Vita Bella Ristorante

Restaurant: Vita Bella Ristorante

Cuisine: Italian/West Coast
Last visited: February 4, 09
Area: Burnaby, BC
4544 Hastings Street
Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5
Service: 4.5

Ambiance: 3.5

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• Specializes in Italian cuisine with West Coast flare
• Italian husband and wife operation - Chef Leonardo Moschetti
  
• Local BC seafood
• Extensive wine list – Italian/BC wines
• Friendly, family owned service
• Attracts locals/neighbourhood/ages 45+
• Affordable/casual fine dining
• Spacious/comfortable
• Old Italian tradition music
• $9.98 Take-out pasta specials
• $25 3 course menu (Sun-Thurs)
• Vegetarian/Gluten free options
• Charges $1 for hot water
• Minimum $15/person
• May be surcharge for split orders
• Dinner only – from 5pm
• Closed Tuesday
• Dine in/Take out
• Cash/Visa/MC/Debit

**Recommendation: Linguine Fumante, Zampina (more so because you can’t get it anywhere else)

Vita Bella Italian Ristorante has been around for 4 years and they specialize in Italian cuisine with West Coast flare. However taking a look at their menu I thought the items were on the whole Italian with minor West Coast influences in a couple of their sauces such as orange cranberry compote and cranberry vinaigrette.

Chef Leonardo Moschetti (husband/owner/chef) is born and trained in Bari Italy (Southern Italy) and continued his training in Vancouver (hence the West Coast flare). For me the food was more Northern Italian with Southern influences. Everything was homemade but also quite hearty and rich which is not common of Southern Italian cooking. The food was really good however it left me quite thirsty because of the richness and saltiness.

It was actually really nice because near closing time he actually came out of the kitchen to meet and greet every table for that evening. It was such a nice touch and it made the experience so much warmer. Vita Bella Ristorante serve great food at reasonable portions and prices compared to downtown. It’s family owned affordable fine dining.

On this occasion I was joined by fashion blogger Nicole. We were supposed to come here a month ago, but realized it was closed on Tuesday so ended up at El Inka Deli instead. We ordered a whole crap load of food and ended up finishing everything. We shocked the staff and even ourselves…we were even contemplating another dessert but my tights were starting to dig…

On the table:

Complimentary Freshly Baked Foccacia 4/6

• With balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil
• They serve it complimentary, but it's also an appetizer for $3
• The Foccacia was served warm and it was lightly toasted and quite fluffy with lots of flavour from fresh basil, black pepper, oregano and a little bit of melted butter. The bread is good.
• The olive oil they served it with was not good – 1/6. It looked rich and flavourful, but it wasn’t at all – they need a better quality/brand.

**Veal & Beef Sausage "Zampina" 4/6

• House made, grilled atop tomato caper Bruschetta $20
• The zampina sausage is supposed to be one of their specialties. It’s a homemade traditional Southern Italian sausage. This is the only Italian restaurant I’ve ever seen it serve at, so I would recommend trying it because it is authentic.
• The zampina is made with minced veal, beef and some chopped sun dried tomatoes and some dried herbs. I felt like there were some jarred pimento peppers or pecorino in there too. It’s very slightly spicy and tastes mainly like minced beef.
• It actually reminded us of those Chinese sausages – it was a bit dry in texture and the meats were really lean so it wasn’t a juicy type of sausage. I actually liked eating the sausage by itself rather than with the Bruschetta.
• The Bruschetta was loaded with toppings such as tomatoes, capers, red onion, basil and green onion. It ended up making the bread soggy and a crostini mght have been better.
• There was a strong smoked salmon taste and I think they put little pieces in it and it wasn’t necessary. There were too many flavours going on and the smoked salmon taste was a bit overpowering and it took over the sausage. It was a bit salty too because there were so many big capers in it.
• The focaccia was also burnt and I could taste the bitterness.
  
• I could have used more balsamic reduction, they used it for décor, but the sweetness and tang made the dish better.

Gnudi 3/6

• House made ricotta cheese gnudi tossed with roasted peppers, butter and fresh sage $20
• I asked to order it as an appetizer and it was $12 which is a bit steep for the 4 we got. I think $10 would have been more reasonable, but it was a special request so I didn’t really mind.

