Cheese Garden

Location: Unit G120, 3250 Midland Avenue, Scarborough, ON, M1V 4W9

Website:  http://www.cheesegarden.ca/

There are currently 3 locations you can go to pick up some of their amazing treats. My go-to is the Midland location in Scarborough since it’s closest to my place and the service is always great.

I love Japanese desserts and Cheese Garden never disappoints when I’m craving a good Japanese cheesecake. They use quality ingredients and it shows in their beautifully crafted treats.

Cheese Garden’s Japanese cheesecakes are baked fresh daily. They are light, airy and full of flavour. I like to describe it as a hybrid of mousse cake and sponge cake - exactly how a Japanese Cheesecake should be. 

I love my matcha so when Cheese Garden came out with this matcha tiramisu I just had to get my hands on it. You can never have too MATCHA tiramisu and trust me, I’ve had my fair share. This matcha tiramisu is made with premium Uji matcha powder. The cream is rich and fluffy. The “lady fingers” is actually a Hokkaido chiffon cake and it’s light, not overly sweet and balances out the creamy filling.

The 5 inch baked cheese tart is basically a tart filled with ooey gooey molten cheese in a perfectly baked tart shell that is buttery and flakey. This is one of my many favourite treats at the Cheese Garden, I guess you can say that it stole my tart. Okay, that was the last pun I swear! The cheese tarts are best consumed when they’re fresh out the oven. However, for the people out there with more self control than me and won’t stuff their faces with this beautiful tart in a single sitting, Cheese Garden does provide a little pamphlet with instructions on how to store and re-heat this tart.

I saved the best for last, the double fromage cheesecake! It comes in 2 flavours, original and matcha. It’s literally 2 layers of cheesecake (one frozen and one baked) sitting on a layer of sponge cake. I can’t get enough of this double fromage cheesecake! It’s the best of both worlds, a combination of a cheesecake and an ice cream cake. The size is perfect for sharing but once you get a bite of this you’re gonna want to keep it all to yourself.

Cheese Garden’s decor is simple and elegant (much like their baked goods). They also have lots of windows and natural light which makes this the perfect spot for a foodtography session.

Keep an eye on their website and social media - they release seasonal products for limited time only!

Sponsored tasting - while the cakes were complimentary, opinions are my own. 

I heart Singapore

This year I decided to celebrate my birthday by treating myself to a vacation in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Each place is beautiful and unique in their own way but for this post I’ll just limit myself to gush about the amazing Singapore.

Singapore is such a beautiful country. As a solo female traveler I felt extremely safe, even when I was out and about late at night. Someone described living in Singapore as being “cautiously happy” because of the strict rules, but I guess that’s what makes this such a safe travel destination.

I highly recommend getting a transit pass to avoid the lineups at transit booths and to allow for spontaneous bus trips. I do a lot of walking when I’m traveling, I think walking is the best way to really explore and get a feel of the city. However, Singapore is HOT and humid. It’s the “I think I’m actually melting” kind of hot. A couple of times I ended up taking the transit just to get out of the sun. I honestly think that’s why there are so many shopping centers around, it’s so people can get out of the sun when they feel like they’re about to die of heat stroke. 

There were so many “wow” moments during my time in Singapore. It’s hard to pick just one so I’ll just go ahead and fangirl about my top 3 favourite moments as well as my top 3 favourite food adventures!

Favourite Moments

1. Gardens by the Bay

I was so happy that they allow re-entry at the Cloud Garden and the Flower Dome. I definitely took advantage of the re-entry stamps at both places. 

I actually ended up spending a whole day at the Gardens by the Bay because if you wait until 7:30PM there’s an amazing light show at the Supertree Grove. The lights on these “super trees” were synced to the music perfectly. It was just such a fun and beautiful show. I didn’t want it to end!  

2. Marina Bay Sands (MBS)

This was a huge splurge for me. It was a $400/night stay! This is the iconic 3 tower building with the big “boat” like structure sitting atop the 3 towers. I decided to stay here because only hotel guests have access to the infinity pool. 

