Lamoon Thai Cafe

Lamoon is also famously known as Nam Wan, and you could get their famous drinks in a bag at various food festivals. They were always the stall with the crazy line ups but so worth the wait. Not only are their drinks refreshing with fun and unique flavours, the drink bags are just too cute!

Needless to say, when they opened an actual storefront, I became a regular. The owners are lovely and so kind. It’s been a positive experience each time. The cafe itself is adorable and aesthetically pleasing (perfect for getting those IG lifestyle shots). There are lots of cozy spots to enjoy the food/beverage and hang out, including a super nice patio in the back to enjoy the sunshine.

They offer an amazing menu with lots of authentic items you’d find in Thailand (beverages, pastries and savoury dishes) and added their own unique twists. Since I’m all about my desserts, I will focus on the pastries and beverages that blew my mind.

Vanilla butter cake with strawberry jam

These bunnies first caught my eyes because of how cute they are. But once I’ve had a taste, I was hooked. The cake is soft and buttery, and the burst of fruity strawberry filling in the centre goes perfectly with the vanilla flavour.

There are also little pandan bunnies. For the pandan fans out there, it’s a must try!

Cookies, cookies, cookies!

All of their cookies are fresh and baked in-house (so talented!). If you’re like me and love a good soft and doughy cookie, these are the cookies for you. They are so soft and have almost a cakey texture because of how bubbly they are. As usual, the flavours are amazing. Pictured below are the: pandan with toasted coconuts on top, Thai tea with macadamia nuts, purple yam with pistachios, and taro.

Yes, I did eat these cookies all by myself. I love the soft chewy texture of the cookies and the flavours are on point. If I must pick a favourite, I’d say that the taro and pandan are tied for first place. The Thai tea and purple yam are a very, very close second. I recommend trying them all!

Coconut Biscuits with pineapple jam

I can not get enough of these cookies. I won’t get into how many bags I’ve already gone through (too many to count).

These authentic cookies are made in Thailand and imported here based on availability. Since this may not always be available, I stock up whenever I see them. They are the perfect finger food for snacking. It’s so easy to finish a bag in one sitting (or maybe it’s just my porky appetite).

The coconut biscuits are crunchy and buttery. The generous pineapple filling inside is chewy with that sweet/tartness from the pineapple. I love that they use fresh pineapple and you can actually taste the tiny strands from the pineapple chunks. The texture of the cookie and filling combined is pure perfection *chef’s kiss*

One of the reasons I am so obsessed with this particular cookie is because the filling reminds me of the Taiwanese pineapple cakes I used to eat as a child. There’s a nostalgic feeling whenever I eat them.

Sidebar: Lamoon also supports local businesses in Thailand by using their handmade rope handles for the to-go drinks, as well as introducing products such as tote bags and scarves that use pa kao ma (Thai fabric). I always love seeings locals supporting locals and this also extend our to other small businesses in all the countries that have been impacted.

Cheers!

You may have noticed the beautiful drinks in each of the photos. After all, these popular drinks are what launched this incredible cafe. Their origin story, so to speak. Below are the drinks that are shown in the pictures above:

• Lychee butterfly - lychee, soda, butterfly pea flower (this is the colorful purple drink)

• Iced matcha latte

• Pandan latte (my favourite) - this is sweetened with condensed milk but you can request to adjust the sweetness level. I personally like it less sweet so it’s more refreshing.

*Substitutions are available for the milky beverages such as oat, soy, and almond.

Lamoon Location 📍

713 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1Y5

Home “sweet” home - My favourite Vancouver desserts

I’m so happy I was able to go home for a visit this year. It’s been years since my last visit.

It was definitely a pleasant surprise to see how some of my favourite bakeries not only survived the pandemic, but have branched out with multiple locations now.

Initially I planned on listing just my top 5 favourite desserts in Vancouver. However, after a LONG deliberation, I decided that since I still can’t narrow it down to just 5 places, I should just list all the places that really wowed me! Below are my 8 favourite dessert experiences while I was in Vancouver. I mean… there’s no such thing as too many dessert options (especially when the craving hits). I broke them down to 2 categories:

1. The oldie but a goodie - I’m a repeat customer at all these bakeries when I still lived here. These are my favourite places and I visit them every time I’m back. They never let me down!

2. My new loves - I visited these places for the first time and it was love at first bite.

Category 1 - oldie but goodie

1. Thierry 📍1059 Alberni St, Vancouver, BC V6E 1A1

I can go on and on about all the amazing pastries here and their hot chocolate, but the thing that keeps bringing me back is the Passion Fruit Cake. It’s an airy mousse cake with the perfect balance of sweet and tart.

