La Bamboche

La Bamboche has two locations in Toronto, and I visited the one on Manor Road, just south of Yonge and Eglinton. I biked uphill on Yonge (which is not nearly as bad as biking up Avenue Road), and was rewarded at the end of my trip with this pastry shop!

I've ordered so many macarons that I think I can finally stop and declare that they are just not my thing (which is just as well given the prohibitive price). This macaron was caramel sea salt. I have no idea why it was colored pink, but it was a pretty color. The meringue itself was blah. But the butter cream and caramel inside was a revelation. As, you can see in the close up, it was as if the caramel had been injected into the butter cream. I have been known to eat butter on its own, which some people think is weird. When you add some cream and sugar to the butter and call it butter cream, somehow that makes eating it all right. I'm easy and won't quibble over this. Final verdict...silvanas, which I think are the Filipino equivalent of macarons (also meringue outside, but softer, and a butter cream interior) are superior to macarons, but the interior of this caramel sea salt macaron totally made the pastry!

By the time I arrived at La Bamboche, there was only one chocolate pastry left and it didn't seem very exciting. Rather, since I had read that the patissier was known for combining interesting flavours, I had this layered mango yuzu cake. Of note, obviously, are the two layers of mango mousse (sweet, but not cloyingly so) and the gelatinous layer of yuzu. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit. The last time I had it was as part of a sake cocktail. Yuzu is deliciously tart (the kind where you get nice chills just thinking about the tartness) and the combination of sweet mango and the citric acid of the yuzu makes this dessert pop with complementary flavors. Bonus points on the gelatinous texture of the yuzu, which I sometimes ate on its own to isolate and savour the flavour. Additional bonus points for attention to detail on the tops of the blueberries which were filled with some sort of gelatin to make the tops sparkle rather than being empty black holes.

I will return to La Bamboche earlier in the day when I can select from a greater variety of pastries and, hopefully, will score a chocolate pastry.

Given my penchant for a chocolate cranberry combination, I wonder how a chocolate yuzu combination would turn out?

The Beach House - Sudbury, ON

No need to travel to Scotland...a deep fried Mars bar is available only an hour's flight away from Toronto. Sudbury is my furthest northern destination in Ontario to date. The flight up over Georgian Bay (I think) was beautiful.

My business trip to Sudbury was nondescript, but the highlight was the final leg after work was finished and opposing counsel gave me a ride to see The Big Nickel. Following upon the heels of The Big Nickel sighting, I was dropped off at Bell Park where I dragged my suitcase along the boardwalk going for a walk. I surfaced near some parking lot where I figured I could call a cab when lo and behold, not only do I see an ice cream stand (in and of itself, not necessarily inspiring excitement) but a sign for "Deep Fried Mars Bar". I never had the opportunity to try this in Scotland (mostly because we were castle hopping and deep fried Mars bars weren't readily available at those venues). I have a distinct memory of sitting in the backseat while we drove out of Edinburgh thinking that I missed my last opportunity for aforesaid Mars bar.

Eight years later, my curiosity is satisfied and I heartily approve of this dessert. It's not a conventional pastry by any stretch, but the elements of a pastry are all there. As you can see from the photograph, the Mars bar is dipped in batter and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. Deep fried batter with cinnamon and sugar...churros deja vu! Due to the warmth of the deep frying, the chocolate covering on the Mars bar started to melt into the free flowing caramel and nougat. I am a sucker for chocolate and caramel; this combination perhaps bested only by chocolate and cranberry. Crisp exterior and gooey interior - it was all I could do to stop myself from inhaling the chocolate and caramel swirling about.