Rating / 4 out of 5 stars

Universal Bakery is an East side Portuguese bake shop located on Rupert Street, just off 22nd Avenue. They make a variety of pastries and breads, but are well known for their egg tarts — pastel de nata — as well as their bird’s nest cookies.

The bakery is spacious with bare walls, cluttered shelves. Overall it’s uninteresting and not much to look at. On display are cookies, tarts, breads and a shelf of random grocery items.

(Above: Pastal del natas — Baked portuguese egg tarts.)

We are here for the pastel de natas — a Portugese egg tart with caramelized creme brulee like consistency. Its dark, golden, flaky crust is puffy and is a perfect vessel for the sweet, egg custard filling. The filling is more dense than the Chinese variety, but the texture is reminiscent of a Vietnamese tapioca dessert. The scorched custard also finishes with a candy-like stickiness with each bite.

Universal Bakery’s bird’s nest cookies is a light, flakey, coconut shortbread cookie with fruit preserves. They’re rich, buttery and crumbly, and pair perfectly with a good cup of Americano. Tre and I both agree Universal makes the best bird’s nest cookies we’ve tried so far.

(Above: Bird’s nest cookies — a light, flakey shortbread cookie topped with fruit preserves.)

Our bill for four pastel de natas, two bird nest cookies and taxes came to just under $7 — a reasonable amount that’s brought us back numerous times. And we’ve have yet to be disappointed. The pastel de natas are located in the back, so you might have to ask for them if you don’t see any. The service here doesn’t seem to match their quality of baking, but that shouldn’t dissuade you from hunting down some egg tarts.

Perfect for: Portuguese baked treats.

The Details

3815 Rupert Street, Vancouver
604.438.1920

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Dose Expresso Bar is a tiny, contemporary coffee shop on West Broadway that houses a miniature front counter, serving miniature snacks in a miniature seating area.

Despite the limited floor space, Dose is a bright, fresh, and clean space. A small pile of magazines lay on top a vintage looking wooden chest situated in an L-shaped seating area. Obscure Hip Hop remixes fill the air while the barista busily concocts our drinks.

(Top to bottom: 1. Dose’s Signature Nutella Hot Chocolate. 2. Miniature Brownies.)

We ordered the Nutella, Dose’s own twist on hot chocolate, plus two shots of espresso and a mini brownie. The friendly barista advised us the mini brownies and almond cakes were three for $3 — a tempting deal that we declined. The mini brownie was appropriately served on a warmed mini saucer — a nice touch that enhanced the brownie tasting experience.

Our foamy mug of Nutella was topped with a generous pile of dark chocolate shavings which was a delightful way of  serving hot chocolate. We still needed our caffeine fix, easily remedied with two shots of espresso. Unfortunately, the espresso was on the bitter side with a hint of sourness, leaving us a little disappointed with the coffee.

(Top to bottom: 1. Whimsical signage pepper the  walls at Dose Espresso Bar. 2. Double dose of espresso.)

Our quick sugar and caffeine fix came to just under $7. Dose Espresso Bar is a nice change of pace from the busy coffee chains. The space is small and minimal, but the atmosphere is chill and the staff friendly. They’ll need to work on the espresso, but their interesting twist on hot chocolate and tasty mini pastry is worth checking out.

Perfect for: a sugarfied pit stop on South Granville.

The Details

1517 West Broadway, Vancouver
604.734.7711
dosedosedrink.com

Rating / 1 out of 5 stars

While in Shanghai, we saw these at a local market –Double blueberry Cheese Pretz. Typically, Pretz is savoury, unlike its counterpart Pocky which is normally dipped in a sweet coating. But in this case, on one side, the Pretz is layered with a sweet, blueberry cheese flavouring and sprinkled with purple substance.

(Above: Broken pieces of Blueberry Cheese Pretz didn’t survive the trip completely intact.)

The Pretz tasted weird. The hints of manufactured blueberry cheese left a chemical taste in our mouths. I like Pretz, but I was not a fan of this one. This unappealing, violet colored box of pretz set us back about a $1 Cad.

Perfect for: I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

The Details

Random convenience stores in Shanghai
glico.co.jp/en/

Rating / 1 out of 5 stars

While lining up at Donald’s Market to pay for our groceries, we noticed a box of Green Tea Oreo bars sitting all by their lonesome. The bars looked sad and a bit dusty, but the expiry date was still good, so it came home with us.

The cookie bar is coated with green tea chocolate and did really taste like some sort of green tea. However, the Oreo itself was crumbly, dry, and stale. I couldn’t really taste any remnants of the original Oreo. What a shame. This bar belongs back into the box.

Perfect for: A pass. I’d rather have a Kit Kat or a real Oreo.

The Details

Donald’s Market
2279 Commercial Drive, Vancouver
604.255.1440

Rating / 4 out of 5 stars

What’s deep fried, light, airy and incredibly sweet? Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, that infamous US franchise opened up a location in Delta a few years ago. Their speciality? Doughnuts that look like mini alien space ships. 

The Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shop is reminiscent of a 50s diner with old school, classic signage out front and an interior that compliments. The light coloured walls and colour coordinated tiled flooring make the space airy and fresh. The high back, cream colored, leather diner booths and low, warm lighting is inviting. Their factory is in the back, where all the doughnuts are made in house. You can watch the guys and gals in the back doing their thing on a cartoon-like conveyor belt of donuts being dunked, glazed and laid to rest.

(Above: 1. Doughnuts getting a sugary glazed shower. 2. The Classics, glazed and cream-filled glazed.)

We ordered three doughnuts: original glazed, a glazed cream filled and powdered strawberry, plus two small coffees. Our friendly server plucked a fresh original glazed doughnut right off the conveyor belt instead of the ones displayed in the front. It was nice and warm: light and pillowy on the inside, and the outside had a nice little bite from the glazed shell. Tre’s glazed cream filled doughnut was just as good, but extra sweet with custard-like cream on the inside. The powdered strawberry wasn’t all that interesting and tasted a bit stale.

(1. Krispy Kreme Schwag. Nothing says doughnut like a ballpoint pen. 2. Doughnuts and coffee are like peas and carrots, except the exact opposite. 3. Doughnuts displayed for your oogling pleasure.)

Our bill including taxes and a novelty pen came to just under $8, which is cheap. The service was very friendly and efficient, which was a nice surprise. While you’re there, be sure to press up your nose against the glass to watch as the doughnuts are being made.

Perfect For: A serious sugar rush.

The Details

7153 120th Street Delta
604.507.8803
krispykreme.com