Kouign Cafe - Saint Ives Australia

Long review ahead!This is a really interesting and kind of odd place... Diamond in the rough. The food had amazing flavours, really inspired, unique combinations but there 's a few little quirks that make the overall experience not as comfortable as I think it could be. The first and most obvious is the location in the DTES this isn 't a neighbourhood that 's fun to visit (I say this with respect for the residents of this area but am just acknowledging that the situation here is rough and that will be a deterrent to some people, although of course this isn 't the cafe 's fault and I admire them for setting up shop here anyway. I actually ended up here because I had meant to pick up some snacks from another bakery only to find out it was closed, and then sort of remembered this existed and stumbled in not knowing much about what to expect. Which brings me to the second point of discomfort, which is that the shop is pretty bare. There are just two small folding tables with two chairs each set up, which really leaves too much negative space between the storefront and the counter given the size of the shop. In combination with the minimal decor, it feels like being in a concrete box.So I was a little disoriented by this because I expected more amenities, but there were some cookies displayed in the window that let me know I was in the right place. I went up to the counter and was greeted by a very nice man who patiently gave me time to look over the menu before I ordered. I ordered The Tea egg salad sandwich with kimchi, a modified Purple Rain bread pudding (they had pandan cream cheese frosting instead of ube that day, so it was more of a green rain , and The Poison Ivy Thai green tea.The baguette that the sandwich was served on was too firm and small to work well as a sandwich bread because every time I tried to take a bite it would push all the filling out. I decided the most effective way to eat it was to separate the halves and eat it open faced, which was still messy. But wow was it worth the mess! Using tea eggs in egg salad resulted in a very interesting flavour, which is different for sure but not unharmonious think of it like adding herbs. And their house made kimchi was fantastic and the fermented taste complemented the tea flavour very well. The bread was a fine bread with a lovely nutty flavour and hearty texture, and the flavour was perfect with the egg salad, it was just the shape that made it difficult to eat.The Purple Rain bread pudding was amazing! The pudding was moist and had a nice caramelly favour, the icing was delicious (pandan is a flavour I love and balanced with the pudding. Could have used a fork to eat it. Didn 't get one brought with the food and figured it wasn 't worth it to ask in case they only had disposables, and it was working okay to eat it without, just a little messy on the fingers.Now I was very excited to have the Poison Ivy drink because Thai (black tea and green tea are two of my favourite drinks, so I 'm always happy when they 're combined. This was exactly what I hoped it would be! I was disappointed that it was given in a paper cup when I had told them it was for here. I didn 't see any cup fee, and if I had known, I would 've given them the mug I brought.I talked a lot about the things that were off, but I have to stress that I really loved the food I had here and the positive attitude of the staff. In spite of the off things, this was the most excited I 've gotten about food in a while! If you like to try unconventional flavours, you should definitely check this place out! Nothing on the menu is too far out there in terms of flavour, but everything has a special little twist that you probably won 't find anywhere else. I 'm really glad I came in here and hope the business is doing well!

Very rich and decadent desserts with unique Asian inspired twists that play between sweet and savoury.Shared with a group of people and everyone had a different favourite. Lunchbox stood out as the most unique, and Purple Rain was everyone's least favourite. My personal favourite was Dark Moon.

Came here right when they opened so I knew everything was fresh out of the oven. Not sure if it's because they just opened and weren't prepped or if everything gets made in front of you like I got to see him pipe the toppings on my cookies and that was fun.Had the following: The Dark Moon Cookie definitely my favorite. All the flavors came through. Browned butter is just so good. Highly recommend. White Rabbit Cookie This seemed like a cookie with a melted white rabbit on it. It was OK. I think the white rabbit candy flavor is quite subtle so it's hard for it to have that big of an impact. The Kouign delicious. Flaky and sticky. I did notice he didn't put any gold flakes on it and when asked he said they don't do that anymore....but I asked for it since it's still on the menu and that was why I had chosen to get it so he did shake a little bit on it. I know it doesn't add to the taste but it ups the fanciness of it. XD

I found this gem of a Bakery on Uber Eats during 2020 Covid lockdowns. I loved everything I ate, and ordered multiple times. The owner always left super kind and funny post it notes on the order, and even recognised repeat orders! Unfortunately there was a period of time where it seems my delivery address was out of the radius, so I wasn 't able to get my Kouign fix!!I finally had the time to visit Chinatown today and picked up some sandos and kouigns this afternoon. My daughter had the OG Kouign first, and her eyes literally almost popped put of her eye sockets. Then she had a taste of the egg sando and was hooked on the chewy sesame baguette. Gave her a taste of the birdcage and her eyes rolled back! Lastly gave her the queen of all Kouigns, the treasure chest, and she literally said this is better than heaven! and I want all of these treasure chests for my next birthday party ???Amazing pastries and I love the creative and unique umami bombs in each bite.I was too shy to express my love for the Kouigns in person when I saw the owner, but after finishing my delicious meal, I had to confess and leave a review. Keep up the amazing work, and will definitely be back. ???Sorry no pics, cuz they 're all in our tummies lol. ?

Came here right when they opened so I knew everything was fresh out of the oven. Not sure if it's because they just opened and weren't prepped or if everything gets made in front of you like I got to see him pipe the toppings on my cookies and that was fun. Had the following: The Dark Moon Cookie definitely my favorite. All the flavors came through. Browned butter is just so good. Highly recommend. White Rabbit Cookie This seemed like a cookie with a melted white rabbit on it. It was OK. I think the white rabbit candy flavor is quite subtle so it's hard for it to have that big of an impact. The Kouign delicious. Flaky and sticky. I did notice he didn't put any gold flakes on it and when asked he said they don't do that anymore....but I asked for it since it's still on the menu and that was why I had chosen to get it so he did shake a little bit on it. I know it doesn't add to the taste but it ups the fanciness of it. XD