Sydney Winter Holiday 2014 (Day 1): Bourke Street Bakery ~ Review

1. My sister and I were on a mission to try the best brunch places in Sydney

2. We googled our phones away.

3. Bourke Street Bakery came up on the search

4. Bourke Street Bakery came up on the search

5. Bourke Street Bakery came up on the search

6. Again, again and again...... so........

7. The next morning which is our first morning in Sydney, we decided to visit the original Bourke Street Bakery

Verdict: Boy it is far from disappointing. 

The bakery
It is tucked in a corner of Bourke street (thus the name).

The inside of the bakery is quite small with 3/4 of the space dedicated to kitchen, cashier and displays of cakes pies bread and everything in between.

There's a small seating area along the window (seen above) for indoor seating but not to worry as there are more seats outside (there are still more seats on the left area of the picture below, silly me that I didn't take any picture of those area).

The queue on a Saturday morning. More outdoor seats on the left side.

One of the bench provided for seating and more queues

Liking the bread display

A great companion: Latte

Get This

Pear Danish

This thing taste awesome! The crispiness of the dough combined with the sweetness and softness of the pear is divine :p I would've ordered another one if I could.

Beef Pie

The beef pie crust is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The beef is so easy to chew and the gravy starts oozing out once you cut into it. The pie is well seasoned and savoury is just right. If I can have access to this anytime, it'd be my go-to pie for a rainy day at home. It feels so homey :)

Lamington

Lamington is one of Australia's traditional cake and it is basically 2 sponge cake with a jam in between covered in chocolate which is then covered with coconut flakes. From the first bite, I was instantly hooked on this cake. The sponge cake is so soft and moist and combine it with the chocolate and (especially) the coconut flakes, the taste combination is so good - it is sweet but not overly sweet and the coconut adds a hint of salty-savoury element to the cake. Right after this trip, I was hunting for a Lamington whenever I spot a cafe or cake shop. I have to say, THIS IS MY FAVOURITE ITEM from the bakery :)

Rhubarb and Almond Tart

I really like the combination of sweetness and nutty flavour in this tart. And to be frank with you, I don't think you can go wrong if you get any of their tart. The tart base is just good in itself, it's buttery and crunchy yet soft at the same time.

Missing a picture - The Pork and Fennel sausage roll. You know how sometimes a sausage roll can have such a dry filling? Well this one is definitely not. The pork taste really nice -well seasoned and well cooked. The pastry use is also really nice - really crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. YUM! Such a shame that I accidentally delete the picture :(

The So-So and The Skip (and 1 Get This)

Stawberry Meringue Tart (left) and Ginger Creme Brulee (right)

Let this be a good learning point for me to always take pictures of different foods separately to avoid confusion.....

What I meant here is that though these 2 look super good, I recommend you to only get 1 of them and that is the right one - The Ginger Brulee Tart. The crunchy sweetness at the top, the soft and sweet custard in the middle and the tart crust are already creating such a great combination but adding a hint of ginger taste just creates the cherry on the top for this tart. Though usually I'm not a huge fan of ginger on cakes, this is one exception. For some reason, the ginger and the creme brulee just perfectly complement each other...

On the other hand, as much as I hate saying this, I would have skipped the Strawberry Meringue. Despite it looking so pretty, the taste, for me, is just so-so. The strawberry flavour for me just taste very artificial and the meringue does not have anything special about it. I'd much rather order other tarts (or Lamington haha!) than this.

Wagyu Beef with Swiss Cheese, Sour Cabbage
and Dijonnaise Sandwich

Don't get me wrong, this is a nice sandwich. It is just that the sandwich does not really stood out for me. The taste is nice, it is perfectly toasted but.... yeah..... nothing really special about this sandwich. For me, it's just a so-so...

Chocolate Tart

Another skip for me is this chocolate tart. The chocolate tart for me taste just like how any chocolate tart would. Just doesn't really cut it. I believe there is a berry filling (I think it's raspberry) at the centre of the tart but it is so little that you can barely taste it.

Carrot Cake

Another so-so for me is the carrot cake but I think this judgment is rather biased as I am not a fan of carrot cake to begin with. While the cake is very spongy and moist, again I am not a fan of carrot cake. full stop.

Overall

I would definitely visit this place again to try their other stuff (like their sausage rolls, breads, other tarts etc). There is still, I believe, some hidden gems inside this bakery right here. All their dishes are of great quality and feels very fresh (like just baked that day kind). Looking forward to my next trip if I went to Sydney again :) 

Location: 633 Bourke Street Surry Hills