Porto's Bakery

After a trip to the Citadel outlets, I decided to stop by Porto's for a light dinner. The one in Downey is the newest establishment and is just less than 6 miles away from the outlets. Traffic at 6pm gets pretty heavy along the I-5. Also a panhandler was weaving in and out of traffic.

The parking structure is free of charge, although you have the option of valet service also.

A line was already starting to form outside. I was 3rd in line but the people in front of me said they only wanted cakes and they were allowed inside. Inside were two main lines heavily packed and once inside, more people immediately lined up after me. However, the lines went by relatively fast as there is quite an impressive staff.

When in the "Bakery" line, you are asked what type of pastries you want first. So I ordered the Chicken Crouquette, a Chicken Empanada and 3 Potato Balls. After you place these orders, your helper places them in a box for you and you wait in line at the cashier. The cashier will then ask if you want anything else. So I get the Pan con Bistek with a Guava smoothie. My order came out to be just under $20.

Despite the intimidating large number of people, everything is highly organized and your order is well taken care of. The people making the drinks call out your number and it was only a matter of minutes before mine was done. The drink maker even asked if I would like whipped cream...which I didn't want any, but it's always nice to be asked if you want extras and things isinit???

Around the corner were where other people were waiting for their orders. They have these high counter table things where you can put down the pastries you've ordered and perhaps nibble on them while you wait for your sandwiches...I nibbled on my potato ball and it is pretty yummy. It has potato and meat inside and they do not skimp out on anything like some places where it might be filled with air. It is a good size and very satisfying. My only complaint is that it doesn't hold together too well as in it starts to lose its structure after two bites or so...and hence it is probably best eaten in under three bites but I'm the type of person that likes to savor every moment of a good thing.

I'm not quite sure why the place draws soo many people. It is a good sized establishment...it looks like there is even a second floor. The food is good; the service is fantastic...it is clean with no strange smells to speak of other than a tantalizing aroma of quality food...

The large number of people in line is rather reminiscent of that at the 85 Degrees Bakery. The waiting experience is more pleasant or it may just be that the customers are less pushy here.

Perhaps considering that there is quite a large number of fast food restaurants nearby, Porto's is considered to be quite a fancy establishment even though it appears to be just pastries and sandwiches.

I have had their little cakes and sweets on my birthday last year at the establishment in Glendora. The sweets are beautifully created but I thought that the taste was just ok to the point that I didn't even finish it right away. Then my cat died three days later and the sweets just sat in the fridge til my mom finished them up...that is how impressed I am with their sweets.

I'm not much of a coffee drinker but they have a huge selection of different types of the caffeinated beverage and could be heaven for coffee addicts. Their guava smoothie is good, freshly made with all natural ingredients, nothing wierd. But with the same price, you could go out and buy a carton of Sun Tropics Guava juice which is exactly what it tastes like.

Sandwiches are freshly made, but again I felt that there was something lacking in the taste. More butter on the bread perhaps. However, I would definitely go back for the potato balls and chicken croquettes if I were in the area again.

Wild Thyme Cafe & Bakery

I had the Wild Mushroom Pasta for the 2nd time last night. The first time was amazing! I had trouble deciding what I wanted to eat for dinner last night. I was almost tempted to try one of those fancy restaurants because it's "Restaurant Week" but decided I didn't feel like breaking the bank with a $26 meal. $11.53 was perfect thank you very much- that's the price of the pasta which came with a slice of bread.

They are very nice about ordering things to go by phone. The guy asked if I wanted garlic bread or zucchini bread. I read a review that the zucchini bread was a must so I asked for that...well I think I should have gone for the garlic. The zucchini bread was like sweet, not really good with the pasta...I mean it tasted almost like carrot cake, like that type of sweet. The texture was amazing, moist and fresh, no complaints about the quality, just that it didn't go too well with pasta. I ended up saving half of it for afterwards, like a snack, which was good.

The only thing about ordering it to go was that whatever oil, truffle oil perhaps, that they used spilled out of the box. They could have used a better container so the pasta probably wasn't quite as flavorful as it otherwise could have been by the time I got home to enjoy it. Otherwise, service was pretty good.

Even indoor seating, the first two times I went, it was quite good. They have free refills for most of their drinks. Their freshly squeezed lemonade is amazing, not too sweet, especially refreshing on a hot summer's day.

My only complaint would be I wish their bread portion was larger but considering they are a bakery, not a high end Italian restaurant, they probably want you to BUY their bread and not mooch off of free bread baskets.

I would return and recommend this place to people that enjoy a comfortable relaxing environment and who appreciate fresh bread and organic cooking.

