The Portuguese Bakery Gymea NSW

There is a homely feel about the Portuguese Bakery (Padaria).

 It reminds me of a village icon and on top of that it is pretty dressed up as well.   The aroma of fresh loaves, muffins and buns in the early morning is something we appreciate especially on a cold winter's dawn.   The smile from the staff adds to the atmosphere of welcome and then there are things to choose for different times of a busy day, whether it is a heart warming croissant, a naughty Portuguese tart or a loaf to take home before the place winds up for the late afternoon.

The must have for me at this delightful bakery is to have the creme brulee custard like tarts, much celebrated in Marrickville and Petersham in Sydney city's inner west -  and a plus to have this in the Sutherland Shire for residents who reside in the southern suburbs.  For me I can also get such iconic snacks from Warrawong, south of Wollongong city.

The first such caramelised crusted pastry were made in Belem, part of greater Lisbon city, by nuns or monks residing at the Jeronimos Monastery.  When the Portuguese Jesuit missionaries ventured far and wide into Asia, not only did they leave a heritage of religious and cultural influence, but they also inspired the southern Chinese to create the Tarn Taat, or egg pastry, so commonly offered at yum cha restaurants around the world.  I am told that the first commercial  Portuguese tarts were sold by  the Casa Pasteis de Belem, outside the convent.  The Portuguese bakery in Gymea continues this honourable tradition.

There are a few tables on the pavement, thoughtfully protected from the road, but otherwise it is much more of a take away place.   Children were focusing with a positive squeal at the variety of macarons, tarts and other offerings during my visit.   The loaves have a outstanding texture and shape  when placed in their holding baskets.  The muffins and biscuits are of a generous serving.  Needless to say, a bite into one of their Portuguese tarts changed my mood  - the custard was sophisticated, the crust was inviting and the over all flavour immaculate.

The young staff member organising my several selections to take home was focused about her work, thoughtfully asked if I required any warm-ups for any item to be eaten soon and was efficient about it.  I am reminded as well that Australian society is currently so fortunate to have the benefits of offering so much variety in food, produce and skilled outcomes in culinary expertise.


Doria Mendes and Raul Soares started young with this bakery when they migrated to the Sydney area almost eight years ago.   Not only have they achieved bringing an important slice of Portuguese life to the Sutherland area, but it is in their conscious presentation of their baked delights that impressed me.  I see the unusual curves on the surface of a croissant, the consistent roundness of each colourful macaron, the wholesomeness of a biscuit and the flowing love given to a baked bread.

The Portuguese Bakery is located at 18 Gymea Bay Road, Gymea NSW.   
Opening hours are from 7am to 5pm every week day; 7am to 4pm every Saturday; and from 7am to 3pm every Sunday.
Contact 0416 455 339


My impressions of the Portuguese Bakery in Gymea NSW:
Ambiance: 3 out of 5

Customer Engagement: 3.5 out of 5
Culinary Delight: 3.5 out of 5
X Factor:  3 out of 5
Overall:   13/4 out of 5



Recommended Menu choices:

Brioche

Pastel de Nata or Portuguese tarts
Fresh baked bread loaves

 

Return to Malacca

Malacca offers a kaleidoscope of colours, tastes and images.  Sitting on one of the world's most important trade and travel routes, this city state has much to reveal below its current status. Its rather small physical configuration belies the vast amount of riches and political power that it once held sway over. You can catch glimpses of traditional houses built on stilts in the

Malacca Malay style,  the Catholic Church of St Francis Xavier and the Melaka tree. You feel the past grandeur of China Hill and suggestions of connections to China's Ming Dynasty.  Control of Malacca meant great influence in South-east Asia.  The Eurasian iconic dish Devil's Curry came from Malacca.  The Cheng Hoon Teng and St Paul's Church attest to racial and social harmony long before its modern transformations.  Above, my favourite Malaysian desert of cendol and below, the otak-otak, a fish-based savoury mousse often seen wrapped in banana leaves before being steamed.

We  had a most interesting encounter with durians (above), sitting on a pavement table, savouring the freshly opened delights, in this case, bitter-tinged creamy custard fruit surrounding small seeds.

I could not resist capturing an image of the ice shaving machine (above) along one of the narrow side streets in Malacca. The petite bowls are used to serve the ice kacang, a concoction of a dessert incorporating various bite sized ingredients heaped with syrup on an ice cone.  There are many delightful discoveries for the eye and palate as you take the time to explore hidden and open alleys and streets - and these include the fast depleting supply of furniture and porcelain antiques, the fast emerging display of modern plastic junk and the variety of food and drinks in between.

