Caldense - Web site:

Macau would be the obvious destination for the best selection, though I had been contemplating the existence of a bakery closer to home that would craft the flaky pastry from scratch (ie. not T&T . A quick Yelp search landed me on Caldense Bakery's page.<br/ <br/ In the Shoppers plaza just north of Eglinton and Creditview was the European style bakery housed in a cozy corner. Parking was abundant (thank goodness! , but somewhat tight in places due to trucks that were stalled for unloading purposes.<br/ <br/ The storefront was easily recognizable even at a distance, unlike cafes in Toronto, and consisted of a series of glass windows to allow for a decent amount of natural light to penetrate the interior. Half of the bakery was allocated for plastic tables and chairs, while the remainder was comprised of a cashier and storage area, hot water dispensers, and two large display cases one for baked, bread like goods, and the other for elaborately decorated pastries.

FOOD:<br/ I had come here for a quick snack on a Friday afternoon at around 12:45 pm. After browsing the dessert section, I had settled on the Portuguese Tart, which I’ve had elsewhere however, had to try at this shop as I’ve heard good things about it. I received the tart on a small espresso cup plate, which I thought was cute to see. The tart itself had a large amount of filling, and was quite large as well. I did enjoy the crust as I thought it was nicely-done however, it was a bit rough to bite into in some parts, which made it difficult to chew at times. The insides of the tart was fresh and tasty; definitely a pretty good tart to recommend to others! I also bought three others to take home for a later time. <br/ <br/ ATMOSPHERE:<br/ This shop was medium-sized, with about ten tables available for dining. It seemed that most of the individuals were there for a quick coffee and dessert therefore, many people didn’t stay very long once they had finished their items. There was also a large TV in the back on the wall which was showing a local news broadcast. The atmosphere of the shop felt comfortable, with ample room available to not feel rushed and to enjoying your items. Also, there weren’t many people at the time that I went therefore, there wasn’t a lot of noise in the shop.<br/ <br/ SERVICE:<br/ The lady at the front that was behind the counter was quite welcoming, answering all of the questions that I had regarding the items that I was interested in. She also was patient, and knowledgeable about all of the products. I enjoyed speaking with her as it seemed that she really enjoyed what she was doing, thank you for such great service!<br/ <br/ COST:<br/ 4 Portuguese Tarts: $1.30 Each x 4 $5.20 (Taxes Included)<br/ <br/ WOULD YOU RETURN?<br/ Most definitely! I would love to try the other desserts that were there, along with some of their lunch items. Great service as well!

Yummy Pastel de Nata (Portuguese Tart). I went here while waiting for my meal from Zita's to be prepared and though this small little bakery seem a bit subdued, the flavour of the Portuguese tart is anything but tame! I was pleasantly wow'ed by the flavour, texture, and low costs of this yummy treat. <br/ <br/ I arrived early evening and ordered 2 Portuguese tarts from the fairly large selection of pastries. The ladies serving me were warm and friendly and offering ideas of what I could buy next. They were good at describing the yummy items that I saw and pointed at. <br/ <br/ These tarts are not small... they seem to be larger than the egg tarts I get from the Chinese bakeries. The crust was a nice buttery texture. It had the right blend of being crispy but also soft. It was so nice to bite into it. The custard was sweet but not overly eggy or sugary either. It wasn't a gel like texture but a nice smooth melt in your mouth feel. It also had some nice burnt sugar caramelized flavour on the top. Considering they were $1.20 each, I think that is a steal compared to other bakeries who have charged $1.75 per tart.<br/ <br/ I really want to go back and try more items. This is a definite winner for me!

Mondays are when bakeries take their weekly day off. This is the case for my fav bakeries. So I decided to head over to Caldense to try their baked goods. I ended up ordering some of their cake slices. I chose the Black Forest, Red Velvet, Strawberry Cheesecake and the Strawberry-Lime-Coconut. The cakes were most enjoyable. They were all moist with a good amount of balance between tasting just sweet enough without being overly sweet. Some might wish to enjoy their cakes with maximum sweetness or less etc. But I liked the taste. I also tried the chocolate croissants and some crusty buns papo secos). The chocolate croissants were not a hit with my lunch party friends because it was overly sweet. This was made so because there was a crust of brown sugar or something like that on it which made it taste too sweet. The crusty buns were crusty on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. They were a perfect match with some fresh pasta. So all in all I really enjoyed the baked goods and I will return to try their other offerings. Please pop in and let us all know what your thoughts are. The service was friendly, helpful and efficient.

Top rated restaurant if you are into culinary wonders. Healthy masterpieces prepared with extreme care amd precision, balanced to not overwhelm the senses, 100% fresh and 100% natural/organic. Check the own out on Iron Chef Canada.