• As an appetizer 3/6 as a main 2/6 because it would be too rich and I’d get sick of it before I’d finish it.
• Gnudi is basically a big version of gnocchi. They’re very fresh, handmade and were almost like ricotta stuffed ravioli.
• It’s really soft, almost like pizza dough or very soft bread stick. It’s very creamy and there’s a lot of ricotta stuffing so it’s very rich, filling and hearty.
• They served it with a sage butter sauce but all I could taste was melted butter. They needed more sage, I couldn't see or taste any.
• They serve it with pepperonatta which are sweet red pimento peppers cooked in olive oil, garlic and butter. I needed way more of this though because there wasn’t enough for the 4 pieces. The tangy sweetness helped to break up the creamy gnudi and gave it more flavour.
• I’ve had something similar at Lupo Resaurant + Vinoteca: The Ricotta Gnocchi – they’re not really comparable though.

**Linguine Fumante 6/6

• House smoked duck breast, sun dried tomatoes, assorted mushrooms in Grand Marnier demi-glaze cream sauce, drizzled with truffle oil $18
• Ding! Ding! Ding! This is the one. This was the star of the night and this is the one I would recommend and come back for myself.
• The duck is a star anise hickory smoked locally grown Fraser Valley heritage duck. It almost tasted like ham or bacon! It looks like the only give you a little, but it’s actually a lot when you start eating it.
• The duck skin tastes like those skins on European wieners – they almost snap back. I liked it!
• Since it’s smoked it’s not as juicy or sweet as duck can be. It was still good though.
• The sauce was a rich duck demi-glaze and it was delicious! It tasted like duck gravy drippings with a red wine reduction and then cream. I couldn’t tell it was Grand Marnier. It was so creamy and rich in flavour I loved it. It was surprisingly thick and sticky, very well reduced, so it stuck to the pasta very well.
• The pasta was cooked perfectly – al dente! People may think it’s undercooked, but it’s not! If you go to Italy they cook their pastas for 6-7min not 8-9min.
• The dish was delicious overall. I could smell the truffle oil and they used more than I thought they would! It was delicious with lots of juicy strips of mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. The sun dried tomatoes should be cut a bit thinner though because at times they were overpowering and very salty and tangy. A little goes a long way…

BC Golden Trout 4.5/6

• Rolled in mascarpone cheese and toasted almonds, in lemon cream sauce $21
• All seafood entrées served with risotto and seasonal vegetables. All seafood is from local BC waters.
• This was another rich and hearty entrée. It was even richer than the ricotta gnudi and that says a lot! The richness came from the sauce and the mascarpone cheese stuffing.
• It was a big piece of boneless trout with the skin on so there was a lot of flavour. However the skin wasn’t crispy which really bothered me because it was a bit slimy and didn’t go with the texture of the creamy stuffing.

  

• There is so much stuffing in this trout and it was almost pure mascarpone cheese! It was so rich and thick and it was actually hard to swallow, but it was really good! It had a lemon flavour and was ultra creamy…it was almost like eating a fluffy lemony melted cream cheese with salmon.

  

• The toasted almonds were ground up in the mascarpone cheese stuffing but I couldn’t taste them at all. They were the size of rice so it came off as uncooked rice or even fish bones. I think they should crust the trout with slivered almonds, or instead of almonds use pine nuts in the stuffing. It would have been a better match as the nuttiness was masked by Mascarpone.
• The lemon cream sauce was almost like a béarnaise sauce or a hollandaise sauce. It was really thick and rich and I could definitely taste the fresh lemon in this as well. It was quite tangy, almost like it had sour cream. As good as it was, I think a lighter sauce might have been nice since the mascarpone stuffing was so thick and rich already. To put it into perspective, after the mascarpone stuffing the buttery lemon cream sauce comes off as light!
• The veggies were tender and grilled with a little olive oil. They actually had a smokey flavour to them as well.

Saffron Risotto 4/6

• It could have been creamier, but the flavour was there. This was a super cheesy risotto with lots of parmesan cheese. It was actually stringy instead of creamy and came off as sticky rice or even mac and cheese. It was still really good though. I like the texture of the saffron risotto at Lupo Resaurant + Vinoteca better, but the flavour of this one was stronger.