The new item on their repertoire gives me even MORE reason to come back. The chocolate succè (hazelnut meringue, dense chocolate mousse, tempered dark, milk and white chocolate). It’s got the chocolate, the crunch, and the creamy mousse all in one bite.

2. Beta 5 📍409 Industrial Ave, Vancouver, BC V6A 2P8

Even with new bakeries serving up some legit cream puffs, Beta 5 continues to be my favourite and my go to happy place. Not only are their cream puffs so aesthetically pleasing with creative finishing touches, they taste like perfection. The choux pastry is light and airy with the perfect crunchy shell. These cream puffs are filled with amazing combination of flavoured creams, custards and mousse.

3. Nero waffles

📍1002 Seymour St, Vancouver, BC V6B 3M6

📍1703 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6G 1C8

These bad boys are right up there with the liège waffles (aka Belgium waffles) from Cafe Medina. I personally prefer Nero over Cafe Medina because they have a variety of flavours from sweet to savory and some of them even have delicious filling inside. These waffles are made with a brioche like dough, mixed with pearl sugar that gets caramelized when cooked. I love how they have a nice crunch on the outside and it’s soft and chewy on the inside.

4. Mister Artisan Ice Cream 📍1141 Mainland St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5P2

I was lucky enough to try this place when they first opened in Yaletown. It makes me so happy to see that they’re still doing well after all these years, and the quality of their ice cream is still top notch! I have a really weird fear of getting my hands dirty when I eat, that’s why I never get my ice cream in a cone. These ice cream bars are easy to eat without ending up with sticky fingers.

The ice cream here are made with liquid nitrogen. It’s fun to watch and the result is a rich, creamy ice cream. They offer rotational flavours based on the ingredients in season.

I highly recommend trying out the s’mores bar and the Nanaimo bar. I got the half bars so I could try different flavours, but they are also available in full size bars and they are significantly bigger.

Category 2 - My new loves

1. Nemesis Coffee 📍SO many locations!

This isn’t just your typical coffee shop. They have an amazing breakfast menu, and the most important thing (for me) is their pastries from Dope Bakehouse. This in house bakery offers the best cruffin I’ve ever had. I came here multiple times during my trip because I just couldn’t get enough of their pastries.

Crossiant + muffin = cruffin love child.

The cruffin is light, flaky and buttery. It’s also filled with just the right amount of filling inside for the perfect bite ratio. As a matcha addict, the matcha raspberry cruffin was my favourite. I highly recommend this to any matcha/cruffin lovers!

2. H Tasting Lounge 📍1601 Bayshore Dr., Vancouver, BC V6G 2V4

The desserts here blew my mind. It’s located in the Westin hotel along the Seawall so it’s perfect for a nice stroll after a meal.

Each item is beautifully crafted and tastes just as good as it looks. The cotton candy and cream puffs are so creative and so much fun to eat.

They also offer an amazing brunch menu, but make sure you make your reservation ahead of time because they book up fast!

3. Angus T Bakery and Cafe 📍1036 Mainland St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2T4

This newly opened bakery is already famous for their buttery croissants. They offer both savory and sweet croissants with a variety of unique flavours and fillings.

Their cinnamon buns are also top notch and worth trying at least one (or in my case it was more like 10). The sweet yeasty dough is perfectly rolled so you can actually peel it like a fruit roll up! I love how generous they are with the cinnamon. The cinnamon buns also have a variety of flavours to choose from.

4. Their there 📍2042 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1M9

These mochi doughnuts got me doing my happy food dance. A mochi doughnut is a doughnut and mochi hybrid. It’s got the best of both worlds.

The size of these doughnuts may seem intimidating, but they are actually very light and airy. I polished off both of these in one sitting! It’s crazy how texturally satisfying these mochi doughnuts are. It’s got a nice fried crispy outer doughnut shell with a soft and chewy mochi centre.

There’s also a large variety of fun flavours to pick from. I tried the cereal milk mochi doughnut and the raspberry cheesecake mochi doughnut. Both were so amazing I had to order extra to take home!

I was blown away by these mochi doughnuts but they also offer savory items for breakfast and lunch. The matcha latte here is definitely worth ordering too! There’s just so much to love about this place.

Le Beau

Pastry Chef Olga Spivak changed the croissant game in the GTA when she opened up Le Beau in 2020.

Fun fact: Beau means beautiful in French. The name “Le Beau” was born during Chef’s Olga’s time in Paris while she was soaking in all the beauty that Paris has to offer.

With a clean, bright and minimalist interior design, it’s the perfect little spot to relax and enjoy a nice treat. There’s no shame in a little self love. What better way to do that than with some amazing food made from quality ingredients.

