June 20th, 2020 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Podcasts | Leave A Comment »
Natalie Paull once pointed a brûlée torch flame in the wrong direction – and accidentally set a whole docket rail of dessert orders on fire. She’s endured brownie explosions and baking disasters, too. But people rightly associate Natalie with oven-baked triumphs – like the brilliant sweets from her popular Beatrix bakery in Melbourne. Think passionfruit […]
March 26th, 2020 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Podcasts | Leave A Comment »
Charlotte Ree once ate 30 different kinds of croissants during a trip to France – then got a croissant tattoo afterwards. She’s so dedicated to pastries that she’ll stay up until 5:30am to finish a baking marathon. Pulling 120 cakes out of the oven during the hours people reserve for sleeping – and then going […]
March 7th, 2019 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Podcasts | Leave A Comment »
Would you line up at two AM in zero-degree weather, just for a croissant? People would regularly do that all the time, purely for the chance to try Kate Reid’s pastries. The New York Times, after all, said her croissants are “the finest you will find anywhere in the world, and alone worth a trip […]
November 3rd, 2017 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Latest, Podcasts | Leave A Comment »
David McGuinness has frequently taken his sourdough starter on holidays with him to keep it alive. “You have to feed it regularly, like a baby,” he says. This dedication to bread is not surprising, given that he’s the co-founder of Bourke Street Bakery, the Sydney institution that is loved for everything from its chocolate ganache tarts […]
February 23rd, 2013 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Cafes, Favourites | 4 Comments »
Brickfields, the new cafe-and-bakery-in-one in Chippendale, is full of things to like. There’s the “Dranks” selection, which includes Lebonade ($4) and home-made sodas (the Peach one is lovely and lush), and your beverage comes in a half-litre carafe, which you get to splash out into tumblers. It’s both classy and fun – no wonder the […]
June 29th, 2011 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Bi Bim, To Mix, is a cute little Korean canteen that opened a few weeks ago on William Street, Darlinghurst, a strip better known for its cash-crop of hire/luxury car dealers. There’s nothing fancy about it, but you can get Bi Bim Bap with three sides (I like the caramelly potato and the veg-specked egg […]
April 6th, 2011 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Uncategorized | 15 Comments »
There are parts of Botany Road in Redfern that are like a shopfront cemetery – filled with empty display windows or long-shut doors. So you instantly notice when a once-vacant space starts showing vital signs and encouraging proof of a new existence. I came across Wild Cockatoo Bakery on the weekend, when it had been […]
September 22nd, 2010 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Even though the warmer spring weather we’re hoping for seems to be running behind schedule (like a band going through a spectacularly long sound-check), there’s one consolation – the Passionfruit Meringues ($5) at Bourke Street Bakery. These started to appear, about a month or so ago, in the counter displays of the Marrickville branch. The […]
July 4th, 2010 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Uncategorized | 10 Comments »
I enjoy watching the year change according to, not the calendar, but the blackboard menu at the Luxe Bakery in Newtown. In summer, you could order oxheart-tomatoes, basil and bocconcini, fanned out on sourdough; as the temperature dropped, that disappeared and was replaced with garlicky, roasted-through mushrooms served on a thick, crusty bread-slice, and later, […]
January 24th, 2009 | by Lee Tran Lam | published in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Being a complete Bourke Street Bakery junkie, I’ve memorised every single vego lunch option they have. So I had a nerdish heart-spasm when I noticed they had something utterly brand new yesterday: Potato Pizza with Rosemary, Spanish Onion and Ricotta. It was a one-off special and lived up to all the good meanings of that […]