The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally. All meals are independently paid for - the author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
My semi-itinerant working situation led me to Rooty Hill and Mt Druitt’s high density of Filipino restaurants and cafés. One such example is Tita’s Cakes, which offers a variety of Filipino-inspired cupcakes, cakes, and slices.
I originally intended to have only three cupcakes, however, I was talked into having four ($22) because they were “a lot cheaper”. Not having the adequate mental capacity after a harrowing PAC to analyse the cost difference, I agreed to have the 4 suggested by the woman working there, even though the overall saving ended up being only 50 cents each.
It was a true cupcake omakase experience, as I agreed to have all four that the lady (I assume she was too young to be the actual Tita) recommended. The Ube Cheese Macapuno was pretty good, in that its topping was relatively varied, with ube-flavoured cream frosting, cream cheese frosting, and a coconuttopping centre, though sadly everything under the topping was simply cake.
This theme carried through the Mango Royale (our favourite), and indeed every other cupcake on offer. Only the toppings added any excitement, whilst the rest of the cupcake was an unexciting and unspecial sponge.
This is the Buko Pandan. By this point, I don’t know why I kept bothering to cut them in half for photos.
The Ube Overload was similar to the Ube Cheese Macapuno, except that the topping was all just ube.
Overall thoughts I have some regrets that I was talked into getting four cupcakes that were essentially the same with different food colouring under the top 20%, but it was a true omakase experience and one does not complain.
Tita’s Cakes 6/2 Rooty Hill Rd S, Rooty Hill NSW 2766, Australia
I’m surprised I hadn’t already written a post about QW HuaXing Bakery 華興包點 , a place that I had visited on the recommendation of a colleague and PICU registrar of the month JL.
The place runs as a normal Chinese bakey, with a pick-your-own structure with tongs and trays, but with one exception. Unlike most Breadtop-style Chinese bakeries, QW HuaXing Bakery 華興包點 has quite a nice selection of dim sum snacks, ranging from egg tarts/蛋撻/dan ta to glutinous rice fried dumplings / 咸水角 / xian shui jiao , steamed buns, and other puff pastry delights.
I haven’t had anything out of the freezer yet (frozen shao mai, mostly), but everything I’ve had has been reasonably priced and of good quality, especially if you catch them when they’re still warm. Good for a quick bite.
QW HuaXing Bakery 華興包點 297 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield NSW 2131
Against the birthday recipient’s wishes, I got a different (read: not the taro cake from Savoy) cake for a family birthday. Though they were initially skeptical, I think the Mango CreamCake ($71 – 6 inches) proved itself to be one of, if not the best cake we’ve ever had – including the two that we had at our wedding.
Everything about this cake was perfect, from the ripe, in-season Kensington Pride mangoes, to the light, soft and airy chiffon sponge layers.
The level of sweetness, predominately fruit based, was absolutely perfect for an East-Asian palate, the precise definition of the term ‘not too sweet’.
The three layer construction meant that there was ample room for cream and mango filling, applied at an approximately 1:1 ratio with the sponge, ensuring a high degree of moistness in each bite. Though this made the structural integrity of the unusually high cake a bit challenging to cut and serve neatly, the superior taste and mouthfeel was absolutely worth it.
The Jasmine & Mandarin Mini Bento ($16 – 12cm x 12cm) was really only added to meet the free postage minimum. We would’ve been pretty happy with just the mango cake four the five of us (with a little bit left over), but adding the mini bento for $16 meant saving $10 on delivery. This little dessert was pretty good, but didn’t quite meet the bar required for superlatives. The tea flavour in the sponge was a bit more pronounced than the cake we had from La PaTEAsserie, but kind of uneven, and there were definitely bites where you couldn’t appreciate the tea at all.
This mini bento also didn’t benefit from the high cream and fruit to cake ratio of the full sized mango cake, and so whilst it wasn’t dry it didn’t hit that extreme level of perfect moistness.
Not bad for a snack, and definitely not bad for $6, but I’d probably not pay $16 to experience it again.
Overall Thoughts Have we found our new main bakery for family birthday’s? Maybe not. The family thinks it was too expensive.
ENZE MM11 – Ground Floor, Top Ryde City Shopping Centre 115 Blaxland Rd, Ryde NSW 2112
We were the only Asians at a packed Hearthe on a Sunday morning not long ago, not counting the two in the kitchen, and thus the only people to have their very good congee, though more on that later.
