-senseis, a mahjong café, and, of course, some sketchy, shuttered storefronts - quintessential elements of all urban cities.

Nearing signage for Dance Life X, a studio that I had bookmarked for years but have still yet to visit, I came across the storefront for Bake Code Croissanterie.

The name was likely a spinoff of "viennoiserie", the French terminology for enriched, yeast-leavened dough, intentionally made elaborate to exude the illusion of prestige. This was, of course, not to say that their products didn't deliver. I had yet to deduce a conclusion, after all.

The comprehensively air-conditioned interior supplied tremendous relief. I gazed upon the varied spectrum of offerings, analyzing the combinations before me. My presence wasn't received well by a lady who had briskly strode into the shop behind me. While she waved over an unknowing employee to interrogate him on who-knows-what, I stealthily made my departure, for I hadn't spotted anything of interest.

Routing back down Yonge Street, I popped into Bloom to satisfy my remaining curiosities.

The sleepy polar bear had noted their pastry shelf to be near depletion, however my weekday afternoon visit saw an ample assortment of cakes, daifuku, and éclairs. Residing on top of the glass display case were bags of the dessert parlour's own branded tea varieties.

Loose leaf Genmaicha, Houjicha (powder or loose leaf), Assam (again, powder or loose leaf), and Matcha (powder only, of course) could be purchased at relatively reasonable price points. Each bag weighed in 75 grams, all of which were noted to be under twenty dollars, with the exception of Ceremonial Matcha at thirty-seven dollars. These prices were extremely reasonable, and I couldn't resist picking up a bag of Assam tea powder. (The West Coast cult classic of Paragon had offered Assam as well, but the minimum shipping fee had deterred from completing that transaction.)

Seeing as I was already headed toward the checkout counter, I inquired about the "Specialty Espresso" item on the menu. The girl behind the cashier responded amicably, explaining that it was a blended coffee beverage, to which soft serve could be added for an additional seventy cents. (I must have misheard her, for the addition was, in fact, $1.70.) When I raised concerns over sugar levels of the blended beverage, she added that "I can make it unsweetened as well."

Well, I was won over with ease. An Ice Blended Espresso with Matcha-Peach Swirl Soft Serve was requested. Delightfully grassy and creamy was the matcha soft serve, so much that it utterly overpowered its peach partner. The subtly sweet, fruity qualities I had anticipated were swept under bold, bittersweet matcha. I was minimally concerned though, and enjoyed the treat thoroughly.

Following consumption of the soft serve, I snapped on the dome lid and ventured back into the dreadfully humid outdoors.

The third bakery/café along my route was Kream. I had spotted the name earlier whilst on my quest for Craig's Cookies (905), though hadn't bothered to step foot into the space.

Their menu was revealed to be quite limited: custard-filled cube croissants, a handful of cakes, and the typical menu of espresso-based beverages. The Black Sesame Einspänner was an interesting find, though not one to spark investment. After sampling - or rather, suffering the rigidity of - a mini "Kream Bomb" with a squiggle of matcha cream, I thanked the staff for their offering and continued on my way, shuddering at the stiffness of the mini croissants.

Traversing along only the shaded sides of streets, I encountered Shoppers at the corner of Bay and Gerrard. Pizza-flavoured Pringles were procured. Against my better judgement, half the tube was devoured before day-end, resulting in queasiness in the stomach.

Thunderstorms trailed behind me on my way home that evening.

An identical routine would follow the morning after. Gazing up for the first time in my sleep-bereaved morning commute, I spotted an ad for "GO Transit Reads", a platform that would enable commuters a sneak peek into the first few chapters of a randomly chosen novel. This story would then be rotated on a monthly basis, its link updated via the QR code.

Desires for Chinese bakery-style buns would creep up on me throughout the morning, leading to my beseeching of cash funds from coworkers. Once obtained, I giddily hopped over to Chinatown to fulfill the craving.

My first stop was 大龍鳳餅家, known plainly as "Chinese Bakery" on Google Maps.

The front section of the bakery comprised of a seating area, in which both sweet buns and rice-heavy meal combos could savoured. Buns, tarts, and assorted pastries made up the remaining two-thirds of the space.

Contrary to my expectations, prices had stayed consistent with the budget-friendly values I'd known during pre-pandemic periods. Placed onto my tray was a quad of Cocktail Buns, a single Custard Pineapple Bun (for plain ones weren't available), a Walnut Pound Cake, and a contained of 雞仔餅, alternatively known as Phoenix Cookies (but translated to "Meat Cookies" instead). These egg wash-topped blobs were rare sightings throughout the GTA, thus a single box was appended to the bill.

By the cashier were day-old trios of Pineapple Buns and Hot Dog Buns, each bag ringing in at just five dollars. A few moments was spent in the queue, allowing me to observe a elderly, Caucasian lady coughing without covering her mouth and an American mother-daughter duo Mandarin their way in a Cantonese bakery.

Exiting back onto Dundas Street, I was surprised to witness a familiar logo in the distance.

Tucked onto Huron Street was Chicha San Chen - the only location in Ontario! I took note of the menu, though settled for merely observing. Having to carry a beverage for the rest of the walk wasn't in the plans.

Within the vicinity was 麥香 Mashion Bakery.

