Location: 656 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: http://hodokwaja.ca/
Hodo Kwaja is a delightful Korean bakery that specializes in walnut cakes, which are bite-sized walnut-shaped cakes that are traditionally filled with sweet red bean paste.
They have three flavours here: red bean with walnuts, mashed potato with walnuts, and mashed potato with almonds. An order of six is delightfully cheap at $3.75, and if you want you can try all three flavours, which is what I did.
They’re all very tasty, though the traditional red bean was my favourite of the three. The mashed potato is interesting; it actually has a similar texture to the red bean, but a milder flavour. All three have a restrained sweetness that works quite well.
As for the pancake-like pastry, it complements the soft filling very well. If you’ve ever tried taiyaki, it’s similar to that, but without the exterior crispiness. It’s a top-notch dessert.
Michael Eats 