Growing up in a Chinese family, bakeries like Maxim's is a staple for birthdays. I think went…read morethrough the entire cake menu at least once every year. In Vancouver, it's easy to get caught up chasing the newest "it" spot but a recent stroll through Metrotown reminded me of why classics endure. I couldn't believe it was only $3.25 compared to the pricier and smaller portions at other bakeries. I got a slice of coffee cake and it was exactly as I remembered: pillowy soft sponge with perfect light cream. Sometimes "tried and true" spots are the best because they never let you down. And yes, I inhaled entire thing on a bench outside the shop.

Been here multiple times, one of the few places in GVA that I'd specifically make the trip out to…read more Note THEY ONLY ACCEPT CASH Taste 1/1* Definitely one of the better bakeries we've tried in the whole GVA. Their red bean pastries are my fav, wife likes their pineapple buns and Napoleon cake. Value 1/1* Prices may be slightly higher, but worth it as it always hits the spot! Service 1/1* If you aren't used to it, they may sound slightly rude, but that's just Cantonese Cleanliness 1/1* No complaints Overall/Revisit 1/1* Would continue to return Above and beyond? 0/+1*

I haven't been to Kanadell in many years as it's quite far from me. I used to love it quite a lot…read more When I tried their breads recently, i was somewhat disappointed. Firstly, in today's economy, the prices have gone up; however, what I got wasn't really on par with the price tags. The melon pan had no filling in it which is the norm, however, i couldn't even taste hojicha. The "melon" part of the bread all fell off after one bite. I've not had a melon pan that was like this before. The beef curry pan was delicious but there was barely any filling in it. I remember there was more many years ago. It used to be one of my favorite items from Kanadell so it was definitely a disappointment. Lastly, the animal character with red bean filling inside, there was also barely any filling in it. The earl Grey shortbread cookies tasty but I found it a tad bit expensive because it was a small packaging .

A neighbourhood favourite with all the popular Japanese goods and freshly made Japanese food…read more The curry is a good generous help of rice and ground beef curry. Top it off with pork katsu for $3.50. The curry is mild and rich. The pork katsu nicely fried. I also purchased the Japanese egg sando which is far better than Canadian 7 Eleven Japanese egg sandwich.

Come here for baked goods but stay away from the cakes! I came here on a Saturday morning and…read moreordered some egg tarts, which looked like they were straight out of the oven. I also ordered 2 strips of Chinese doughnuts, but they gave me 4. I guess one order comes with 2, which makes sense since they're $2.50 each. My husband texted me to pick up some cakes, so I chose the coffee cake and Black Forest cake. After breakfast I was excited to try the coffee cake. When I dug in with my fork, the cake was hard. It tasted at least 2 or 3 days old. It's so gross that the bakery would sell old cake, I feel ripped off.

Pine house bakery has a really great variety of Chinese baked goods! I'm always surprised at how…read morewell stocked and low the prices are. My favourite is their peanut napoleon cake for $2.80, as the pastry layers are fresh and crunchy. I wish they were open a little longer into the night and it's a treat when I'm able to drop by before they close at 5.

This place is a gem, not a great location and traffic is horrible. The food and pastries are…read moreamazing and brings me back to some of my traditional favourite that I don't get allot anymore. The service is great, fast and friendly. I would rather buy my baked goods here than T&T or anywhere else

This is the place to go for old school HK bakery items that won't break the bank. True to the very…read morefaded price list out front, the prices remain reasonable. Counter service, in and out type of place. Displayed in standard bakery style cases are your HK bakery staples, some breads, and Western style baked goods. Place is big enough to fit a comfortable 6-7 people. No muss no fuss. Cash only & nothing to fault service on. They do package in brown paper bags only so i'd recommend bringing an old cake box or the like if you're planning to scoop up more than a few items as the bags do get oily from the butter/oils from the baked goods. Free parking on Hastings and some side streets. Food wise- only tried their pineapple bun & egg tart. It's $1 each, no tax. Both tastes fine. No major faults. Hope the pricing remains the same. I did wish that overwhelming baked goods smell would be present but maybe I didn't come early enough.

I like this store especially when I'm hungry and needing a quick bite. My favorites are the bbq…read morepork and beef sandwiches. They taste good and are reasonably priced. Wish they had more fillings though. Be forewarned they have a lot of air, lol. But I know it's a high inflation environment. They also have plenty of bread options. They even have cakes. I tried the Black Forest Butter Cake and it was good, creamy and fluffy and would have gone well with coffee. I was satisfied! The place is clean. It's inside the mall. They take cash only unfortunately. So have to make sure you have cash with you.

