PAFU arrived in Sydney from Melbourne in mid-2018 and they sell one product: a Japanese spin on the classic French turnover. They’re owned by the same people behind Hokkaidō Cheese Tart (and PappaRich).
2018
We picked up one of their Apple Pafu ($4.50 each) a few months after it opened at Macquarie Centre. The pastry is ‘palm-sized’ and consisted of puff pastry layered with warm vanilla custard and cooked Fuji apple.
The pastries are served warm. They’re light, puffy and gently crispy — not quite so crispy and flaky as a croissant – and holds its shape on biting through with a gentle savoury hint that balances well with the sweet custard and the acidic bits of Fuji apple, which are soft and cooked through and unfortunately, lack that delectable bite that we enjoy so much in good apple pies.
A few weeks later, at the height of strawberry season, we returned for their Strawberry Pafu ($4.50). This one consisted of puff pastry layered with warm vanilla custard layered above a layer of strawberry compote.
Unlike the apple one, this one was served at room temperature and the result seems to be a crisper pastry likely because there’s no residual heat to soften the pastry when placed inside its packaging. Crispness aside, we enjoy the sweet acidity of the thicker strawberry compote that contrasted well with the smooth and sweet creaminess of the custard. Fresh out of the oven is not always best if it involves packaging.
2019
PAFU celebrated Australia day by launching the Coffee Pan ($3.50) at Macquarie Centre in NSW (it’s now also available at their Chatswood store).
It’s a ‘soft bun inside, coated with a crispy coffee crust and filled with rich buttery goodness’.
The coffee pan has a fragrant, sweet coffee aroma — the kind that can be appreciated from across the room — from its craquelin. Surprisingly, in stark contrast to its aroma, the coffee flavour was mellow on the palate with a gentle sweetness. Sadly, the craquelin doesn’t hold it’s crispness for very long outside of the oven. That aside, the bun itself is pillowy soft with the rich buttery centre adding an enjoyable salty contrast to the sweetness despite not being the smooth flowing river of butter promised in their promotional picture.
After the coffee pan wasn’t quite what we expected, I was curious to try their Coffee & Chocolate Puff ($4.50) released a few weeks later. It seemed to be exactly what we’d hoped for the coffee pan. It’s described as a ‘coffee flavoured puff pastry with chocolate and custard filling’.
As with the coffee pan, this puff has a fragrant coffee aroma that lets leaves everyone in the same room envious. Consumed at room temperature, the puff retains its flakiness although it’s a less crisp than fresh. The chocolate filling is thick and rich — nothing about it suggests cheap chocolate — with chopped walnuts through out that pleasantly surprised with its crunchy texture. All the while, the runnier custard adds a lightness that cuts through the richness of the coffee and chocolate. We’re fans.
This Chicken and Cheese Puff ($3.80) is the latest addition to the lineup at PAFU. It’s described as being ‘soft and flaky layers of buttery puff pastry oozing with a delicious cheese and chicken filling’ that’s ‘bound to impress’.
Biting through, the puff delivered on the flaky pastry, which has the flavour of chicken stock cubes. The promised oozy ‘delicious cheese and chicken filling’, however, was a huge disappointment — we bit through to find an empty pocket of air where we expected the filling. For a moment — until we looked up online — we thought the staff had forgotten to pipe the filling into the pastry as there was nothing inside other than a thin coating of cheese on the base. Impress, it definitely did not. PAFU is not even trying to earn the price it commands for this puff.
2020
This Pineapple Pafu is the latest sweet addition to the lineup at PAFU. It’s consisted of a flaky pastry filled with a layer each of baked pineapple and cream custard.
The pastry is flaky as we’ve come to expect, while the pineapple is a tropical twist to the puff. The pineapple brought just enough acidity to balance the sweetness of the custard while adding a chunky texture that contrasts well with the smoothness of the custard. Overall, we find the fruit-based puffs fare much better than the other items at PAFU.
Melting castella joined the lineup at PAFU in mid-2020 and this is their chocolate version ($6.90).
The cake has a mellow chocolate aroma with the centre oozing (or melting) when cutting through. The baked edges have the texture of bouncy sponge cake and a subtle chocolate flavour that’s in contrast to the richer sweetness of the gooey centre. I’d have enjoyed a bolder flavour of chocolate throughout, but castella is a more delicate sort of cake, although this one has more of a mochi or bouncy texture than actual castella. Overall, this is an enjoyable treat, but there’s a reason their pafu are their signature product.
PAFU introduced a Banana Caramel Puff ($4.50) to their line up in December 2020. It’s described as being ‘flaky pastry topped with banana chips, filled with banana, caramel and custard’.
The addition of the banana chips on top of each puff made for a firmer, denser crunch that complemented the crisp, flakiness of the pastry, while the banana beneath the custard brought the intense sweetness of the fresh fruit with a chunkier texture than previous fruits and contrasted well with the smoothness of the lightly sweetened to cream. Overall, the flavours and textures were well balanced, making this a delight.
PAFU is located at Shop 2084A, Macquarie Shopping Centre, Cnr of Herring Rd & Waterloo Rd, Macquarie Park NSW 2113.
2021
PAFU introduced the Matcha Pistachio Puff ($4.80) during the Easter long weekend. It’s described as ‘puff pastry with pistachio and filled with matcha custard’.
Unfortunately, the matcha and icing sugar dusted on top was short-lived. Appearances aside, the matcha custard delivered a distinct bitterness that’s offset by an odd acidity that recalled a cream cheese base. The pistachio was visible at the base but — contrary to the distinct layers in the promotional material — had absorbed much of the tart matcha custard to retain much of its own savoury nuttiness. The crisp lightness of the pastry was the highlight of this otherwise disappointing puff.
PAFU is located at Shop 2084A, Macquarie Shopping Centre, Cnr of Herring Rd & Waterloo Rd, Macquarie Park NSW 2113.