After lunch at Yunnan Steam Fish Pot, Angel suggested that we walk across the parking lot to Marathon Cafe. Our mutual friend Joyce had tried the tea here and strongly recommended it.
Outside, there was a large mural depicting an Asian market scene. The signboard says "Marathon Donuts & Coffee" but fans come here for their Hong Kong style milk tea and pineapple buns (菠蘿包 bolo bao).
Stepping into Marathon Cafe, I felt myself instantly teleported across the globe to Hong Kong. The decor, layout and atmosphere were typical of cha chaan teng cafes of Hong Kong.
The first thing that struck me was the aroma of brewing black tea which filled the cafe. The perfume of tea filled the air in the same way as Arabica aroma fills the air in a good coffee shop or spice fragrance in a good Indian curry house. I couldn't recall when was the last time I smelled tea fragrance this good in a cafe.
The little cafe is filled with small round tables, simple light chairs. Customers order their food at the counter, pay and wait for their orders to be sent to the side counter. Just like at Starbucks.
A television at the corner was tuned to TVB HK Cantonese broadcasts, banter around the cafe was in Cantonese with a bit of English. News focus today was the street protests in Hong Kong.
Five of us, we each had a milk tea and shared 3 plain bolo bao.
Every year, the Hong Kong Association of Coffee & Tea runs a worldwide competition to crown the best HK milk tea master in the world. Milk tea masters from HK, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Melbourne and Toronto take part in the competition. Marathon Cafe Scarborough won the global championship in 2012 and always ranked high in the competition. Marathon Scarborough came in second runner up in 2018. (Note: The tea blend used for competition is not the same as the tea sold at the cafe.)
Oh this milk tea was sooo..... good. It has a full round smooth body. The sweetness of the evaporated milk was pushed to the back by the smell and taste of fragrant blended black tea. (Every cha chaan teng have their own secret blend, often a mix of Chinese and English tea leaves.)
HK milk tea is traditionally brewed and steeped in a cotton sock in much the same way as Nanyang coffee of Singapore and Malaysia. HK milk tea is officially listed by the Hong Kong government as an intangible cultural heritage.
The bolo bao was puffy airy inside, while outside there was a crisp but crumbly crust.
The bun was sweet in layers, with the buttery cookie crust outside sweeter than the fluffy pillowy bun.
Dunking the bolo bao in the milk tea adds more sweetness and wet spongy sogginess. Not my way - I kept the two separate.
Recommended for you 👍 Well, there is always time and tummy space for good HK milk tea and bolo bao. If you are around Scarborough, you are near to one of the best in the world - not I say one, tea experts from Hong Kong say one. Me? I have never tasted better.
What is Johor Kaki doing in Toronto? Mainly eating lo 😋 👈 click
Restaurant name: Marathon Cafe 馬力雄咖啡店
Address: 3300 Midland Ave, Scarborough, ON M1V 4A1 (Marathon Cafe has a second outlet in Richmond Hill)
GPS: 43°48'22.5"N 79°17'19.3"W 🌐 43.806260, -79.288698
Tel: (416) 299-9511
Hours: 6:00am - 9:00pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 29 Jun 2019
Oh this milk tea was sooo..... good. It has a full round smooth body. The sweetness of the evaporated milk was pushed to the back by the smell and taste of fragrant blended black tea. (Every cha chaan teng have their own secret blend, often a mix of Chinese and English tea leaves.)
HK milk tea is traditionally brewed and steeped in a cotton sock in much the same way as Nanyang coffee of Singapore and Malaysia. HK milk tea is officially listed by the Hong Kong government as an intangible cultural heritage.
The bolo bao was puffy airy inside, while outside there was a crisp but crumbly crust.
The bun was sweet in layers, with the buttery cookie crust outside sweeter than the fluffy pillowy bun.
Dunking the bolo bao in the milk tea adds more sweetness and wet spongy sogginess. Not my way - I kept the two separate.
Recommended for you 👍 Well, there is always time and tummy space for good HK milk tea and bolo bao. If you are around Scarborough, you are near to one of the best in the world - not I say one, tea experts from Hong Kong say one. Me? I have never tasted better.
What is Johor Kaki doing in Toronto? Mainly eating lo 😋 👈 click
Restaurant name: Marathon Cafe 馬力雄咖啡店
Address: 3300 Midland Ave, Scarborough, ON M1V 4A1 (Marathon Cafe has a second outlet in Richmond Hill)
GPS: 43°48'22.5"N 79°17'19.3"W 🌐 43.806260, -79.288698
Tel: (416) 299-9511
Hours: 6:00am - 9:00pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 29 Jun 2019
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