Portugal - Desserts are Seriously Sweet

Pastel de feijao was a fantastic dessert made with white bean

Outside of Portugal, the country is best known for its pastel de nata, the flaky egg tart with a caramelised egg custard. We tried two or three of them in different bakeries and they weren't exceptionally good. 

They were made for gullible tourists like us, or had been sitting around on the pastry showcase for a while and losing their crispiness by the hour.

Typical croissant found in many cafes

Nevertheless, during our one-week stay in Porto and the Douro Valley, we sampled a few other treats. And yes, the Portuguese love their sweets. A lot of them look a bright yellow or orange, thanks to the amount of eggs in the desserts.

In cafes, the croissants are more brioche than layers of flakiness like French ones which was pretty disappointing, and are on the sweet side. 

Another somewhat bready dessert is bolo rei or king cake, which looks like a Portuguese version of Christmas cake that is eaten year-round and sold in pastry shops. It isn't dense like the English one filled with dried fruit and rum, but is round and made in a kind of bundt cake mould, with fruits and nuts inside, and then topped with copious amounts of powdered icing sugar.

However, we did try one nice tart called pastel de feijao, or white bean tart. We were surprised to hear about the beans in this dessert, and the man behind the pastry counter at Petulia assured us it was a local dessert we had to try.

Bolo rei, or king cake at Petulia

The one we had had several layers of flaky pastry, and inside was a filling of ground almonds and white bean puree. You can't taste the bean at all, which tempers the sweetness, and is strong textural contrast to the pastry.

We really enjoyed this tart, which helped counter our belief that all desserts in Portugal were super sweet!

Portugal - Toucinho do Ceu

Toucinho do ceu, meaning "bacon from heaven"

Everyone knows about pastel de nata, or Portuguese egg tart that is also famous in Macau with a caramelised top. But there are many other desserts and treats, and now that we've landed in Porto, we're definitely going to sample many different kinds!

Tonight we went to a restaurant called Alibi where we sampled "pots", or mini Dutch ovens filled with stewed cod fish with potatoes and rice, tender beef chunks with mined chorizo and fava beans, and two salads, one with slices of smoked duck Magret, the other with Sao Jorge cheese.

Dark chocolate cake with raspberries, blackberries

For dessert, we tried a chocolate brownie cake, thankfully not to sweet or rich, and a Portuguese almond cake called toucinho do ceu, literally "bacon from heaven."

It is actually a gluten-free cake, as it uses ground almonds and no flour, some eggs, sugar and butter.

First sugar is melted with water in a large pan, and then the blanched ground almonds are added and mix it as it cooks a bit, making the mixture a bit thicker. Take the pan off the heat and add butter that has already been melted, preferably to the point where it has a nutty flavour.

Mix them up well before adding beaten eggs, as well as orange zest and amaretto. Then the batter is poured into a pan that has been buttered then add parchment paper that has butter and flour to prevent the cake from sticking.

It is then baked at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. When it's done, turn it upside down, remove the parchment paper and let it cool. Then sprinkle icing sugar on top.

The version at Alibi included a scoop of tangerine sorbet that helped cut the sweetness of the cake.

Don't know why it is called toucinho do ceu, but there is a version of small tarts that have bits of bacon in them...

Shenzhen: Hanging Out in the Mall

MixC is a massive retail development in Shenzhen Bay

During our stay in Hong Kong, we also did a day trip to Shenzhen. We had heard a lot about how the city had changed in the last few years, how people and families go there on the weekends to shop, eat, and have massages with really good ambience and service at a fraction of the cost in Hong Kong.

And it's easy to see why seniors love going across the border, because with a JoyYou card, they can travel to the border for just HK$2. That's even cheaper than regular fare going one stop on the MTR line.

The mall looks sleek, but hardly any shoppers

We took the longer route of taking the MTR from Admiralty to LoWu, and the border control on the Hong Kong side hasn't changed much.

Then we crossed the bridge to the Chinese side where at first foreign passport holders were expected to fill out an arrival card online. There were technical difficulties and the officers gave up and handed out paper forms instead.

