Sweet Somethings

Riyadhizens have a major sweet tooth. Na-ah, don’t contradict me on that because I worked in the healthcare industry, not as a medical professional but still, and I know that most of the topics discussed in Saudi Arabia is about diabetes. Everyone loves sweets and there’s nothing wrong with it as long as consumed in moderation. Right? 

I just found out right now that I’m a bit over the normal blood sugar level and I need to start keeping my sugar intake in check. How sad is that? Anyway, that being said, I am now presenting to you some sweet escapes I’ve found in Riyadh… what? I am truly contradicting myself here. Well, what I’m thinking is, if I can’t eat more sweets now, at least I get to share these foodie discoveries with you. You eat for me. ;) 

The Cake House 

My go-to bakeshop for impromptu cakes

In my six years in the Kingdom, I have developed an instinct to look and feel differently towards the cakes served to me. I find most cakes here, especially the commercial ones, too sweet and too syrupy. They lack the fluffiness of a Goldilocks cake or the creaminess of a Red Ribbon chocolate icing. I miss those in the Philippines… until I discovered the next best thing in Riyadh: The Cake House. 

Yummy cakes!

Not at all cloying

The cakes in Cake House are named and flavored after the most popular chocolates here in Saudi Arabia: Mars, Galaxy, Candy, etc. And they also have a non-chocolate variety that I love: Honey. Their icing is not too sweet (almost unsweetened, claimed my brother who’s starting to share a free space in this blog everytime I have a food/resto entry) and their cake is soft and fluffy. Another great thing about the cakes in this shop is the very affordable price. SR59 and above is not at all bad. I will eat this cake every week if it doesn’t make me a diabetic. They also make customized cakes for every occasion. You should check out their wedding cakes that have traditional white icing piping and ribbons all around. So nostalgic! 

*****

Piece of Cake 

The Piece of Cake store is cuuute!

While waiting for the prayer time to finish so we can eat in the Backyard Grill, my friend and I decided to check out what’s beyond the corner of the street (just because we’re always curious and on the move like that). That’s when we discovered a dainty store named Piece of Cake. And guess what they offer? Haha! 

Pick your theme and character.

Don't wear the gown; eat it! :P

Mini cupcakes in varius flavors

Piece of Cake is a bakeshop that specializes in customized fondant cakes. Whatever your theme is, they can do it. If they can do this huge bridal gown cake (priced at a whopping SR 7,000 btw), I doubt they cannot do anything you request them! Their take on character cakes are awesome! We tried their cupcakes and I wasn’t wowed but for a cupcake, it’s fine. 

Do not blame me if your sugar levels go up than the normal okay? I am merely suggesting. Hahaha! Have a sweet week, Riyadhizens! Keep the happiness flowing! ~ Sundrenched

The Cake House

King Abdullah Road 

(just before reaching Takhasussi Street)

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

(various location; website is disabled)

*****

Piece of Cake

Abdallah Al Hamdan Street,

Sulaimania, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

(MAP)

T: +966-11-4664970

W: http://www.piece-of-cakes.com/en/

Twitter: @Piece_of_Cakes_

Saison Du Pain's Floss Buns, And More

When I was younger (and by that I mean... uh, I can't remember anymore when was that, haha!), I used to watch a Japanese anime called "Yakitate! Japan." It's about a boy who loves baking and wishes to come up with a bread worthy of Japan's name. I remembered being so hooked with it; I was amazed by the passion of the characters in the series over bread. For some reason, I can relate. Bread is not the number 1 carbs in a Filipino's diet (hello rice... and extra rice!) but we eat it a lot. I like bread a lot and I go the extra mile just to find delicious, unique breads in Riyadh. Remember Bread Talk? So, here's another bread shop in Riyadh that might pique your interest.

Bread is always in season at Saison Du Pain

Saison du Pain was suggested by one of our readers in our Facebook page. I got curious and visited their Instagram and found out that most of their patrons are Malaysians. Now that got me even more adamant to visit the place but it's in Exit 14. Should I venture out of the city center just for bread? Hmn, of course!!! For the love of bread. Haha! So, one fine morning, I visited Saison du Pain in Rabwa Plaza in Exit 14 (map below). It's a little store beside Baskin Robbins. 

The Saison Du Pain store

What to choose?

Yummy breads!

The store is bright and airy and the breads are well displayed in covered trays on wooden racks. I can clearly see the bread inside and naturally, I gravitated towards the floss bun:

Ahhhh floss buns!!!

