Parisian Baker, Essendon Vic, Melbourne
Showing posts with label Bakeries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bakeries. Show all posts
11/11/2019
8/08/2019
Publique Bakery, Preston Market, Preston Vic
I have been there three times and ordered different pastries. All are fantastic. My fav are the chocolate twisters, totally fab, but everything I've bought from there have been great. Danish are wonderful!
The place is a small dispatch, but the guys behind the counter are really nice .
Pastries have a great price for their quality.
Good coffee
The place is inside the Preston Market and, although there is a pubic seating area in front of it, it would be great having something more secluded and a bit more charming.
For the rest, this is my go-to pastry place in Preston.
10/08/2014
Regent Cakes (Northbridge, Perth WA)
Northbridge, WA 6003 Phone: 08 9227 8081
Hours
Mon-Fri: 9:30am-6:00pm
Sat-Sun: 10:00am-5:30pm
Wed: Closed
You have certainly passed many times by it and not noticed. It is by the Northbridge Post Office in Francis Street, tiny-winy place.
I am a fan of Regent Cakes because of the fluffiness of their sponges, the soft creaminess of their creams and mousses, their level of sweetness (not too sweet, right for me) and the ever-changing cakes slices. I hate iced cakes or icing in general, so I am happy to go to bakeries where I am the icing on the cake :)
I am not into their buns, but I have gone endless times to Regent Cakes for my lunch break to get my sweet fix, and they have always delivered in taste, freshness and variety. They have always new additions or variations on the same cake, which always makes me happy.
They are not sophisticated upper end cakes, but simple, fresh tasty ones prepared on the spot every day. They also prepare tarts and big cakes on order.
Prices for the slices are ridiculously good, 3.80 bucks for a slice of cake is just fantastic, or perhaps dangerous for your curves.
I have always had a terrific experience with the staff. They are super-friendly and so very lovely every time I visit.
I would like them to provide customers with plastic spoons, at least on request, as some cakes are a way tricky to eat without it, and my nose gets clowned by the cake's cream :)
MIND
Their day off is Wednesdays!
9/21/2014
Jean Pierre Sancho (North Perth, Perth WA)
North Perth Western Australia 6006
North Perth
Get Directions
Phone number (08) 4441 904
Website:
Hours
Mon-Wed 8am to 3pm
Thu-Sat 8am to 4pm
Sun 8.30am to 3.30pm
Jean Pierre Sancho in Fitzgerald Street has become one of my handy stops while going to the North Perth Plaza to do my grocery shopping. What brings me there is mostly their coffee and the lovely staff. Great combo for me.
Coffee is nicely prepared, strong enough for my sensitive tongue. Yes, I like my coffee to taste like coffee. I like their colourful macaroons and sweets, and the staff have been and are lovely every time I visit, very friendly, smiley, and accommodating about anything. No-fuss people.
The place, unlike its predecessor, is a bit bland and dark regarding ambience and vibe. I was expecting a bit of more "Frenchiness" in the decoration and style, but concrete looking floors and almost bare walls are not that chic. However, the place is n the decoration and atmosphere, still the place is quiet and comfortable.
Food has proven to be a bit of a disappointment. They are very generous with their servings (point!), but somewhat the food tastes just OK. Not bad, but not remarkable either.
My first breakfast there was total knock-out, tinned beans, stale harsh brown, like... I didn't like it. They have improved since them, but their cooked breakfasts are still not their forte in taste or plating (sometimes they put too much on the plate, carelessly, in ways that make the food look unappealing, like in the photo).
Their house-flag dish is very French... Gosh Bless Hamburgers. They are very tasty and come with fries and salad, huge size. That always makes me happy, size does matter, and tasty hamburgers as well.
In short a nice place to drop by if you just want a nice friendly quiet café to hide from the world and have some simple cooked food or nice pastries and sweets.
Notes to myself
> I love their coffee cups!