The weary-looking storefront faced the bustle of Spadina. Within was a much smaller selection of buns that the former contestant of 大龍鳳, and fewer patrons as well. It was also worth noting that their buns were slightly pricier.

Egg Tarts were packaged in counts of three, either with butter or puff pastry crusts, but not a mix of the two. Since 大龍鳳 had supposedly sold out of the puff pastry rendition - and the butter crust variation was wholly disappointing - I had opted to hold off until my next stop. Mashion's gleaming trio prompted me to take to a pack of the butter crust rendition.

Mercury levels were unyielding. By the time I had rounded back to Elm Street, my body was exhausted. A soothing, iced beverage drew me towards Longo's, in which a Starbucks kiosk could be found.

Nitro Cold Brew was unavailable at the compact counter; I settled for a Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew instead.

Back in the office, I took to sampling the Phoenix Cookies and Custard Pineapple Bun. The former was very savoury, bearing satiation in each bite. Crumbly and sweet was the Pineapple Bun, boasting a decent custard but mediocre bun base.

I missed my regular train that evening, but scurried to make the next one. An opportunity to admire the new % Arabica arose from my unexpected schedule change.

Meals of the week comprised of: Braised Fuzzy Melon (節瓜) with Minced Pork and Stir-Fried Eggplant and Pork over Choy Sum and Rice, while morning and mid-afternoon consumables included limited-edition Oreos from Thailand (courtesy of the Thai ahgase), KitKat Pops, and Chicago Mix Popcorn.

The BLACKPINK edition Oreos were, surprisingly, more than just a gimmick. Neither the chocolate nor original flavours had appealed greatly, however the slightly tart, strawberry-esque profile of the exclusive flavour was unique and contrasted well with the dark cocoa cookie.

Beyond my regular meals, I would also like to extend commentary towards the miscellaneous fizzy and flavoured drinks ingested:

Mill Street Organic White: Refreshing, delectable, and fabulous
Suntory Non-Alcohol Umeshu: The best alcohol-free replica of Choya to exist
Yoshi no Gawa Sparkling Sake: Sweet and delightful, yet not nearly as complex as Mio
Daisekkei Ichigozake (Strawberry Sake): Viscous, syrupy, and somewhat pulpy - ideal over ice

Other meals of the week included takeout from Hiroi Sushi and MyMy Chicken.

H6 Sashimi & Big California underwent minor substitutions this time around: the 8 pieces of Big California had transformed to 10 pieces of regular California, for reasons beyond us.

The Salmon Donburi, while not the Grilled Salmon Bento that we had pictured, emerged as a plentiful selection of spicy mayo-topped salmon sashimi over rice, chopped and marinated sashimi (not salmon, but possibly white fish), and sides of yam tempura, takoyaki, and lettuce-seaweed salad mix. Creative in its execution, the raw donburi was regarded fondly, despite its sashimi being less fresh and more saucy.

Upon stepping into Square One, it became known that Barbie was the trending topic of all consumers. From the mannequins in all-pink to the gaudy fuchsia displays around every corner, one couldn't take three steps before being hit with some reference to the shockingly popular film.

Honey Garlic Chicken, Rosé Toppoki, and Ginseng BBQ Bulgogi Beef Cup Bap were requested once more.

The chicken was coated liberally with sauce, unlike before, yet succeeded in maintaining its crispy exterior and tender, flavourful fleshiness. Meanwhile, the Rosé Toppoki had adopted a looser consistency and paler hue, causing it to bear resemblance to cream soup as opposed tteokbokki sauce.

Consistent with our dine-in experience, the Cup Bap was scrumptious, featuring tender, well-seasoned strips of beef, gratifying japchae noodles, and a powerful punch of kimchi.

Creations of the week have been scarce, for time is often spent undergoing recovery from my excruciatingly hot downtown days and attempting to keep up with new assignments.

Of these far and few productions have emerged:

1) Espresso Lemonade
The formula remains a WIP inspired by Third Wave Coffee's phenomenal blend of citrus and invigorating espresso.

2) Homemade Apple Juice

Constructed of a yellow sugar simple syrup, lemon juice from concentrate, and two disappointing Fuji apples, homemade apple juice was the ideal solution to combat gochukaru-laced tteokbokki.

3) Genmaicha Ube Yema Cream Roll Cake

Yearnings for cake are difficult to suppress. When faced with the need, I turned to Sunday Baking, for her Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake would serve as the base of my envisioned concoction.
But, as luck would have it, my eggs were substandard. They were about 80% the size of the standard North American egg, leading me to reach for five instead of the specified four. Furthermore, the shells shattered without remorse, and the yolks bled into the whites. I was able to salvage the batter by adding cream of tartar to the egg whites before forming the meringue and scaling up the remainder of the ingredients - roughly, anyways.

The resulting slab of sponge exposed mistakes of too much flour and overbaking, for it refused to form a seamless roll, collapsing into rectangular segments of cake rather than wrapping around my lilac-tinted filling with ease. Of course, the added height (aerated volume) of the roll could have also resulted in this outcome.

That said, the cake still tasted fabulous! Grassy, nutty genmaicha paired exceptionally with the Ube Yema-Whipped Cream mixture I had decided upon. Both gelatin and sugar were omitted this time around, for the ube yema spread I had procured from Philippine Festival had already included sweetened condensed milk and a stabilizer of egg yolk.