Dessert Trends Patisserie-Bistro
154 Harbord Street
416-916-8155
brunch for two with coffee and juice, including taxes and tip: $60
What I sometimes miss in Toronto is the profusion of French-style patisserie-cafés, with lots of adorably wicked small cakes; all cream, mousse etc., that seduce both the eye and the appetite (as if mine needed seducing!). So when I stumbled upon Dessert Trends right at the Harbord/Brunswick intersection I was immediately fascinated by the exquisite array of colours and shapes that greeted me from the glass display case: individual golden pear tarts, with a cute little pear baked whole in the middle; monochrome geometrical chocolate bark boxes with chocolate mousse; and brilliant glazed mini-domes topped with exotic fruit. And it turns out they serve weekend brunch as well.
My husband and I took the last available table, settling on a snug cream-coloured sofa facing the French windows and Harbord Street. There was no music – just the pleasant low chatter of people sitting around us: dignified old ladies, funky youths hanging out together, and couples, some of them with children. Every table was graced with a clear glass of water sporting a single floating flower.
Glasses of water arrived almost as soon as we sat down, together with the casually printed brunch menu. Soups, salads, sandwiches and quiche as well as pancakes, fritters, omelettes, etc. were all on offer. From French onion soup to lamb or turkey meatloaf sandwiches, the menu was a selection of great bistro classics with a definite oriental twist, even featuring duck eggs. We went for a snow crab quiche and a baked duck egg and chorizo sandwich with fingerling potatoes (I am not much of an egg-eater but I never had an opportunity to taste duck-eggs before so I decided to be adventurous) and fresh-pressed grapefruit and orange juice to start. Dessert Trends is hoping to get their liquor license (and start full-scale dinners) by mid-May, but in the meantime the choice of drinks remains limited.
The smiling perky server returned to tell us rather anxiously that our juice was being pressed but the kitchen had run out of chorizo, and offered me a choice of shrimp or smoked chicken for my duck eggs. I settled for the former and harmony being restored, she became cheerful again. But when my dish came it was something I didn’t expect at all – a funny kind of sandwich, a cast-iron frying-pan with greenish duck eggs baked over-easy with a mix of bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and shrimp, and a bowl of green salad with grated carrot and a single fingerling potato, which instantly shot from my fork to the floor (glad nobody noticed that!). The server detected my uneasiness and was genuinely concerned, but she told me it was always served that way and that she could bring me some bread if I wished (later we cleared the mix-up with the manager, who thanked me and assured me that the menu would be reprinted with the dish transferred into its proper section). As for my gastronomic first occasion – well, the eggs had a subtle hint of vanilla or custard in their flavour, but I couldn’t finish them, they were too runny for my taste. Snow crab quiche was perfect though, soft and juicy, not the yellow rubber impersonating quiche that one can get in some places.
As I was dissatisfied with my duck egg encounter I decided to order apple pancakes. Our server was apologetic again, advising a 20–minute wait, but that only made me happy – it’s nice to have pancakes made from scratch for you! I also had the pleasure to observe the mastermind of Dessert Trends, the famous Chef Donald Duong (Gold Prize at the 2004 Culinary Olympics in Europe) greeting his old customers and earnestly discussing wedding-cake particulars with new clients. All around Dessert Trends one can see evidence of his art – colourful translucent figures made of pulled and spun sugar, many-tiered celebration cakes decorated with incredible complexity, shelves of elegant sweet gifts. Chef Don has made cakes for the Pope, the Queen, and the Prime Minister – and the orders evidently keep pouring in. Meanwhile my husband was enjoying a raspberry cheesecake with a wonderful mixed fruit coulis (although I noticed that chocolate mousse was served in the same way – which doesn’t work for me), but pronounced it a bit too sweet. And finally my pancakes – actually my pancake – came. It was a killer of a pancake; golden, enormous and plump with whole apple quarters baked in its batter, and reminded me of the French peasant apple pancake matafan, only much more sophisticated, but its size nearly finished me off. The only thing that rescued me was an espresso – amazingly good.
So all in all, a thoroughly nice ambiance and cheerful and attentive service, food ranging from very good to medium, spectacular desserts (if a bit on the sweet side) and great espresso. And if the place is full one can always get a drink to-go and lounge on the front bench in the sunshine.