Europane Bakery

I was walking around Old Town and decided to try out this bakery. Actually I was craving something savory and unique but didn't feel like paying for a $8 sandwich that I could make at home easily. I ended up getting a jasmine tea and a sea salt caramel macaroon which looked very interesting. In all honesty I didn't expect too much. The tea was good- it's kinda hard to mess up a classic tea like jasmine even in tea bag form. I kinda had a rough afternoon and never got around to eating the macaroon til later in the evening after dinner and oh my- one bite and I felt like I was in heaven! It's true what they say about saving the best for last. The outside was perfectly crispy and inside was a rich creamy wonderfully oozy texture bursting with caramel goodness, with just the right amount of sweetness that at the same time leaves your tongue with the taste of sea salt as though your mouth had just been to the Mediterranean Sea and back during the whole 2 seconds that the macaroon survived in your mouth. Wow! It's been a long time since I've been this impressed with non-Asian desserts and it definitely left me wanting more. I'm going to be thinking about it at work tomorrow...

They have a variety of flavors. Unfortunately I don't remember what they were all called. There was chocolate...and this green one, I think pistachio.

I should have taken a picture of it. I thought about it after the first marvelous bite but shoved the rest into my mouth upon deciding that I must return and get more anyway, so wait til next time for pics.

My complaint would be that it is not a convenient place to park and dash in and out; unless you walk you must pay for parking in the public structures and the Paseo one is right across the street. Second of all it was rather busy with a hectic environment when you're in line. And third of all, I just love it when they ask me "for here or to go" when it is obvious there are no more available indoor seating especially when one man was hogging up a table of like 20 seats. There were however a few tables outside, but it was a cloudy rainy day.

The tea and the macaroon came up to just under $4, which might seem like a wee bit expensive snack, yet it is still cheaper than a Starbuck's Caramel Macchiato and I would much rather have my macaroon with tea and eat it too.

Taipan Bakery

Don't let the lack of long lines fool you. Taipan Bakery on Baldwin Ave is a great little bakery with fresh breads, cakes and pastries. Like most other bakeries, visits are best in the morning than evenings, in which the scant leftovers are all that you can choose from.

Additionally, this bakery is the only one I know of with curry bread.

They also have egg tarts, mini chicken pies and curry pies.

85 Degrees Cafe

The first time I went to the 85 Degrees Cafe, the line went out the door. This time there weren't that many people, and for a good reason too. None of the bread I got was hot! I went at around 2:30pm on a weekday.

I got the Hawaiian Pizza bread. I am typically wary of breads that call itself a pizza but there were several suggestions for it on yelp. Unfortunately, it was not fresh and not even warm at all. It was tough and chewy, not soft like I'd expect. I only took a bite of it; it wasn't very tasty either. I decided to save the rest to be nuked in the microwave at home.

The garlic bread was good even when not warm and fresh. How can bread not be good when it's full of garlic buttery goodness? It had a decent enough texture as well, slightly crunchy, but not hard and stale.

The coconut cream bread was the best out of the three I chose. It definitely does not need to be warmed up to be enjoyed. The bread was wonderfully soft like a sponge and the coconut cream was not too sweet. However, it would have been nice if they put more coconut flakes or coconut milk. The cream kind of just tasted like whipped cream otherwise.

There were advertisements for their iced sea salt coffee, so I ordered a medium of that. It's decent enough for a typical non-coffee drinker. Reviews on yelp had been good for the sea salt coffee. It's a bit bitter for me. Added a pack of brown sugar.

My major complaint was that you have to wait for the drinks to be made. They call out your number, but they don't call it very loud. You have to stand right next to the counter, staring into where they display the cakes and sweets, where a lot of other people are standing around (some waiting for drinks, some just staring at the sweets). So, someone had called out some numbers and a guy had asked me what numbers they had just called and I repeated "122, 123". And he asks me "they said 123?" and I said "yes". Well, then he asks the guy at the counter again the number. I hate it when people do that, makes you feel all self-conscious, like your answer isn't good enough for some reason. And on top of that the girl he was with pointed to the label stuck on the cup which also had the number. It's like how many sources do they need to check their numbers.

The cakes look pretty good as well. Coffee creme brulee anyone?

The Chocolate Marble cake isn't very tasty by the way.

A curious thing is how come the branch in Taipei has bread and pastries that are always piping hot and the crowds don't act quite as crazy as those in the US?

I have also realized that there really isn't a wide selection of breads. It's just garlic bread, multi-grain bread, that black squid inked break, the blueberry cream one, coconut cream, some Danish, Pizza, pork sung, some French cheese bread, hot dog, and that is it! That is what they have one one wall and they have the exact same thing spread out on 2 other sides! Why is there such a freaking long line on the weekends? How is this place different from Cloverleaf or JJ Bakery?? Is it because they don't have the traditional red bean paste bread! They also don't have curry bread, one of my favorites from other bakeries.