Breadtop, World Square, Sydney

Twin sausage bun
There's been a recent influx of Asian bakery chains of late. On offer are prettied-up buns with flavours of taro, matcha and durian, frosted crinkly carrier bags with elegant sans serif fonts, and the best part: glass-walled production areas for deliciously hypnotic smell-evision.
I love watching the bakers make deft graceful movements that turn globs of dough into droolworthy works of art. Forget the zoo or the aquarium. I'd much rather spend my Sunday staring through the glass at the exhibits in an Asian bakery production line.

Breadtop at World Square adjoins the Asian grocery store Miracle, a deceptively well-stocked paradise with plenty of delicious things that beg to be taken home and sampled. And if the aromas don't drag you over to the bakery side, then the polished glass cabinets will: filled with precise neat rows of buns, cakes, mini muffins, mousses, swiss rolls and pastries for many an afternoon treat.
It's here that we purchased a matcha green tea mousse cake to celebrate my birthday last year. There have been a number of follow-up visits since then--for research purposes only, of course. The cellophane bags of green tea buns with red bean paste have been a popular purchase of late. But there are plenty of options. Dangerously too many, methinks.

Mini chicken schnitzel, lettuce and mayonnaise buns

Sausage bun

Egg and tuna bun

Seaweed pork floss bun

Cake cabinet

Chocolate chip mini muffins
Breadtop
World Square, Shop 9, 680 George St, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9264 1383
posted by Helen (AugustusGloop) on 7/18/2006 11:52:00 pm


18 Comments:
At 7/19/2006 12:04 am,
Jen said…
I can't get enough of these Asian bakeries. I have been known to go beserk in these places...and the smell of fresh baking bread, intoxicating!
At 7/19/2006 12:15 am,
Helen (AugustusGloop) said…
Hi jenjen - They are dangerous places. And I love danger!
At 7/19/2006 1:43 am,
Robyn said…
The cake cabinet looks UNREAL! It's so neat and...uh, stuffed with cakes. Mm.
At 7/19/2006 1:51 am,
Anonymous said…
haha i pass by there everytime i do grocery in coles.. it looks really good but i'm preventing myself to look at them! hahaha
At 7/19/2006 6:21 am,
Anonymous said…
Lets just say I was in official mourning when Maxim's called it a day. Still pining after their bbq pork bun (char siu charn bao)and the red bean paste 'polo'buns. And ... Just pass the me the tissues ... sob.
At 7/19/2006 8:52 am,
PiCkLeS said…
I found that with some of these new bakeries the prices have gone up a fair bit what's the price like at this store? My fav is probably still the pineapple bun with the crispy top and no filling =P
At 7/19/2006 1:17 pm,
Veruca Salt said…
Yummo, what a selection. Much more than the usual suspects.
At 7/19/2006 1:20 pm,
papa lazarou said…
yeah, with the new bakeries, prices are up... wasnt a fan of the maxim's on the corner, but i liked the one in the little arcade next to east ocean... (st honore i think?)... though, i havent been there since their recent reno to confirm prices..
At 7/19/2006 6:10 pm,
Anonymous said…
so which would you say you prefered? breadtop or breadstory?
At 7/20/2006 6:27 am,
tytty said…
mm, i don't really like Breadtop, i find most of their buns dry.
I prefer the other older bakeries right in Chinatown. There's something hmm.. unpretentious about their buns and pastries.
At 7/20/2006 9:50 am,
Helen (AugustusGloop) said…
Hi Robyn - It's real. It's real. lol. I think I took that photo quite early in the day, so the cabinet was quite fool. Droolworthy.
Hi Swee - I can sometimes stop myself from buying them, but I always go for a look. lol.
Hi Ben - I agree, but having said that, Maxim's was starting to look a little dilapidated and pretty desserted whereas Bread Story is always bustling. The bright shiny stuff wins again =(
Hi Pickles - Yeah prices are steeper than your average Chinese bakery. There are different things on offer, so I always go for the unusual. I will always get my cocktail buns and frankfurt buns from St Honore though. They will never be beaten! =)
Hi Veruca - There are lots of crazy unusual things. They seem to have a lot of savoury snacks which are sweet-ish. And cream cakes. Mmm...
Hi Papa Lazarou - Yeah I blogged St Honore after their reno. It's a lot roomier but yet still just as crowded! Prices didn't go up much. Most things are still $1 or less. As I declare in the post, their cocktail buns are definitely the best in Sydney.
Hi Chocolatesuze - I say they both have different strengths =) Breadtop has plain buns with fillings and lots of green tea themes. Bread Story has your more funky sweet stuff. They're both "boutique" bakeries going for the novelty luxury market. Keep an eye out for a post on Bread Story (next week hopefully).
Hi tytty - I certainly agree that Breadtop and Bread Story are going for the top end of the bakery snacking market. I agree that I will always have a sentimental soft spot for St Honore and Emperor's Garden and their more traditional baked items.
But I am finding myself inexplicably drawn to the novelty value of unusual buns with crazy names and flavours, although I could do without the excess of plastic bags!!!
At 7/22/2006 12:39 am,
Anonymous said…
everytime you describe a bakery like that, it makes me want to go there and just to smell the atmosphere!
At 7/22/2006 4:13 pm,
Helen (AugustusGloop) said…
Hi Twig - I agree; bakeries make the best smells in the world don't they?
At 12/05/2007 11:09 pm,
Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…
Hi Jeffrey - Me too, and hmm I'm not sure. As long as it's tasty... :)
At 5/15/2008 1:43 pm,
Anonymous said…
eh, I went to melbourne for a holiday (I'm from perth and I'm viet) and a friend raved on and on about breadtop. It was ok, nothing special. Maybe it's cos I'm not a fan of sweet bread or that 'asian flavour'.
I bought several items from different stores around the city, just to see if it was just the store's fault, and I chose the wrong ones. After eating..10 different things? I was like bleh. wasted my money. I bought some back for my parents though, since they love asian stuff. They were like eh as well.
At 5/16/2008 1:21 am,
Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…
Hi Kim - I think that Breadtop do cater for the sweet soft bun palate. You certainly need to be in the mood for soft doughy bread products :)
At 8/27/2009 1:24 pm,
Anonymous said…
i went to melbourne for a vacation(i'm from the US) and i was in LOVE with bread top! i crave it now that i'm back... and i will never get to eat it again unless i go back to melbourne... :[
At 8/28/2009 1:06 am,
Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…
Hi Anon - Or you could come to Sydney instead? :)
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