Bread Story, Sussex St, Chinatown

Bread Story, Sussex St, Chinatown
Monday 23 April, 2007

Just when you thought it was not humanly possible to eat anything else, we wondered into Bread Story. I have admired this place from afar for ages and after enjoying our feast at Yee King we couldn't resist popping in for a look.

I knew this had danger written all over it as I've never just popped in for a look at anything........especially when it is food related. The corner location offers an in store bakery that churns out an array of breads and pastry treats. It's hard to know where to start. In the centre of the store is a large plastic display case with dividers separating each delicacy ranging from chocolate hero's to mango and cream cheese sticks. Some of the items on displays are just bizarre and the combinations are interesting to say the least - yam & taro buns, green tea buns and hot dog buns.......don't ask.

We walked around the display cases taking in all the offerings and tried to work out how to order. Then we saw some locals grab a white tray and tongs hanging from the bench top and pull out a drawer from the plastic display case. Each display had a drawer underneath that you opened to retrieve a treat. I just couldn't go past a Chocolate hero ( $2.80) - a large Chinese sweet bread bun coated in chocolate with soft chocolate inside. Once you have your treat picked take it to the counter where the staff will transfer it into a clear plastic 'Bread Story' branded carry bag.

At the counter is another display case offering an array of individual cake and large cakes. My eyes went straight for the Opera Cake. The classic Opera Cake is a work in six acts. There are three thin layers of almond cake, each soaked in a potent coffee syrup; a layer of espresso-flavored butter cream; one layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache; and a topping of chocolate glaze. As this was a little expensive the staff transferred the individual cake into a 'Bread Story' branded box.

Once home I couldn't wait to sample my treats. The chocolate hero sounded great but was actually really disappointing. I was expecting it to be moist but it was dry and the chocolate was sickly sweet. On the other hand the Opera Cake was seriously good. The combination of almond and espresso was wonderfully delicious.

Bread Story - 396 Sussex Street (corner of Goulburn Street) Chinatown - (02) 9281 2313