Davie Village Bakery

Last time I visited Davie Village Bakery, I was there to try their Giant Croissants.  Okay, before you roll your eyes thinking that these were solely a novelty, they were actually really good!  The croissant itself was exactly what I want from one.  It shattered, had good lamination and was buttery.  Sure, they were as large as my arm, but I found them reasonably-priced.  This time around, Jackie and I were there to try their Giant Donuts as well as other goodies.

So let's get right to those Giant Donuts!  So these were not technically donuts even though they were shaped as such.  In reality, they were large eclairs featuring choux pastry with a cream filling inside and a glaze on the outside.  We had to let them warm up a bit first since they were in the fridge.  Eating them like an eclair, they were legit with all the right textures and not being incredibly sweet.  We put a regular donut next to the "Simpsons" donut for size comparison.

We had some baked goods in the form of a regular Butter Croissant, Hazelnut Croissant, Pistachio Chocolate Croissant and Double-Baked Crookie.  Since I've already had their giant croissants, I already knew their butter croissant would be solid.  That it was with good lamination and shattering beautifully when I bit into it.  The other 2 variations had similar qualities except with chocolate hazelnut and pistachio chocolate respectively.  The crookie was interesting that was, you guessed it, a cross between a croissant and a cookie.  It was not as firm as a cookie but not flaky like a croissant.  It was semi-sweet and I thought it was not bad.

Then we moved onto some creative Desserts featuring Lemon, Peach and a Raspberry Macaron.  Love the whimsical presentation where once cut into, the lemon revealed a lemon cream filling and a lemony custard centre.  Really refreshing and natural-tasting.  The peach was very similar except for the difference in flavour.  It wasn't too sweet and had a nice floral fruit taste.  As for the macaron, the texture was on point with a crispy delicate shell with a soft but slightly chewy texture inside.  Raspberries and the cream in the middle were fruity and light.

For even more variety, they also have made-to-order crêpes as well as gelato/sorbetto.  Naturally, being freshly-made, the Crêpes were soft, warm and fluffy.  Loved the nutty and aromatic pistachio.  Of course the Nutella was a bit sweet, but at least it was a pleasant sweetness.  We then moved onto the Gelato and it was also quite good.  I liked how it was creamy and light (where it was melting, which is a good thing because no stabilizers used).  The flavours were chose were Cherry Cheesecake, Pistachio and another flavour that I honestly forgot.  But what I can say is that it was purposefully sweet and surprisingly good for a non-gelato spot.  In fact, everything I've ever tried here has been very good.  You can't go wrong with the things here and the pricing is reasonable.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Solid all-around

- Their novelty items (giant croissant and giant donuts) are actually good and well-priced

- Large selection of items

The Bad:

- Crêpes were good texturally, but maybe a bit too much sweet sauces

Tutto Belle Il Gelato

As much as Vancouver has a wide selection of many things, it really doesn't have much in the way of Ice Cream and Gelato.  Let's be real here, the landscape is dominated by Earnest, Rain or Shine, La Casa and Bella.  Yah, there are some other spots, but in reality, if you were a tourist in town for 24 hours, you would probably visit one the of aforementioned places.  Since I am a local, I know there are more choices than that, but if you compare to other cities, Vancouver just doesn't have an extensive ice cream/gelato history.  Well, we do have another in town in Tutto Belle II Gelato on West 4th.

I recently was able to do a quick visit to the place and the first thing that struck me was the availability of unique flavours.  For myself, I wanted to try the sorbetto and the 2 options that spoke to me were the Mango & Passionfruit and the Strawberry & Raspberry.  Texturally, I found both smooth while a touch thick.  Maybe a touch gummy, but nothing offensive.  I thought the mango & passionfruit was mango dominant, yet that really didn't matter as it was fresh and natural-tasting while being purposefully sweet.  Predictably, the strawberry & raspberry was tangy and tart with the raspberry coming through.