Even just the plain butter croissant here is enough to make you come back for more. This year alone they came up with over 200 croissant flavours! In addition to the impressive repertoire of croissants and laminated dough, Le Beau also offers a variety of chocolates, cakes, tarts and beverages.

I like to try a new item each time I visit Le Beau. So far, everything’s been spot on!

The Calamansi is essentially a lemon tart. The filling is tart and refreshing. The shell is a pate sable that is crispy and cookie-like. It’s topped with a fresh and creamy vanilla truffle.

Anytime I hear “limited quantities” I feel the need to stock up. If only I can stock up on these amazing ice kouign sandwiches. Kouign is pronounced as “queen”.

Kouign Amann is similar to a croissant but sweeter! It’s baked in a special mold and the caramelized sugar coating gives it a nice crunchy texture.

For the ice kouign sandwich, the kouign amann is still warm, and the gelato is made in house. This is only available on weekends and the gelato flavours may vary. The one in the picture is with strawberry gelato.

Le Beau may be famous for their croissants and the Kouign Amann, but every time I visit Le Beau, I have to get a mini citrus travel cake. To me, it feels like a combination of a madeleine and pound cake. I love how you can really taste the refreshing citrus flavour. The texture of the poppy seeds also add a nice contrast to the moist and buttery cake.

With such a large selection of amazing pastries, multiple visits are definitely required to try them all!

Roselle

Definitely one of my favourite bakeries in Toronto since it opened in 2015. Whenever I have friends visiting from out of town, this is always one of the spots I take them to as a must try.

Roselle offers a variety of cakes, eclairs, cookies, chocolates, pavlova and so much more! They work with fresh and quality ingredients, this includes working with fruits from our Ontario farms. They often have rotational treats depending on the seasonal fruits. Strawberry season is my favourite!

It was love at first bite with their earl grey “shorties”. The smooth and silky ganache with pieces of candied orange is sandwiched between earl grey shortbread cookies. Who knew the secret to making shortbread cookies even better is to turn it into a shortbread sandwich!

I never leave Roselle without at least a few madeleines. These buttery cakes are the perfect little treats. There are a few flavours to pick from:

• Lemon glazed

• Earl grey peach glazed

• Strawberry lemonade (seasonal)

The earl grey soft serve is definitely a must try for all earl grey lovers out there. This creamy and fragrant soft serve is so light and refreshing.

The “next level” soft serve includes: white chocolate crispy pearls, injected with house made lemon cream and a mini earl grey shortie.

Location: 362 King St. E, Toronto, ON, M5A 1K9

My top 5 doughnut places in the GTA

I’m no doughnut expert but I’ve had my fair share of doughnuts!  Having worked at a doughnut eatery means I’ve had days where I had doughnuts for breakfast, lunch AND dinner. I like to think that I’ve become quite the doughnut connoisseur.

My doughnut criteria: 

1. Dough - I prefer yeast doughnuts over cake doughnuts and I like them light and fluffy.  

2. Glaze/filling - There’s nothing more disappointing than a “filled” doughnut with only a small dollop of filling or an overly sweet glaze to overpower the doughnut. 

3. “Wow” factor - I know “taste is king” but I love a good looking doughnut!  

Toronto has no shortage of doughnut eateries but the list below are my top 5 favourite places. Trust me, they donut disappoint! 

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1. Isabella’s Mochi Donuts  

📍2066 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4E 1C9

📍4 St Patrick St, Toronto, ON M5V 1Z1

I am absolutely obsessed with mochi doughnuts. The mochi makes the doughnuts extra chewy, but in a good way. Isabella’s has such unique rotational flavours including, but not limited to: hojicha crunch, cinnamon roll, pandan, black sesame and many many more!

I don’t know what kind of magic goes into making these mochi doughnuts but they are done so perfectly that it doesn’t feel oily or greasy. Even after eating 2 in a row I still got room for more.

There’s also a fun factor involved with these. The OCD part of me loves that it’s shaped in little tiny bubbles so I can eat them in a organized way. Everything about these mochi doughnuts are just pure perfection.

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2. Glory Hole Doughnuts

 📍1596 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6R 1A8

📍1505 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON M4L 2A4

I cannot gush about these doughnuts enough. I commute a good hour to get myself here when I’m craving a nice pillowy doughnut. They never disappoint. They are perfectly glazed and not overly sweet that I feel the need to chug a bottle of water after eating them. 

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3. Dipped Donut 

 📍161 Baldwin St #1, Toronto, ON M5T 1L9

These doughnuts are humongo and the perfect sharing size (if you’re not a greedy porky like me that just ate everything by myself). In my defence, the dough here is so light and fluffy you can easily polish one off without feeling the weight and silent judgement of food baby. 

