This is Tai Baan Bakery, a long-standing Cantonese-style bakery in Eastwood.
2016
First off, of course, is the Red Bean Sesame Ball ($1.10).
This one had a crunchy skin with a chewy dough and a lump of red bean paste huddled into a corner, so pretty standard. Overall, the red bean paste was a touch too sweet, and the skin, while crunchy, was way too oily, which tends to happen when food isn’t fried in sufficiently hot oil.
This Black Sesame Bun ($1.70) is something different to this bakery, with ribbons of black sesame throughout the bun and white sesame sprinkled on top.
The black sesame was mixed with glutinous rice flour giving it a super soft elasticity (think mochi in a gooey form). The bun itself was pillowy soft as well and created a great mass of softness without much texture. A stiffer bun or a stronger black sesame flavour – I like it to be very strong – would’ve gone a long way to giving some contrasting texture and flavour.
This is the Pineapple Bun with Red Bean Filling ($1.90).
The ‘pineapple’ crust was crispy while the red bean filling here was perfectly sweetened unlike the red bean sesame ball. It’s a pretty standard bun, although I’d prefer a thicker crust.
And to finish off the sweet buns, I try the Cocktail Bun ($1.20), a staple of any Chinese bakery.
The egg and coconut filling in this cocktail bun was pleasantly buttery (mmm!) and a tad too sweet, although the bun to filling ratio was decent, so that the sweetness mellowed (to an extent, as Asian bread are sweet).
A couple of weeks later, I headed back for a quick lunch fix with the savoury options –
This is the Mushroom and Chicken Bun ($1.80).
This is a firm favourite with visible pieces of chicken and mushroom in a well seasoned creamy sauce. I’d like more filling the bun, though, and still prefer Bread Top’s version with the flaky pastry on top.
And finally, a Sausage Bun ($1.80), another staple. This one was very dry, unlike the ones at Bread Top that have the added tomato sauce and mayonnaise on top.
Tai Baan Bakery offers a good variety of baked goods – all the staples of a Chinese bakery are there – of good quality, although not so much their fried goods, which make up a very small part of their offering. While I do prefer Bread Top’s offerings, Tai Baan Bakery does offer them for a lower price. They also have a wide selection of cake rolls as well, in every flavour imaginable, including black sesame! The bakery is a firm favourite with locals.
2025
Since 2016, they’d undergone a facelift.
Egg Tart ($2.00)
The shortcrust was firm with a well-developed baked flavour. The custard filling had a clean egg aroma and a balanced ratio of jiggle to structural stability. At two dollars, it offered strong value and sat among the better shortcrust egg tarts available locally. That said, the mouthfeel remained less compelling than the flaky pastry versions from Sunny Seafood Restaurant in Central Park or The Eight in Haymarket, though those sit at a higher price point.
Wife Cake ($3.50)
The filling was overly smooth in a way that detracted from the experience, lacking the characteristic texture or flavour of winter melon. It tasted predominantly of rice flour, with a grainy, mushy finish, and the absence of sesame seeds removed a key element of flavour and contrast.
Overall, the bakery delivered dependable shortcrust egg tarts but weaker execution on traditional pastries that rely on textural nuance.
Tai Baan Bakery is located in Eastwood Arcade, 7/185 Rowe St, Eastwood NSW 2122.