A floss bun is a soft, fluffy bread topped with meat floss ('rousong'), a light and fluffy dried meat product that originated in Fujian, China, and mayonnaise. The bun is simple yet has savory and sweet flavors that go well together. Pork floss is commonly used but we all know that pork is not allowed in Saudi Arabia so the floss of Saison du Pain is chicken. I truly enjoyed this bread. Apart from the floss, it has a light filling of tart mayonnaise. The bread is soft. The store has a version of floss bread with a hotdog on it.

After finding my floss buns, I went around and looked at the other breads in the store. They have a lot of choices and I warn you, it's so hard to choose from the offerings of macarons, cakes, cup cakes, tarts, breads, pastries, and muffins. 

What's the occasion for today?

Solo servings

Strawberry cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, and red velvet

Coffee and chocolate, anyone?

Decadent singles

This tart looks amazing!

Fruit danish and chocolate croissants

Macaroons in different flavors

They also have the Mexican roti buns, which you are well familiar with the influx of them in the city center (remember this family feud?). But Saison du Pain amps up the taste factor by coming up with four flavors: cheese, buttermilk, chocolate, and of course, coffee. I tried the coffee and cheese and I must say, the cheese roti is the bomb! I love the combination of sweet and salty!

Eeny meany miney moo!

Crispy crust and soft bread inside

Curry bread: a bit bitter and sour for me

Now I usually am the decisive one among the Pink Tarha ladies and our friends but when you put me in a bread place, or any store with food (and stationary), I spend minutes going back and forth. However, I finally settled on breads that are quite new to me immediately (that's what a waiting taxi with a meter on can do to you, hehe). I ended up with a box of mixed sweet and salty buns: cheese and coffee roti (SR9), tomato cheese bun (SR6), chicken and potato curry bun (SR7), custard bun (SR5), potato cheese bun (SR7) and several pieces of chicken floss buns (SR5) which I nearly hoarded (sorry to those who came later and found that tray empty, haha!). I also tried their Brownies Cheesecake (SR9/slice), Macadamia Cheesecake (SR10/slice), and Apple Crumbled English Cake (SR15). The notable ones for me are the custard bun (yummy bread and not overwhelmingly sweet), macadamia cheesecake (creamy), cheese roti (sweet and salty), and the english cake (moist and with enough apple filling). 

Love their custard roll

Tomato and cheese makes a good combi in this bread

Saison du Pain is also a good morning stop because they have hot drinks, crepes, and pancakes. They have an extensive list of sweet crepes (ex. butterscotch crepe, banana nuttela, banana toffee, sweet cheese, creamy sweet corn and peanut, etc.) and salty crepes (ex. hotdog, chicken mortadella black pepper, egg onion, vegetarian, etc.). I want to try them next time. They can also do custom cakes for special occasions. You can check out their creations in their Instagram.

Bachelors can eat in the seats overlooking the street

So, what will you do to find good bread? I just traveled to Exit 14 alone and braved the morning rush just to get chicken floss buns. Am I crazy or what? Hey, a dose of craziness once in a while can't be that bad huh? ;) ~ Sundrenched

Saison Du Pain

Rabwa Plaza (after Tamimi Market), 

Exit 14, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

T: +966-11-454-8877

Twitter: @saisondupain

Instagram: saisondupain

Map:

Follow the pink arrows.

Directions: Take Khurais Road and stay on the right side. Turn right on Nahdah Road. Turn right when you see Prince Salman Kidney Diseases Center on your left. Go straight and you'll see the Rabwa Plaza on your right (it's the only mall in that area). DOn't go inside the parking lot of the mall. Continue straight until you see the Baskin Robbins store. Beside that is Saison Du Pain.

Of course, you can take any other smaller roads like Pepsi Road or King Abdulaziz Road. It's up to you  really. The map is there for reference.

Closer Look:

The A in the map is Rabwa Plaza. Saison du Pain is in the small building where Baskin Robbins is, right after Rabwa Plaza.

Such Sweet Cakery

One of the secrets of The Pink Tarha ladies is having keen eyes. While passing through roads and streets in Riyadh, we need to be able to see unusual sights like new stores and restaurants that weren't there before. Or signs that suddenly sprouted out of nowhere... or uhmn, came from somewhere but took us by surprise. Such a sign is Cakery Shop in Dabab Street. I thought I was already observant but apparently, I still need more practice in this craft as it's one of our friends who noticed it first. "Hey, there's something new in Dabab! Have you seen it?" (Lucky us, our friends tell us first of their discoveries. We have informers all around! Chos. Kidding.)

Cake beckoning!

Unique displays

Welcome to Cakery!