Yes, the infinity pool was definitely worth the splurge. The view up on the 57th floor was amazing. The infinity pool itself was so refreshing in the 40 degree weather and the food/service at the poolside was top notch. It was such a fun experience overall. I would’ve loved to stay here for another night if I had unlimited travel funds (I’m available if anyone wants to be my travel sponsor). 

MBS is practically a mini city, there’s a mall with some amazing restaurants attached to the hotel. The MBS lived up to the hype and definitely did not disappoint!

3. Future exhibit

As a MBS hotel guest, I got a discount on tickets to the exhibits at the art science museum. I actually went through the Future World exhibit twice because it was just so beautiful and relaxing.

I found myself taking a gazillion photos trying to capture that “perfect” shot. I always have to remind myself to really be in the moment when I’m traveling, instead of seeing everything through the lens. With the awesome MBS discount I was able really experience the exhibit the 2nd time around. I’ve never seen such an interactive art exhibit before. I was able to download an app on my phone which allowed me to control the different light settings. It was so immersive and well done. 

Favourite food adventures

Not gonna lie, I totally travel for the food. My trips are usually planned around where I want to eat and everything else is just a bonus.  The food in Singapore was amazing. I had a really hard time narrowing it down to my top 3.

1. Brother Bird Softserve Co. 

This is definitely one of the most memorable desserts I’ve ever had. It was as delicious as it was beautiful. I looked around the restaurant for other people’s reactions to see if they were freaking out about the dessert as much as I was. It was one of those times that I actually wished I had a travel buddy to share the moment with. 

A perfect swirl of refreshing strawberry basil sherbet sitting on top of a fresh out the fryer mochi doughnut. It was the perfect balance of hot and cold/soft and crunchy. 

2. Non Entrée Desserts

Such a creative way of serving this match lava cake. I loved the presentation and the matcha lava cake itself was so yummy. It’s sitting on top of a caramalized sugar crisp and in the glass is roasted green tea gelato on a bed of crunchy almond nougatine and chocolate “soil”.

Bonus: there’s azuki beans inside the chocolate lava cake! Such a yummy flavour combination. Can’t go wrong with matcha and red bean! 

3. Soya Chicken 

The fact that I’m posting a savory dish is a testament to just how much I loved this placed. I’m still amazed at how affordable this soya chicken is considering that this is a Michelin Star restaurant! I must’ve eaten here at least 3 times during my time in Singapore. The sauce is flavourful, the chicken is tender and the portions are reasonable. This is all for just $3.80! I like how they kept the integrity of the hawker center style and price even after receiving the Michelin Star rating. The lineup is pretty insane all throughout the day but it’s definitely worth the wait.

Singapore exceeded my expectations in every way and I can’t wait to go back again! 

Golden Bubbles

Bubble waffles always bring me so much joy. They make me reminisce about a mini me in Taiwan lining up with my mom for a freshly made bubble waffle.

I find that when it comes to my childhood snacks I tend to gravitate towards what I’m familiar with, the flavors I grew up eating - the “classics”.  But there are so many amazing options to pick from at Golden Bubbles that I’ve been getting everything but the original bubble waffle. Golden Bubbles managed to take a simple snack like bubble waffles and turn them into these extravagant desserts with unique flavours.

So matcha goodness in one cup!

The slightly crunchy shell and the light and fluffy center is exactly how I like my bubble waffles! You can build your own combo by selecting a bubble waffle, filling and toppings, or pick from one of their signature bubble waffles. The portions are definitely generous and a “small” is plenty to fill my belly.

O’Canada - it keeps you coming back for more! 

Who knew cheese would go so well with bubble waffles?! I need to take a moment to gush about this amazing creation. The mac & cheese itself is creamy and cheesy with a generous sprinkle of bacon bits at the top. Mac & cheese is one of my favourite food to eat and Golden Bubbles created the perfect mac & cheese and bubble waffle hybrid! 

Ooey gooey mac and cheese bubble waffle

There’s a large variety of bubble waffles, fillings and toppings. It’s hard to pick a favourite because they’re all so yummy. At Golden Bubbles you really can’t go wrong!

Packing Tips

I’ve been making all sorts of lists to get myself ready for my upcoming trip.