> They have lovely loaves of bread for sale
> It would live up the place having some French posters or photographs on the walls.
3/03/2013
Esther's Cake Shop (Northbridge, Perth WA)
Northbridge WA 6003
(08) 9228 8783
Hours:
Mon-Sun 8:00 - 20:00
If you like Asian cakes, buns and pastries on the go, Esther's bakery is a must stop on William St. You will notice the place if you walk along the street because of the lovely smell coming from the shop a few metres before you get there.
THUMBS UP
Good prices.
Friendly service
Warm fresh stuff.
They open long hours, every day of the week.
THUMBS DOWN
No Efptos.
A place mostly for takeaways.
Some of the shop attendants have a limited English.
If you are not used to Asian bakeries, some of the stuff might taste odd.
8/03/2012
Lawley's Bakery Café (Highgate, Perth WA)
Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 9328 6866
http://www.lawleys.com.au/
Hours:
Mon-Sun 6:30 - 18:00
Mount Lawley's bakery café sells a huge range of breads, cakes, pastries, and pies at good prices.THE PLACE - The whole place looks large and rambling, and the seating area is unglamorous. At the same time, it has an air of familiarity that can be really welcoming and it is very pleasant for normal days visits. That is why it attracts a mix of people of all ages, gender and professions.
THE FOOD
* Their breakfast menu are acceptable and decently priced. The Big Lawley's breakfast is quite big and filling. Not bad, but as good as the one you could easily prepare at home.
* Their pies are completely forgettable, and are not baked on site, but by a supplier in Osborne Park. They had a few unusual things and flavours, and some of them look tempting, but they lack in flavour and are filling with lots of thick gravy and spare drops of the supposed filling. Go and grab yours elsewhere.
* Some of the sweets, on the contrary, are great. I am very picky with sweets, and I cannot stand too much sweetness or lack of flavour. In that regard, some of Lawley's sweets fit my palate perfectly.
- The fruit tartlets and matching petit-fours are delicious, especially the berries and citrus ones. The chocolate petit-fours are average. Some of the other tartlets are too sweet, and not that exciting, an example being the forgettable lemon lime brulee tartlet.
- The fruit cheese cakes are great: very light, mousse-like, fresh, right amount of sugar, very tasty and quite big. * Lawley's has a great variety of breads: gluten free, sourdough, sweet, savoury, Italian, German, French, Turkish, and everything in between. They are not cheap, but not expensive either for that sort of gourmet bread. The most exotic breads are great for special occasions and whimsical moments. My favourite loaves are the sourdough fig & fennel, and the sultanas & walnuts (the latter especially), which are perfect for gourmet breakfasts at home. Their rye and sunflower lunch rolls are my fav bread in here, followed by the simple rye long rolls - fluffy but dark in colour and rich in rye.
THE COFFEE
I have heard so many things about the coffee, that I was expecting one of those "weakies" that are spreading throughout Perth like the Plague. To my surprise the coffee was quite strong and dark, a bit bitter actually, so it definitely needed of sweetening. It was really well prepared and decent.
THE SERVICE
The service is uneven, varies from person to person, but most staff are friendly and nice; still, there is an I-don't-care-about-you air that really annoys me, which is especially evident when visiting in the quieter hours of the afternoon-evening. You could place yourself in front of any of the stands, nobody in the shop, and none of the staff would even care. It has happened to me. Still, I have found that when the place is really full, and flooded with customers, the guys put the batteries on and are very fast, efficient, friendly and serviceable. Should not be the other way around? Puzzling! Some of the guys do not give a damn about customers, unless they find them flirting material. But, hey, this is not high school, or is it? 
* I expect the staff to know the basic ingredients and taste of the products they sell as this is part of the job. I asked a staff member
a few questions: Is this hot? Is this very sweet? Is this chocolate? Is
this spicy? Dunno. I haven't tried it. That is unacceptable.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
1/ The owners should be training new staff to know the basic ingredients and taste of the products on sale, so they can inform customers when they ask. You do not have to try anything, just learn it by heart.2/ The staff should make an effort to show a bit of more enthusiasm and friendliness towards customers, especially when the shop is empty.