Viv decided on the Blood Orange sorbetto served in a waffle cone.   It had an attractive colour and was a bit sweeter than the 2 flavours I had tried.  There was the unmistakable essence of blood orange, but we felt it was not as strong as we would've liked.  That didn't mean we didn't enjoy it still because it had the same qualities as the other ones.  We liked how they really loaded up the scoop atop the waffle cone and didn't leave us wanting for more.  The cone itself was aromatic and crunchy, holding up to the sorbetto. My daughter went for the White Peach and it was probably the sweetest of the 4 sorbettos we tried.  It was probably due to the fact that white peach lacks inherent tanginess to offset the sweetness.  With that being said, it wasn't as if the sugar content was excessive either.  Being more subtle, the white peach was more floral tasting.  This actually allowed for the waffle cone flavour to come out more unlike the dominant tanginess of the strawberry & raspberry.

My son was the only one to choose gelato and he went for his usual in the Chocolate.  This was pretty creamy and rich.  Seeing how gelato is made with milk, that meant it was executed properly.  It was plenty chocolatey while the sweetness was balanced.  I thought this was the best option to go with the waffle cone rather than the fruit flavours.  As with the cups, they were not shy about loading it onto the cone.

I returned a few weeks later on my own coin to try a few more flavours including the Mochi Ice Cream featuring strawberry gelato.  I tried eating it with the fork that was provided but honestly, I made a mess of it.  Better to jut pick it up and eat it.  I found the thin layer of mochi quite soft, but if I didn't eat it quickly enough, some parts got more chewy.  The gelato was creamy and did taste like strawberries.

I ended up also trying 2 more of their gelato flavours including Apple Pie and Sour Cherry.  Once again, the texture was creamy and light.  I thought the apple pie was rather sweet and could've used a bit more apple tang.  As for the sour cherry, it was mildly sweet with some cherry flavour.  Again, I would've liked a bit more tang to it.  Overall, the gelato and sorbetto at Tutto Belle II Gelato were good with many desirable flavours.  Definitely worth checking out!

*All gelato and sorbetto were complimentary for one of the two visits for this post*

The Good:

- Desirable flavours

- Not shy about the portion size

- Balanced sweetness

The Bad:

- Sorbetto was on the gummier side but on a subsequent visit, it was much improved

- Some of the gelato flavours could be a bit tangier to match its description

Gelateria Carabè Firenze

Continuing on our quest for the best gelato on our trip to Italy, we stopped by Gelateria Carabè Firenze nearby our apartment.  This was recommended by a friend who stated that it was a lighter gelato that was less creamy yet at the same time, more refreshing.  They specialize in Sicilian-style gelato that employs some form of starch as a thickener. For myself, I personally prefer it to be more creamy and less sweet, but I have an open mind and had to see for myself.  

I decided to get a cup with a refreshing combination of Limone Sorbetto and some wine gelato that I forgot to note down (maybe Cassis?).  Whatever the case, the gelato was indeed lighter and less creamy.  I wouldn't call it icy, but there was a definite difference in the texture compared to the ones I had in Rome.  I found it sweeter with milder flavours.  I could see some people enjoying this in the heat, but for me I'm all about the creaminess.

Viv went all fruity going with the Mango and Peach Sorbetto.  These were smooth and almost fluffy.  The light texture of the sorbetto meant it was very quickly devoured and helped us beat the warm 37 degrees Celsius it was in Florence.  Mind you, the real way to beat the heat is to eat something hot to induce sweating, but we weren't going to do that.  In terms of flavour, they really came through.  I'm not sure if this was necessarily sweeter than another sorbetto we've had, but it was less tangy, so maybe that is why we felt it was sweeter?

My son is all about consistency and he once again had both the Chocolate and Straciatella Gelato.  Just by looking at it, you can tell the straciatella was less creamy and looked much lighter.  These indeed ate as such with an almost icy consistency without being so.  Flavours were on the sweeter side and the impact of the chocolate was lessened due to the texture.  