I’m a huge proponent of lists. Mostly because I have a terrible memory and if I don’t write things down I will most likely forget. Even though I don’t normally start packing until the night before (sometimes even the day of) I always start making lists of what I need to pack/buy very early on. I find that if I start packing too early that’s usually when I tend to over pack.

Packing is always a struggle for me because I tend to want to pack everything. I use this little trick to make sure I don’t over pack. Usually I try to do this when I have limited luggage space, especially when I’m planning a backpacking trip and staying at hostels.

Basically, each number from 1-5 represents a category and also the number of items I’m allowed to pack per category.

Here’s an example of what I would normally pack: 

5 - tops (including a cardigan/jacket)

4 - bottoms (jeans, shorts, leggings and skirt)

3 - dresses

2 - footwear (depends on where I’m going but usually 1 pair of sandals and 1 pair of flats)

• if I’m going somewhere warm I’ll also pack 2 sets of swimsuits

1 - pjs

• I also like to pack a small (empty) carry-on size bag so I can have a little extra room to bring back goodies.

This system has been working for me and I always manage to fit everything in one bag with room to bring back goodies.

Wu tip: Hostels don’t usually supply towels and toiletries so I always travel with this PackTowel (https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5024-431/Personal-Towel) I got from MEC. It’s a super lightweight towel that folds up nice and small in the little carrier bag that comes with it. This PackTowel is a bit pricey but I think it’s totally worth it. I’m still amazed at how much water it soaks up and how quickly it dries. The only thing is I like to wait till it dries completely before I pack it back in the little carrier or else it gets that wet towel smell. 

Icha Tea

Name: Icha Tea

Location:  235 Spadina Ave Unit 4, Toronto, ON M5T 2E2

Website:  http://icha-tea.business.site/

A hidden tea shop located by what is quickly becoming one of my favourite places to explore, Kensington Market!

The store is divided to 2 parts. The front of the store doesn’t have much seating, it’s more of a takeout kind of situation and they offer bubble tea and other specialty drinks. Icha Tea uses fresh milk instead of powdered creamer in their milk teas. The quality ingredients really does make a difference in the taste! 

The back of the store is surprisingly spacious with lots of seating. This is where they serve the more traditional teas at the tea bar. The whole process is interesting and I always have fun here! There’s a pretty large selection of teas to choose from and the tea is brewed right in front of you at the tea bar. The teas are from China (except for the matcha which is from Japan) and they are aromatic and refreshing. The staff members are knowledgeable and helpful when it comes to selecting a tea. There’s a large selection of white teas, green teas, oolong teas, black teas and dark teas.

After the tea selection you get to pick your own tea cups! There are so many cute cups to choose from. I’m an extremely indecisive person and when given so many choices I tend to get very flustered. Needless to say, this was a very long process for me. It took me longer to pick my tea cup than it did for me to pick the actual tea. The cups are just so little and cute! 

Once you’ve selected your tea and tea cup, just sit back and enjoy the “show”. They make the tea in front of you at the tea bar. It’s almost like a little tea ceremony each time they brew a fresh pot. Instead of the tea being brewed directly in the teapot, the tea is actually brewed in a separate cup/bowl which is then transferred to your tea set. The first batch of tea is actually poured out and not served. This is because the first batch is meant to “wake” the tea leaves up.

As far as desserts go, they don’t have much in terms of selection. However, everything is made fresh and in house. I highly recommend the sesame tofu cheesecake. I was nervous about the tofu part but I couldn’t taste it at all! The cheesecake itself is not too dense (it’s light like a Japanese cheesecake) and has a really flavorful sesame taste.

The tea bar area is really peaceful and it doesn't get too noisy. It’s a perfect place to catch up on some reading and de-stress. 

Little pebbles

Name: Little Pebbles

Location: 160 Baldwin St. Store #4, Toronto, ON M5T 3K7

Website: http://little-pebbles.com/

This cute little cafe is located at the Kensington Market and it offers amazing Japanese desserts. There's not a lot of seating here but they do have super cute take out containers which, in my opinion, make up for the lack of seating.

