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| - No place in Montreal captured my heart quite like Ta Pies did.
Ta Pies is an Australia/NZ influenced bakery that focuses on a really well defined value proposition: present traditional ANZ comfort food with a more contemporary interpretation at an extremely affordable price. It's a very tightly run ship and the first time I went there one of the owners excused herself as I debated between all the temptations in front of, and around me, to run into the kitchen and put a batch of Anzac biscuits (rolled oats, coconut, and golden syrup) into the oven. Hey, I like that they're focused on controlling overheads: it will keep prices down.
I truly had no idea what I was getting into. I'd heard about the popularity of the meat pies down under and so requested the Butter Chicken (served with a side of, somewhat boring, mashed potatoes) to be heated up. Contrary to most other bakeries that reheat in a manner that detracts from the enjoyment, this one was done to the exact second where it was piping hot as I cut into the pie, but the exterior hadn't been made soggy by the moisture. As I had my first slice, I realized that what was inside was actually an Indian chicken curry (with tomato, yoghurt, and ginger). Completely unexpected, even if the name should have tipped me off. I actually found the combination fascinating: much superior to any "Dum Pukht" interpretation in Indian dishes (that cook the meat inside a layer of bread) given the crispy, flaky, buttery exterior of the pie, and the distinct layers of pastry dough. Fantastic! There are many options spanning: steak sausage, beef, bacon, lamb... you must definitely try the meat pies. I'm glad I did, despite Hugh Jackson's ringing endorsement ;)
No meal is complete without dessert and so I was curious to try as much as I could from their unique desserts. It was a hot day and so the owner recommended: Hokey Pokey ice cream (vanilla ice cream with small lumps of honeycomb toffee). I tried it a few days later and thought it was ok. I didn't understand why it would be so popular in NZ till i researched and realized that many New Zealanders remember making hokey pokey in science at school to "observe the dramatic chemical changes when baking soda is mixed with golden syrup and sugar". Fair enough, I can respect nostalgia.
Instead I had two delightful desserts: the Lamington (vanilla sponge cake filled with raspberry jam, dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut) and the Afghan (dark chocolate cookie with corn flakes). Both were 5 star experiences with an interesting twist: the Lamington, an Australian specialty cake traced back to 1900 (and amusingly discovered in 2014 to have actually been invented earlier in NZ as "Wellington"!) was extremely light, soft, and moist. The Afghan cookie (the origin of whose name is still a mystery and could end up being controversial in coming years) had all kinds of interesting plays happening with the chocolate cookie and the dark chocolate icing with the walnut adding a texture element to it - till a few seconds into eating it you realized another gravel-like consistency in it: thanks to the addition of corn flakes into the baking mix.
As I turned to leave and had a good conversation with the owner, she inquired how I'd heard of them. Yelp, I replied and she beamed at all the glowing reviews here. I couldn't figure out the name, was it short for good bye, as in Ta Ta? No, she said. It's slang down under for "Thanks a lot".
Ta, then... (4.5 stars, rounded up)
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