The other afternoon, we zipped into Patisse for afternoon treats. I spent an hour scanning and re-scanning my gaze over every pastry, chocolate and cake in the display case, unable to loyally stay with one choice. So, in the end, I went with two. (My more decisive – and better-researched – friends already knew they wanted meringues as soon as they walked into this lofty industrial space in the PYD Building, near Danks Street Depot.)

I’m sure I wore out the glass in the cabinet with my constant re-looking and re-inspecting. In the end, I was won over by (what I naively assumed were) orange-glazed custards, and asked for one. “Do you want to know what they are?” the staff asked helpfully.
Being overconfident – and way under-informed – I looked at the tropical-topping and guessed it contained mango or passionfruit. Nice try, lady. I was totally off the mark. The dessert was Buttermilk Pannacotta with Rosewater & Caramel Jelly ($2.50 for small). And while my brain had completely failed me, my eyes proved more reliable – this was a lovely choice. The panna cotta had a lively, semi-sour tang to it (think lime or cardamom) – curbing the sweeter-than-sweet gelatinous halo on top. And just so I didn’t walk away sugar-deficient, I had a Spicy Chocolate Truffle ($2) too.

Meanwhile, my friends had blood-orange-streaked meringues as consolation for the pistachio ones that Vanessa had been plotting to have from the very moment we mentioned coming to Patisse, hours before. The citrus meringue didn’t compare with her anticipation-amped favourite, but maybe that’s reason to visit again – fingers crossed it will be the same day the kitchen shells those red-green nuts and rains them into that airy meringue mix.

On a totally unrelated note, there’s been a game of run and tag going on in food blog world. I’m embarrassingly hopeless at this sort of thing, but you can check out the fun and games at Citrus and Candy and The Delectable Delight.

Patisse, G01 PYD Building, 197 Young Street, Waterloo NSW, (02) 9690 0665, www.patisse.com.au