I downloaded the app Didi ahead of time and ordered a car -- but as we didn't know the Shenzhen train station well we got lost trying to find the meeting spot! The driver called us and we saw the Shangri-La Shenzhen ahead of us and rushed over there to meet him. Thankfully he was very patient despite only making 36 kuai from us!

He drove us about 30 minutes to a new shopping mall that friends had recommended we check out. It's called MixC and it's been around since 2017, but we went to a new location near Shenzhen Bay, which opened in October, which might explain why it was pretty empty? Or is it a sign of China's slow economy? 

Vietnamese lunch of vermicelli with pork

The mall is sleek and modern-looking, filled with luxury brands from Louis Vuitton to Christian Dior, Gucci Kids (I couldn't even afford a child's handbag), an upscale supermarket called Ole, and a movie theatre.

In the supermarket one could buy a giant king crab, or palm-sized hairy crab, blueberries the size of 5-cent coins, and even Nicholas Tse "low-temperature processed black pork luncheon meat".

For lunch we ate at a Vietnamese restaurant in a kind of food court in the basement, which was busy. We ate pho with beef and sausage, and warm vermicelli with spring roll and pork slices, and a plate of young water spinach that was delicious. We went to another kiosk for gelato that other people were lining up for.

We walked off the calories by wandering the mall. Seeing there was a roof garden, we checked it out and were impressed by the design of the space -- global firm CallisonRTKL, which my architect cousin says is only interested in massive projects like these, with lots of space to design.

The mall is spread over several city blocks

The concept is "city crossing", where we would wander through one part of the mall, emerge outside and see a bridge to the other side, cross it, and enter another part of the mall, and it would continue like this for several city blocks. 

The stores were pretty much empty except for the staff inside them, and the restaurant calibre looked impressive. There was DaDong Roast Duck from Beijing, a Shanghainese restaurant that had a nice decor and menus that were large books filled with big pictures. 

MixC is next to a bullet-shaped tower that had no obvious signage, but it is a China Resources building, as the entire development is owned by the state-owned enterprise. And next to this futuristic building is a nice open space, with water features, and a Monet-like sculpture with figures dancing in a circle.

We ended up having dinner in a vegetarian chain restaurant called Qing Chun Perma, which gives of a zen-like vibe with its minimalist decor. Diners walk into the open kitchen, seeing staff preparing dumplings, stir-frying or making desserts wearing white chef jackets and gray fedora hats.

Mushroom xiaolongbao at Qing Chun Perma

Each table is set in a booth-like atmosphere and shielded with bamboo screens so that you can't see the people sitting at the next table, but you can hear them.

The menu has a mix of Chinese and Western dishes: The mushroom xiaolongbao were big, generous dumplings with thin wrappers, and lots of flavour in the fillings. We also had an asparagus and morel mushroom warm salad, a pumpkin soup with coconut milk, braised tofu with morels, and stir-fried pea shoots.

For dessert, a bowl of glutinous rice dumplings in sweet rice wine, and mango sago cream with pomelo.

At times it was hard to flag down the servers -- all women -- but they were friendly and helpful. When we finally got a hold of someone asking for the bill, she told us to scan the QR code at our table and pay that way. No need to tip. Just pay electronically and then you can leave.

Then we made our way back to Hong Kong, getting a car to drive us back to LoWu, and then after going through Chinese immigration, we took the train back, very tired!

Sweet Sips at Sweet 7

The signature mango pomelo sago drink

There's many bubble tea shops in Metro Vancouver, and we've taken a liking to Sweet 7, which is originally from Shanghai.

Started in 2006 as a dessert shop, there are now over 1,500 Sweet 7 shops around the world, with two here, one in downtown Vancouver, the other in Richmond.

The menu is mostly drinks made in large cups. Back in the summer I ordered the signature mango pomelo sago and the portion was so large, I mixed it and poured it into bowls to share with my parents! We quite enjoyed it as a dessert.

Mango and passionfruit slush

This afternoon I took a friend visiting from Toronto to Sweet 7 downtown and she ordered that signature drink, while I tried the mango passionfruit slush.  It's fruity sweet, it's got passionfruit seeds and slushy ice, making it easy to drink and get a brain freeze.

