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.
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.
There’s a guy who keeps eating banh mi at work, and every time he does it I am triggered to get some the following day. I ended up visiting Nam Fong Hot Bread twice over the course of the week, each time a 10 minute detour on the way to work, because the first time I went I got a sliced pork roll and a roast pork roll, cut them into halves to share with my friend, only for her to eat the entire roast pork roll. I thought the intention was obvious!
Excuse the sogginess after a 45 minute drive and a 4-hour sit in the fridge, but this banh mi thit pork roll ($6.50) was on point. The meat packing was packed, the serving of pate and Vietnamese mayo was generous, and the pickled vegetables were fresh and tasty. I literally have no notes about this banh mi, and it approaches the Platonic ideal of what a banh mi should be. Even the price was unreal.
The roll that I bought twice but got to eat once, banh mi heo quay roast pork roll ($8.50) was again excellent as well as excellently priced. This roll featured a huge amount of meat, separate crispy pork skin which appeared to be made in house, and was easily something you would pay upwards of $10 for elsewhere. The flavours were good, the pate and mayo and roast pork in combination was very creamy, and this was just a good roll overall.
Both rolls even had the pickled daikon that seems to only make a showing in Bankstown and Cabramatta hot bread shops.
Can recommend, and didn’t let me down over the Australia Day long weekend when 5 other hot bread shops, which showed ‘open’ status on Google Maps, did.
Nam Fong Hot BreadBankstown 54 Bankstown City Plaza, Bankstown NSW 2200
We stopped by this small Chinese bakery/cafe in Burwood on an eat-pray-love of our local area, the second in three stops for a late lunch that day.
All we had was this uji matcha canelé ($6.50), quite expensive for such a small item, but quite tasty. It had a nice crunchy exterior, with a soft and gooey interior, amplified further by the inclusion of a matcha cream central filling. The canelé was overall not too sweet (as expected from a Chinese bakery), with a pleasant bitter dimension from the matcha.
Overall quite a satisfying little treat. They also sell a 6 inch cake for $88, which is kind of wild pricing, in my opinion.
