Thomas Haas @ Kitsilano
Thomas Haas
2539 West Broadway Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6K 2E9
604-736-1848
Closed Monday and Sundays, Open 8am to 5:30pm
This place is my mom's favourite patisserie to go to and its also one of mine! Even though its not as conveniently located around the city center, the food will keep bringing you back for more. The best mode of transport to get here is by car. Once you reach the Broadway/Granville Indigo bookstore, turn left and keep going straight down the street for about ten blocks (6 mins). Thomas Hass is across from the White Spot.
My fam and I go here constantly for early breakfasts before heading out to downtown etc. It's open at 8 am and there's pastries, cakes and macarons for the early risers in the Kitsilano Area. However, they put out several choices of delicious sandwiches at 10 am sharp, so you have to wait if you come too early. :P The prices are well priced ($1.90 per macaron and $5.90 per individual cake) and the staff here are super friendly. If you're a regular, they'll remember you too. The take out boxes here are extremely fascinating and unique to this brand, where the sides of the box fold onto the handle.
There's a heated patio area outside and indoor seating area as well. You'll see row upon row of chocolates first arriving at the counter, followed by the sandwiches, pastries (Twice Baked Almond Croissants, Danishes, Scones and Brioche) and the vibrant cakes. Each cake has their own main ingredient and unique shape. Everytime I go and depending on the month, there's always a new flavor of macaron waiting for me to try it out.
* I NEED TO FIND MY TWICE BAKED CROISSANT AND CHOCOLATE PASSIONFRUIT CAKE PICTURE TT TT
Here's what I've tried so far on my many trips there:
Moroccan Spiced Chicken and Pear Panini - $8.90) w/ Passionfruit Iced Tea- ($3.80)
Moroccan spiced free range chicken breast, Fuji apple, toasted almonds, watercress, havarti cheese and mayonnaise on organic ciabatta
The pear went really well with the spiced chicken to provide texture and sweetness to the sandwich. The staff heat the sandwich to just the right temperature to bring out all the flavors. packed into the panini.
I wanted more!!! :DDD
The passionfruit iced tea was completely new to me that first time, but once I tried it, I knew I would order it everytime. It's simply passionfruit in all its essence, possibly with some tea. But Starbucks' Passiontea Lemonade is nothing compared to this.
Ham and Cheese Croissant
Maybe I was just lucky, but I have no idea why this croissant looked so perfect and tasted so perfect. It was literally shaped like a ram's head, no lie! Once you dig into this croissant, you'd wish it was triple the size it is. The ham inside brings a smoky flavor to the crispy, cheesy outside of the croissant.
Double Baked Almond Croissant - $4.90
Hot Chocolate - $4.70
Cassis Macaron - $1.95
The twice baked almond croissant is a favourite of my parents and they come back just to get this very often, either for themselves or for friends during special occasions. It makes a great gift and people are sure to love it. This is what helped me discover this place, as a family friend brought over a few baked pastries from Thomas Haas. There's also a chocolate variety of this croissant if you're looking for more sweetness. It's best eaten warm, but still retains the amazing quality of flavor if you can't find a heater; for the people on-the-go. I'm thinking the inside consists of coconut shreddings since it has a gooey texture and tastes amazing in this combination.
The Hot Chocolate is legit hot chocolate, not asian knockoffs or severely watered down kinds. It's just simple and toasty on a winter's day. They put a dusting of cocao powder on the top in the shape of 1 or 2 hearts, which just goes to show how even the drinks get special treatment as well.
The Cassis Macaron (Blackcurrant) had strong flavor to it and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The color was really stunning and the dark and light purple made it visually attractive. It was harder to cut into without destroying the delicateness of the macaron exterior, compared the other macarons I've tried here. But then again, I think I must be the only person in existence who uses a knife and fork to eat macarons haha.
Matcha Green Tea and Earl Grey Macaron - $1.95 ea
It was my first time trying a tea macaron, much less TWO of them! But let me tell you, it was one of the best things I've ever tasted. I thought the Earl Grey one was ridiculously awesome in keeping the tea element present thorughout the morsel. It's almost like eating a bite of tea. The Matcha one also exceeded my expectations as you can really tell that they use quality matcha in making this, since there's a slight grainy texture to it.
Passionfruit, Hazelnut, Mango and Kalamansi Lime Macaron - $1.95 ea
Passionfruit was in season in summer, so it was a really prominent figure in the ingredients that Thomas Haas used to make desserts. The mango macaron was dusted with shredded coconut to give it two layers of flavor. The hazelnut one tasted like an awesome supersized hazelnut and the Kalamansi Lime one had just the right amount of sour and sweet. Compared to other patisseries, these macaron colors looked very natural and more appetizing in my opinion.
This is a favourite of mine and is almost always in store when I visit
Milk Chocolate Passionfruit Mousse ($4.9) w/ Earl Grey Macaron
Pumpkin Pie Creme Brulee - $5.90
This dessert had a delicious crunch as a perfect creme brulee should have! When eaten, the pumpkin flavor was hinted at in the background, but was overwhelmed by the sugar. The serving is really visually attractive being in a tiny mason jar style cup with oversized fresh fruits and a golden, caramelized crackly surface.
Special Of The Day: Vanilla Almond Rum Cake (Feb 9th, 2016)
Light vanilla rum Bavarian on a dense almond rum-raisin cake w/ Advocaat liqueur layer on a shortbread crust
I was surprised at the strong alcoholic flavor of this dessert, which caught me several bites in. It makes a great palate cleanser with a fresh taste to end off a meal. The white chocolate is fantastic, as chef Thomas Haas is a master chocolatier. The dense almond base is a perfect contrast to the light, vanilla seed cream layer on the top. The visual is fantastic and partly the cause as to why I ordered this.
Berry Cheesecake
Light version of a traditional cheesecake with a berry coulis and a dusting of shredded coconut. The cheesecake is very light and subtle in flavor. There isn't any extreme sourness like in other cheesecakes and that's a good thing! The berry coulis adds a separate texture to the cheesecake while allowing you to mix the flavors together with every bite. I really like the addition of the shredded coconut as the flavor pairing was great!
Seasonal Galette - $5.90
The Seasonal Galette consists of a pie-like base crusted with pistachios and heaped with peaches.
It was quite a generous portion and perfectly filling.
