Amy's Food Adventures

I’ve always wanted to go on a Pâtisserie Crawl. Although the idea may sound fun, consuming so many sweet treats one after another is definitely not an easy task. Even for a pastry lover like myself, stuffing my face with endless macarons proved to be more difficult than I imagined. But I thought this would prepare me for my big Paris trip (leaving on Tuesday!) when I’ll be visiting at least 3 different pâtisseries each day, heh.

I dragged my good friend and also a pastry enthusiast, Alfonso, on this exciting adventure even before he arrived in Toronto, haha. Originally there were 3 other places that we (okay fine, I) wanted to visit but they were closed on the Monday that I had my day-off (sad face). We decided to stick to an area (Yonge/Bayview/Eglinton area) and went to 4 pâtisseries. The other destinations that I had on my list were Cake Opera Co., Pâtisserie 27, and Frangipane (which I have now visited).

Stop #1 – Pâtisserie La Cigogne

Because it made sense to visit Pâtisserie La Cigogne first, we decided to make it our first stop and ventured there bright and early at 9am (yes, that’s considered early for a day-off!). La Cigogne actually has 2 locations, and the other one is located on Danforth by Coxwell subway station.

Once you enter, your eyes are immediately drawn towards the display case of cakes, tarts, macarons, and crème brûlée. Breakfast and brunch is served all day, and they have a wide selection for you to choose from. Baguette, crêpe, tourtiere, omelette, croque madame, quiche.. there’s something for everyone. Their full menu is online right here!

What we indulged in: crêpe (chicken, mushroom, roasted red pepper, and cheddar), almond croissant, dream of China (raspberry passionfruit mousse cake) & Louis XIV (chocolate raspberry cake).

photo credit: Alfonso

Stop #2 – Rahier

I’ve tried Rahier’s cakes several times before since they sell their cakes to many cafés around the city. The assortment of goodies available inside Rahier is overwhelming – but in a good way. Aside from the colourful mousse cakes and macarons, there is an infinite supply of packaged shortbread, madeleines, and cookies.

It’s interesting how their macarons are not priced indivdually, but sold by weight. We only paid around $4 for 4 macarons; is that a good deal or what!

What we indulged in: crème brûlée and macarons (salted caramel, honey, lime & lavender).

Stop #3 – La Bamboche

I really don’t need to introduce La Bamboche by now, so let’s just move onto the photos, which I like to refer to as cake porn ;)

What we indulged in: espresso peach cake, yuzu guava honey cake & macarons (black sesame, apple ginger & green tea white chocolate).

Stop #4 – Ruelo

Originally opened in Times Square in Richmond Hill, Ruelo recently opened up their second location by Yonge & Eglinton. I’ve been to the Times Square location for afternoon tea and there is definitely a greater selection of cakes at that location. I’m not sure why there was a lack of pastries at the new location, but I still tried a few of their macarons. They have a truffle macaron priced at $5! Haha. Aside from cakes and macarons, they also serve warm sandwiches at this location.

What we indulged in: matcha black sesame cake & macarons (rose lychee raspberry, earl grey & banana).

From the photos, it probably didn’t seem like we had a lot but we ate everything in a few short hours, so it wasn’t easy! I’m really grateful for all the lovely pâtisseries we have here in Toronto, but the promise land of entremets, macarons & croissants awaits me…

Paris,

here I come!

Muahahahahaaaaa :D