My daughter did her fruity options as well with the Strawberry and Passionfruit Sorbettos.  Maybe due to the use of different ingredients, these felt less fluffy, but then again, they weren't dense either.  Flavours were good and the sweetness was a little bit more muted possibly due to the added tanginess of the strawberry and passionfruit.  She gobbled it up pretty fast we agreed the sorbetto was more to our liking than the gelato.  Of course everything is subjective and again, I can see how some people would like this lighter version of gelato.  After all, the place has many accolades.  But for me personally, I like the one I had at Frigidarium in Rome the most.  Yes, I know, different city and different region.

The Good:

- Natural-tasting

- Light and refereshing

The Bad:

- Not as creamy

Perché No!

Most popular versions of the story say that the birthplace of Gelato is in Florence by Bernardo Buontalenti.  For those unfamiliar, gelato is not ice cream because it is made with milk.  Hence it has less fat, but in turn it has more sugar.  So don't suddenly think it is a health food.  It also has less air in it as it is churned more slowly than ice cream.  So the first thing after lunch in Florence was to hit up Perché No! and get us some gelato!

For myself, I didn't do any sorbetto this time around, not because I didn't want any, but the person preparing my cup didn't hear me asking for Mora (which is blackberry).  Rather, my whole cup was only Pistachio Gelato.  Not necessarily a bad thing as the flavour was quite good with the aromatic nuttiness of pistachio coming through.  I found this gelato to be a bit less creamy though and sweeter.

Viv went for some Matcha and Coffee thinking it was breakfast time?  You can have gelato for breakfast right?  Anyways, as you can see, this was melting real fast since Florence was a toasty 37 degrees Celsius.  Furthermore, gelato is supposed to melt fast due to the lack of any stabilizers added.  With that being said, this was very soft and not as creamy as Frigidarium in Rome.  Flavours were nice though as the matcha came through without being too bitter and the coffee was rather aromatic.

For my son, he didn't stray from his favourites in the Strachiatella and Chocolate.  Once again, the flavours were really impactful as the sweetness of the strachiatella was appealing.  We could taste the natural sweetness and flavour of the milk further enhanced by the sugar.  Of course the chocolate shavings were welcomed.  The chocolate was also sweet and due to that, it was less bitter and not at dark as he would've liked.

Lastly, my daughter had the Limone and Strawberry Sorbettos.  She is more into that rather than gelato due to the heat.  It is more refreshing and for her, she needs that as she hates the heat.  Should've went to Greenland instead right?  She found her sorbetto to be light and smooth.  Both flavours were sweet with the limone being less tangy than others we've had.  Overall, the gelato at Perché No! was good, but we still like Frigidarium more (yes I know it is in a totally different region and city in Italy..).

The Good:

- Lighter if that is your preference

- Flavours were apparent

The Bad:

- Sweeter than others we've had

My Sugar Gelato Artigianale

Our last visit to a gelato shop in Florence ended up at My Sugar just a block from our apartment.  So far, we hit up the other 2 more popular spots in Perché No! and Carabé.  I guess third times a charm as we felt this was the best of the bunch in terms of texture and taste (as well as the sweetness).  Just a note to others visiting Florence, there was a dollar store right across from My Sugar and be sure to hit it up for all your needs including water and souvenirs. Anyways, back to the gelato, we each got a cup to test out the flavours.

For myself, I went for the Mango Sorbetto and the Black Sesame Gelato.  I thought the mango was natural-tasting and purposefully sweet.  It had all of the aromatics and fruitiness of mango while being smooth and not icy.  The black sesame gelato was creamy but not thick.  It was also just sweet enough with lots of nuttiness and classic aroma.  This has been one of my favourite flavours of gelato so far on this trip.

Viv chose Coffee Gelato as well as Lime & Mandarin Sorbetto.  We found the coffee to be smooth and creamy but again, not heavy.  It was lightly sweet with a pleasant coffee aroma that had a nice finish.  The star of the show was the lime & mandarin as it was the perfect combination of tangy and sweet.  The essence of lime really came through while the floral sweetness of the mandarin provided balance.

