The Cupcake Shoppe

2417 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON

Due to work and unwillingness to traverse across GTA just for a cupcake, my mission to find the best cupcake hasn't been too successful. Over the weekend, I forced myself to start my list by making a visit to The Cupcake Shoppe at Yonge and Eglinton. I started out quite optimistic, but that changed shortly after.



The cupcakes were $2.50 each, which is averagely priced for that size. I ended up getting only three because I wanted to be sure it was good before I committed myself to a dozen. I chose the following:

Opposites Attract- This was a vanilla cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting and a Smartie on top. For some reason, the frosting was grainy and not smooth. I could feel the sugar particles on my tongue while I was eating it. Also, I'm not a fan of Smarties. M&Ms> Smarties.

Mint Chocolate- It's a chocolate cupcake with mint buttercream frosting. The mint frosting was too bland. I think their intent was to showcase the mintiness but ended up making a tasteless one. Also, the cake portion wasn't moist. Moistness is key!



James Brown. This was a chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting. This is the best tasting cupcake out of the three I tried from here. But don't get me wrong, it's still sub-par.




So what's the verdict?

The cake part was dry. The frosting fell short for 2 out of the 3 I tried. Simply put, their cupcakes are overrated.



On a positive note, their packaging is kind of cute. They do a good job on the decorative aspect, but the taste is lacking.

Yorkie, Not for Girls!

I went to the Old Firehall Confectionery on Main Street Unionville this weekend and found the Yorkie "Not for Girls" chocolate bar. Sexist ! How can a candy bar discriminate against females? I wanted to buy it just so I can say "Hah, I'm a girl and I bought it". I quickly realized if I did, I'm doing exactly what they want and succumbing to their marketing gimmick. That whole reverse psychology thing isn't going to work on me. I'm too smart for that, right?


I have three theories of how this whole grand idea materialized:

1) I'm almost 99% sure that a group of misogynistic neanderthals whose motto is "bros before hoes" came up with this whole concept.

2)That, or a support group consisting of extremely bitter, whipped and emasculated married men that cower at the sound of their wive's voice. "Take that wifey, this is the part of my life you CAN'T take away from me. OK dear, I'm sorry. I won't raise my voice at you again and you can have some."

3)A bunch of male die-hard chocolate lovers that are tired of chocolate being associated with women. They too, men, love to gorge in chocolate during moments of emotional eating. This derivative of the lovely cocoa bean also serves as an aphrodisiac for them. Simply put, this is basically their attempt to rightfully reclaim what's theirs. The chocolate bar.

Okay, so my theories are a bit far fetched, completely absurd and made up haha. Or are they?


This candy bar is quite chunky. Maybe the creators thought "we'll make this chocolate bar brimming with masculinity by making it extra chunky so it can't fit into a girl's dainty little mouth". Oh, the joke's on you Yorkie, we've had larger things in our mouths. For example, ice cream bars, bananas, sandwiches etc. Hmm what were YOU thinking pervs? Get your mind out of the gutter!


I read the label and it contains 21.5 grams of fat. Maybe it really isn't for girls because the fat content alone turned me off. For 21 grams of fat, I rather eat a McDonald's 9 piece chicken nuggets or a quarter pounder.

By the way, this weekend was so nice and sunny. Summer, come faster!

St. Lawrence Market

92 Front Street East
Toronto, ON

I recently made a trip out to St. Lawrence Market out of boredom and hunger. On Saturdays, they have a farmers market in the North building starting bright and early at 5am. Usually, by the time I get there, only the leftovers and rejects are left. I really should wake up earlier, but who doesn't like to sleep in on the weekends. I think it's important to support local farmers by purchasing their products. I know usually they charge a slight premium, but it's fresher and helps keep local growers in business. I can't say that I buy locally very often, but I'll try to more often in the future.

Here's are some pictures I've taken recently and over the summer:


Portuguese Tart I randomly bought in the lower level.

Whoever created this is a genius. How many of you have excitedly brought a banana to work only to find it's been battered up so badly that you thought Chris Brown was the culprit (Ok, not funny and I know I made a lame joke in poor taste)? Although I'm 99% sure most bananas aren't that long and big, I guess it never hurts to overcompensate. This phallic shaped contraption proves to be quite useful, but I'd be a bit embarrassed be seen holding this. It reminds me of something you would find in a shop called "Aren't We Naughty" (at Yonge & Sheppard, I've never been there I swear).

This place makes their own pasta. Freshly made pasta is considered better because the rougher texture (in comparison to ones that are mass produced) retains more sauce. Every time I come here they're giving out samples.


St. Urbain's bagels are fantastic. They're chewy, soft and baked in a wood burning oven.






Sausages. It looks so unappetizing when it's rolled up like that. It reminds me of intestines.


Tilapia Fish Sandwich from Buster's Sea Cove.

Apparently their peameal bacon sandwich is really popular. Maybe it's because I'm not a peameal fan, but I didn't find anything special about it.


Blowfish. I've always wondered what fugu tastes like.