On the Night of the Tuna Jaw during which we seem to talk about nothing else but food, Helen also tells us about Azuma Patisserie, located in Regent Place arcade on George Street, Sydney. She begins by asking: “Do you guys like chiffon cake?” Juji’s and my eyes sparkle as we answer together: “Oh YES!”
The next day, after we return from Cabramatta, Jay takes a much-needed afternoon nap while Juji and I embark on a chiffon cake quest.
Azuma Patisserie’s housemade chiffon cakes are available in five flavours: honey, earl grey tea, green tea, chocolate and plain. Whipped cream is an extra 50 cents (we didn’t need it).
Chiffon Cake Set sign
In addition to chiffon cake, there are beautifully delicate single-serve desserts and pastries including creme brulee, panna cotta, tiramisu, baked cheesecake, yuzu tart and green tea swiss roll. Frozen yoghurt is also available, in original and green tea flavours.
Chiffon cakes and pastries
As well as the usual tea and coffee variations, Azuma Patisserie offers Japanese-style teas and coffees including buckwheat tea, several blends of green tea, matcha latte and iced versions.
Azuma Patisserie & Cafe, Sydney
Juji and I order a chiffon set (chiffon cake + drink). She gets the coffee, we share the cake. We’re served a slab of pillowy cake that’s wonderfully light, airy and fluffy. It melts in the mouth and, to our delight, is not too sweet.
Chocolate chiffon cake
After this first taste, I’m left craving for more. Juji doesn’t need much convincing to return. On our second visit, Jay is with us.
I only have eyes for chiffon cake but the others order different things this time.
Throughout our stay in Sydney, we see posters on shop windows advertising Pat & Sticks ice cream sandwiches, which we’ve never seen in Perth. Juji and Jay order a Pat & Sticks Mochaccino ice cream sandwich to share – espresso ice cream between choc fudge cookies. I’m not a fan of ice cream sandwiches myself (not keen on the texture of the frozen cookie), but the espresso ice cream is lovely.
Pat & Sticks Mochaccino ice cream sandwich
Juji and Jay also share a baked cheesecake. It’s moist and delicious, golden with browned edges, a sunburst in crinkly silver patty paper.
Baked cheesecake
I order a slice of “plain” chiffon cake. It may be called “plain” but tastes beautiful, with the same pillowy texture as the chocolate chiffon.
Chiffon cake – original flavour
Juji and Jay enjoy a macchiato and iced chocolate and me, an iced matcha, intensely green and refreshing, though unsweetened and quite bitter.
It’s a gorgeous cafe, a chiffon cake haven in an arcade. Definitely worth a visit for chiffon cake fans.
It’s cake I want all to myself. If I ever return to Azuma Patisserie I know what I’ll be suggesting to my companion(s): “Why don’t we get a slice each?”
Azuma Patisserie, Sydney
Stay tuned for a write-up of dinner at Chef’s Gallery, also located in Regent Place, later in my Sydney series.
Regent Place, 501 George St, Sydney
Azuma Patisserie & Cafe
Opening hours:
Monday to Thursday 12pm to 10pm
Friday and Saturday 12pm to 10.30pm
Sunday 12pm to 9pm
Azuma Patisserie chef/owner Kimitaka Azuma also has a restaurant next door in Regent Place, Azuma Kushiyaki.
My Sydney trip (2011)
I went to Sydney with my sister Juji and her fiancé Jay in November 2011.
See the list of posts so far, in reading order. There’s still more to come.
I'm TFP, a food blogger from Perth, Western Australia.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
So glad you enjoyed! I love chiffon cake – so light and fluffy, and yes, I’d love to have a chiffon pillow to sleep on at night :)
Helen,
If I could nestle my head on a chiffon pillow at night it might help my dreams focus on things other than work…
Oh, that chiffon cake looks so soft! Lovely! :)
Row,
It was wonderful. If we’d stayed longer in Sydney I’m sure I’d have gone back to try more flavours.
TFP
I love flavored chiffon cakes too! My mum does some great ones with banana, coffee and orange favors. I like the idea of tea chiffons though, especially macha with it’s intense green color. Thanks for reviewing Azuma Patisserie, it’s a real revelation :)
Wei,
Ooh, coffee, orange and banana chiffon, YUM! What I want is DURIAN chiffon! That would be amazing!
Hey they stole my last name :) Have to go to this place…lol
Maybe the chef/owner is a distant relative! ;)
Chiffon cakes! My favourite (from the local bakery) is always pandan. You can never go wrong with that warm fluffy goodness. And I always love how neighbourhood bakeries always smell of pandan cake after a newly baked batch come out of the industrial-sized ovens. Love walking behind bakeries just to smell freshly-baked goodies.
Zafirah,
I love pandan chiffon too. My sister Juji makes a lovely pandan chiffon. I wonder if I could convince her to bake me a durian chiffon for my birthday in a couple of months time? ;P Freshly baked pandan anything smells so lovely.
I don’t recall ever having had chiffon cake. For some reason the cheesecake is much more appetising to me. ;-) Actually I’d like to have it sandwiched between a slice of vanilla chiffon cake and a slice of chocolate chiffon cake. :-D Yeah, I can be that bad, lol. And a big dollop of whipped cream on top (extra bad!).
Can’t quite get over tea-flavoured sweets. I’d probably pass on those.
Cindy,
Chiffon-cheesecake-cream sandwich sounds good to me!
I love chiffon – it’s so light and soft. Green tea is an interesting dessert flavour. Not my favourite, but I’ve enjoyed green tea ice cream.
Funny, we saw Azuma for the first time the other day when we went to Chef’s Gallery, but we had already had dessert and were a bit full. We’ll have to return again sometime soon as all those desserts look amazing!
Craig,
Will keep an eye out for your Azuma Patisserie post! ;)
An iced matcha latte is one of my all-time favourite drinks, along with iced soy lattes. I really like the cottony soft texture of a good chiffon cake and I’d be happy to try flavours other than pandan and orange! Earl grey sounds good to me. :)
Dea,
As mentioned above in an earlier comment reply, I have no doubt I’d have returned to try the other flavours had we stayed longer in Sydney. I’m not fond of Earl Grey tea but I’d have to try its chiffon version just to know what it was like, of course. :)