Eat Cake Cafe, Rowland Heights, CA

I had a wonderful weekend of meeting up with family and friends.  Over the weekend, my sister bought me some very "fancy" and good looking petite cakes from a new bakery, called Eat Cake Cafe in Rowland Heights, Ca.  The cakes are all so cute and hard for me to destroy them and put them in my mouth. 

Bottom left - Mango Mousse Cake
Top left - Italian Tiramisu Cake
Bottom right - Red Bean Cake
Top right - Green Tea Chiffon Cake

Just like its fellow bakeries, 85 degree (Taiwanese mixed with Western) and Cream Pan (Japanese mixed with Western), this is a Korean fusion bakery.  A lot of their creations are inspired by Asian or tropical ingredients (green tea, passion fruit, red beans, mango...), but also they have a lot of Western inspired cakes, cookies and pastries, such as well decorated sugar cookies, strawberry short cakes, tiramisu... 

Green Tea Chiffon Cake

Tiramisu

Inside of the cake

My sister got me a total of four cakes to try out - Mango Mousse cake, Italian Tiramisu, Red Bean Cake and Green Tea Chiffon Cake. The Mango Mousse Cake was heavenly good - very refreshing, light and moist cake.  The Tiramisu Cake with chocolate wrapped around and inside of the cake was a creamy body with a hint of alcohol in it (so sexy).  The Green Tea Chiffon Cake was light, flavorful and fluffy. And last but not the least, the Red Bean Cake was absolutely delightful.  I got lucky to have my sister delivered the cakes for me this time.  I will definitely check them out in person the next time when I am around the area. Based one what my sister and my foodies friends told me about this place and also all the reviews on yelp (4 and a half stars rating), I don't think I am going to be disappointed.  Even better, most of their pastries are gluten free and organic.  I didn't even notice I was eatting some amazing pastries without gluten.

Eat Cake Cafe

19705 E Colima Rd
Ste 6
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

(909) 468-2253
Hours: 

Hours:  Mon-Thu 7:30 am - 7:30 pm

  Fri 7:30 am - 9 pm

            Sat 9 am - 9 pm

(check out their website for more inforamtion and menu) 

P.S. More pictures will be uploaded soon, stay tuned!

VG Donut and Bakery (Cardiff [San Diego County], CA)

Picture from Yelp

Picture from Yelp

As many of you know (or don't know), besides my growing cupcakes design and catering business, I am still working as a full timer at an environmental consultanting firm during the day.  One of our nicest and sweestest co-workers always bought us donuts and pastries from her dad's bakery in San Diego, California.  As soon as I saw the donuts I got distracted by them, and I had totally forgot to ask her about where her dad shop at and what the name of her dad shop is.  Finally, this week I asked! 

Blue berry butter milk donut

Inside the donut

VG Donuts and Bakery it is, located in the beautiful City of Cardiff in the County of San Diego, California, just by the beach (and she added you won't miss it because it's by the beach).  YES, I am sure I won't miss it, but not just because it is by the beach, it is because the long line outside the bakery as well!  I went on Yelp, City Search and their website and clearly her dad's bakery is the Top 2 donuts place in San Diego.  And according to the yelpers, people waited in line for hours for their donuts and pastries, so HOW YOU COULD MISS THIS PLACE when you see the lines outside of the shop and hey, four and a half stars on Yelp, it clearly said something speical about this place!  I asked her about a little background of her dad's shop.  She told me her great grandpa bought the bakery back to 1969, and since then her grandpa, her dad, her uncle and some of her cousins are working at the bakery (she worked there when she was in highschool too). 

Sometimes it's so easy we forget about how lucky we truly are.  We got so spoiled by this co-worker because we got free donuts and pastries delivered all the way from San Diego to our Irvine office almost every month.  And sometimes, she even took special orders (especially during holiday seasons), and delivered to us at the office.  Unfortunately, she just recently got transferred to our Carlsbad office since she wants to move closer to her family (o well, she will still be here in our Irvine office 2 days a week though...good news!).  I guess less donuts and pastries for us in the Irvine office.  But I am sure one of these days, I will stop by her shop and buy some yummy donuts to cure my cravings for their donuts.

*PS:  Their cake is also awesome too!

Kee Wah Chinese Bakery, Rowland Heights, CA

I stopped by Kee Wah Bakery to get some mooncakes for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival last month.  Of course, I didn't take home with only one item, beside a case of mooncakes, I also got some Chinese pastries.  By saying Chinese pastries, they are not quite "Chinese".  However, I am sure you won't see them from any American bakeries.  A lot of the pastries sold here are crossover with Asian and Western styles (aka fusion).

Except for these fusion pastries, they also offer traditional Chinese pastries.  I tried to take couple pictures inside the shop; I immediately got caught by the staff and asked me not to take pictures ;(

Here are some background information about this bakery from Wikipedia:


Kee Wah Bakery is a chain of bakery stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and in the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco area of the United States (California). Kee Wah was originally founded in Hong Kong in 1938 by Mr. Wong Yip Wing (1911–1999). The company is well known in Hong Kong and overseas for its signature products ― Chinese Bridal Cakes and mooncakes ― though a wide range of Chinese and Western delicacies is equally popular.  
They have few different locations through out California.  If you would like to stop by to get some yummy Chinese pastries, or fusion pastries, click here for their locations.