Dessert

House Special Tiramisu 2.5/6

• Traditional Italian cheesecake made with savoiardi biscuits soaked in our secret mixture of espresso and liqueurs, layered with creamy mascarpone filling and dusted with pure Dutch cocoa $8
• The piece was fair but for $8 I think it’s a bit steep. It was worth $6-7 for me.
• It was obviously premade and sitting in the fridge…which isn’t the part that bothers me. But if you’re going to do this then you have to dust the cocoa powder on last minute before serving otherwise it actually looks like it’s been sitting in the fridge! That bothers me.

  

• I couldn’t taste the Rum or the espresso. Real tiramisu should use espresso and not a mixture of espresso and liquors – it came across as sweet syrup, so it wasn’t a “sophisticated” Tiramisu – although not bad either.
• The Mascarpone was creamy but not thick enough and it came across as whipped cream almost. They also didn't use enough and the middle layer was too thin.
• The Savoiardi biscuits were soaked quite nicely and it was a very moist Tiramisu, but I really missed the richness of the Mascarpone – which is weird because they used so much of it for the BC Golden Trout.

Lupo Restaurant + Vinoteca – Desserts

Restaurant: Lupo Restaurant + Vinoteca – Dessert Review

Cuisine: Italian/Pacific Northwest/Casual fine dining
Last visited: January 16, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Yaletown/Downtown)
869 Hamilton Street
Price Range: $20-30 (for entrée)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5 Dessert: 4
Service: 5

Ambiance: 4

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• Located in historical Victorian house
• Executive chef Julio Gonzalez Perini
• Italian chef
• Specializes in Italian
• Italian with West Coast influence
• Extensive wine list
• Casual fine dining
• Clean menu, nice selection
• Home made desserts
• Great presentation on the whole
• Very friendly service
• Cozy, intimate atmosphere
• Great for parties, private rooms available
• Dinner from 5pm
• 5-6:15pm 3 course set menus $28/$38 available

**Recommendation: Braised Beef Short Ribs, Lamb Ossobucco, Panettone Bread Pudding, Tiramisu

I came to Lupo Restaurant + Vinoteca for dinner and obviously I had to order dessert. I rarely skip dessert – it’s too important to my daily diet.

This review focuses just on the dessert; I posted the dinner review here. The dessert was either really good or really not so good. Everything was made in house and the presentation was really nice. They have seasonal dessert specials, but I know the tiramisu is permanent. The only dessert I didn’t try was the crème brulee.

On the table:

**Tiramisu 4.5/6

• About $7
• This is a pretty good tiramisu, but also not the best I’ve had. I think I need to do a hunt for the best Tiramisu in Vancouver one day.
• Anyways the mascarpone cream was right on. Not too sweet, rich, creamy, and I could taste the mascarpone without it being overpowering.
• The “cake” layer was lady fingers and they were soaked perfectly. They still kept their sponge cake like texture and I tasted more espresso than Rum flavour.
• The top layer of mascarpone was fine, but the bottom layer of mascarpone was looking a bit thin. It started to taste a bit dry because it was more cake than cream.
• Overall it was a quality Tiramisu, and even though it was very good, I also don’t think I will remember it in a week.
  
• I wanted more cocoa powder on top too.

**Panettone Bread Pudding 6/6

• About $7
• The best of the 3 desserts. This was very creative and smart. An Italian style bread pudding.
• Very moist and baked perfectly. It was a dome of Panettone bread pudding and it was soft in texture. The raisins were plump and plentiful and the dried fruits like candied orange and lemon and they weren’t too hard or fake tasting.
• The ice cream was very rich and ultra creamy…it almost tasted like a quadruple whipped cream ice cream. Very decadent. I think they should serve it with a mascarpone ice cream, which would be over the top good with the Panettone!
• Don’t let that wafer curl fool you. When you break it it’s very crispy, but then you bite it and it’s not crispy. It’s almost stale and chewy – I would much rather have a crispy wafer and it was quite deceiving. It tastes almost like a soft thin fortune cookie wafer, with a slight almond taste.

