In early 2022, LeBakery opened in Eastwood, taking over the space formerly occupied by a travel agent.
It specialises in flaky Asian pastries with tea and coffee menus available for those eating in.
This is the Sweet Heart Pastry ($2.80).
I’ve been on the lookout for a new shop selling this pastry (also variously called wintermelon cake, wife cake) since my favourite bakery for them closed down after COVID-19. Unfortunately, this was not the replacement. While the pastry was rich, it was more dense than flaky and there was too much of it. This was not helped by the filling, which lacked the flavour and texture of candied wintermelon and tasted much like sweet rice flour.
This is the Black Sesame Pastry ($2.20).
Black sesame continues to be a weakness, and while this filling used the typical red bean and black sesame paste, the black sesame flavour did come through with the sweetness of the paste and was well balanced by the buttery savoury quality of the pastry. As with the previous, the pastry was dense and not so flaky.
This is the Guihua (Osmanthus) Chestnut Pastry ($3.60).
This was a vast improvement from the former pastries. While the pastry remained dense and the filling looked bone dry, it was surprisingly enjoyable after picking up some moisture to deliver a gentle floral sweetness from the osmanthus with an earthy nuttiness in the background of the chestnut.
Overall, the pastries at LeBakery were aesthetically pleasing but the taste and texture were lacking finesse.
LeBakery is located at Shop 3, 161 Rowe Street, Eastwood NSW 2122.