They put a big piece of coloured plastic (black and red) to surround the 8" durian cake that I…read moreordered and they taped the plastic which made it difficult to remove it (usually the bakeries put a small transparent plastic to surround the cake without the tape because it is easier to remove it this way). Also, the coloured plastic was unnecessary for the kind of cake that I ordered (usually it is used to stabilize the mousse cake but mine is a cream cake). The coloured plastic made the cake look ugly, and it gave them an excuse to put less cream and decoration for the cake. Everything was tasteless - the cream (powder taste), the durian meat (weak taste mixed with cream), the sponge cake (minimal egg taste), and the fruits on top of the cake (they did not have the clear sugar glaze for the fruits; they tasted bitter and the kiwi still had bits of skin on - it was gross). The cake was nasty because the flavour of the ingredients was minimal and it was not sweet. It deterred you from finishing it. In addition, there was a small piece of debris (brown shell) in the cake; it was scary. They did a poor job for the cake (it was just big and heavy - quantity over quality); it was very disappointing. In terms of the service, the staff asked me to pay some deposit when I ordered the cake at the store. It was unusual for bakeries to ask customers for deposit because usually customers pay when they pick up the cake (e.g. when you order the cake by phone then you pay when you pick it up). When I went there to pick up the cake, the staff did not greet me, look at me, or talk to me at all; she just took my receipt and retrieved the cake. She did not even say 'thank you' and she looked annoyed. The staff should be happy to get the whole cakes for customers because the whole cakes are the most expensive item in the store and they are celebratory. The fact that she just taped one small candle with the plastic knife on the box without asking was unprofessional. Cakes are about happy occasions. But their cake made me feel terrible after eating it. They charged me $80 for the cake. It was not even worth half the price with the service. P.S. The bakeries always have a catalogue of cakes for customers because the store would not have all kinds of cakes available in the fridge. Then the staff would explain to customers of their design capabilities. That is service. The fact that the bakeries do not provide a catalogue to customers and just give customers a price list instead means they want to limit the choices for customers by just showing the customers the cakes in the fridge. That means they do not want customers to be happy. If the staff do not want to sell to customers, that means they do not want business.

Great HK style desserts and drinks. This location was close to where we were staying as we tried…read morethe other location before. The service was excellent as they helped bring towels and paper when the soda drink fizzled over the table.

Snackshot has quick service and great ambiance that reminds you of old Hong Kong. However, the…read morechicken balls are not great, they are not like the kind you occasionally find at dimsum but rather like the reheatable kind at Costco. I attached a picture of the chicken balls

Decisions, decisions, decisions…read more I've been coming here more often than I really need to but not really because I want to. It's more a need to. The seniors like it. Especially the Old Bean, and it's proximal. Why does he like it so much? Breakfast. Scratching your head? I'm not, because I live in his reality. This is a bakery for cakes, pasties, and other HK style sweet snacks. Even the so-called savory items in here are slightly sweet, the wiener buns are an example. As the Old Bean is wont to do, this is what he consumes for breakfast. Pastries and cake, not congee. Although he'll go out for congee, but at home, it's cake. Chestnut cake, at 9:30AM, along with robusta bean pre ground coffee, aka MJB, out of a jumbo-sized tin or plastic tub, from a percolator, after a rolling boil of 20 minutes. Basically, a combination of bitter melon and sulfuric acid is the end product, generously seasoned with 6 heaping teaspoons of sugar, and a bit of milk is the way he likes it. This is not hyperbole. It's a gruesome brew in the morning, enough to kill the appetite and palate of a starving alligator or any reptillian in the Florida everglades. So this is why I'm here. It's my living certainty. I do eat stuff from here every now and then but not on any regular basis. I order B-Day cakes from here for occasions also. It's what the seniors are accustomed to. Helpful staff. Paid street parking in front and a couple of free spaces in the back. Grab and go place. Minimal interior seating. Cash or debit only.

This Maxim's stocks the standard selection of sweet and savoury Chinese pastries. A nice touch here…read moreis the hot steamed buns. Affordable prices. It looks like they also have cheap coffee and tea, but cheap in quality, not just price. Cash only. There are some tables inside or some picnic tables on the nearby closed street. The place looks a little dated and dim. I got a vegetarian steamed bun and a fruit cocktail cake. The steamed bun, kept nice and warm, was soft and the veggies inside were savoury and crunchy. I'd recommend this. It was my first time trying a Chinese fruit cocktail cake - I always would see them at Chinese bakeries and be tempted - so I have no basis for comparison on other fruit cocktail cakes, but I enjoyed the flavour. The cake was light with lots of fruit in the filling. It seemed a bit sweeter than the Asian cakes I'm used to. The sweeter cake and frosting in combination with the fruit cocktail, which is itself sweetened, made this a sweeter dessert than I would've liked. I'd be open to trying them again if it was in my neighbourhood, but it wouldn't be my first choice for Chinese desserts just based off this one cake.

Neighbor got me some buns from here. She told me that they have the best Beijing style plain buns…read more They are dense but when you heat them up a bit they are nice and fluffy. They had a hint of sweetness. Their buns are really good

Had a hard time finding this place because the name was just in Chinese and I didn't see "Zhao Mah"…read morein English anywhere. It was the only one open in that corner of the street when I got there though so I figured this was it. Plenty of street parking in this area btw and we went before 9am so it was free Pretty good prices but I didn't think the food was anything crazy Bbq pork bun: 4/5 I liked the flavor on this but there wasn't as much meat as I've had in other buns so the ratio was a bit off for my preference Lemon bun: 4/5 I don't usually love lemon flavored things but I liked the texture on this a lot since it was really light and fluffy