For my daughter, she didn't stay far from her favourites including both the Lemon and Strawberry Sorbetto.  Once again, these were blended smooth and were just sweet enough.  The lemon was tangy but not as acidic as some other versions we've tried.  The strawberry was naturally-flavoured and had a good tanginess to balance off the sweetness (which wasn't overpowering).

Just like my daughter, my son went with his go to combination of Dark Chocolate and Strachiatella Gelato.  Okay, if you are wondering what that grey stuff is, it is in fact the Strachiatella.  Both that and the chocolate were smooth and creamy.  Not as heavy as some others we've had, but also not super light such as the one from Carabé.  Chocolate was plenty flavourful with deep notes.  As mentioned, this was our favourite gelato in Florence.  But I need to mention, Frigidarium in Rome is still our favourite despite being in a different city and region.

The Good:
- Smooth and creamy
- Not too rich or sweet
- Natural flavours

The Bad:
- For those looking for very creamy, this is a bit lighter than that

Frigidarium

Continuing on my quest to find the best Gelato in the few days we were in Rome, it brought us to another highly-rated spot in Frigidarium.  It worked out quite well for us since we were dining at the nearby Osteria da Fortunata for lunch.  We made the short stroll over to the busy Via del Governo Vecchio to find a small lineup for the tiny gelato shop.  They have been around since 1988 and pride themselves on using a minimum of 50% fruit in their sorbettos.

I went ahead and got a medio with three flavours including Limone and Melone Sorbettos and Amarena Gelato.  Oh the fruit flavours really popped here with the limone being the most impactful of the 3 we've had.  This was very tart, but refreshing and natural tasting.  The melone was also very fruity with little bits of canteloupe strewn throughout.  It was on the sweeter side though, possibly from the ripe fruit.  As for the amarena, the vanilla base gelato was creamy and more rich than the other 2 I've had.  It was on the sweeter side, especially with the cherry preserve.

Once again, my son went for the Cioccolato Fondente as well as the Straciatella (probably with my influence the night before).  Once again, the gelato here delivered as he thought this was the best of the 3 he has tried so far.  The gelato was richer and thicker than the other two and the dark chocolate really came through with balanced bitterness.  As for the straciatella, it was creamy and rich while being sweet.  It had a good amount of chocolate shavings in it.

After some coaxing, my daughter relented and got a single flavour of gelato coated with chocolate.  She didn't get very creative as a result and had the exact same flavour as my son with the Staciatella.  Naturally, without the influence of the chocolate gelato (like in my son's order), this ate a bit sweet while being creamy.  Of course the abundance of chocolate on top made it sweeter.

Viv went for the Fruitti di Bosco Sorbetto as well as the Coffee Gelato.  She thought the mixed berry sorbetto was natural tasting as well as being a bit sweet.  She wasn't a huge fan of all the seed though as it broke up the texture too much.  She did enjoy the rich coffee gelato though as it aromatic and had a strong coffee hit and aftertaste.  Compared to the other gelato we've had so far, Frigidarium was our favourite.  Spoiler alert: this was our favourite of the entire trip (including more gelato to come after this post).

The Good:

- Natural impactful flavours

- Creamy texture

- They really load up the cup

The Bad:

- Fairly sweet

Come Il Latte

On my search for better gelato than the day before at Venchi, we made the 15-minute walk to Come Il Latte.  A little off from the most touristy areas of Rome, we figured this might be worth the time.  Their mission statement is that they only produce enough gelato for the day and everything is fresh.  Looking at the amount of people milling around on a weekday night, it sure seemed like they are doing something right.  Unfortunately, my phone camera didn't want to focus properly and I ended up with blurry pics...

We all ended up with a cup of gelato and my medio consisted of Stracciatella "Salvaderi" and Melone Sorbetto.  I could've had 3 flavours with the medio, but I stuck with these ones.  I thought the stracciatella was smooth and creamy with only a purposeful amount of sweetness.  The amount of chocolate shavings was adequate to provide some texture and extra flavour.  As for the melone, it had a good fruit flavour that was also only mildly sweet.

