Caldense Bakery & Pastry VIII

Now I am Portuguese and visit Nova Era and Caldense bakery in Little Portugal and am usually very pleased however this location took a turn for the worst when I visited them today. Upon arrival me and my sister took a quick browse at the pastry line up just to see if what we wanted was there and then immediately grabbed a table to wait for one of the girls to come take our order. Unfortunately she was very busy with the dishwasher and cleaning dishes and although I understand us Portuguese people love to keep things clean — don’t leave customers waiting!!!
I had ordered a Portuguese Phylo with Custard pastry and a coke while my sister got a «galhao» (Latte) and a Cannoli. our order arrived promptly luckily and I had no problem with my pastry. My sisters cannoli was a little bland and she has had better.
Throughout our time there I couldn’t help but notice that every time customers came in they were not attended to promptly. The girl that was there was filling up the sugar containers at each table and left customers waiting by the cash for 5 minutes before going over to say «hey». At one point some gentlemen came in with his son and the girl just stood around doing other things instead of offering him choices as he was not Portuguese and may need some guidance on pastries/​cake choices.
The one thing that really made us feel awkward was when one of the workers boyfriend came by to visit and they began KISSING by the cash! This was so absurd and unprofessional to me. Me and my sister couldn’t even believe our eyes.
This location really needs to be careful on who they hire.

I’ve had pastries and bread here. They’re tarts are good.
Be sure you ask for day fresh baked whatever you get, they’ll usually try to sell you day olds.
Services is medium at most – again, staff does tend to reach for day-​olds. On several occasions they’ve stacked pastries and desserts directly on top of each other so that I come home to a mess.

Anytime I’m in the area, I will come by and grab a box of Portuguese custard tarts. I find the custard very flavourful with vanilla and not overly sweet. It’s a go-​to for me.

Before you order any cake slice, ask them if it was made today. This place has no problem selling you cakes so hard they can bounce on the floor like a basketball. Especially a problem is their single serve cake slices, not fresh whatsoever. The staff won’t warn you, but at least Unilocal is there to warn you.
Definitely don’t let their staff put cakes in a box and give them as a gift to someone, they will assume you bought them at a week-​old sale.

For those of you who are fans of my bitter ray of sunshine type reviews, I’ll have you know that both this restaurant AND my review are quite lacking in substance.
I tried the nata (egg tart) and it was «meh». The custard was flavourful but I found it rather sweet almost like a pudding rather than a custard. The pastry was a bit heavy. Nothing I would return for.
I also tried a canolli and it was horrible. Soggy shell and the filling was very bland with an overpowering fake-​vanilla flavour.
I also had a croissant, which was probably the most over-​cooked, heavy, doughy croissant I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. Each bite told me how over-​handled the dough was.
This is a place to avoid.

3.5 stars!
Caldense is a more than decent spot to grab some freshly baked goods.
Despite their ‘claim to fame’ Portuguese egg tarts, I would opt for the jam or salami filled danish-​like pastries!
Living close to this Caldense is also a win because of the hours (was the only place open the first time I visited!), as well as the fact that it’s kinda dirt cheap!

All I’ve tried is the Portugese Egg Tart and I don’t have a good comparison group, but I really enjoyed it.
The crust was thin and flaky. The custard was thick and creamy. It was just the right amount of sweet, not too sweet. I didn’t notice the saltiness that the other poster wrote about.
My wife and I shared one and left wanting another with plans to come back!

Tried: Portugese Egg Tart
The texture here is good, but I prefer Venezia’s. Theirs is thicker and creamier. The actual TASTE of the custard was a bit salty and sweet at the same time. Yeah, that just didn’t work with me. I mean I don’t think egg tarts are supposed to be salty? But, the crust was good, still it was not as chewy and flaky as V’s
Verdict: Venezia over Caldense anyday
Sorry!