I was first drawn to Little Pebbles by their matcha lattes and chiffon cakes. They continue to add new and delicious creations to their menu. I was so excited when I saw the black sesame latte on their menu! Definitely worth a try if you're a fan of black sesame (I recommend having it sweetened though).

The matcha chiffon cake is my go-to dessert here. It’s so light and fluffy it’s like biting into a fluffy cloud (at least that’s what I imagine a cloud would taste like). I’ve gotten the matcha chiffon cake for a birthday before and it was so spongy I thought the candle was going to bounce off when we put it in the cake! It’s definitely my favourite cake here and it never disappoints!

The strawberry rolled cake is refreshing and the cream itself is not too sweet. I really like the fresh strawberry chunks in the cake, it balances out the sweetness and adds a nice texture to the cake. The fresh strawberries also helps justify having that second slice of cake. Thought process: there are fruits in the cake —> I’m eating the fruits —> conclusion: I’m having a healthy snack!

Ever since I had my very first Mont Blanc dessert in Paris I’ve been on the lookout for a delicious Mont Blanc in Toronto. There's a little twist to the Mont Blanc at Little Pebbles. It’s a strawberry sakura Mont Blanc! The pretty pink purée is sakura (aka cherry blossom) flavoured and there’s a full strawberry on the inside covered with a custard cream. I love aesthetically pleasing desserts and this is just so beautifully done. It was almost too pretty to eat (not that that’s ever stopped me before).

Little pebbles also offer cakes for pick up (pre-order 48 hours prior to pickup). 

Sasaki Fine Pastry

I’ve always been a fan of Japanese desserts and Sasaki Fine Pastry just happens to make some my favourite Japanese snacks (daifuku and dorayaki!)

Before I start gushing about my love for the yummy daifuku at Sasaki Fine Pastry, I’ll just briefly explain the difference between Mochi and daifuku. For the longest time I didn’t know the difference between the two and thought that they were the same thing. Now that I’ve finally figured it out I shall pass on this very important knowledge. Sharing is caring and caring is fun!

Mochi vs Daifuku

Mochi is best described as Japanese rice cakes. It’s made by pounding steamed glutinous rice until it’s soft, smooth and chewy. I find that mochi, by itself, is actually quite bland as it is not naturally sweet. 

Daifuku is basically a large Mochi stuffed with a sweet filling. I find the most common filling to be red bean, but when I was in Japan I came across many fruit filled daifuku (some were even stuffed with a whole strawberry!)

Sasaki Fine Pastry offers a pretty large selection of daifuku flavours. They rotate some seasonal flavours as well. I’ve tried their matcha, chestnut, sesame, houjicha, mango, strawberry, and cream daifuku. My top 3 are the sesame, houjicha and strawberry.

Bonus: both the strawberry and the houjicha daifuku have red bean filling inside as well!

The Mochi itself is so soft, chewy and not too sticky. There’s a very generous amount of filling too. It’s the perfect daifuku!

The dorayaki here is on point. Doraemon (a robotic cat from the future) was one of my favourite anime characters when I was a kid. So naturally I also love his favourite food, dorayaki! 

Dorayaki is like a red bean pancake sandwich. Sasaki Fine Pastry added their own twist by adding cream with the red bean filling. They also have a red bean with matcha cream dorayaki that is amazing.

Daifuku $2.60/each

Dorayaki (classic) $2.50/each

Dorayaki  (red bean + cream) $3.00/each

Duo Patisserie & Cafe

Warning: this place will make you want to order one of everything!

I’ve been to Duo many times and each time I leave here with an extremely happy food baby.  

My favourite danish here is the strawberry rose. I’m always hesitant to eat floral flavored treats because they’re usually too overpowering and end up tasting like perfume. However, this strawberry rose danish is perfect and the flavors go so well together. The danish itself is so buttery and flaky - just how I like them!

After taste testing the many delicious cakes here, I’d have to say the Yuco (coconut, yuzu cheesecake, yuzu mango confit on a crispy crust) is my go to cake at Duo. It’s so light and refreshing and the yuzu is not too tart. 

Duo has a bright and minimalist interior design with a very relaxing atmosphere. I love coming here early in the mornings to write and stuff my face with yummy pastries (yes, I eat cake(s) for breakfast). To be fair, I do try to get the fruity pastries so I can get my daily dose of fruits.