Viv had the piccolo and also had 2 flavours of sorbetto including the Limone and Guava.  These sorbettos were smooth and not icy (despite being comprised of ice) with enough sweetness to compliment the fruit flavours.  The limone was definitely tangy and had plenty of lemon kick while the guava was really the star of the show.  Lots of natural guava aroma and sweetness.

Naturally, my son went for the Chocolato Fondente as well as the Caramello Salato.  Compared to the 75% chocolate at Venchi, the chocolate here was dark but wasn't as intense.  However, that didn't mean it wasn't good though.  It still had an appealing bitterness balanced off by enough sweetness.  The salted caramel was pretty good too with rich smoky sweetness enhanced by salt.

My daughter went fruity as expected with the Fragola and Mango Sorbettos.  The strawberry was not bad but probably the weakest of the choices we had.  Not that it wasn't tasty, it just was the least impactful.  The mango was good with the usual tangy sweetness complimented by the unmistakable aroma.  Overall, the gelato and sorbetto was better than Venchi, but we had many more places to try in the week or so!

The Good:
- Natural flavours were apparent
- Smooth and creamy

The Bad:
- A bit out of the way of the touristy areas, a trek for some

Venchi Cioccolato e Gelato

Okay, here is the situation.  We've been walking for over 3 hours and although there was a lot to see, we were thirsty and tired.  Luckily we missed the heat wave in July, but that didn't mean the Summer ended in August.  We had just checked out the Pantheon and suddenly had a craving for gelato.  Naturally, anything located near touristy areas are hit and miss; mostly miss.  But we decided to give Venchi a shot since the gelato appeared to be good.  Famous last words right?  We waited in a short line and ended up with the following...

For myself, I had the Mango Sorbetto and the Crema Venchi.  With a small cup, we were able to pick 2 flavours.  I liked how the sorbetto was smooth and almost creamy (despite having not milk products).  It was purposefully sweet with a natural mango taste.  However, it was a touch bitter for some reason.  Despite this, I still enjoyed it.  The gelato had a creamy texture and it melted pretty easily (which is a good thing, no added stabilizers).  I thought the crema was pretty sweet with an aromatic finish.  Probably not my favourite flavour though.

Viv also went for 2 flavours including the Limone and Fruitti Bosco Sorbetto.  The limone was more melty than my mango sorbetto and it was very tart.  We love tart, so it worked for us but for others, it just might be too tangy.  Due to this, it wasn't very sweet because it hid behind the tang.  As for the mixed berries, it was on the sweeter side, but did taste good with a melody of fruitiness.  It was a rather refreshing combination with the limone.

My daughter went only for one flavour in the Strawberry Sorbetto and it was similar to the mixed berries except being less tangy.  It was predictably more one-note due to only having strawberries.  It was sweet but not overly so.  We found it to have a natural taste though.  With that being said, I thought the mango had more impact than the strawberry. Like all of the cups, it came with a Venchi's dark chocolate coin. 

My son had the 75% Chocolate Gelato and it was very dark.  However, he loves his dark chocolate and it was right up his alley.  This was not very sweet at all and in fact, was fairly bitter.  Perfect for dark chocolate lovers.  In terms of texture, this was a bit thicker and richer than my crema.  This was expected due to the addition of dark chocolate.  We also picked up some chocolates too as that is what Venchi is known for.  Pretty solid stuff.  Overall, the gelato and sorbetto were solid too and this was a good first experience in Rome.

The Good:

- Flavours were impactful

- Textures were good

- Their chocolates are even better

The Bad:

- There is usually a lineup

- Good but not great

Kekou Gelato

Remember when you were told that eating sweets before dinner would spoil your appetite?  I'm not really sure if it ever did.  If my memory serves me right, I've downed the occasional donut or ice cream before a meal and nothing was worse for wear.  So while we were heading to the County General for dinner, we stopped off at Kekou Gelato for a "palate cleanser".  I'm sure my kids will now grow up thinking that dessert before a meal is perfectly acceptable.

