Pantry Story began during the pandemic as a platform for founder Mutiara Sucipto to share pan-Asian pastries influenced by her Chinese-Indonesian background through Instagram. What started as small-scale online releases later evolved into market pop-ups before becoming a permanent bakery in early 2024.
2024
The bakery featured a cathedral-like ceiling, creating a striking contrast with its plain exterior. Its menu was presented on a central circular table, unlike traditional bakeries with pastries behind glass counters.
Prawn & Chicken Roll with Honey & Yuzu Sauce ($9.50)
Inspired by hekeng, or crispy prawn rolls, this twist on the classic Western sausage roll was also nostalgic for other Asian palates, reminiscent of Vietnamese pâté sô or Chinese prawn toast. Featuring a flaky pastry exterior with nutty black sesame seeds and crumbed ends for added crunch, the prawn and chicken filling offered a well-seasoned savoury flavour profile with a subtle bouncy texture, much like fish cake. The sweet citrus sauce balanced each bite with a satisfying sweet acidity.
Kimcheese Foccacia ($9.00)
The focaccia was tender and light, generously spread with kimchi jam and shichimi togarashi for a soft crunch from the cabbage and a subtle heat. The honey glaze offered a touch of sticky sweetness, while the sweet mayo and cheese delivered a balanced warmth. The portion size was also generous, measuring about 20 x 15 cm. However, we preferred the other puff and laminated pastries on offer over the focaccia.
Pandan Bun ($8.50), a collaboration with Algorithm Marrickville.
The laminated pastry had a crispy, sugar-coated exterior, while the inside revealed a tender texture with a vibrant green hue from the pandan. However, the pandan flavour was more pronounced in the custard filling rather than in the pastry layers themselves. The thick and perfectly portioned pandan custard provided a bold and vibrant flavour to each bite without creating a messy eating experience typically associated with custard-filled pastries from other bakeries.
Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookie ($5.50)
The cookie had a chewy texture throughout, with a rich, creamy dark chocolate flavour that tasted of high quality and melted smoothly on the palate. Despite being quite sweet, the sprinkling of sea salt provided a delightful contrast. However, while this was a good cookie, we still prefer the cookies from Kuki for their varied texture, ranging from crisp edges to a chewy and fudgy centre.
Pandan Cookie ($6.00)
Inspired by the Indonesian klepon (a dessert involving a glutinous rice ball filled with palm sugar and coated with shredded coconut), this cookie consisted of a pandan-flavored coconut cookie filled with hand-stretched mochi and palm sugar. Here, the coconut flavour dominated and gave the cookie a large crumbed texture, while the mochi and caramelized palm sugar provided delightful contrasts.
Overall, Pantry Story offers a contemporary bakery format defined by ambitious pan-Asian reinterpretations and strong flavour identity, strongest where savoury fillings and laminated pastry structures remain balanced and texturally cohesive.
2026
In May 2026, Pantry Story collaborated with Head Chef Danny Jeong from The Herring Room for their “The Korean Table, Reimagined” series, adapting familiar Korean flavours into laminated pastry and café formats.
Mom’s Kimbap Croissant ($14.00) — kimchi, egg, carrot, spinach, pickled radish, crispy rice.
The pastry translated the flavour structure of kimbap surprisingly directly into croissant form. Initial contact delivered familiar sesame, vegetable, and pickled notes alongside the buttery laminated pastry base. The filling combination successfully recreated the savoury balance associated with kimbap, particularly through the interplay between kimchi, egg, spinach, and pickled radish. Through the mid-palate, however, the structural integration became less successful. The crispy rice introduced excessive hardness and interrupted the bite rather than contributing useful contrast, while the seaweed component became noticeably chewy and difficult to break down cleanly within the laminated pastry format. Despite these textural issues, the overall flavour profile remained enjoyable and highly recognisable.
Galbi-Jjim Short Rib Pithivier ($16.50) — braised short rib, japchae potato noodle, mashed potato, shiitake mushroom, radish, galbi jjim sauce
The pithivier delivered one of the more cohesive savoury pastries. Initial contact delivered crisp puff pastry giving way to rich savoury-sweet galbi-jjim filling. The pulled short rib carried deep soy, garlic, and sweetness characteristic of Korean braised beef dishes. Through the mid-palate, the filling revealed strong internal variation: smooth elasticity from the japchae noodles, umami depth from shiitake mushroom, softness from mashed potato, and gentle sweetness from the radish. The pastry itself remained light and flaky, though the sauce gradually softened portions of the base and introduced some sogginess through the lower layers.
Butter Chewy Cookie: Original & Truffle + Red bean + Walnut
The original flavour was inspired loosely by castella. The cookie presented with a dense chewy structure with crisp edges. Through the mid-palate, the butter profile broadened while the chewiness became increasingly reminiscent of dense castella. Sweetness remained restrained enough to preserve the dairy richness.
The truffle, red bean and walnut version was inspired by hodugwaja. Initial contact delivered earthy sweetness from the red bean alongside immediate nuttiness from the walnuts. Through the mid-palate, the walnut introduced welcome crunch against the softer chewy cookie base while the red bean contributed rounded sweetness without becoming overly sugary.
Corn Cold Brew with Original Butter Chewy Cookie
The beverage combined cold brew coffee with corn cream. Initial contact delivered mild roasted coffee bitterness alongside subdued sweetness from the corn cream. Through the mid-palate, the corn component remained disappointingly faint, contributing more texture than identifiable corn flavour. The cold brew itself leaned somewhat acidic and bitter rather than smooth or chocolatey, preventing the beverage from achieving the rounded sweetness often associated with corn-based Korean café drinks. Finish resolved into lingering coffee bitterness with only faint residual corn sweetness.
Beef Rendang and Potato ($12.00)
The pastry combined beef rendang filling with potato inside a laminated puff pastry shell. Initial contact delivered rich spice aromatics immediately, followed by tender beef carrying the deep savoury warmth associated with rendang. Through the mid-palate, the potato contributed soft starchiness that contrasted effectively against the firmer texture of the beef. The puff pastry remained notably light and flaky, helping prevent the heavily spiced filling from becoming dense or overwhelming. Finish resolved into lingering spice warmth and buttery pastry richness.
Char Siu Pork BBQ ($12.00)
The pastry resembled a hybrid between a pineapple bun and baked char siu bun.
Initial contact delivered sweet cookie topping followed by sweet barbecue pork filling beneath. Through the mid-palate, the cookie crust reinforced the already sweet char siu profile, creating a flavour structure strongly reminiscent of Hong Kong-style baked char siu buns. While the pork itself remained savoury and well seasoned underneath, the combined sweetness from both topping and filling pushed the pastry beyond balance. Finish resolved into lingering sugar sweetness and barbecue pork savouriness.
Pantry Story continues to stand out less for technical perfection than for its willingness to reinterpret familiar Asian comfort flavours through inventive pastry formats that remain culturally recognisable rather than purely aesthetic.
Pantry Story is located at 336 Parramatta Rd, Stanmore NSW 2048.