Not your nan's bakery: How a small business brings new flavours to the local table

Twenty years ago, Carla McIsaac tried her first Asian dessert at a convenience store during a trip to Hong Kong. She didn't quite know what it was.

"I thought it was chocolate," she recalled."I bit into it and I thought, 'This is the most unusual chocolate I've ever had."

The flavour was not sweet. It didn't taste like chocolate.

She did not understand what she was tasting.

"And then my brother said, 'No, no, that's red bean paste."

That started a love for unique flavours, and back in her own kitchen McIsaacbegan to recreate the desserts she had enjoyed abroad.

McIsaac regularly visits family in China and food is a big preoccupation during those trips.

However, there weren't any Asian-style bakeries in St. John's.

Problem solved: bake it yourself

Starting her own bakery had been on McIsaac'smind for years, but it took a nudge from a friend for her to take action.

"I thought, 'OK, I guess I better figure out if I'm doing it or no I'm not.' And that's when I started."

Little HK Bakery debuted at the St. John's Farmers' Market in July 2016 and now features desserts from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea and Japan. McIsaac also handles orders placed online.

The menu lists items like red bean buns, Portuguese egg tarts and khanom chan.

Some flavours will seem familiar. There'spandan sponge cake, which McIsaac compares to a Victorian sponge cake.

"I love this type of food," she said in an interview.

"It's not that sweet and there's so many different textures and different flavours that we don't have, [that] we're not familiar with in North America."

Taking a culinary leap

When people stop by her booth and peer at what's on display, they can be hesitant.

I love this food. It's not that sweet and there's so many different textures and different flavours that we don't have.- Carla McIsaac

"Sometimes people are reluctant to try but they want to know what everything is, and I love it," McIsaac said.

"I'm just happy when somebody asks me questions about it. And I'll have samples and sometimes they'll try and sometimes it's 'No, I do not like that.'

"And I'm good with that, you know, you asked questions, you tried, that makes me happy."

McIsaac has been a primary to elementary special education teacher for 28 years but she recently cut back to work as a substitute teacher so she could dedicate more time to Little HK Bakery.

The enterprise does eat up her time. Inthe week leading up to the St. John's Farmers' Market each Saturday, she needs several days dedicated to baking.

"That's five days where I have a little bit of time to have a break here and there. So I get up early in the morning and I like to be finished somewhere around 4 p.m. if possible."

All her fillings are made from scratch and there have been some challenges when it comes to tracking down special ingredients.

For instance, edible jasmine oil has to be ordered in, along with certain pieces of equipment, including a steamer large enough to handle what she produces.

McIsaac is also able to pick up many of the necessary ingredients from So Kee Chinese Grocery on Duckworth Street.

The have been moments of frustration when she wanted to walk away from baking.

"But no, something happens, it's good, or somebody likes something that you made and it's OK," she said. "I'll keep doing it."