3/ The seating area needs a revamp, and a bit of detachment from the selling area. The floor absolutely needs to be changed, as it makes the place looks uglier than it actually is.
3/ Lawley's does not accept EPFTOS unless you expend +10$. They should charge a few cents for this sort of transaction, so it benefits both the business and the customer, not just the business.
6/ They should have different sizes of packing boxes. They pack the petit-fours and cakes without any care, unless you ask them to do so. They have big boxes for big cakes, and cartoon trays for others, but not small covered boxes. So, if you are walking with your sweets, you will get a deformed amorphous thing when you get home.
7/ Remove the chocolate cheese cake from the menu. Good looks are not enough. It tastes odd!
8/ The bread slicer does slice the bread unevenly. So please fix that. It is annoying getting slices that are too thin and others too thick in the same loaf!
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Go to Lawley's for the fruit cheesecakes, the fruit tartlets, fruit petit-fours, and sweet breads. I prefer New Norcia sourdoughs any time, to be honest, but the sweet breads here are fantastic as well as the rye lunch rolls.- This is a perfect place to get home-made style breakfast, which is great for lazy cooks (me!) and tradies.
- If you fancy some of the petit-fours, but do not need them for any special event, buy the matching tartlets, which are bigger, comparatively cheaper, and taste the same.
- If you need to use your card for little purchases go elsewhere, so you are not forced to buy anything you do not want.
- If you find the service annoying write a review. Most of the times, being understanding does not help things to improve. Hopefully, many people complaining about the poor service will make it better.
UPDATE 15/8/2012
Not even two weeks from my review on this place, and Lawley's has moved from their unglamorous previous location to a very nice, smaller but cozier, location a few meters up the hill, now at 616 Beaufort St in a little building painted with their trademark blue colour, in front of Zakka. It looks way better, cleaner, much more modern and much more inviting to have something in the premises. Some of the lazy people that used to be there are not longer there, at least at the times I usually visit, and most of them are quite nice and attentive.
Well done Lawleys!
Now that bread slicer is still slicing my bread badly. Is it so costly replacing or fixing the one they have? The one at Lawley's Subiaco works perfectly.
6/19/2012
Scents of Taste (Mount Lawley, Perth WA)
Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 9272 6708
http://www.scentsoftaste.com.au
Hours:
Mon Closed
Tue-Fri 8:00 - 17:30
Sat 8:00 - 16:00
Sun 8:00 - 13:00
Scents of Taste is a tiny French Patisserie and bakery managed and operated by two real "Frenchies" Olivier Collas and Franck Gire, selling wonderful sweets, cakes and savoury treats. It is located in the heart of Mt Lawley, squeezed up by the Fat Dragon and Spectacles. The indoors area is very small, and includes both the baking and shop areas, but they have a nice alfresco area spread around the shop's footpath and part of the car park with umbrellas and funky super-cool orange chairs.
I have had a few tasting sessions of sweets, to my surprise!, me being more into savoury stuff, but everything I've tried is very good. Two cakes stand out for me despite being average-looking: the Pear & Almond Tartlet, and the Lemon Lime Broulee Tartlet, especially the latter. They are light, very fresh and full of flavour, with a nice thick creamy texture, constant fruity implosion of flavour in your mouth, and a yummy pastry base. Among the rich and sweeter cakes, I recommend you the gorgeous-looking architecturally-designed mousse-ish Chocolate & Caramel Fudge Tartlet. One of the things I like most about Scents of Taste's tartlets is that their bases are excellent regarding hardness, richness, and flavour. I usually don't eat the tartlets' base as most bakeries make them too hard, too sweet, or too rich, so I feel sickened after the first bite; but Scents of Taste' pastry bases are fine pastry and taste great.
