Following the lead of several bloggers such as the Queen of Bad Timing and Nini Foodielicious, my sister and I decided to go have our next sibling meet up here. Coming in around 10.30am, it was relatively quiet and the quirky crew were prompt to have us seated. I love hospitality like that. No overcrowding or queues! One thing for sure though, an empty restaurant can also be a bad signal. Nonetheless, I was not discouraged to try out a few of their offerings.
We started with a hot chocolate for me and a coffee for my sister.
If you had your first great drink, and it was the best, then it will be a sensational drink you can brag about. But when you had one too many, it becomes a norm. And trust me, in Australia most places serve very decent coffee and this was one of it. Definitely noteworthy.
As we had already eaten our breakfast, we only ordered a few pastries. There were plenty on offer but I decided to start with a filled doughnut for both my sis and I.
Filled doughnuts. What comes to mind is a fluffy, light, and sweet pastry. When warm, an even more delectable treat. The fillings here were nice but the doughnut itself leaves much to be desired. It was not extremely horrible, but for something as bite size as this and for 3 bucks each, I expected a little more finesse. Especially when it comes to the pastry! I wanted something light and fluffy instead of dense.
Chocolate ganache tart
Only two things to get right here, the ganache and the crust. Some things are not best when short but in this case, it was lovely. The crust was short and crumbly despite appearing very dense at first. The ganache was rich and really tasty. However, my sis and I found that there was a slight cherry taste in the ganache which we did not really like. Or perhaps it was a strong cocoa flavor which one gets from a very good quality dark chocolate. However, it was not stated dark chocolate ganache so? ? ?! Not bad but not the best. Bourke St. Bakery @ Surry Hills still wins hands down! In Perth, I go to Harvest Espresso in Victoria Park. Their tarts are always a sell out!
Last but not the least was Mary Street Bakery’s Peanut Butter Cup. For my sister and I, this was the sole reason we came here for coffee today. In comparison with the original Reese peanut butter cups, this one was at least 3 times larger!
But what is form without substance? Fortunately, this was pretty damn yummy. The top bit was a milk chocolate disk which was sweet followed by a peanut butter mousse filling. The saltiness of the creamy peanut butter brought the best out of the chocolate. To finish, a bitter base to ensure a complete experience that is not as cloying as what it could have been. Over all, a yummy bite but I was not blown! In fact, it is the first time that I am eating a peanut butter cup in a non-Reese form. Happy :)!
Mary Street Bakery has been a very good host for my morning tea with sis. The service was pretty good and we enjoyed a long chat for over an hour. The pastries on offer is a bit of a hit and a miss depending on what you order, but none is too bad. However, if expectations are high, you might be disappointed. In my opinion, Mary St. Bakery is definitely a place worth visiting! Would like to come back for their sandwiches next time. The couple next to me ordered a sandwich each which made me salivate @@! Nom nom nom!
WenY