The highlight of our day was sampling the cendol, a sweet based dessert using a palm sugar that bears the name of the city itself - Gula Melaka. I was very pleased that we had chosen the version served at A Formosa along Jonkers Street. Cendol refers to the slippery green coloured bits of mung bean included in the refreshing summer time dessert which comes served with ice shavings, syrup and jelly bits. (image above)

You can take home small sachets of the organic sugar (picture below), which is utilised extensively in Straits Chinese, Malay and Indonesian cooking, especially for cakes, snacks and drinks. In the foreground of the picture below are bottles of dark soy sauce, important as condiments to accompany Hainan chicken rice.  Malacca's historic quarter is great for walking tours, where, once you are hungry, you can encounter good versions of curry mee, Taiwan sweets, Straits Chinese or Nyonya cakes (like ondeh-ondeh), southern Chinese baked biscuits  (usually with almonds and bean paste as ingredients) , oyster egg omelettes, satay celup and tamarind-infused savoury dishes.  We had a local coffee brew before we left Malacca - there was even another shop offering the best coffee mixes from each of the 13 states in Malaysia.  I did not get to the Portuguese Village to sample influences from Goa, Portugal and Malaysia.

Capitol Satay reputedly offers consistently tasty satay celup, which is a form of steamboat satay (satay here being meat skewers grilled over charcoal).  Ondeh ondeh is a Malay term for bite-sized green coloured balls coated with coconut shavings - the sweetness inside melts in your mouth due to its essential ingredients of Gula Melaka and pandanus flavours.

We spotted an Indian lady literally feeding pigeons in a Malaccasque version of the "Feed The Birds" scene straight out of the musical Mary Poppins. (image above)   This was in the city centre, within walking distance from Christchurch and Stadhuys complex, the Dutch built town square with all surrounding buildings now painted in deep red. I noticed that the maroon shades had faded since my last visit to Malacca. I understand that it was not the Dutch administration that offered this red colouring, but as life is more strange than fiction, the colours were decided from a misplaced perception of a British officer who truly believed that all Dutch buildings had to be traditionally in this colour. Did this well meaning chap visit Holland before, that I am not aware.

A Formosa provided the venue for lunch.  We had the chicken rice balls accompanied by roast chicken cuts, pickled vegetables, the otak-otak and cendol dessert. I was amazed that the chicken rice balls were no bigger in size than typical fish balls in Hong Kong.  Those served at the coffee shop near Sim Lim Square in Singapore were more small bowl sized.  There was a roaring stream of lunchers at this corner shop - I was not sure if the school holidays had anything to do with the crowd, or perhaps there was not much competition along Jonkers Street for this type of food.  A Formosa of course is the Portuguese name for the landmark fort deemed "beautiful", built during the time of Vasco Da Gama's voyages around the world in the first spurts of European adventurism, international trading and colonialism.

Would I return? Malacca has always captured my historical, architectural and cultural passion, being one of the fusion city states taking advantage of strategy and location and with traditions that have inspired many generations of travellers, wayfarers and adventurers. Today the city looks insipid, many shades below its past glory but you never know of its future. Located only around 148 km from the bustling metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, on the highway back, I mused as to why it was not chosen as the political and social capital of the emerging nation of Malaysia, after the British colonials left.   Despite UNESCO recognition and related funding, its heritage area, in the worst criticism, remains a maze of narrow alleys with unsophisticated retail, unrenovated facades and continued decay. There has to be more in store for Malacca after several hundred years of capturing the imagination and drive of men and women from Amsterdam to Fujian.  To make an impact on the heart of visitors and residents, it has to offer more than stereo-equipped trishaws, plastic river rides and bazaar offerings.   I saw the harbour on the calm straits - and thought of those individuals from the past who came from far and near to build the legend and reality of Malacca.

Santa Fe Portuguese - Wollongong, NSW

Tender cuts of pork, accompanied by appetising potato bites, olives, mussels on the shell and a squeeze of lemon, were served on a plate with traditional Portuguese markings.  (picture above). This was my dinner at a Portuguese-themed restaurant/cafe in downtown Wollongong.  The setting is casual yet traditional.  They open early in the morning, and seem to focus on a breakfast and branch clientele, but also offer wholesome meals in the evenings that can be the basis of an informal family outing or just with a group of mates. Are the meals from Brazil or from the Iberian coast? There are no table cloths, just clean white tables with a drinks fridge but coffee is made fresh at the bar. Not too many tables at this one-shop place with Crust Pizza across the road and Lower Crown East a few doors to the west.  the feel is also Mediterranean, with unique looking crystal or metal lamps and mirror borders.  The decor is modern and yet a touch of ethnic.