A case of lotus paste mooncakes ($28.00usd)

Mooncake=)

Assorted baked treats - coconut cream bun on the right bottom
Char siu buns in the middle
Curry empanada on the top
Pineapple bun at the top right corner

A box of assorted baked goodies

I also picked up few Portuguese egg tarts for my in-laws to try.
 Of course, these tarts can't compare to the ones I had in Macau.

Inside the char siu bun

Cake and Fashion

I watch Cake Boss religiously.  I watch it, record it, and sometimes re-re-watch it; that's how much I enjoy this show.  Buddy and his crew are very talented and creative about their cake design.

 
Couple months ago, I watched one of the episodes about making some fashion inspired cakes for the fashion designer, Issac Mizrahi for his new Fall 2011 Collection Fashion Show.  Issac Mizrahi debuted his Fall 2011 collection titled "Cake." at New York Fashion Week. The show was inspired by poodles and Wayne Thiebaud's painting of cakes.

Here are little recap from the show:

Issac stopped by Carlos Bakery in New Jeresy and asked Buddy Valastro to create some cakes for his fashion show.  Not just Buddy needed to create the cakes, he also need to find a way to make the cakes light enough for the models to carry on the stage.  It was a challenging project, but Buddy delivered great quality of the "cakes" (he used styrofoam to make the "cakes" and covered them with real fondant and fondant decorations) and meet the expectation of Issac.

(Courtesy of the Photo from the Fashion Wire website)

Portuguese Egg Tart (aka pastel de nata)

I was born and raised in Macau, the last colony of Europe.  My home town is a special place that combined both Portuguese and Chinese cultures - and of course I am talking about our food culture too. 

People often ask me what Macauese food is, and how they taste like.  And here are little abstract of Macauese food -

Macanese cuisine is unique to Macau, China and which consists of a blend of southern Chinese and Portuguese cuisines, with significant influences from Southeast Asia and the Lusophone world. Many unique dishes resulted from the spice blends that the wives of Portuguese sailors used in an attempt to replicate European dishes. Its ingredients and seasonings include those from Europe, Latin America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, as well as local Chinese ingredients.  Talking about Asian Fusion cuisine, Macauese had created Asian Fusion before everyone else.  It's not just the fresh ingredients or the skillful and experienced chefs make Macauese food so delicious or unique.  It's because you could taste the history from your dishes. 

Got it?!  No...then you NEED to visit Macau to see it, smell it and taste it yourself! 

One of my favorite Macauese desserts is the Portuguese egg tarts (aka pastel de nata).  Pastel de nata is a traditional Portuguese custard pastry that consists of custard in a crème brûlée-like consistency caramelized in a puff pastry case. It was created more than 200 years ago by Catholic Sisters at Jerónimos Monastery at Belém in Lisbon. Casa Pastéis de Belém was the first pastry shop outside of the convent to sell this pastry in 1837.  It is now a popular pastry in every pastry shop around the world owned by Portuguese descendants.

 

The Original Lord's Stow Bakery

Inside Lord Stow's Bakery

 

Margaret's Cafe e Nata

A lot of tourists waiting outside at Margaret's

In Macau, you could see these sweet little things everywhere now, even at KFC!  But the best two stores go to Lord Stow’s Bakery at Coloane island and Margaret’s Cafe e Nata located at G/F, 17A Rua Alm Costa Cabral R/C, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro.  Lord's Stow's Bakery is the first bakery to make this dessert BIG and famous in Macau.  Rumor said that the owner Andrew of Lord Stow's Bakery had divorced his wife, Margaret.  After their split, Margaret opened up her own bakery and sell the exact same items as Lord Stow's.  I don't really care about their rumor, I just know that pastries from these two bakeries are equally tasty! 

Cream Pan in Old Town Tustin, California

A year ago, I went to get my car fixed and randomly discovered this place in Old Town Tustin by accident.  Cream Pan, a Japanese bakery located in Old Town Tustin, California; if you are familiar with the area, this place is not too far away from the Japanese restaurant, Honda Ya (btw, they serve amazing Japanese food there). 

Thanks to technology!  I immediately went on my iPhone and see what those yelpers recommend to get at Cream Pan.  Everyone said their strawberry croissant is amazing!  And "yelp" (yup), they don't lie!  The custard fillings are so smooth, strawberry is so fresh and the croissant itself is crisply flaky on the outside, with clearly defined layers.  I surprised Mr. G by bringing him some strawberry croissants home, his picky mouth even praised how great they were and asked me to bring him some more the next time if I happen to be there again.

(*Note:  They also offer a big platter of their famous strawberry croissant [the size is a little smaller than the regular one]; that will be a good desert alternative to bring to a party if you want something different.)

Beside their strawberry croissant, I have also tried their banana chocolate croissant, a curry pan (this is kinda of like a round donut with curry potato filling) and a pork cutlet sandwich; they are all amazing.
 

They also have some other interesting Japanese influenced sandwiches and pastries.  So if you are in town, check them out! 

Cream Pan
602 El Camino Real
Tustin, CA 92780-4310
(714) 665-8239
Open Tue-Sun 7am-4pm