My Desserts of Rockville Adventure

Image found here

The latest issue of Bethesda Magazine features a guide to local bakeries throughout Montgomery County. I have a huge sweet-tooth, and since I hadn't visited most of the places mentioned, I knew I was going to have to try some yummy treats!

Several of the bakeries are located along Rockville Pike (roughly), so one Saturday afternoon I drove up to Rockville with a game plan of which bakeries to visit and which desserts to try. Here's what I got:

1. Ube pie from Gwenie's Pastries

Such a pretty purple color! Image found here

I never would have found Gwenie's if it weren't for this article. It's tucked away in a random strip mall across from a warehouse used for CrossFit workouts. I went in and immediately found the purple slices of pie in the dessert display case. I asked what their best seller is, and the employee said the ube pie and the ube cheesecake are both very popular. Since the former was the one mentioned in the article, I figured that's what I should try.

I was most excited to try this one, so I actually saved it for last, even though it was the first one I picked up! And did I save the best for last indeed! This pie is so good. From the flavorful graham cracker crust to the light creamy topping to the dense red-bean-textured ube at the bottom... everything is delicious. I'm bummed I only have one piece! I could demolish a whole pie of this stuff... Five stars for sure!

2. Coconut raisin bread from Bread Corner

I certainly didn't need to buy a whole loaf of bread, but I love raisin bread, and coconut raisin bread sounded too good to resist! I also couldn't just buy a slice, so I had to commit. 

First of all, this bread is tricky to cut into pieces. It has a wrapper almost like a cupcake liner, except the bread does not easily slip from the paper. I actually had to take a pair of scissors to cut off part of the wrapper to get the bread out, and even then the bottom of the bread stuck to the paper! So that was not convenient.

As for flavor, this mostly tastes like a sweet white bread (almost like a Hawaiian roll) with coconut and some raisins in it. It tastes good, but if you don't usually eat white bread (like me), you're kind of wondering why you're eating something with so few nutrients that isn't a true "dessert." The packaging might read "healthy," but that is a lie. I've had one piece now, and I don't want the rest of the loaf to go to waste, but mentally I'm already done with it...

3. Pistachio raspberry croissant from Lavande Patisserie

I love both pistachio and raspberry flavors, so I knew I wanted to try this "notable croissant," as the magazine called it, from Lavande Patisserie. And it did not disappoint! The pistachio filling is so yummy, almost reminiscent of almond paste. The raspberry flavor it very light, since the croissant only has three raspberries on it (there is no raspberry filling). A very decadent breakfast indeed!

4. Red bean mochi from Japong Bakery

The magazine did feature Japong Bakery's Japanese cheesecake, but since I didn't want to buy an entire cake, I thought I'd try something else instead. I know that red bean is a traditional dessert flavor in much of Asia, so I thought I'd try the red bean mochi (especially because I do love chewy mochi!). This one mostly tastes like a sweetened roll. It took many bites to finally reach the filling in the middle. This dessert for me was a just a little "meh." Don't get me wrong: it tasted good! But it wasn't very exciting, since I felt like I was mostly eating a white bread roll. But people clearly like these kinds of buns: I saw one couple in the store buy a mix of at least 12 different kinds of buns, and another girl picked out five or six of them. So I certainly don't speak for everyone!

5. Lava cheese tart from Teamania

I refrigerated this dessert overnight, so that may or may not have been a good thing. The center had two different textures: one was more gooey, and one was more solid, so I wonder if the whole thing would have been gooey-er if I had eaten it as soon as I bought it. But even so, this was an interesting dessert. The filling is both sweet and savory. It's cheese, so the savory flavor makes sense, but it's also a dessert, so you're not quite expecting it. I thought it wouldn't actually taste like cheese, perhaps like how cannoli filling doesn't taste like ricotta. The crumbly crust is definitely sweet, so that evens out the flavors. I liked this treat, but I'm not sure it is something I would eat again. Next time, I'd try something else instead.

I also went to the Asian Bakery Café to try their white lotus seed moon cake, but they were sold out of it. And I stopped by Stella's Bakery, but the line was out the door! I guess it must be pretty good if it's that popular, but that was my last stop of the day, and I wasn't in the mood to wait. Maybe another time.

I also had a few bonus free treats by using my TasteMoCo Passport from the MoCo Show! 

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I got a free Ted's Tart from Ted's Bulletin in Gaithersburg after my Bar Method class. I picked out the s'mores one, but they all looked delicious (the cherry blossom one is a very yummy seasonable flavor)! The shortbread cookie base is so buttery; it's so hard to resist! Much better than Pop-Tarts! 

I also got a free "snack" from Kung Fu Tea. Snacks included popcorn (which I don't like) or these boba chews, which are boba covered in chocolate. They are very chewy! I think I'd rather just have bubble tea if I am going to enjoy boba.

In the end, I spent about $30 for all of these treats, so I think that's pretty good! I was surprised how many of the Asian bakeries sell all sort of goodies, especially good-sized buns, for only about $3! No wonder other customers were buying so many at once. What a deal! For that price, I was entertained for an afternoon and was able to enjoy yummy snacks (or breakfasts) for the rest of the week. Not bad!