Toasted Pound Cake with Pears 1.5/6

• About $7
• This was not impressive and way too simple. It was a very small slice of regular pound cake that was toasted – it wasn’t dry, but the edges were crispy. I’m not sure how they did that actually. But the taste still wasn’t impressive although I’m curious about the method.
• The pears were very hard and not tender at all. I think they may have been poached in red wine, but the crunchiness was so distracting I couldn’t tell. They definitely were not caramelized enough.
• The ice cream was the best part – it was very tangy and light and I think it could have been a sour cream or crème fraiche gelato or sorbet.
• I didn't get a picture of the chocolate souffle, but it's the one in the back behind the Panettone bread pudding.

Chocolate Souffle 1.5/6

• About $7
• Soufflé is French not Italian.
• The soufflé should have been served in a soufflé dish and not on a plate and not with hazelnut gelato either. It was too heavy for a soufflé and they needed something like a cream l’anglaise. I love ice cream too, so for me to say this…it’s a big deal.
• They compared it to a molten lava cake, but I wouldn’t. It’s not a rich dense brownie that’s half cooked with a melted chocolate centre.
• It’s a soufflé, but it came across as an undercooked sponge cake. The problem with this one was that it was very soggy and a bit mushy and the chocolate taste was very light.

Boulangerie Cho Pain - Review 2

Restaurant: Boulangerie Cho Pain - Review 2

Cuisine: Bakery/Desserts/Breads/French
Last visited: January 6, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Downtown/West end)
1165 Davie Street
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5
Service: 3

Ambiance: 2

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• Authentic Parisian bakery - operated by French people with cute accents!
• French baker/pastry chefs
• Offers 125+ classic European breads and rolls
• Some breads and pastries prepared daily, but not all
• Small selection of savoury snacks available: quiche/homemade sandwiches
• Espresso/lattes available – supplier: 49^th Parallel
• Few tables and chairs for sit down
• Casual/self-serve atmosphere
• Pastries to go
• Daily specials
• Closed Monday

**Recommendation: Gateau Basque, Paris Brest Hazelnut Choux, Almond Croissant, Hazelnut & Cream Slice

So I’ve been to Boulangerie Cho Pain on a few occasions and I try something new every time. I want a better idea of what they’re serving so I can keep my reviews as updated as possible. I mean a restaurant can go uphill or downhill so I want to give a fair review because a lot can happen in a few months…or even days.

I still really like Boulangerie Cho Pain, but not as much as when I first tried them. Everything is still good, but the more I try the more I find it is “very good” instead of “excellent”…hence why I gave the food 4.5 instead of 5 like I did on my last review for it.

I came in the late afternoon and stayed for a couple hours. Within that time I couldn’t smell any baked goods, but I could see some being made. Everything in the display case is quite professional, but their daily features like: cookies, truffles, and banana bread are quite home style and simple. It’s important to remember it’s not a gourmet bakery, but it’s still very French in the sense that it has authentic French recipes and effortless style and charm.

My 1^st review for Boulangerie Cho Pain

On the table:

Hazelnut & Cream Slice 5/6

• I don’t have the exact description but it’s layers of hazelnut cake, hazelnut cream topped with chocolate hazelnut chocolate ganache $3.95
• I really enjoyed this cake. It is a dessert of course, but I could enjoy it as a tea cake or snack because it was so light and not that sweet. It was a perfect tea time cake.
• There’s a lot of hazelnut flavourings in it and it’s very distinct. They really used it in every layer of the cake so it was well incorporated into every bite.
• The edges have these caramelized hazelnut praline crumbs, but they’re very soft and not hard at all. I wish they had used them for the top too.
• The chocolate ganache topping had a nice marbleized design, but I wasn’t a fan of it. Since it was in the display case and chilled it was a bit hard for my liking. It wasn’t brittle, but it wasn’t delicate enough for me. The layer was just a bit thick and I was chewing it because it didn’t melt well. It tasted like a milk chocolate ganache and I would have preferred a dark bittersweet chocolate to match the hazelnut.
• The cream was almost like a hazelnut mousse. It was very light and not too sweet at all. I’m pretty sure it’s the same mousse they use in their Paris Brest Hazelnut Choux.
• The cake part was delicious and had finely ground hazelnuts incorporated into the batter. It was more like a tea cake than it was a cupcake batter. It had a very crumbly texture because of the hazelnut crumbs too.
• Like the Paris Brest Hazelnut Choux it reminded me of a Ferraro Rocher, however this cake was much lighter and not as rich as the Paris Brest…although neither are that sweet. This cake you could enjoy as a afternoon snack, whereas the Paris Brest Hazelnut Choux is a real dessert.
• If you want to attempt something like this at home, I did make Almond Hazelnut Cupcakes that tasted very similar to this.
  