My fellow diners at the table all had skewer swords served, each holding juicy and delicate pieces of various meat and prawn combinations. The marinade applied to each meaty morsel must be the secret to Portuguese cuisine. I last had an encounter with such dining swords in Petersham, which has a hub of a Portuguese background, like Warrawong south of Wollongong CBD. Generous amounts of chips (above) or wedges (below), according to your preference, accompanied carrot and green leaf salads, to balance each square plate with the meat choices - lamb, beef, chicken and more.

That weekday evening, the crowd was mainly with an Iberian background, and most seemed to begin the meal with red wines and a relish.  There is a fair range of Australian and Portuguese wines above the counter. We had side serves of neatly cut polenta bread, but not the lupini beans and olives.  Traditional Portuguese tarts were seen available at the front counter display, maybe more suited for breakfasts.
To finish up the meal, I tried the coffee which more than a few people raved about. My first sensation, on sipping the rather hot concoction, was that this was an aromatic blend.  Then skimming the surface, I also found creamy layers.  Finally the heavy dosage of bean thickness struck through, as a cappuccino should. The experience was slightly different from the Italian versions common in Australia these days.

My impressions of the Santa Fe Portuguese Restaurant at 64 Crown Street, Wollongong CBD (near junction with Corrimal Street) are:

Atmosphere:  Informal and easy.

Taste: Better than my expectations.

People Engagement:  Friendly parents in a family run atmosphere.

Service:  Casual

Best Time to Visit:  Dinner

Fav Dish Experienced: Pork Grills

Would I Return?:  Yes.

A Touch of Lisboa

It had been a rainy and windy morning. The leaden skies threatened to colour our inner selves, but with a touch of spice, a touch of laughter and a touch of custard, that Sunday turned out to be any thing other than cloudy.

In an unassuming suburb of inner city Sydney, I was brought down memory lane. Joyce, Charmaine and I may have started with dessert at breakfast, but we continued to see familiar things from our past to enrich the culinary journey and tour of things essentially Portuguese. Tarts with caramel (pasteis nata) in La Patisserie sat side by side with ricotta creations and other well crafted pastries. I could feel a bright and light sense of homeliness created in this bakery. Fernando insisted on a hands-on demonstration of pressing the thin dough in little flat cups. He showed his innate love of his role in the kitchen through his humorous interaction with each of us, When he chatted, even in a group, it was as if he was talking only to you.

There were passing showers but it did not rain on our parade. The sight of smoked and cured ham and other meats hanging neatly in a row dominated the butcher's shop that we dropped by in. And Christmas is approaching. There were beans and olives to sample,spicy meats and chizoro being cooked over a small traditional device. I finally saw the difference between Spanish and Portuguese cooking ware - was it the ornamental design?

Salted cod from Norway (bacalhau) brought up memories in me of the more intense version found in Penang, Goa and Melaka (kiam hoo). I did not come across any curries in Petersham, but the extent of influence in cuisine, social niceties and culture, arising from the sailing adventures led by Vasco Da Gama around Africa and then across Asia hundreds of years ago, had formed many common beads in invisible links that could be found in the suburb's Cafe Brasilla to the sardines soaked in tomato and chili at the nearby local supermarket.

At De Silvas, at the corner of New Canterbury Road and Audley Street, we had swords pointed downwards on pieces of bread used to capture the marinade dripping down from grilled chunks of meat. The compulsory sardines came out with an option to bite into them with fine bones and all. The garlic prawns reminded me of the French and Italian versions, though there were subtle differences in the subtle flavours.




In another shop, I was captivated by the rose cake, with Belgian chocolate utilised to form a wall around an inner centre of whatever cake you preferred - Madeira, chocolate mud or butter. At the local liquor shop, there were several varieties of wine from Portugal and we sampled those that are normally drunk while eating shellfish (vino verde). Seafood, sweets and preserved meats - they may reflect the moods and fashions of another time, another place, but it was all combined with good company and a relaxing feel that weekend day and which transcended slightly confronting weather and the ability to eat or drink so much within a few hours. We even had good coffee and tea back in Charmaine's house, though far removed from that little spark of Portugal in Australia.