The big cakes look great, especially the colourful macaroon ones. Unfortunately, you have to buy the whole cake, as no slices are served. Sigh! Find an excuse to organise a tea party at your place to buy one of those. I think, they would sell the slices easily, I cannot understand why they do not do so.
Their macaroons are huge and so good! Not the usual ultra-sugary cookie you find elsewhere. They taste divine, and have the flavour of the fruit or ingredient right there, in your mouth, not as an accessory, if you know what I mean.
The savoury section is less aesthetically pleasing but more substantial for your stomach, with an original mix of wraps, pies, sandwiches, quiches and pastries of considerable size and filling, which will make happy any hungry man - manly food!
They also have a few imported foods, coming directly from France: canard cassoulet and tinned blocs of real foie-grass. I am just making a wish list right now!
Service is friendly. One of the guys is very outgoing, extremely friendly and attentive, and the soul of the shop, and he is the one who attends to the customers. The other guy is much more serious, the baker, and the let's do business right of type.
The Pricing is very good for the pastries, which are absolutely divine. Average price for deluxe pastries sounds good to me. However, the mini-tartlets and mini-cakes are pricey: average 7 bucks. Macaroons are 5 bucks. If you want to be satisfied you need at least two or each (or is it just me?). Their savoury food is also pricey. Having said so, comparatively speaking, buying a whole cake is not that expensive.
The main down of the site is, firstly, that they don't have a proper enclosed cafeteria to seat and enjoy their sweets, as their alfresco area is not convenient on rainy cold days. Secondly, the pricing of the small cakes and tartlets; they are very good but a bit expensive too. The main sin of Scents of Taste is, however, their absolutely tasteless coffee (Griffiths'). What a disappointment! A good coffee enhances the flavour of any sweet, but if it tastes of nothing, you better grab the sweets and have the coffee elsewhere, or, my trick in emergency cases, order a topped-up macchiato, and no sugar.
TIP
+ If you are short of money and just want to grab one thing, go definitely for the Danish, it is big, it tastes divine, and it looks divine.
+ If you want just one treat go for the Lemon Lime Brulee Tartlet.
NOTE
They only bake brioches on Saturday, just if the guy has the time, which is rarely - his words! If you get them in the shop, you are lucky.
6/17/2012
The Pearl of Highgate (Highgate, Perth WA)
Highgate Western Australia 6003
(08) 9228 9011
Hours:
Mon Closed
Tue-Fri 7:00 - 16:00
Sat-Sun 7:00 - 13:00
Don't get distracted by the tiny size of the bakery, its suburban location, and the small display cabinet. This is a decent traditional bakery that has a great range of fussy breads, breadly products, traditional and gluten-free cakes, savoury and sweet pies, cookies and a selection of gourmet jams.
I have had several tasting sessions, and my favourite thing so far, among the sweets, is the gluten-free chocolate & Kahlua slice, which is light and tasty without being ultra-sweet or heavy; you can easily have two of those without realising you are having two of those or feeling bloated.Their chocolate pastry is also delicious. Among their savoury things, their chicken-curry and chilli with carne pies are yummy - full of chunks (and not of that disgusting thick gravy that other pies have), and tastes divine even cold. I would go to the Pearl mostly for the pies. They are worth the trip.There are so many eye-candy and taste-candy things that is difficult to choose one thing. I am not into sweets, so being tempted so many times is a good sign that the bakery is good. In fact, once you try it, you will find an excuse to make a detour and end at their doorstep, especially if you are at or around Hyde Park. No wonder the place is fully packed at 8am on Sundays!
The service is very fast and friendly, matter of fact most times.
They have takeaway coffee using a pod machine, but that is never too tempting to me. If they had a seating area and a coffee machine, they would make a fortune.
The main downs of the place is that their selection of breads is limited, and that the taste and texture of most tartlets and cakes is somewhat a bit muffin-ish. They are lovely and moist, but not a proper tartlet properly speaking. 