My top 5 hot chocolate places in Toronto

Things I love about winter: fresh snow, skating, cute mittens and most importantly, hot chocolate! 

This blog is all about my favourite hot chocolate places around the city. There's nothing I love more than to warm up to a nice cup of hot cocoa after being out in the cold. I remember when I was a kid I always had to get a cup of hot chocolate from Tim Horton's after being on the ice for a long time. I've come a long way from those Timmies days - I've now graduated from a small hot chocolate to a 1/2 hot chocolate 1/2 coffee! 

There are so many amazing hot chocolate places in Toronto. I came up with my top 5 favourite places after an extensive hot chocolate tasting all around town.

5. Maman

Sometimes all you need a nice cup of hot cocoa. There`s no gimmicks here and it`s not flashy - the drink speaks for itself! A classic hot chocolate with the perfect steamed milk to cocoa ratio. They serve 3 types of hot chocolate: classic hot chocolate, matcha white chocolate and lavender hot chocolate. 

4. Short and Sweet

The most beautiful and extravagant hot chocolate I've ever seen! I got to try their s'more one and their oreo one. As much as I love all things s'mores, the oreo hot chocolate was the winner here. The chocolate is melted into warmed milk and the mountain of toppings added an extra sweetness to the hot chocolate (which I love). This "loco cocoa" is a hot mess - in the best way possible!

3. Sweet Jesus

I believe hot chocolate and marshmallows go hand in hand. From the massive amount of marshmallows in this hot chocolate I think it's safe to say that Sweet Jesus agrees with me! I loved every bit of the marshmallow topping and I was just as impressed with the actual hot chocolate once I finally dug my way through the fluffy marshmallows. 

2. Teddy Story

Teddy Story is an adorable cafe and they serve delicious hot chocolate too! The hot chocolate here is creamy and decadent. They have a pretty large selection to pick from. My 2 favourites are: the toasted marshmallow hot chocolate and their original dark chocolate.

1. Lindt

I love going to lindt for their hot chocolate (and the free chocolate samples). The hot chocolate here is perfect for all Lindt lovers. It's like they literally melted their chocolates into a drinking chocolate. It's thick and rich and just pure perfection. For the coffee lovers, I recommend their mocha - they are on point.

Dear & Fro

A cute and comfy place to enjoy some bingsu!

Bingsu is a Korean dessert made with shaved ice and a variety of different toppings. Dear Fro uses milk in their bingsu which gives it that velvety texture and a creamy taste.

Dear Fro offers all the classic bingsu flavours such as injeolmi, strawberry, mango and matcha. The ice is so finely shaved it just melts in your mouth. It's creamy, fluffy and refreshing!

The classic injeolmi bingsu is my favourite. Injeolmi is a type of tteok (Korean rice cake). It was described to me as mochi and it makes sense cause I love it very mochi!

I love how the flavours are mixed in the shaved ice so each bite is so flavourful. 

Dear Fro also serves honey toast! It is perfectly toasted and sweetened with honey. It comes with a scoop of matcha ice cream and a scoop of black sesame ice cream too! I personally think that it's never too cold for bingsu, but sometimes you just need to warm up with one of these toasty treats!

Cluny Bistro & Boulangerie

Such an amazing French restaurant located at the distillery district

I've been a fan of Cluny ever since I discovered their chocolate croissants. This time I decided to try their brunch menu. I had such an amazing experience I actually contemplated moving to one of the condos nearby so I can eat here every day! Apparently all it takes is good food/mimosas to make me relocate.

Everything from the decor, music, service, and most of all their delicious food, remind me of France. Even the waitress addressed me as "mademoiselle". I half expected my cutlery to start singing "be our guest" (this may have been the effects of the mimosa).

In the dining section there's a whole island of just fresh bread and an assortment of pastries. I had to resist the urge to grab one of everything! The garlic rosemary bread is definitely my favorite and I highly recommend it! 

For brunch, I tried the baked vanilla and chocolate french toast (emphasis on the chocolate - they definitely did not skimp on the chocolate part). I love the vanilla and cinnamon combo in the french toast. It felt like I was having dessert for breakfast which just happens to be my favorite kind of breakfast.

