Panemor Bakery
Panemor Bakery is a bakery-cafe on the edge of Moss Park that serves a wide variety of Iranian-influenced drinks and pastries.
Though the Queen Street storefront first opened this summer, Panemor has been around for a lot longer than that. The company began as a supplier of baking equipment before eventually branching out into food service.
While Panemor still provides many businesses with specialized machinery, they also use their equipment to prepare their own baked goods.
Several Panemor products can be seen behind the bakery's front counter, though chances are they won't be the first thing you notice upon walking in.
That honor goes to the impressive selection of sweets, which are displayed in a glass case with handwritten labels.
Baskets of fresh bread line the green and gold walls, while bags of buns are displayed on a spinning rack near the entrance.
Though most customers take their meals to go, a small lunch counter looks out onto Queen Street, allowing you to eat or drink your purchase at a more leisurely pace.
Panemor Bakery serves dishes with Turkish, Iranian and North American influences. All of their pastries are baked fresh daily using locally sourced ingredients.
Croissants range in both price and flavour, with plain ones running for $3.50 and filled ones averaging out at around $4.50.
Both kinds of croissant are rich and buttery, with a light, flaky texture. Fillings include classic combinations, such as chocolate and pistachio, as well as more unusual ingredients, such as walnuts and Nutella.My favourite type of croissant was filled with soft, creamy custard and topped with a light dusting of icing sugar.Cream horns ($3.50) are another type of filled pastry, shaped like a long cylinder. The outside of the pastry is speckled with sugar, while the cream inside is mixed with chopped pistachios, giving it a bittersweet taste similar to baklava.Cream puffs ($3.50) are made by piping pastry cream into a hollow shell.The resulting pastry is a fist-sized ball of dough with a soft center. Be careful when biting into it: though this dessert may look solid, the cream inside can explode out at the slightest touch.Swiss rolls ($4.99) are spiral-shaped desserts, topped with whipped cream, strawberry jam, chopped pistachios and chocolate drizzle.
Despite the multitude of toppings, this dish isn't overwhelming in the least. Rather, the different flavours help to enhance the sponge cake, which is soft and airy, but a little plain on its own.Panemor Bakery's take on cheesecake ($2.99) is a little different from the norm.
Instead of a large triangular slice with a graham cracker crust, this cheesecake is small and round, with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios and a cherry on top.
Strawberry cheese sticks ($3.99) are similar to cream horns in both shape and composition. The main difference is that, while cream horns are stuffed with custard, these are filled with a delicious mixture of strawberry jam and cream cheese.The cafe latte ($4.85) is a standard latte, made with espresso and steamed milk. Matcha lattes ($5.80) are available in both warm and iced variations. Both versions are smooth and creamy, with a slightly earthy aftertaste.The iced mocha ($5.50) combines milk, espresso and cocoa powder to create a tasty beverage with a sweet, chocolatey finish.Panemor Bakery is located at 129 Queen Street East.
Fareen Karim