A Tasty Afternoon in Kensington Market, Toronto
I moved away from the city almost ten years ago, so I don’t know it as well as some, but there are certain areas of the city that I love to visit whenever I am in town. Kensington Market is one of those areas. Located just adjacent to China town and a few blocks up from the bustling intersection of Spadina and Queen West, Kensington Market is a unique little area. There are tons of interesting independent shops and markets that are loads of fun to wander into and browse. My favourite part of Kensington is Augusta Ave. because it has (in my opinion) the best stores in Kensington.Β This weekend my friend Camryn and I went down to the city to do a bit of shopping and, much needed, wandering. We spent Sunday afternoon wandering around Queen West and popping in and out of the stores in Kensington Market. We went to one of my favourite restaurants in the city for lunch and, of course, took lots of pictures of our foods while we were there. I know, we’re basic. Anyways, we both got asked what the restaurant was called by a bunch of people, so I thought that it would be fun to share a little guide highlighting my favourite spots to eat in the market.
The first time that I ever set foot inΒ Bunner’s BakeshopΒ was back in 2015. I had just finished teaching the 9 week ski program and I had one weekend off before March Break camps started, so my mom and I headed down to the city to take in a little bit of culture haha. While we were wandering around in Kensington Market we came acrossΒ Bunner’sΒ and life just hasn’t been the same since, it’s been better.
Bunner’sΒ is an 100% gluten free and vegan bakery. I know you’ll probably think I’m biased because I am gluten free and vegan, but this bakery actually has some of the best baked goods I’ve ever eaten. And I don’t mean just the bestΒ veganΒ baked goods, I mean the best of any baked goods I’ve ever had. Honestly, if no one told you thatΒ Bunner’sΒ was gluten free and vegan and you ate one of their products, you probably wouldn’t even know, their stuff isΒ thatΒ good!
Since Cammy and I both don’t eat dairy, we don’t get very many bakery-style treats like the ones that are sold atΒ Bunner’s,Β so this weekend we indulged. I had a caramelita square, which is essentially a butter tart in square form with chocolate chips (a.k.aΒ heaven).Β This square was absolutely amazing! 10/10 would recommend it to anyone that visitsΒ Bunner’sΒ and isn’t sure what to order. Cammy got the carrot and coconut cupcake which was to die for too. She let me try a bit of the icing and it was so rich and delicious. God, I love baked goods.
If you’re vegan, gluten free, or just a regular old eater, I would highly recommend tryingΒ Bunner’s BakeshopΒ out. I linked their website above if any of you are interested in more information. Also, there is aΒ Bunner’sΒ cookbook (which I own) that is really great too, so I’d be on the lookout for that if I were you. (There’s more info about the cookbook on their website too).
This is the place that people were asking Cammy and I about. This restaurant isΒ seriouslyΒ awesome. It’s a tiny little place, but it is so charming and the food is fantastic! A large portion of the menu is made up of delicious sweet and savoury vegan and gluten free crΓͺpes. You can also order the homemade soup of the day or a mega salad that has 42 ingredients in it. 42!
Cammy and I showed up right when Hibiscus opened Β and it’s a good thing that we did because within half an hour of opening the place was completely full and people were being turned away.
Cam ordered the vegan mozzarella, tomato, basil, spinach, mushroom crΓͺpe and I ordered the vegan cheddar, chutney, pecan, pear crΓͺpe. Both were truly stellar. Cammy’s tasted like a margarita pizza in crΓͺpe form and mine had a very diverse flavour profile with the chutney and the house-made cheese sauce. We both left the restaurant very pleased (and full haha).
This is a really awesome place to stop for lunch if you happen to be in the neighbourhood. It’s a little on the pricey side, but totally worth it. Again, I’ve linked the website above so you guys can get more info if need be.
4 LifeΒ Natural Foods
4 Life Naturals Foods is a super cool health food grocery store. It has literally everything from produce, to dairy, to bulk grains, nuts and seeds, to skincare products. I love going into this store and just browsing. Whenever I’m somewhere away from home I like to check out the grocery stores to see if they sell anything that I want that I cannot find at home. One key example of something that I am always on the lookout for is tempeh. I love tempeh, but they do not sell it around where I live, which is a real bummer.
So, funny story, Cammy is a big fan of kombucha, but hates having to drop $5-6 on a bottle of the good quality stuff (who doesn’t?) so she’s been pretty interested in attempting to brew her own kombucha at home. Admittedly, I don’t know much about brewing kombucha, but I do know that it requires a weird mushroom-looking thing called aΒ scobyΒ (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) to make. Cammy has been doing a bit of research and found out that to brew kombucha you can either buy a starter kit with a scoby or you can grow your own scoby from 100% raw, unrefined kombucha, which, let me tell ya, is not so easy to find. Lucky for Cammy,Β 4 LifeΒ carries a decently priced bottle of 100% raw kombucha. She was so excited and I’m pretty pumped to see what the outcome of her kombucha making project is. Fingers crossed that it goes well!
If you’re ever in need of some oddball ingredient and you don’t know where to find it, I would recommend looking here. As I said before, they haveΒ everything.They even sell coconut water kefir, like, what?! Crazy stuff.
4Β LifeΒ doesn’t seem to have a website so I’m just going to include the address below:
210 Augusta Ave, Toronto
Next time you find yourself in Kensington Market and hungry I hope you’ll try some of these places out, they really are true gems.
xx
Ashley