Dipped donuts are always coming out with new flavours! They offer some unique flavours such as, black sesame matcha, lemon lavender, pistachio rose water, etc. My personal favourite here is the London Fog. I love a good Earl Grey flavored treat!

Here we have the cookies & cream and my personal favourite, london fog. I do love how the cookies and cream one is actually a cream cheese glaze though. Yum!

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4. Cops  

📍445 Adelaide St W, Toronto, ON M5V 1T1

Good things come in small packages is definitely an accurate depiction here. These little guys are amazing! The doughnuts here are made fresh to order and there’s nothing like a fresh out of the fryer doughnut. The signature flavour is the cinnamon sugar and they offer rotational glazed flavours. I love the matcha coconut one! 

For such mini doughnuts they sure leave a big impression!  

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5. Von Doughnuts

📍713 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4J 1L2

Von Doughnut offers “grown up” doughnuts with a nice little kick to it. The “One Night Stand” has a tequila glaze, and the “Sangria” uses a red/white wine sangria glaze.

My personal favourite(s) are their filled doughnuts. The creme brûlée doughnut is filled with an amazing vanilla bean pastry cream. The “Pucker Up Sucker” is basically a lemon meringue doughnut with a yummy lemon custard. The doughnut to filling ratio is perfect and even with the filling, it’s still not overly sweet.

Check out their doughnut chart online to make sure your flavour is available that day because they rotate their doughnut flavours daily.

Hattendo

I have always been a fan of Japanese desserts. Needless to say, I’m always on the lookout for authentic Japanese bakeries that really transport me back to the days of me eating my way through Japan. Hattendo did just that.

They recently opened up a new location in Markham so there’s now another location to satisfy my cravings! Especially with the savory sandwiches available now, this really is a one-stop shop for a quick lunch or a light dinner.

Locations (some locations are temporarily closed so make sure to check with the store before heading over):

• 13 Baldwin Street, Toronto

• 50 Bloor Street West, Unit 9, Toronto

• 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (Square One)

• 3401 Dufferin Street, Toronto (Yorkdale Mall)

• 7357 Woodbine Avenue, Markham (NEW location!)

Hattendo’s menu does not disappoint. There’s lots to pick from, depending on your cravings! From cream buns to melon buns, savory sandos to fruit sandos and of course, the perfect little jars of pudding. Definitely something for everyone!

The menu includes some of my favourite things and captures everything I love about Japanese desserts. Light, not too sweet and the perfect portions. I had a chance to try pretty much every item on the menu and these are the 3 items that stood out for me.

Puddings

Hattendo may be known for their cream buns, but these puddings stole the show! I cannot get enough of these little pudding jars.

The pudding is so creamy and smooth. There are a few pudding flavours to choose from. I definitely recommend trying them all, but the classic caramel pudding is my favourite. It’s made with natural ingredients, no preservative or artificial flavours. Because the pudding itself is not too sweet, that extra caramel sauce balance it out perfectly.

Pudding flavours:

• Caramel pudding

• Almond tofu

• Matcha annin tofu (a combination of almond tofu and matcha. They’re a real matcha made in heaven!)

Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate these super cute and sustainable packaging? These reusable jars are such a fun little bonus!

Cream Buns

These light and airy buns hold a generous amount of cream in the middle. There’s nothing more disappointing than biting into a filled bun, only to find a little dollop of filling. Hattendo has the perfect cream to bun ratio for their cream buns. You can taste the cream in each bite. These little buns are bursting with flavour!

These individually packaged buns are perfect to take on the go and for sharing.

Classic cream bun flavours:

• Custard

• Whipping cream

• Matcha

• Chocolate

• Red bean

In addition to the classic flavours, there are always interesting seasonal flavours too. I personally love citrus flavoured things so the seasonal Yuzu cream bun is my favourite. It’s not tart but the citrus is so refreshing. There are real chunks of yuzu in the buns too!

Sando

Now, let’s talk sandwiches (aka Sando). Hattendo offers a unique selection of sandwiches.

Sando flavours:

• Tamago burger

• Egg salad sando

• Fruit sando (strawberry, grape or mango)

To me, an egg salad sandwich is classic because this was something that my parents used to make for me when I was little. There was something nostalgic about eating this sando. Making the perfect egg salad sandwich is practically an art. This made the top 3 list because the egg is soft boiled so the yolk is not too dry. The mayo to egg ratio is just right so I’m not just eating mushy goo. Lastly, the sando was made with sweet milk bread. I absolutely love milk bread and can just eat plain slices of milk bread on its own. This Japanese milk bread has a slight sweetness to it and it’s so soft and airy. All of these things together equals a perfect egg salad sando!