Janice’s Cake Shop

I got a VIP card from this bakery long time ago, so I get 10% off on all the orders.
I ordered four small fruit tarts, a chocolate cake, sesame cake and white chocolate mousse with red bean and matcha cake. Total was about $ 12. Everything tastes great. The bakery has some Chinese Hong Kong style buns. They taste like other Chinese buns. I don’t find any big differences between this Hong Kong style of bakery and others.
The bakery is located in the same complex of 2000 supermarket on Capstan Way. Sometimes the complex has many cars and it is hard to find parking in front of the bakery. Then we need to park further away and walk to the bakery.

This isn’t my first visit to the place. This place is modest in size with selection to match. The pastries are extremely cheap which is what I appreciate with most Asian bakeries. I bought a few green tea cookies. I wish that I could take home some of the cakes are they were very reasonably priced at $ 3 and under, however, with the 15 minute walk to Aberdeen skytrain station a lot of the mousses would’ve melted. I do have an idea for the winter time. Customer service was really awesome. Just a warning that most of the items due sell out before 3 pm. I learned that the hard way the few times that I have been here but still managed to walk out with a treat or two. I really like their take on mango pudding that is similar to Maxim’s.

Janice’s cake shop is located on Capstan Way at Union Square. They have a lot of fresh buns, cakes and other Asian desserts.
Overall, the taste pretty standard and the price range in average.
I usually shop at Super 2000 supermarket and just step over to get the pastry as I needed.

Janice Cake Shop is known for their swiss rolls, and boy they sure didn’t disappoint! These were the best swiss rolls I’ve tried from a asian bakery! The swiss rolls were so airy, fluffy and weren’t dense at all! They were only about $ 1.50 each! Flavours include: mango, sesame, chocolate, original, and coffee!
I’ll definitely be back to try their other items!

My friend took me to this bakery as she was raving about the Pineapple Cocktail Bun, which is Sold Out by 2pm.
I bought two individual slice of Swiss Roll — Chocolate and Coffee and a paper wrap cupcake.
The Swiss roll slices are so moist, fluffy and soft — one of the best I have had for a while.
Same goes with the Paper Wrap Cupcake, it is very soft, fluffy sponge cake, not too overly sweet. One of the best I have had.
I will be back again.

Richmond is one of the epic centers for Chinese bakeries and cake shops… You are bound to find one every couple of blocks or a few within the same complex. Even so, not all cake shops are the same or uses quality ingredients. Some targets to quantity (ex. 3 buns for $ 1.50); some for convenience (ex. your local supermarket); and others for quality, taste, and texture… Janice Cake Shop — located between Capstan Way and No. 3 Rd in Richmond, nestled inside Union Square Shopping Centre, makes some of Lower Mainland’s best bread, birthday cakes and moon cakes!

Ever wonder why there is that awful sour after-​taste to post buns consumption? As if biting into a «center-​less» red-​bean bun wasn’t enough (btw most supermarket bought breads I find have this problem… I’m constantly looking for the «filling» that somehow got misplaced during the process…). It turns out that the blame is either on using too much baking powder or yeast (purpose is for the batter to rise rapidly); another source of bitterness could be that your flour has gone rancid.
Many Chinese bakeries uses the ‘tang zhong” method … meaning ‘flour paste’. This works amazingly to produce the fluffy bread. The gluten in the flour /​water mixture would absorb moisture and become leavened at 65 °C.
Janice‘s bakery is delish, none of that disgusting bitter sour nonsense!
Imitation crab, corn, and ham bun — soft and creamy in every bite.
Mini Chicken Pot Pie — warm out of the oven, hearty chicken bites with black pepper center. The crust is not flaky but is soft and flavorful.
They have a rainbow full of flavors for their cakes and Swiss rolls that all range from good to excellent. By far the best is fresh mango mousse, tiramisu and grapefruit/​coconut cakes. Their black sesame is actually not bad either. Swiss Rolls are light, fluffy and creamy…
For Mid-​Autumn Festival (held on the 15^th day of the eighth month) is just around the corner, Janice offers not only traditional Moon Cakes), but also Mini Iced Moon Cake versions with flavours ranging from, mango, black sesame, matcha green tea, durian, chocolate, etc… Best part is they allow you to mix and match!
Mango has a tantalizing freshness…
Black sesame is fragrant, creamy with a bold center.
Some people complaint about their service (or lack thereof) but I personally never had any problems… Trade-​off is pay slightly more than other Asian bakeries but for the quality and flavor selection i‘m willing to sacrifice a pretty penny or two… Its definitely worth it!
Tip: buy over $ 20 at once to received a 10% off VIP card (usually only given away twice a year — June and Christmas) … bon appetite!

Two years after my first visit, the Swiss rolls are still good. This time I tried some of their breads and egg tart. Buns were really soft and fresh and the egg tarts were really good, although I prefer a thicker crust, but for those who prefer less crust and more custard, they’d be more satisfied.