The first item that arrived was the salt bush scone with dessert lime marmalade and cream ($14). The scone itself was savoury, with a light, chive like flavour do them that suberverted expectations of a wholely sweet-spectrum dish.
The cream, whipped well, is always a welcome addition to any scone dish, whilst the “dessert lime marmalade”, which I can only assume is a play on words based on the “desert lime” its made of, was a less sweet, more bitter concoction. My wife enjoyed this dish more than me.
The ham and cheese scroll ($9) was up next. Though plucked from the display cabinet, it was served warmed up, semi-gooeyfying the relatively large high density of cheese within this pastry.
The layers of the scroll were very buttery and dense, contributing to an overall sense of luxury to this scroll, though again, similar to the marmalade, there was an overall hint of bitterness to it.
The rice congee with paperbark smoked barramundi, with karkalla, samphire and finger lime with a toasted croissant crouton ($19) was completely different to everything else on offer at Hearthe. The croissant “crouton” functioned much like a youtiao, though tasted a bit burnt and was on a whole less good than the traditional alternative. The native greens (karkalla and samphire) weren’t that tasty, and the finger lime was not able to be found or tasted.
Looking past the croissant and native greens, the dish as a whole was an extremely traditional rendition of a Chinese congee. The flavour was umami and warming, and just as a classic congee, not overly rich. The flakes of barramundi within the bowl were perfectly proportioned, and permeated through each spoonful. It did a really good job as a congee, much better than many Chinese restaurants we’ve been to, and despite the superficial attempt of being fusion, was deeply traditional in its overall execution, tasting more of shallot and fish than it did of native things. It’s a shame we didn’t see any of the other (non-Asian) patrons ordering it.
The unforgettable cake ($10 for a small slice), was actually much more forgettable than Hearthe proprietor Christopher Thé’s original claim to fame, Black Star’s strawberry watermelon cake. Though it was built in a sandwich like construction featuring jelly and cream between multiple layers of sponge, I didn’t feel that this really made up for the relatively uninteresting and subdued flavour, and it ultimately ended up seeming like too much structural effort for little flavour pay-off. At least it wasn’t too sweet.
The paperbark cake ($10) had a nice, floral and peppery top layer, with a honey-drenched mimille feuille centre and a rich, chocolatey, dense mousse-like base. This was probably the most “native Australian” tasting item on the menu, though overall too sweet for my liking.
UPDATE – We found our way across the bridge to a community cultural event, where Christopher The was doing some live baking with his kids whilst one of his other kids played music.
We were served these very unassuming tarts with kiwi and mango pearls on arrival.
The music was intermitted by these fresh-out-of-the-oven blueberry cupcakes, which had a taste of self-raised flour. I reiterate add at this point that the whole thing was one professional baker and his kids, who are definitely not professional bakers and just there to do their best to help out.
The cherry strudel with fresh and sour cherries, anise myrtle, and a coffee and wattle seed ice cream turned out to be quite good, despite Christopher leaving his dry flour at home. We enjoyed the tartness of the sour cherries, and that it was overall not too sweet.
A surprise showing of a work-in-progress next generation strawberry-watermelon cake. I think it would be better with less sweetness.
OVERALL Despite criticisms, I enjoyed my meal at Hearthe, and the little Australian twists present in most dishes. It almost felt like what BUSH should’ve been, and it just happens to have some of the best fish congee around.
If you’re really into classical guitar and live North of the bridge, the live-baking thing could be a thing too.
Another family birthday, another cake from somewhere in Sydney – this time from Maki’s Patisserie, the bakery run by the Japanese daughter-in-law of an Auburn Singaporean restaurant patriarch.
Ordering was simple via text message and payment via bank transfer, and pickup was from within Peranakan Place Nonya Cuisine, a Parramatta Road restaurant I’ve driven past hundreds of times but never eaten inside.
As I waited for my cake to be brought out, I had a nice chat with the (very nice) owner of the Singaporean restaurant, and promised him that I’d try to eat there in the future.
We had the Strawberry Shortcake (small – $51), which was a deliciously light sponge, with multiple layers of cream, strawberries and a diplomat cream and strawberry topping. It was very moist, creamy, and fit the bill of being not-too-sweet – perfect for the East Asian palate.
