Becasse Bakery and Din Tai Fung Dumpling Bar - Westfield CBD, Sydney

Dumpling Sister and I decided to get up early this Sunday and hit the shops before the afternoon crazy peak hit town.  However, we were in need of some sustenance, before we could do some serious shopping.  We decided to head up to the Westfield food court, and see if anything tickled our fancy.  The escalator lead us straight up to Becasse Bakery.  Once, we saw the selection on offer, we knew this was what we had been looking for.

With all the cakes and pastries on offer, it was really hard to make a decision.  Sweet or savoury? It was decided that we would get one each and share.

Initially I saw the chestnut Mont Blac and then the Paris brest, then my heart stopped when I saw the brioche St Tropez.  You see, when I was younger Dumpling Mummy would take me to our regular cafe when I was growing up in Townsville, and she would always order this.  My love of French pastries started with these cafe visits, and has never stopped.  It's hard to find a brioche St Tropez, and I knew that I had to have this.

Brioche St Tropez, $6.95

The brioche St Tropez had a perfect bun to cream ratio,with a lovely sprinkling of crisp almond slivers and a dusting of icing sugar for the right amount of sweetness.  The brioche bun had a lovely softness but a slight firm give to it, without being over buttery.  I was blissfully happy with this and my cup of tea.

Cream to bun ratio, perfect.

Our sweet potato, lentil and carraway pastie was wonderfully flavoursome.  Nice chunks of sweet potato and buttery pastry that melted in your mouth.  I was a bit apprehensive that the carraway would be too strong, but this had a lovely balance of flavours.

Sweet potato, lentil and carraway pastie, $6.95

Cross section of the pastie, with lots of chunky bits.

You may have to pay a bit more for these cake and pastries, but the quality is certainly there.   They may seem like simple creations, but they are so well executed.  The range available is  also quite unique compared to other patisseries around.  The indulgent morsels here are definitely worth the few extra dollars.

We decided to explore the rest of the food court and came across the recently opened Din Tai Fung Dumpling Bar.  It had been a while since Dumpling Sister had some xiao long bao, and as we were still early and there was no queues, it was a sign to order away.

Dumpling Sister got distracted by the drinks section on the counter, so we ended up with a soy bean milk as well.

I agreed with the soy bean milk, as it came with the bubble tea packaging I love, but I actually don't like bubble tea.  So, it's a novelty for me when drinks I like are in bubble tea packaging and jumbo straws.  I have no idea what the label means, but the picture is pretty cute.

Soy bean milk, $3

I thought it was a bit strange to have the ginger for the vinegar in packets, but I guess there is really no other way hygienically possible, when you are operating as an express dumpling bar.

Complimentary vinegar and packets of ginger

We get buzzed and we pick up our xiao long bao, they're not as good as they usually are in their World Square restaurant.  As they have probably been sitting there for a while, as we are one of their first customers of the day.  They are warm, rather than hot and although the soup bursts out of them, they are only lukewarm at best.

Xiao long bao (4 pieces), $5.80

I felt like some red bean paste, so we ended with with the golden red bean roll as well.  It was nice and crunchy with the sweet red bean paste, but again just served slightly warm.

Golden red bean roll, $2.90

I suspect that the food would be fresher at their peak periods due to the higher turnover.  The Din Tai Fung Dumpling Bar is a good addition to the Westfield food court.  We now have a new location to wait for their famous xiao long bao and all the main favourites are there, but served in a super jiffy.

As we're eating we realised that there is also a new sushi train nearby, so maybe next time we will check it out.  If you can't decide on what to eat like us, than the food court at Westfield is a good option with all the choices available, you can really mix and match and create your perfect meal.  As for Dumpling Sister and I, we are contently full and definitely ready to hit the shops.

Loved the lamps, so had to take a snap

Happy munching, Dumpling Girl.

Becasse Bakery
Level 5
Westfield, Pitt Street
Sydney  NSW  2000
Ph: (02) 9283 3440
 



Din Tai Fung Dumpling Bar
Westfield, Level 5 
Pitt Street
Sydney  NSW  2000
http://www.dintaifungaustralia.com.au/