While the menu features so many different kinds of drinks divided into various sections, to help you make up your mind faster, there are suggestions of which are the most popular drinks: other than the signature mango pomelo sago, there's Oreo cheesecake milk tea, passionfruit green tea, and matcha cheesy smoothie.

Guess that means I need to go back again!

Good Value Dessert Drink

"Mango ice cream" with puree and ice in a cup

This afternoon I was in Crystal Mall, a Chinese shopping mall in Burnaby. The mall has probably seen better days, as it now looks tired, with many shop spaces closed, or those that are open don't have much business.

However, head to the food court and it's a bustling place even though it's 2.30pm. Some people are grabbing a late lunch, others a snack or dessert.

I wandered around the stalls looking for inspiration. Paradise Juice was somewhat busy, with many people ordering papaya smoothies. 

On the menu there was "mango ice cream" and in Chinese 芒果雪糕 so I inquired about it.

The woman said it was more like a drink and pointed to a picture of a red bean ice drink, but said it was mango instead of red bean.

OK why not? It was $4.95.

Several minutes later I got my drink -- the bottom filled with crushed ice, next mango puree along with small chunks of mango, and then topped with some vanilla ice cream. She gave me a thick straw that wasn't necessary, and a spoon with a long neck.

I ate a bit of the mango and ice cream before mixing the three ingredients together and it was great! Cold, refreshing, and not too sweet. When they make drinks like papaya smoothies, they use whole milk or even cream which makes it very heavy and rich.

This combination with some vanilla ice cream made it creamy, but slightly diluted by the ice. If they used coconut milk it could be a vegan dessert and probably taste even better too!

Apparently mangos are now $12/lb so this drink/dessert is a good deal!

Paradise Juice

2/F, Crystal Mall

4500 Kingsway, Burnaby

604 438 8199

Berry Good Deal

White Spot restaurant has a great deal this summer -- The Blueberry Bundle.

For $20 you get a side of green salad or Caesar salad, a Legendary burger and a blueberry pie made from blueberries from a farm in Maple Ridge.

The highlight is the dessert. While it's not exactly a baked pie, it's really a lot of fresh blueberries marinated in a light sugar syrup and placed in a pastry cup, topped with whipped cream.

The deal is so good I've had it twice in one month!

Blueberry Season in British Columbia

A blueberry bush can have 6,000 berries a year

It's blueberry season in Metro Vancouver, and you can find these round dark blue gems for sale in supermarkets.

Some interesting facts about blueberries:

Blueberries on waffles with whipped cream

In British Columbia, they are only available from July to September;

The province is the largest highbush blueberry-growing region in Canada, and one of the top blueberry producers in the world! BC exports to more than 30 countries, making blueberries Canada's most exported fruit.

Blueberries contain a lot of antioxidants, Vitamin C and fibre;

The majority of BC's blueberry farms are family-owned and operated, some for several generations;

A single blueberry bush can produce as many as 6,000 blueberries per year! BC producers more than 150 million pounds of blueberries annually. This makes the province one of the top 10 blueberry-producing regions in the world.

A decadent homemade blueberry pie

Just wash and eat them fresh, or add them to ice cream, into pies, muffins and pancakes, or into smoothies, or use them to garnish salads.

A Tale about a Cocktail Bun

Fluffy, and sweet cocktail buns in Chinatown

Today we had lunch in a cha chaan teng in Vancouver's Chinatown and for dessert we ate a cocktail bun, something I haven't eaten in quite a while.

It's a fluffy soft milk bread with a filling of desiccated coconut mixed with butter and sugar inside and topped with sesame seeds.

Cocktail buns (雞尾包) is literally translated as "chicken tail bun". But the origin of these pastries apparently dates back to the 1950s when a baker ground up unsold buns from the previous day, added sugar and coconut to make a new filling and inserted into freshly-made buns. They were given the name "cocktail" as the baker mixed the ingredients like a bartender.

Most Chinese bakeries in Chinatown have these buns. But you can make them at home, as there are several recipes online! While this would be fun (and delicious), the dilemma is that once you make a dozen of them, you'd have to eat them all! 