• 

Tiramisu 2.5/6

• I don’t have their description, but I’ll assume we all know what it is and have tried it at one point or another $3.95
• I wasn’t a big fan of their tiramisu because it was a bit too sweet.
• Similar to the Tiramisu from Sweet Obsessions Boulagerie Cho Pain used a cake layer instead of lady fingers for the bottom layer of the Tiramisu. However they did use actually lady fingers for the middle layer.
• The Rum and espresso was very apparent because the entire bottom layer of cake was completely soaked with this syrup. The lady fingers were also dipped almost completely in the syrup as well. It was it a bit too sweet so I think they put a lot of sugar in this Rum/espresso. When I poked my fork into the cake some of the liquid syrup would come out because the bottom cake layer was holding too much of it. Literally like a sponge with too much water.
• The wetness of the tiramisu made the whole thing very soft. It was quite creamy however they didn’t used enough mascarpone for me. The layers of mascarpone cream were mixed with some espresso too I think. It had a pale brownish colour rather than a pale yellow or cream colour.
• The topping was whipped cream and chocolate shavings instead of mascarpone cream and cocoa. There is a little cocoa powder but mainly chocolate shavings. I didn’t mind that part, but I did mind the whipped cream. I don’t like whipped cream on tiramisu because I think it “cheapens” it…it definitely saves cost though. The whipped cream is made in house and it’s not very sweetened. They used too much on this tiramisu too so I really think the mascarpone flavour was lost.

Sweet Obsessions Cakes & Pastries

Restaurant: Sweet Obsessions Cakes & Pastries

Cuisine: Dessert/Bakery
Last visited: December 22, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC (Kitsilano)
2611 W 16th Ave

Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 2.5
Service: 2.5
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 2.5
Additional comments:

• Specializes in cakes, pastries and desserts
• Everything made in house/on-site
• Sister restaurant to Trafalgar’s Bistro next door
• Casual service
• Contemporary atmosphere
  
• Located in local neighbourhood
• Freshly baked breads
• Considered a fancier dessert/bakery
• Whole cakes available
• Some pre-made sandwiches and salads
• Pay extra for hot water
• Eat in/Take-out

**Recommendation: n/a (Out of 5 things, I still haven’t found anything I would recommend yet)

It was my 2^nd visit to Sweet Obsessions Cakes & Pastries, but this time I enjoyed them at Sweet Obsessions rather than at their sister restaurant Trafalgar’s Bistro right next door. The two restaurants serve the exact same desserts, but you’re paying a couple dollars more at Trafalgar’s Bistro for service and atmosphere.

I came with Anita and Kim after dinner at The Irish Heather. I’ve tried a total of 5 desserts now, and I’m still not really impressed by anything except for the presentation. If I liked it, it was only good, but nothing amazing or must try. Everything looks delicious and the presentation is high end, but the taste and flavours just don’t do much for me. For what it represents and the target market it attracts, I would think the dessert would be better. In a nutshell, I think they look better than they taste.

