This is Ten Thousand, a Korean-style cafe bakery in Eastwood.
2025
Earl Grey Canelé ($5.50)
The texture was well executed, with a crisp caramelised shell giving way to a soft custard interior. Bergamot notes were clearly identifiable and integrated effectively into the custard base. The honeyed sweetness, however, leaned slightly too heavily, reducing some of the balance that the tea component otherwise provided.
Salted Bread ($4.50)
This was an excellent example of the style. The crumb was light and airy, supported by pronounced buttery richness and a crisp, crunchy base. The combination of laminated-like richness and textural contrast gave it qualities reminiscent of a croissant while retaining the distinctive character of Korean salted bread.
Sweet Potato Salted Bread ($5.50)
This proved more compelling than anticipated. The sweet potato delivered a bold roasted flavour reminiscent of the chestnut-sweet potato hybrids commonly found in Korean supermarkets, while avoiding excessive sweetness. Slight caramelisation around the edges introduced a gentle chew, contrasting nicely with the crisp, buttery bread. The underlying salted bread remained airy, rich and well structured.
Black Sesame Ball ($3.50)
The texture was denser and chewier than the version from La Vigne, lacking some of the latter’s lightness. Despite this, the combination of black sesame and rice flour provided an appealing savoury nuttiness, while the chewy texture remained satisfying enough to keep the product engaging.
2026
Butter Tteok (Chewy) ($3.90)
The exterior developed a crisp surface before yielding to a softer, chewy interior. The flavour profile was distinctly dairy-forward, with pronounced milky and buttery notes throughout. The texture struck a pleasing balance between tenderness and elasticity, remaining chewy without becoming excessively moist or gooey. The result was a particularly enjoyable interpretation of the style, surpassing the version previously sampled from Bengong’s.
Butter Tteok (Red Bean) ($4.30)
This variation built successfully on the original by incorporating a generous portion of red bean paste in the centre. The filling contributed an earthy sweetness and a contrasting coolness against the warm rice cake exterior. Slight chunkiness within the bean filling added further textural interest and complemented the chewiness of the rice cake.
Butter Tteok (Crispy) ($3.50)
The crisp and crunchy qualities were more pronounced than in the chewy version, largely due to the rectangular shape and thinner profile, which increased surface area available for browning. This created a greater proportion of crisp exterior relative to the chewy interior. Increased Maillard development also introduced deeper toasted notes, though some of the milky character present in the chewy version became less prominent. Of the two butter rice cake variants, this was the preferred option.
Butter Tteok (Chocolate) ($4.50)
Built upon the same crisp structure as the Crispy Butter Tteok, this version layered chocolate throughout the composition. The caramelised chocolate on the surface developed a crisp, brittle richness without introducing bitterness, while the chocolate filling and cocoa incorporated into the tteok itself deepened the buttery base. The result was a more rounded flavour profile, with the toasted butter and chocolate complementing one another without either becoming overly dominant.
Chewy Dubai Cookie ($7.99)
Initial contact delivered an aromatic and rich cocoa profile from the exterior marshmallow coating, which was applied thinly enough to maintain structural integrity without introducing excessive doughiness. Rather than drawing attention to the exterior, the focus remained firmly on the pistachio and kataifi filling.
Through the mid-palate, the combination of pistachio and kataifi provided both flavour and textural complexity. Crushed pistachios contributed a rich nuttiness and a firmer crunch, while the kataifi delivered a lighter, crisper fracture that created effective contrast. The pistachios also introduced a subtle savoury warmth that deepened the cocoa notes and balanced the restrained sweetness of the marshmallow component.
Towards the finish, the nutty and cocoa-driven flavours remained well integrated, with neither sweetness nor richness becoming excessive. The interplay between the various textures gave the product a layered and considered character, while the flavour balance avoided the heaviness often associated with Dubai-inspired desserts.
Chocolate Baguette ($11.90)
The baguette developed a crust that gave way to a pleasantly chewy interior. Both the exterior and crumb were generously studded with dark chocolate chips, which softened on the palate to deliver a rich, high-quality chocolate profile. The bread itself remained deliberately restrained, contributing a lightly savoury cocoa note rather than competing with the filling. With chocolate distributed throughout the loaf, each bite maintained a consistent balance between the bread and the generous quantity of dark chocolate.
Overall, the bakery demonstrated particularly strong textural execution across its range. The combination of airy crumb structures, well-developed crisp surfaces and balanced flavour profiles resulted in a consistently enjoyable selection.
Ten Thousand is located at 1/77 Rowe St, Eastwood NSW 2122, Australia.