Summer's Time for Ice Cream

Strawberry ice cream is the taste of summer

The official start to summer is this Saturday but it's already that time of year when people start eating ice cream.

Last night after a friend and I had dinner, her husband picked us up and immediately made a beeline for Earnest Ice Cream, a well-known local ice cream brand started in 2012.

So many flavours, it's hard to choose

At first we swung by its Quebec Street location and saw the queue went around the block -- we promptly headed to the original location on Fraser Street. There was a line there too, but not as long, and it actually went quickly.

I hadn't been to Earnest Ice Cream for years, the last time was before the pandemic!

Everyone, like us, was there to have a sweet dessert before going home. 

The flavours they had included: whiskey hazelnut, cookies & cream, London fog, Tahitian vanilla, matcha green tea, lavender shortbread and birthday cake.

When we got to the front of the line, I had a spoonful of the cream cheese flavour to try. While it was tangy, it was also quite rich, and couldn't possibly finish a whole scoop of it.

I opted for strawberry on a waffle cone; my friend had London fog, and her husband had baklava and another flavour I can't remember.

Yes it really is seriously good

It seems the scoop size you get depends on the server scooping them for you -- it appeared some people had smaller scoops than others. Luckily ours was a decent portion! 

As we ate our ice creams inside, the line outside eventually disappeared and it was 10pm, closing time. 

The Last Pavlova of Summer

The pavlova is the signature summer dessert

This afternoon I happened to have dim sum a stone's throw away from Sweet e's Darling Desserts, which had its last day today. The landlord did not renew their lease.

On Instagram yesterday and this morning they posted that they would only be selling its famous pavlovas from 1pm onwards, first come, first served.

As I came out of the dim sum restaurant about 12.45pm, I saw a queue in front of the bakery, and a friend from Pilates class waving her hand at me. She was at the back of the line so I joined her.

She told me she had tried to order the pavlova last week for today, Father's Day, but they refused to take her request. She was particularly annoyed as she knows the two sisters who own Sweet e's from since they were kids. "If I don't get a pavlova I'm going to get very mad at them," she said, and I told her I was keen to watch this interaction.

Waiting in line to get into the shop

Finally when 1pm rolled around, customers went into the shop one party at a time, and soon the pavlovas in the refrigerated showcase were gone. Each time someone came out with a white box, they would say, "They're making more in the back, you're fine."

My friend told me Sweet e's' pavlova is the best -- I told her I'd actually never eaten it before, as my mother makes a pretty good meringue shell which she fills the base with freshly whipped cream and then mixed fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and mango. But since this was the last day to get one from Sweet e's (until they find another location), I had to try it at least once.

Meanwhile I told her the mousse cakes were the best -- in particular lemon, or raspberry. So light, fluffy and refreshing.

After about 20 minutes my friend and I were at the front of the line and walked into the store. She walked straight into the kitchen and got her request fulfilled of getting an 8-inch pavlova, while I ordered a 4-inch one. Mine was almost complete, if I waited another 15 minutes.

Every subsequent customer who came in mourned the fact the shop was closing, and when they were told they would have to wait 30 minutes, 40 minutes for their pavlova, they were very happy to, and made sure they paid before they left and returned for their dessert before 5pm.

Finally mine was ready to go -- good enough for three of us to have a bite of to try.

And indeed it was light, airy, a touch sweeter than my mother's meringue, but for a store-bought pavlova it was delicious. The fresh cream was a delight, and it was topped with sliced strawberries and mango. 

Glad I had a chance to try the bakery's signature summer dessert. And am already looking forward to Sweet e's opening somewhere else (hopefully nearby!) in the next few months.

Sweet Memories to Come to an End

Some last treats from Sweet e's in Kerrisdale

Our go-to cake shop is Sweet e's in Kerrisdale. Owned by Chinese-Canadian sisters, the cakes look decadent but aren't too sweet. They make the best lemon chiffon cake, though raspberry and mango come a close second.

We've ordered birthday cakes and desserts for Christmas parties here every year, but that will come to an end next week.

A few days ago the 20-year-old cake shop announced on Instagram that the landlord was not renewing the lease and Sweet e's will have to close June 15. 

