Eat The World in 10 Pastries in Parramatta
From Lebanese knafeh to Chinese egg tarts and Aussie pies: 10 pastries from around the world, all within reach in Parramatta. Here’s where to find them.
Some cultures fold it, some layer it, some soak it in syrup, but everyone, everywhere, figured out that flour and fat were capable of magic. Pastry is where a kitchen shows off: the flakiest layers, the crispest edges, the perfectly set filling. It can be a two-bite street snack or the centrepiece of a celebration, sweet or savoury, ancient or invented anew, last Tuesday.
You don’t need a passport to taste most of them; just go for a walk around our neighbourhood. We’ve given you directions to 10 of the best pastries in Parramatta below.
1. Lebanon: Asmaliyeh
La Galette, 64 Victoria Rd, North Parramatta
A sweet stack of fine golden pastry threads (kataifi pastry) sandwiching a layer of soft clotted cream with orange blossom and rose water and a sprinkle of pistachio syrup. It softens fast, so La Galette Patisserie makes each to order, keeping the crunch intact right to the last bite.
"If you leave it, the second day it goes soft; you lose the crunch. That's why if you make it, you make it on the spot." — La Galette Patisserie.
2. Greece, Turkey & the Middle East: Baklava
La Galette Patisserie, 64 Victoria Rd, North Parramatta
The showpiece of the region, and an old one, its ancestors trace back to the kitchens of the Ottoman palace. Paper-thin filo, chopped nuts, layer upon layer, drenched in syrup, and cut into neat diamonds, squares, rectangles, and more. La Galette Patisserie has it too, and they make it in every shape and mix of nut and flavour you could wish for.
3. UK & Australia: Meat Pie
Watch Your Fingers Patisserie, 5 Emma Cres, Constitution Hill
Britain has baked meat in pastry since medieval feasts, and Australia has loved the handheld classic ever since we met. At Watch Your Fingers Patisserie it's had a shake-up: husband-and-wife owners Nigel and Marion, one Australian, one French, brought a crisper, flakier French pastry to the classic, and with it their fan-favourite beef, brie and Dijon, called by some the best pie in Sydney.
"Our butcher, Tod at North McFarlens Meats, used to give me a frankfurt as a kid when Mum dragged us shopping, 50 years ago. When we opened, I wanted to find him but didn't know where he'd gone, so we picked a butcher at Northmead. One day Dad picked up the delivery and said, ‘You know that's Tod's shop you're using.' A nice little full circle moment." — Watch Your Fingers Patisserie
4. China: Egg Tart
Doughkyo, Westfield Parramatta, 159–175 Church St, Parramatta
Follow this one’s passport; a Portuguese pastel de nata sailed to Macau, turned Cantonese in Hong Kong’s tea houses and became the egg tart, crisp shell, silky baked custard. Doughkyo gives it a Tokyo-style makeover, folding European lamination into the Asian bake for extra flake.
5. India: Samosa
Chatkazz, Shop 4-6/14-20 Station St, Harris Park
The little triangle that won the hearts of an entire subcontinent, carried along medieval trade routes from the Middle East before India made it its own: spiced potato and peas in a crisp fried shell. Chatkazz makes the proper street-snack version, fried to order and served with tamarind and mint chutneys.
"Vada pav is our deep-fried potato fritter in a bun. You could call it a sandwich; Mumbai people would hate me for it, but we want Aussies to enjoy it too, so, sandwich it is." — Chatkazz.
6. Greece: Tiropita
Kouzina Greco, 16 Phillip St, Parramatta
A Greek cheese pie made with tissue-thin filo pastry, and filled with a soft and salty mix of feta and ricotta, baked until the layers turn gold and crisp. Kouzina Greco bakes theirs the traditional way, ready for you to tear apart warm.
7. Middle East: Knafeh
Bayti, Shop 7/45 Macquarie St, Parramatta
Eat it hot, while the cheese still pulls into strings: that's the magic of knafeh with its crisp, syrup-soaked pastry, outer and soft, melting cheese inner. A dessert built for sharing, and a fixture at celebrations across the Levant. Bayti serves it warm to order.
8. France: Choux Puffs
Lucien Baked Goods, 111 Phillip St, Parramatta
France's featherlight classic: hollow, twice-baked pastry piped full of cream, the same pastry behind éclairs and profiteroles too. Lucien Baked Goods, helmed by pastry chef Adeline Ribis, runs it in flavours like banoffee and pistachio-raspberry.
9. Spain: Empanadillas
Lola Cocina, Level 1, 79 Phillip St, Parramatta
Spain's handheld half-moon: pastry folded around a savoury filling, the smaller cousin of the empanada. Lola Cocina does theirs as slow-cooked beef with a salsa picante kick.
10. India: Jalebi
Taj Indian Sweets & Restaurant, 91 Wigram St, Harris Park
Bright orange coils of batter, piped straight into hot oil in free-hand spirals, fried until crisp, then dunked in a warm sugar syrup perfumed with saffron or cardamom. Taj Indian Sweets serves theirs fresh from the fryer.