Brunch tip: restaurants are not legally allowed to serve alcohol until 11:00 AM. Don't make the same mistake I did and try to order a mimosa before 11:00 AM. Luckily I had a non-judgmental waitress and I still got my mimosa (after 11:00 AM that is).

Can't wait to come back and try more from their menu!

Guschlbauer

Austrian cheese buns. Where have you been all my life? 

Words cannot express how much I love these perfectly light and cheesy buns. They're basically a sweet bun stuffed with layers of melted cream cheese. There's no seating area in this tiny bakery but these buns are perfect for snacking on the go. Or maybe they knew that these buns would be devoured so fast there's no need for seating!

I have not stopped gushing about this place! But to be fair, these oozy cheese buns deserve to be gushed about. I've been stuffing my face with these yummy buns almost every day since I discovered this place. 

I tried 5 flavours: original, chocolate, sweet potato, strawberry and mango. The mango is refreshing and there are actual mango chunks in the cream cheese filling. It's hard to pick a favourite but if I have to choose, my favourite is the chocolate cheese bun. The chocolate is so rich and I love the chocolate chunks. It's perfect for any chocolate lover!

Guschlbauer also have cream puffs stuffed with the same cream cheese filling.

Who would've thought that cream cheese filled buns can bring so much joy?!

Dazzling Cafe

Beautiful & delicious food = happy food baby!

I first fell in love with Dazzling Cafe during one of my trips to Taiwan. The elegant decor and giant desserts made this a high priority food adventure spot on my food map (yes, I have a food adventure map for different cities).

Some people say a specific scent can bring back certain memories, but for me it's food. Certain foods/flavours can bring back a lot of memories for me. In this case, the honey toast really made me reminisce about my visits to Taiwan, however short my visits are each year. The honey toast is just as delicious and beautiful as I remembered.

The lava chocolate crispy toast was unique and oozed chocolate! I don't know how they do it but the center was still crispy even with the chocolate "lava".

I enjoyed the honey toast very MATCHA! This stack of toast is actually hollowed out and filled with mini pieces of crispy and buttery toast, ice cream, whipped cream, matcha sauce and red bean. I've tried multiple items on their menu now and the honey toast is still my favourite. It never disappoints. 

Normally I'm hesitant about floral flavoured beverages because it always tastes like perfume to me. But I liked the subtle hint of rose flavour in the rose latte. So yummy and perfectly sweetened. 

So happy that Dazzling Cafe is in Toronto now and with multiple locations. I've only been to the Markham location but I always leave there with a happy food baby!

Can't get over how cute the bunny ears are on the chairs!

New York City

I was in New York City for the long weekend and quickly realized that 5 days is simply not enough time to see all that the city has to offer. I managed to explore a good chunk of Manhattan on foot and put together this list of my favorite places.

Brooklyn Bridge 

The Brooklyn Bridge is a nice short walk with a good view of the World Trade Center, Statue of Liberty, Manhattan Bridge and the Empire State Building. The best time to go is early mornings before it gets too crowded. It took me about 15 minutes to walk to the other side of the bridge. 

Fun fact: Doubts about the stability of the Brooklyn Bridge was put to rest when 21 elephants marched across the bridge in 1884. Such brave and helpful elephants!

I love Central Park

Central Park is the perfect escape from the busy streets and I love everything about it. It's amazing how this beautiful park in the middle of the city is able to block out the traffic sounds. 

Still buzzing from the magnolia cupcakes (4 to be exact), I explored Central Park while replaying the Sex and the City theme song in my head. New York may be known as the city that never sleeps but I feel like it's also such a romantic city. The plaques on the park benches in Central Park each had a story to tell. Some were declarations of love, some were reminders of happy memories, and some revealed their hopes for the future. I found a romantic proposal bench where a person engraved the question "will you marry me?" on the plaque. I don't know who this Michael is, but well done sir!

I went to New York to visit family but a vacation wouldn't be complete without some food adventures! Besides, families that eat together stay together! Here are a couple of the dessert places that really stood out.

