I have a little black book. A little black Moleskine actually that I write down places that I’d like to eat. It’s full of recommendations and I often  flip to it for inspiration and regularly consult with it. And one place that was on the top of the list and the very first entry was Brasserie Bread. It remained uncrossed off for ages, mainly as they are open during hours that I just don’t or can’t really get to Banksmeadow (near Botany) closing at 2pm on Saturdays. But this one Saturday morning, we had to be in the general area early at 9am and I immediately scheduled in a visit there for breakfast. And they’re now open on Sundays too.

Free kid’s cooking classes

It’s kind of in the middle of not very much and I don’t wish to offend residents of Banksmeadow but by that I mean there aren’t a lot of shops or a lot to do out there aside from visit. And visit they do. This Saturday morning the communal tables and separate tables are full. There’s a large gaggle of mums relaxing – and you might be wondering how a bunch of mums can relax. Easy, take the kids to Brasserie Bread where at 10am and 12pm, they can learn how to make bread for free and take home the goodies they make. Needless to say classes are booked months in advance and I can only imagine the mums relief at the day rolling round where they can offload their kinder if only for an hour to relax with a cup of Allpress and have a child learn the valuable skill of bread making at the same time. In the cafe area, the banquettes are said to be the right height for kids to stand on and peer into the kitchen windows and watch the bakers doing their thing. There are also adult classes for $130 per person.

The front display has their award winning pane croccante which we tried as part of the Easter Show deli bag which was fantastic. Although we tried a packet of the Nigella seed croccante, the Rosemary flavour is the award winner. Samples for these are generous and the rosemary is indeed the best out of the two.

There are also samples of their sourdough and lemon and garlic flavoured olive dips which are also delicious.

Having wanted to go here for so long and stalking the menu, I know what I want. Ordering and paying at the counter, we’re lucky to snag a table quickly. We order the sourdough pancakes which we can have with either raspberries and double cream or maple syrup and bacon. I choose the latter – nothing stands between me and bacon. We also order a Croque Monsieur and the Organic Sourdough toast with avocado, tomato & goat’s curd. All eggs are free range organic.

Allpress coffee

Organic sourdough toast with avocado, tomato & goat curd $10

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I love to travel for food. It helps having a car and a husband and friends also willing to travel for food. To us, a night out is not going to a bar but it’s bundling into the car and driving somewhere that we seldom get to and eating a fantastic meal. This particular evening, Queen Viv and Miss America and I are on the pursuit for dumplings. Xiao Long Bao to be precise at Miss America’s and my husband’s request. Of course I am not averse to these little gems pursuing them across Sydney like a fashion lover lusts after the latest Limited Edition bag. Traversing the North to the South is not an easy driving experience this Friday night but we eventually get here. Queen Viv and Miss America have busied themselves waiting for us with a visit to the nearby pub.

The enormous menu, about 50cms high, contains 30 pages worth of items, all pictured. There are 300+ dishes and we can only imagine Gordon Ramsay’s head spinning at the large menu. We ask the waiter their specialty and it’s crab, as evidenced by the many pictures of crab and the fishtank. He also recommends something from the salted Duck egg yolk page and the Eel menu page. And of course we have to have some dumplings because that’s why we came here.

Iced Soy drink $2.50

A childhood favourite of mine, I recall when my  dad used to painstakingly make his own soy milk. This one is from a bottle but nevertheless refreshing and not too sweet.

Yang Zhou Aromatic Crab $61.50 ($32 per 500g)

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For those readers outside of Australia, Beverly Hills zip code 2209 in Sydney is really not very similar to Beverly Hills 90210 in L.A. I recall reading a tongue in cheek comparison of the two suburbs and whilst 90210 is glamourville, 2209 in Sydney is a down home suburb largely absent of Porsches, celebrities and multi million dollar Mansions. It was in an odd way funny that we were going here for my father’s birthday, on January 1st, as I had just finished the Tori Spelling autobiography sTORI Telling which was a surprisingly entertaining read, her father of course producing 90210 and she starring in it. Don’t judge me. My next book is Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, I promise.

A bit of history…

The 3 types of Peking Duck on offer

I wanted to visit here after reading about Belle’s visit in which she talked about the Mantou buns with sweetened condensed milk and Beijing or Peking Duck. As the name suggests, their specialty is Peking Duck and they have 3 different versions which vary according to the accompaniments that you order priced from $58, $68 to $78.

Mr Cleaver

There’s a man in chef’s whites wielding a cleaver straddling the space between the two rooms and he continually slices the skin and meat off the duck. And we mean continuously as the restaurant is full by 7pm and it seems that everyone wants their duck.

Complimentary peanuts

Green pumpkin water $4

Unlike many Chinese restaurants, tea is charged separately starting at $4.50 per pot so we opt to go for a big jug of apple juice as the weather outside is hot. I am also intrigued by the Green Pumpkin Water drink on the menu so I order this in the hopes of having a Harry Potter moment but it appears that something was lost in the translation and this is Winter Melon juice. Not quite as exciting as a Green Pumpkin juice. It’s an unusual tasting drink, very sweet much like an Iced tea rather than a fruit or vegetable juice.

Ducks wings $3.80

Served cold, this serve is a generous 11 wings, cooked in a slightly herbal tasting sauce. Only my husband seems to take to these although I can imagine these would be nice in a clear broth to help balance out the herbal taste and to warm them up.

Fried slices pork belly and vegetables with a spicy sauce $16.80

We were confused when we saw this dish as I expected something a bit different but the fried slices pork belly and vegetables with a spicy sauce were quite delicious, the sauce quite spicy with a black bean taste to them. However we find that there is not a great deal of meat in this dish – what ultra thinly sliced pork belly there is is savoured and vegetables make up a large proportion of the dish, including the not particularly nice green part of the leek. I don’t think it’s a great sign that they use this part as it’s usually discarded or used to flavour soups, not as a stir fry ingredient. The amount of them leftover attests to how everyone else at the table found it.

Griddled bean curd sticks with pork and vegetable hot pot $16.80

We find the same situation with the griddled bean curd sticks with pork and vegetables. The dish is about 50% onion and only a small amount of pork and slightly more bean curd sticks. A disappointment as the flavours are good and it’s just a pity that they pad it out with cheaper ingredients.

Steamed Golden bread with Sweetened condensed milk $10 for 6 buns

If there’s one thing I firmly believe in, it’s the power of sweetened condensed milk. It’s my Windex. There’s nothing that can’t be solved by it. World wars and peaces treaties could be brokered with the stuff. So when I see Mantou buns with sweetened condensed milk, it’s an obvious order. The steamed buns (the white ones) are pillowy soft and collapse under each bite, the golden ones are deliciously airy, crispy and light.

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