Founded in Taiwan, 85°C Bakery Cafe is a global chain offering coffee, bubble tea, cakes, baked goods, desserts, and more.  The brand started in 2004 and has expanded to over 1,000 stores worldwide. 85°C Bakery Cafe has been nicknamed the “Starbucks of Taiwan” due to their popularity.

Their expansion to the US has been well-received since they arrived in 2008. Their stores have been known to have line-ups with items frequently being sold out.

85°C Bakery Cafe is best known for their sea salt caramel coffee, which is a sweetened Americano with sea salt whipped cream and caramel sauce.

The name of the brand was inspired by the founder’s belief that 85°C is the ideal temperature for coffee.

85°C Bakery Cafe Seattle International District

I visited the 85°C Bakery Cafe location in Seattle’s International District earlier this year and at that time it was in the soft opening phase.

The smell from the outside was so inviting and on the inside it was absolutely intoxicating…the sweetness of eggs, butter, sugar and boba in between.

Like many bakeries, it’s self-serve in terms of picking up the items you want. You grab a pair of tongs, a tray and have fun choosing!

I really enjoyed the selection of their baked goods which are modern and slightly elevated. There are danishes, puff pastries, savoury breads, sweet breads, toasts with Asian and European influences.

Coming in late in the day, a lot of the items were already sold out but I managed to get my hands on some goodies: 85°C Coffee Bun, Espresso Bun, Taro Danish, Red Bean Bun and Mocha Bun.

Not surprisingly, there was a lineup for the checkout.

All the items were very reasonably priced with the buns being $2 – $3 each.

The breads were wonderfully delicious being moist, buttery, and pillowy soft and light. For the buns with filling, the bread to filling ratio was good.

Overall Impression

I really enjoyed all the baked goods I got from 85°C Bakery Cafe. I brought some of them back home to Vancouver and they lasted in the fridge very well for even a few days. Given the great quality, taste, and value of the products I tried, I’d definitely revisit 85°C Bakery Cafe. I also enjoyed the selection of their baked goods which were modern and slightly elevated. Hopefully, they will expand to Canada in the future. Rating: 5/5

85°C Bakery Cafe – International District
501 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA
www.85cbakerycafe.com

Katsu Burger is a local Seattle chain that is known for their towering, Japanese-style burgers with deep-fried patties. I must admit that I don’t even eat single patty hamburgers on a regular basis. However, Katsu was named an essential Seattle restaurant by Eater so I decided to give it a try.

Interior

In a trip to Seattle last year, we visited the Lynnwood outpost of Katsu Burger (one of their 4 locations) located at the H Mart Plaza. The interior was simple and clean with a mix of dining tables, counter seating by the window and a few tables on the outside.

I also noticed Godzilla imagery as part of their branding; this seems fitting as they have mega-size burgers on their menu for Godzilla-like appetites.

Katsu Burger Menu

Katsu Burger has a few different protein options for their deep-fried patties including grass-fed beef, prime pork, tofu, and natural chicken. Their basic burger is the Toyko Classic which features a grass-fed beef katsu, tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayo. Other regular options include the Ninja Deluxe (prime pork katsu, cheddar, bacon, tonkatsu sauce, and Japanese Mayo), Miso Honey Tofu (Miso marinated tofu katsu with miso honey mustard) and so forth.

They offer three Mega Burger options: Tokyo Tower (two grass-fed beef katsu, cheese, tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayo), Mt. Fuji (grass-fed beef katsu, prime pork katsu, natural chicken katsu, egg, bacon, cheddar, pepper jack, tonkatsu sauce, wasabi mayo, spicy mayo and Japanese mayo), and Mt. Fuji Eruption (spicier version of Mt.Fuji with jalapenos).

What We Tried

I decided to order the monstrosity of a burger: Mt. Fuji ($20.45) featuring grass-fed beef katsu, natural chicken katsu, pork katsu, egg, bacon, cheddar, American, pepper jack, Wasabi mayo, spicy mayo and Tonkatsu sauce. I had the burger as a meal with a drink (they serve Jones soda) and with Nori fries (+$5.04).

It was a messy burger and we divided it with a knife and fork to share among the 3 of us (2 adults and 1 child). Flavourwise, it was a bit confusing but stil kinda of tasty with the different mayos, meat flavours, and Tonkatsu sauce. The panko-breaded patties were reasonably crispy on the outside.

The Nori fries were skinny fries with a really tasty seaweed plus MSG kind of flavour. I would have them again.

Overall Impression

I’m glad to have checked off Katsu Burger from my list of Seattle restaurants to try. However, deep-fried patties in a burger just isn’t my type of food. I’m not too keen to revisit in the future. Rating: 3/5

Katsu Burger
3333 184th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98037, USA
www.katsuburger.com/

When I traveled to Australia many years ago, I grew to love their meat pie culture. Who doesn’t love a piping hot, saucy meat pie with a buttery, flaky puff pastry crust? Since then, I have tried Peaked Pies and Aussie Pie Guy locally in Vancouver and Kanga in Toronto; I have enjoyed what they have to offer.

When I visited Seattle this past week, I came across Premier Meat Pies located inside The Armory at Seattle Center. They offer sweet and savoury pies priced around $8 – $9. I decided to give them a try.

I ordered the steak and mushroom pie ($9) and it was a disappointing experience. First, the pie was very small for what you get. The portion of filling offered was very little such that the pie looked almost hollow. The amount of meat given was disappointing.

When it came to taste, the filling was overly salty and lacked the heartiness that a meat pie should have. Perhaps the meat pie would fare better if you wash it down with beer (which they offer) but on its own it was too salty.

The only saving grace was that the puff pastry was very light, airy and buttery. However, there was proportionally too much crust compared to filling which made it unbalanced on a per bite basis.

While Premier Meat Pies does have a restaurant location in Seattle, it seems like their food stall inside The Armory can only stay in business due to being in a tourist area. It would be difficult, in my opinion, to garner repeat customers.

Overall Impression of Premier Meat Pies

I had a disappointing experience with what I tried from Premier Meat Pies. I would not recommend eating there. Rating: 1/5

Premier Meat Pies
305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA
www.premiermeatpies.com