This afternoon I was in the neighbourhood so I went in to buy a few small cakes. One of the sisters told me and three other customers that the landlord had only told them on May 26, and has plans to demolish the space.

At first the sister who is the head baker was worried about where they would go and continue functioning as a cake shop. But her sister said it was time for a break and she agreed. Hopefully in the fall they will find a space to ramp up again for Christmas.

One customer was looking to order a cake, and the baker is trying to use up the rest of the ingredients instead of having to buy more, which is understandable. "My wife is going to be so upset when she hears the news," he said. "I want to buy up all your cakes!" he exclaimed.

I picked up some small cakes and tarts -- a carrot cake, blueberry cheesecake, banana cream pie (tart), chocolate mousse, salted caramel, and a brownie cake. 

We had them for dessert tonight, cutting each one up so we had a bite of each and they were all so good.

Will miss them and hope they reappear somewhere nearby. In the meantime they do deserve a good break and think carefully about what they want to do next.

Finally Trying the Viral Croissant

The biscotti flavour spiral croissant

In the summer of 2023, a friend and I went downtown in a bid to get some viral spiral croissant at a place called Little Cafe on Robson.

They are large pastries that are rolled up like thick coins and they've become so popular because there are videos of people slicing them in half to reveal creamy coloured fillings that tempt others to come and try for themselves, which resulted in massive lines when the cafe first opened.

So when we went inside, there was a queue, and we could see the staff were overwhelmed by the number of orders. By the time we got to the front of the line, the staff said they had just run out of spiral croissants and that we'd have to wait at least half an hour. Unwilling to wait, we gave up and left.

The cafe is actually a small space, with not many tables and seats; those who managed to get seats were not in a rush to leave...

Fast forward to yesterday late morning and I walked by the cafe and saw no line! Should I finally find out if these "supreme croissants" really are good? 

I went in and at first it was hard to decide which flavour to try: there was chocolate Oreo, coffee, Mont Blanc, matcha and biscotti, and I picked the last option for takeaway.

The staff placed it in a large takeaway box and I brought it home. When I opened the box I was impressed the croissant kept its shape, and the "biscotti" filling on top didn't spread all over the container.

With a serrated knife I sliced the croissant in half and was pleased to see it didn't cave in and kept its shape, though the cream filling inside bulged out. Nevertheless, the outside was crispy and the filling was not sweet (while the filling on top was).

It's a good thing three of us shared it because the croissant roll is too much for one person to eat! There's a bit too much cream filling for me, but impressed by the shape of the spiral croissant and the intricate layers.

Little Cafe on Robson

1258 Robson Street

Vancouver, BC

(604) 258 2658

Marvellous Mochis

Chestnut (top) and purple yam mochis

Today I finally checked out a dessert shop in Richmond called Car's Dessert. It's named after the chef-owner's wife and while it doesn't sell cakes and cookies, there's mango pudding, pomelo with sago and mango pudding, ground walnut soup, and black sesame soup.

But one of the signature desserts is mochi and I came to buy some to try.

Although Chinese New Year is over, the shop has some holiday specials. I got box with two mango mochis and two durian, and another box of mochis filled with purple yam, and another with chestnut.

Mango and durian (with gold stripe)

I was asked to wait a few minutes as the staff packaged them fresh. When I picked them up, they told me the yam and chestnut mochis didn't need to be refrigerated, whereas the mango and durian ones had to, and all these mochis should be consumed today!

When I got home, I tried the yam and chestnut mochis. The skin made of glutinous rice flour is thin and envelops a generous portion of filling. The purple colour of the yam is pretty and the taste is not too sweet, though a bit on the bland side. 

However, the chestnut one is filled with both puree and tiny chopped bits of the nut, making the texture more than just smooth.

After dinner I tried the other two flavours. The mango one is quite popular, and it features the fruit diced and mixed with fresh cream, but for durian lovers, the durian flavour is the best! The texture of the durian one is combined with a bit of cream, making it soft and the unique smell pungent. It was hard not to eat it so quickly.

No wonder those who love durian enjoy eating these mochis!

Car's Dessert

#110 - 4140 No. 3 Road

Richmond, BC

(236) 999 9218