I really think they need to include a short description of the cakes on the menu. The descriptions are only available on cake order forms or online so you make your choice based on the name or look of the cake. I had the same problem on my last visit. It’s kind of annoying because you think you know what you’re ordering/getting and it’s not what you expected…not in a good way either. You’ll see what I mean if you continue reading…

On the table:

Tiramisu 2.5/6

• Layers of Italian sponge, zabaglione, mascarpone cream and espresso $7.50
• I really wish they had descriptions of the cake on the menu because then I would know what to expect and I wouldn’t be as disappointed.
• I ordered the Tiramisu based on the servers recommendations. He said the Tiramisu was one of the favorites and most popular items, so of course I had to try it.
• This was not a traditional Tiramisu. It didn’t really have any characteristics of one either. There were no lady fingers, cocoa powder, very faint espresso flavour, no real Mascarpone layer, and no Rum. If they called it an “Italian Zabaglione Cake” I would have accepted it, but when you call it a “Tiramisu” there are certain expectations that come with that.
• Lady finger cookies dipped in espresso for a tiramisu is so much better than “Italian sponge”. It just absorbs better and holds onto flavour better. The Italian sponge was just a light sponge cake that wasn’t too sweet and it was dipped in a light tasting espresso.
  
• The Zabaglione was an acceptable switch up to a traditional Tiramisu so I didn’t mind that part. Zabalione is Italian custard made with egg yolks, cream, sugar and sweet liquor. I couldn’t taste any alcohol in this custard, but it had a nice flavour and texture. I think they whipped the Mascarpone right into it to give it that ultra creaminess. It was almost like a smooth Mascarpone custard/cream. This part was good.
• They also used finely ground chocolate shavings instead of cocoa powder, which I didn't mind either. It made for an elegant presentation, great texture, nice flavour and matched with the Zabalione.

Passion Fruit Flan 3/6

• Tangy passion fruit custard in a buttery pastry shell $7.50
• The filling was good, but the texture of the crust is inconsistent.
• The passion fruit filling was very sweet and quite tart as the same time. More tart than sweet. I could taste the passion fruit, but I wanted to see and taste the actual fruit and not just the pulp. It was very creamy and quite moist, but I’d like to see actual passion fruit used in the décor too, not just candied orange peel.
• The crust was a shortbread crust. The bottom of the crust was nice and soft, but the outer edge was much too thick and very hard! I put my fork into it and the crust just snapped into pieces…some flying off the plate. I think it was in the display case for too long and that’s why the bottom crust was moist and the outer edge had dried out.

Neopolitan Cake 2/6

• Layers chocolate cake, vanilla butter cream, made from Bourbon vanilla beans, whole raspberries and raspberry coulis $7.50
• I’m not a huge fan of raspberries and chocolate, but when it’s done right I can definitely appreciate it.
• The chocolate cake tastes like regular chocolate cake from a box. Of course it wasn’t from a box, and was made in house, but the flavour/texture was the same as box cake. It was a relatively light chocolate cake, but not a sponge cake either. It wasn’t really dense, decadent or chocolaty like the one I had from Manhattan Restaurant. It wasn't bad, but just stating what to expect because it looks more chocolaty than it is.
• You could definitely taste the raspberry coulis and I could even bite into the raspberry seeds. It was really tart, and because the cake wasn’t too sweet you really needed to find the balance between coulis and cake.
• The butter cream was smooth but not fluffy. I could really taste the vanilla and see the vanilla beans, but only if I ate it by itself. I’m just not a fan of their butter cream here; it was the same when I tried their Mango Coconut Roulade cake. They use shortening in it and it’s not soft, I think becuase it's chilled in a display case. It doesn’t melt well or mix with the cake. I find myself chewing it sometimes….and you shouldn't need to chew through butter cream.
• I didn’t really enjoy this cake; I found I had to eat everything separately before I could taste the flavours.

Mango Coconut Roulade Cake

Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake

Breka Bakery

Restaurant: Breka Bakery

Cuisine: Bakery/Desserts
Last visited: December 17, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (South Vancouver/Fraser)
6533 Fraser Street
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3
Service: 2
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 2.5
Additional comments:

• European bakery specializing in European desserts
• Open 24/7
• Savoury cafe foods available
• Breads made fresh daily from scratch, by hand
• Halla Bread on Fridays
• On site bakery
• Organic free-trade coffee
• Cheap, pretty big pieces
• For best results: let desserts thaw to room temperature before eating
• Busy, good for coffee breaks/studying
• Relaxed/casual atmosphere
• Eat in/Take-out
• Whole cakes for sale
• Breads to go

**Recommendation: Poppy seed tart, but apparently chocolate mousse cake and cheesecakes are popular, but I didn’t try them

After narrowing down our choices for late night dessert around Burnaby (which was nothing but bubble tea places)…my fellow foodies Kim (I’m Only Here For the Food) and Anita (La Petite Foodie) trekked out to South Vancouver to try Breka Bakery.

