The Great Cocktail Bun Challenge

Cocktail bun challengers ready to rumble
L-R: St Honore, Montague Bleue and Emperor's Garden

I've always loved cocktail buns. This little filled finger of soft sweet bun was my standby treat anytime I was anywhere near Chinatown.

My long-time favourite had always been the cocktail buns from St Honore, the heady aroma of sugar, butter and coconut would envelope me everytime I walked through Sussex Street arcade, a route I'd always find an excuse to take, no matter my destination.

A tray would be lifted from the pile by the door, and a pair of tongs would reach their way into the cabinet, filled with the signature double-lined buns sprinkled with sesame seeds. Once outside the shop, a faintly sticky glaze would soon greet my greedy fingers, and being the saver that I am, I'd eat from both ends before savouring the buttery sugary coconutty-filled middle in all its decadent glory.

And then one day J handed me a cocktail bun that wasn't from St Honore. It was much better than St Honore, he swore--and he knew my devout allegiance to the arcade bakery. It was nice, this pale fluffy bun from Montague Bleue, but I had to be sure, and so the Great Cocktail Bun Challenge began.


Cocktail bun innards comparison
L-R: St Honore, Montague Bleue and Emperor's Garden

Ahh the joys of a food blog. It gives your impulsive purchase of cocktail buns from three different Chinatown bakeries a sense of purpose. Without a blog this would be gluttony. With a bit of tastetester feedback and an accompanying post it becomes research for the greater good.


Cocktail bun innards cross-section comparison
L-R: St Honore, Montague Bleue and Emperor's Garden

The filling-to-bun-ratio is but one factor in our search for the perfect cocktail bun. One must also consider bun softness, the sweetness of the filling, overall mouthfeel and exactly how many sesame seeds are afforded to you. Price plays a part. So too does any bloated after-effects.

Here are a few of our combined tasting notes:


St Honore cocktail bun 90c

I was taken aback at the new 90c price at St Honore the other day, although the new store re-furb must be paid for somehow. The bun was sweet, soft and fluffy; the filling tasted richest of the three with a strong buttery taste. This had a high filling to bun ratio which was good, but its richness always tends to leave me feeling a little queasy if I eat a whole one of these (I usually eat half and save the rest for later).

The glaze on this was the stickiest, and had quite a subtle maltose aftertaste too.


Montague Bleue cocktail bun 80c

The Montague Bleue cocktail bun was palest of all three, this Taiwanese-style bun supremely spongey and soft, more like a sponge cake than a bun. The bun didn't taste as sweet as the others, and I thought the filling was less sweet and slightly salty.

Much lighter in texture and density, polishing off one of these babies presented no ill after-effects at all.


Emperor's Garden cocktail bun 90c

Emperor's Garden has always been a pit stop for me with its supply of freshly baked cossack foal honey rice crisps, piped chestnut tarts and chocolate-covered florentines. Cocktail buns have never been part of the regular pick-up, with good reason, it turns out.

We unanimously found the bun dry and chewy. There was no sticky glaze on the bun and the filling was meagre and gritty on the tongue. Disappointed faces all round.

And the final result?

Who takes it? Whose cuisine reigns supreme?

Montague Bleue by a sesame seed, earning the people's ovation and fame forever.

If you're hard up on cash, I suggest you get a cocktail bun from St Honore and share it between two. It's rich enough for both of you. That way everyone's a winner :)


Emperors Garden Bakery
100 Hay Street (enter from Dixon Street)
Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9211 2135

Montague Bleue Patisserie
Shop 2, 45 Dixon Street
Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9212 0929

St Honore Cake Shop
427-429 Sussex Street
Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9281 1628

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