Favorite dessert place: Spot Dessert Bar

The Big Orange is only a seasonal item on the menu and I highly recommend it! It tasted like an orange creamsicle! 

The matcha lava cake was amazing. The dark chocolate cake was rich and chocolatey and it went so well with the green tea ganache filling and the green tea ice cream.

A+ presentation: Sweet Moment

The cold brew is a must try! It was the most adorable coffee art I've ever seen and so yummy too! The drink is actually a cold brew with milk and dark chocolate. The artwork part is done on a thick layer of whipped cream at the top. 

The watermelon bingsu was also a piece of art. The staff here put so much care into their beautifully crafted food. 

The most fun experience: Sprinkles Cupcakes

This is not your average ATM machine. It's a cupcake ATM! This adorable ATM is attached to the actual storefront. It is stocked with freshly made cupcakes from the store. There's limited seating in the bakery but you can grab your cupcake from the ATM machine and enjoy it inside.

Amazing cakes: Lady M

The green tea mille crepe was delicious but the strawberry shortcake was the winner for me. The actual cake part was so light and fluffy. The cream wasn't too sweet or greasy and the strawberries in the cake were fresh. My only regret is not getting a second slice!

Favorite matcha dessert: Dominique Ansel Bakery

Dominique Ansel's matcha and passion fruit cake combo truly was a matcha made in heaven.

Coolest ice cream: Milk & Cream Cereal Bar

I tried many ice cream places during my stay in New York thanks to the unseasonably hot autumn weather (not that the cold ever stopped me from eating ice cream before). The vanilla ice cream mixed so well with my cereal choice, Trix. I wanted to bring a tub (or two) home with me! For the toppings I got sprinkles, teddy grahams and chocolate sauce. I don't know how I'll ever go back to eating regular ice cream again. 

The New York food scene did not disappoint! 

Traveling always reminds me of the kindness and generosity that still exist in the world. I always manage to meet helpful strangers and New York was no exception. This time, however, these kind strangers I met on the train to Penn Station offered to take me to the Rangers game! I now know that Rangers is the hockey team in New York.  

It's easy to see why people fall in love with New York. From all the beautiful shops and hotels to the amazing food scene, there is no shortage of things to do! I can't wait to come back and soak up all the glam that New York has to offer. Maybe I can even catch a Broadway show next time!

Royaltea

The most aesthetically pleasing bubble tea place!

The light bulb bubble tea is actually the reason I wanted to try this place. I've always been one to fall for fancy marketing and pizzazz. It doesn't always work out, but this is not one of those times! The bubble tea is as yummy as it looks! The tapioca here is cooked just the way I like it - chewy and not too sweet.

Ice cream + tea = milk tea!
Such a creative way to make milk tea. I would recommend getting it less sweetened. Even with my sweet tooth, I found that the ice cream made the drink a little sweeter than the average bubble tea.

When there is dessert on the menu I simply cannot refuse. Especially when the dessert is bubble waffle stuffed with ice cream! I got the matcha bubble waffle with a scoop of green tea ice cream and a scoop of black sesame ice cream. Normally I love all things green tea/matcha, but in this case the black sesame ice cream was the winner.

It was definitely a bubbly night!

Royaltea currently has 2 locations in Toronto. One in Scarborough and one in Chinatown (Spadina and Dundas).

Apple picking

I'm happy to report that my first apple picking experience was a success!

Being a vertically challenged person, I was a little hesitant about how I was going to actually be able to pick the apples. Luckily all the trees at this orchard were pretty short so no ladders were needed!

I learned quickly that apple picking is actually quite simple after a demonstration by one of the staff at the orchard.
"Eye to the sky and twist" - point the bottom of the apple (the "eye") to the sky and do a quick twist. If it comes off the branch easily then it's ready for picking! Pulling it off the branch before it's ready may damage the branches for next year's harvest.

With that quick lesson in mind, I was able to pick my 12 pounds of apples! The rest of my time at the orchard was spent stuffing my face with their delicious baked goods.

It was relaxing to get out of the city for the day and to be surrounded by all the greenery. The yummy apple pies were an added bonus!

Check out Pine Farms Orchard!