I love dessert and we get along very well. I spent some time in Europe researching out the most authentic and traditional desserts, so I come trying Breka Bakery with some knowledge. I’m also blessed with great friends so I’ve been lucky enough to have tried home baked European desserts too. The style of desserts at Breka Bakery is denser than they are light and delicate. They were more Eastern European than Western and they had a bit of American flair to them. I only tried 3 desserts at Breka so I really need to try more to give a better review.

I’ve heard of Breka Bakery before but the reviews for it were only okay. I knew it was a 24 hour place so it’s not like I was expecting oompa loompas in the back making desserts 24/7. However I was expecting very homemade style desserts, but they were actually quite professional, but not gourmet professional. They were grocery store professional. Just standardized and very mass

produced looking – maybe it was the way they were all laid out in sheet pans in the display case. When I see desserts like this I can’t help but to think how long it’s been sitting there for. Next time I will go in the morning because I think it would have been better.

I think it’s popular and well-liked mainly for its portion and price. For the price you pay it does the job and settles the sweet tooth. It's not the best, but for the area and for what you get, it's fine. I wish they had more options - they have a lot, but only 4 things made me "ooh" and "ahh"...and I LOVE dessert (if I haven’t made that clear ;)). I was expecting at least 8 things to make me do that.

On the table:

Poppy Square 4/6

• A poppy seed square or tart with poppy seed filling $2.50
• This was my choice. I love poppy seed! The more the better and this one had lots of poppy seed. I've had variations of this, but this is the most poppy seed filling I've seen used. Which is fine by me! The poppy seed filling was sweet but not too sweet - a little nutty, very moist and paste-like. It’s soft and smooth yet it's poppy seeds so there's texture.
• It’s made of poppy seed, sugar and butter and there is also a very subtly tang and I'm 99% sure there's lemon juice in there giving it that tang. It's not sour though. I wish they used some zest too. There may also be some honey to round it all out.
• Let it thaw out to room temperature and the flavour really comes through.
• The crust was more of a cake-like crust rather than pie crust, which I liked. It was soft, moist and buttery almost like pound cake, yet sturdy enough to hold the heavy poppy seed filling. It was actually a tad salty too, it worked with the filling. I really liked the thinness of the crust. For this dessert in particular I prefer lots of filing with little crust anyways.
• On top was a soft cake-like lattice top with a sugar syru p and lemon glaze to make it shiny.

  

Tiramisu 2/6

• Tiramisu Square $3.50

  

• I didn't like that it was precut. I felt as though it was more of a cake than a tiramisu. It was very dense and not light and fluffy. More cheesy and heavier on the mascarpone than it was creamy, but maybe it just needed to thaw.
• The lady fingers could have been more soaked because they were a bit dry and I also couldn’t taste any rum. It just lacked flavour.
• I didn’t like that there was only one layer of lady fingers and the bottom layer was a cake layer. I felt like this was cheating because a tiramisu should always have 2 layers of tightly packed lady fingers. I also liked them more tightly packed together in a layer, rather than spread out. I like to have a bite of lady finger cookies in every bite.
• Lots of cream but it was sturdy cream. Wh at this means is that you could slice into it and pull away with a clean knife.

  

Lemon Custard Bar 2/6

• Lemon Custard Bar $2.25
• This one was dense and sweet and the lemon custard wasn’t as creamy. They do call it a bar rather than a tart so maybe the lemon custard was supposed to be more solid. It could have been the fact that it was sitting in a chilled display case so it was a bit stiff.
• The flavour of the lemon custard was a bit sweet and I think it could have beeen more tart. It was a radioactive yellow, so I’m not sure if it was from a little dye.
• The crust was a shortbread crust and it was very buttery and cookie like. I liked the thinness of crust because it made the bar lighter in texture overall. It needed that because the lemon custard was already dense.
• I’ve had better before, and just thought this was ok, kind of boring and just ‘whatever’ for a lack of a better term.