Last year when looking into the locations of other Kurtosh stores and noting that were all in the Eastern Suburbs save the one in Wollongong, I asked N selfishly, why anyone would ever need one there. Fast forward 6 months later, and we make several stops at the Kurtosh branch of Wollongong during our trip. Yes, now I know why. And more than that, it’s open on public holidays from 8am to 10pm.
Like their Surry Hills store, they have an impressive selection of slab cakes.
Their pastry cabinet is running low by the time we visit at 7pm. So I quickly grab the remaining Eggplant and Hummus Burekka ($4.50) before deciding on cakes in the other cabinets. It is every bit as delicious and more-ish as when I had it in Surry Hills.
We try the Nutella Kurtosh ($9.00) to convince D that they do taste much better when they’re fresh. We’d imagined the Nutella to be slathered on the outside after baking, only to find it neatly sandwiched between two layers of extra thin dough. The outside was deliciously crunchy and the hazelnuts gave the Nutella an extra nuttiness.
N and I continue trying their roulades. This is the Mango and Passionfruit Roulade ($4.50/100g) with cubes of mango throughout a passionfruit cream. The sponge is light and fluffy, while the mango gave a strong hit of fresh mango flavour to the slightly tangy passionfruit cream.
D tries their Cookies and Cream Cheesecake ($4.50/100g) and enjoys the generous cookie to cream ratio and the added textural crunch from the cookie base.
T goes for the Rhubarb Crumble ($4.50/100g). Having not had rhubarb before, D and I were surprised by its sweet, raspberry-like flavour. I wasn’t keen on the cheese, though, and it could’ve used more crumble.
To cut through all the sweetness, I try their Egyptian Rose Tea ($3.50/pot). I’d ordered it iced, and the waitress had called it an iced tea, so I was terribly confused why it came out hot in a tea pot. But having already tried an iced Egyptian rose tea at Brewtown Newtown, I was eager to try it hot so it was a happy mistake. The tea is infused from rosebuds to form a gorgeous jewel pink-red liquor. The delicate rose notes lend a subtle sweetness to the tea that cuts through the sweetness of the slab cakes and kurtoskalacs.
Kurtosh is located at Wollongong Central, Globe Lane, 200 Crown Street, Wollongong NSW 2500.