The first word that came to my mind when Eyecandy and I stepped into Cakery Shop is charming. Every thing is so cute. I love that their store is spacious enough to wish that they incorporate more tables and chairs for ladies to enjoy desserts and chit chat. With chairs as lovely as these, who wouldn't want to wish for more?

Won't you have a tea with me?

Pastel blue and pink accents

I WANT THIS SET!!!

The shop has lovely displays of table settings and jars of candies and marshmallows. (I love marshmallows!) They also have mugs that look so dainty I can easily break one or two by merely touching them. (I didn't touch any, I swear!) 

They have a rack of imported candies which I nearly didn't notice because the cakes  took my full attention. Oh goodness, their cakes! They're not called the "Cakery" for nothing. Their huge cakes on display took my breath away. The details were exquisite and the designs were done in good taste. My respect for cakes went up notches higher. (Admittedly, the cakes are taller than me so I had to look up and, in my mind, salute the creatives who did such stunning creations.)

Roses and pearls and gems... glam!

Gosh those flowers look real!

There's one cake that caught my attention and this I had to say (promise you won't tell), I wanted to steal it from its case just because it's so simple yet so gorgeous. (The truth is, I didn't want to take it... without the cake glass holder and cover. Haha!) The light yellow layers looked like they were fluttering in a soft breeze. It's surreal, almost magical. Don't worry, I still have my values intact and I didn't try to steal it.

I love you!

Now the Rose Cakes were a different story. You know how fairy tales are more untrue now that we're older? Staring at this cake, I was transported to the castle of Snow White and Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. The cakes are just the kind that princesses would eat don't you think? (Except for Sleeping Beauty... this is the cake she missed because she slept through most of the tale. :P) The endless petals  and swirling of icing that covers the entire cake is art in itself. I would love to learn how to do this!

<3

Oh-so-pink!

Which one will you choose today?

Can anything be more cuter in cake land?

The other character cakes were fun! Like Psy of the Gangnam Style phenomenon! Cool details. I can imagine you dancing with him. (Because I cannot imagine myself dancing Gangnam Style... no really, really! I can't! Don't force me, please! Haha!)

Psy looks out of place in this daintiness but he's popular! ^.^

Wooow, such skill!

Of course, no matter how wonderful the design of a cake is, it's always what it tastes like that wins us over. I took home a slice of their German Chocolate cake and a slice of Red Velvet with Nutella. The former is chock full of nuts and I'm not a fan of nuts (I must be nuts to order it then, lol... I want something different). Nevertheless, it was okay for me. The cake base was moist and the chocolate was not overpowering. It was the red velvet that got my attention and my family's attention. I only had two bites and reserved the rest for later but when I saw the box, the slice was gone. What happened?! Haha. The Nutella in between the layers of red velvet cake made it interesting. It's not overly sweet. It's indulgent.

Yummy!

Eyecandy and I ordered a few cupcakes. Actually, I ordered just one, the strawberry mint. The combination piqued my interest. Being a lover of anything + mint, I had to try it. (Disclaimer: I mishandled the cupcakes that's why the icing were ruined. We were walking in Dabab going to Burger Fuel and I didn't notice I was swaying the plastic of cupcake boxes like I was walking on sunshine!) 

Dramatizing the cupcakes whose icing I ruined. LOL.

The cupcakes look better in the store, of course.

Haven't seen enough cupcakes?

What would you have for today?

The strawberry mint was my favorite of the bunch because it has a mild strawberry flavor that reminded us of strawberry milkshake. The mint was missing in action though. E, who's not a fan of sour in her pastries, surprisingly liked the lemon flavor. The flavor was mild too. The one with the coconut also lacked the coconut flavor. It just has a few tiny coconut shavings and that's it. All in all, the cake base of these cupcakes is the reason why they're delicious. They're just the right kind of moist and not too sweet. Never mind some of the flavors because honestly, we couldn't find it in there (hello mint, hello coconut!). 

Cakery also offers breads, tarts, cake pops, cookies, and jams.

Layers of sweetness

From cakes to tarts to cake pops.

Cheesecakes, mousse, and cake pops

Every thing looks delectable!

Jam with some jams!

So, looking for the next cake place? If this entry wouldn't encourage you to visit it, I don't know what will. I used all the adjectives I could muster, people! Haha! And all the beautiful photos I took are here! Haha! Seriously, I would pass by Cakery Shop again... even if just to stare and marvel at their many tiered cakes! Have a lovely day! ~ Sundrenched

Cakery Shop

Dabab Street, Suleimania

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

T: +966-1-4650005

W: http://cakery-shop.com

E: info@cakeryshop.com

FB: www.facebook.com/cakeryshop

Twitter: @cakeryshop