Bourke St Bakery , Surry Hills
The mere mention of the word “SALE” always sends L into a frenzy. So when L and I heard about the Incu sale, we locked it down into our diary, making sure we don’t miss out on the bargains up for offer. Counting down the days until the actual event, and saving as much money as we could, Saturday couldn’t have come any sooner. Bracing ourselves for the expected craziness, we were epically let down. Most of the items on sale were not to our liking, thus we walked out disappointed.
Walking back to our car, turning the corner into Bourke street, we witnessed a queue descending from a small open way. Deciding to see what all the fuss was about, we joined the queue. After a quick 5 minutes, the actual store was finally in our view, and boy were we glad we joined the line. Staring back at us was a glass wall filled with Tarts, Croissants, Baguettes, Panini and pizzas, to name a few from the top of my head. As we inched closer towards the door, we were gobsmacked to find that we were actually in line at Bourke Street Bakery. To be honest I didn’t even realise it was it, because I couldn’t find the name Bourke St Bakery stated anywhere on the store! From the good reviews expressed by grabyourfork and notquitenigella which we have read previously, we couldn’t contain our excitement for what we’re about to eat.
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Chicken Pie
Prior to being served, we made a mental list of all the things we wanted to try. L is a person who doesn’t indulge in red meat, she’s always reliant on chicken for her meat fix, thus first on the menu was the chicken pie. The flaky buttery crust was filled with large chicken pieces, bathed in a molten cheese and mushrooms and sprinkled with fragrant herbs.
Lamb, Harissa and Almond sausage roll
I remember I use to love the sausage rolls you would get at someone’s party. Since then, I’ve had a soft spot for the Australian party classic. Bourke St Bakery has put a gourmet twist to the conventional sausage roll by using lamb, harissa and flakes of almonds as it’s filling. Much like the pie, it is flaky and generously filled albeit a tad too oily. The almonds are interesting as they add a bit of texture to the roll.
Goat cheese and mushroom quiche
Cheese and mushrooms go hand in hand with everything and it was no surprise that this quiche was delicious. The goat’s cheese is creamy as expected and despite the simplistic contents of the quiche I am left very satisfied.
Strawberry & vanilla creme brulee tart and Chocolate tart
The Strawberry and vanilla creme brulee tart is probably my favourite of all the tarts. You can tell a good creme brulee by the toughness of the toffee. One bite into this gem and you’ll hear a satisfying ‘crack’ , followed by oozings of creamy creme brulee goodness. A nice surprise was the inclusion of strawberries in the tart as well. The pastry used in the tart itself also deserves a mention. It is baked so perfectly that it doesn’t fall apart like alot of others and tastes almost like a well constructed shortbread biscuit.
If your after a chocolate fix I highly recommend the Chocolate tart. A very generous amount of rich and creamy chocolate is encased in the tart. The chocolate still holds its form, it’s like eating out of a jar of nutella.
Lemon curd tart and Raspberry & chocolate mousse tart
Next up was the raspberry and chocolate mousse tart. The light and fluffy mousse together with the raspberry was quite close in flavour to a bar of Cherry ripe. The chocolate was very rich, almost dark chocolate like.
We had a bit of room left for the lemon curd tart which was perhaps a bit sour for my liking, however it still left a positive lasting impression on my taste buds due to the perfection of the tart base which perhaps subdued the overpowering lemon curd a little.
Bourke St Bakery has impressed me so much that I wouldn’t hesitate to line up again to see what they have to offer. On the other hand, let’s just hope the next sale we go to isn’t an epic fail.
Bourke St Bakery
633 Bourke Street , Surry Hills (Corner Devonshire Street)
Ph: (02) 9699 1011
Open : Tue-Fri 7am-6pm, Sat-Sun 8am-5pm
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By Howard
We started eatshowandtell in 2008, it was meant to be just a journal of where we ate. The first thing I usually do when I'm looking for a restaurant is check out eatability and the restaurant website. But what is usually missing is pictures of the food, how do I know I'm getting what I expect? This blog hopefully plugs that gap.
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This article was written on 08 Sep 2008, and is filed under Dessert, French, Modern Australian, Vegetarian friendly.
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Oh man!
I was at the incu sale as well, and saw the line around the corner as i looked down the street.
I was a little curious as to what was happening down there, but it was too cold and wet to bother joining the line. After reading this post, i wish i had…
I live around the corner from Bourke Street Bakery, and it takes all my willpower to stay away from the chocolate mousse and raspberry tarts! My boyfriend is very partial to the dark chocolate and raspberry muffins too…The chocolate and sour cherry cookies are pretty yum as well…ah, ahem, ah I think I’d better shut up now!
Duesta : Yeah it seemed the rain didn’t stop people. Try it out next time, it’s not your average bakery!
Reemski : You are so lucky to live in such a nice area where there is an abundance of great food available. Are there any gems which you can recommended around your area ? I’ve really only been to Cafe Ish and Bourke St Bakery!
Cafe Mint on Crown Street is fantastic for a middle eastern twist on brunch. Maya Tandoori on Cleveland St for a nice Indian dinner, near the intersection of Crown and Cleveland is Erciyes Turkish, great for large groups and super tasty (check out the belly dancers on big nights). Of course, there’s Bills and the ricotta hotcakes…goodness, the list is endless..
I’ve been to Maya for Indian sweets, it’s awesome. Oh and how could I forget Sushi Suma, been going there for years!
Bourke St does really good pizza breads as well (w/ tomato cheese sausages). Really yummy raspberry choc muffins, pork fennel sausage roll. They used to do ginger brulee tart! That was the best!
Cafe mint is good for dinner as well
Book Kitchen, Pizza e birra, Prasits Thai – all very good.
V : Thanks for the tips, looks like I have to make a return trip to try everything else!
There’s also a Bourke St Bakery up in Broadway. The coffee there is really good, and I really like the sandwiches they do too. My favourite is the roast beef, caramelised onion, tomato, baby spinach and vintage cheddar, but the chicken and celariac and walnut one is quite good toasted as well
I’ve never tried the pies or sausage rolls. Guess that’s what I’m having for lunch some time this week!
Lisa : I always walk past that place but never been in, I think it operates under a different name ? I’ll have to give it a go when I move back to the Kent St building soon!
[...] 3. If you feel like bread & pastry: Bourke St Bakery [...]
Always an officious out of work actor/staff member barking directions at customers and throwing food into bags. It’s like they are all coming down from party drugs. Not dog friendly. Slow Service. Burnt Pastries. High Prices. Try and avoid it!