My daughter tried their Strawberry Mango Popsicle and it tasted as vibrant as it appeared.  The colours were no illusion as the strawberry tasted like actual pureed strawberries.  Well because they were!  Same with the mango as it was sweet and impactful.  Texturally, it was frozen yet still soft enough to chew without being too icy nor unnaturally sweet.  For Viv, she had the Mango Soft-Serve which was creamy and rich.  Best of all, it tasted like actual mango with the sweetness and pungency of a ripe one.  This was indeed a nice palate cleanser before some fried chicken (at the County General).

For myself, I had a scoop of the Salted and Spicy Pineapple Sorbet in a waffle cone.  At first, the flavours confused me, but as I ate it, the spiciness fed off the sweetness of the pineapple to create a "gingery" affect.  I liked how it wasn't overly sweet while the crunchy waffle cone added crunch.  Yes, this was a strange combination that worked for me and yep, a great palate cleanser.  So dessert before dinner is completely acceptable, especially when it is light and refreshing as the treats we had at Kekou.  Better yet, something that worked on a warm day too.

The Good:
- Interesting flavours
- Natural tasting
- Not too sweet

The Bad:
- A bit pricey

 

Five Elements Cafe

For the second straight week, we stepped out on the Drive after Sunday morning hockey.  Why drive somewhere for eats when we could just stay nearby?  Since it was car-free day, we could do the leisurely stroll up to a random restaurant.  That we did with Five Elements Cafe, which serves up an eclectic mix of Vietnamese, Thai and house-made gelato.  Being counter-service, we merely picked out table and proceeded up to order.  For me, this was fine because I could get whatever I wanted myself such as more ice water and ultimately boxes for leftovers (without waiting an eternity for someone to do so).

We ended up sharing a plate of Chicken Wings as an appie.  Served with a side of lemon pepper dip, this had similar flavours to the version at Phnom Penh, but ultimately completely different.  The big, meaty wings were succulent while sporting a lightly crispy coating.  These were good in their own way with a touch of spice and accented by the peppery acidic dip.  For my main, I went for the Pho Dac Biet (or Mixed Meat on the menu).  Overall, I thought the pho was serviceable but hardly memorable.  The broth was fairly clean while a touch heavy on the sweetness.  I could pick out the meatiness which was definitely there.  The noodles were clumpy and a touch overdone while the meats were a fine except for the brisket.  I found it chewy and dry.

I also got an order of the Chicken Pad Thai which arrived in a strange yellow hue complete with the "shouldn't be there" Shanghai bak choy.  The abundance of veggies led to a wetter Pad Thai that didn't taste anything like a Pad Thai.  It was rather sweet with a touch of spice, yet it lacked tang and caramelization from adequate wok heat.  I found the big pieces of breast meat to be sufficiently moist considering its leanness.  Milhouse did not want to eat a whole Garlic Pork Banh Mi by himself, so I offered to share it with him.  Cold and not toasted, the bread was dense and chewy.  Inside, the pickled carrots and daikon were impactful with enough acidity.  The garlic pork was sweet and quite flavourful.

Milhouse wanted something lighter for his entree, so he selected the Chicken Stir-Fry with Rice.  Although the veggies were cooked properly being vibrant and still crisp, the dish itself suffered from a lack of seasoning.  Sure, there was a bit of garlic and sweetness, but overall, it was too watery.  Kaiser Soze went for the Thai Chicken Clay Pot which was served in a ceramic bowl (not really a hot pot).  This starch-thicken concoction was really sweet with a touch of spice (yellow curry).  We would've preferred to see a creamier version than the goopy one we see in the picture.  It was acceptable but hardly memorable.  Overall, we didn't dislike the food at Five Elements, but was hardly impressed either.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Vietnamese fare was okay

The Bad:
- Thai food was strange
- No A/C, quite warm inside