Hannah’s Hot Pies Bakery, Ultimo (NSW)

Today we went to Hannah’s Bakery on Harris Street, which is only a short walk from our place in Sydney.  Hannah’s has a famous connection to pies in Sydney.  This bakery makes all the pies for the iconic Harry’s Café de Wheels based in Woolloomooloo.  Harry’s most well known pie is the “Tiger” but I will get to it later.

Hannah’s is a unique set-up as it’s on a street corner and is a kiosk, just like the old school tuck shops.  I grabbed one of their beef pies while Hazel had a pasty.   The pie was outstanding.  I pulled it out of the brown paper bag and it was round, warm and appetizing.  I took my first bite and all I could think of is they have nailed the temperature.  The pie was then demolished, but before I got to the end I savored the juicy beef and gravy in the middle.  It had a slight pepper taste to it with nice big chunks of beef and minimal spillage.  Heidi tried a piece but I think she enjoyed rubbing the gravy between her fingers, rather than eating it.

I have to say getting the temperature right drastically improves the quality of the pie and experience.  The pastry was also light and crispy to sink your teeth into.  This was better than Bourke Street and it got a 7.5/10.  After that I was still a bit peckish so had to have a tiger before leaving Sydney.  Now this is what Harry’s Café de Wheels is known for.  A tiger starts off with a meat pie, but the topping is mashed potato (baked like a shepards’ pie).  They then put mushy pies on top and make a little well to pour in the gravy.   You have to eat it with a fork so it doesn’t go everywhere.  The Tiger should not be confused with a pie floater as only a small amount of gravy is used and it is not drowned in it.  I will have to try a pie floater when we get to South Australia to see how it stacks up.

Well it’s less than a week now before we hit the road.  Final day of work later in the week and everything is organized for the movers to pick up on Friday.  We drive out of Sydney on Saturday.  Our first day will involve driving out to Canberra and then a night in Yass (50km past Canberra).  Can’t wait and will be interesting to see where my next pie tasting will occur.

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Bourke St Bakery, Surry Hills (NSW)

Two weeks to go until we leave Sydney.  Packing is well on track with boxes all over the flat and trying to live off minimal food so we don’t fill up the fridge and cupboards. From my first post I got agreement from most people on the judging criteria but there was a lot of people split over round vs. square pies.  Plus thanks for the suggestions of places to try pies along the way (I know the challenge has been laid down to South Australia)

So the other day we took a walk over to the Bourke St Bakery to kick off the pie diaries.  Bourke St is a local bakery in Surry Hills and it’s a well-regarded establishment with lines outside the door every weekend.  We were introduced to this place while living in Sydney and it has awesome hot and sweet foods.  If this were the sausage roll diary it would win hands down.  Here you find the best sausage roll made with lamb and almonds.  A must to try.  Bourke St is also right on the way when heading to the SCG.  I’ve swung by there a few times to pick up a box of sausage rolls before the footy (it goes down better than a Villi’s pie).

We were at Bourke St as well to catch up with Hazel’s friend Candice before we left Sydney.  Now down to the pie.  I had eaten a beef pie here before, but it had been a while and was good to get reacquainted with the taste.  I knew beforehand the pie was going to be tasty, so it would be a good benchmark for the pie diaries (& maybe a potential winner).  The beef pie here was round and served in an aluminum case.  Now I’m not a fan of the case as too many pies seem to stick and when you grab it out it falls apart.  Alas this was not the case, so all good.

So how did it stack up?  My favorite bit of this pie was the pastry.  It was light and crunchy and just a little bit sweet to the taste.  It was not flaky at all.  The beef and gravy inside was juicy and tasty, nice chunks that melted in your mouth.  The only issue with the pie was the heat.  It was too hot inside and meant for slow eating.  Hazel and Candice also had the pie and confirmed this analysis (they also had it with tomato sauce, but I won’t go there).  Plus there was a bit too much gravy, which dripped everywhere, but at the end of the day it was a delicious pie, which I scored 7/10.  I then had to wash it down with a lamb sausage roll, as it might be a while until I get one of those again.

With the first pie down, we said our farewells to Candice and headed home to do some more packing over the weekend.  Next weekend I will be trying out Hannah’s Pies on Harris St, for my last pie before leaving Sydney.  Plus in between then Hazel and I have a few final lunches to attend so it will be a busy week.

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Welcome to the Pie Diaries 2

Welcome to The Pie Diaries 2 blog, which I will use to capture our adventure as we embark on a road trip from Sydney to Perth.  So why the Pie Diaries 2?  Well it goes back about 10 years when my good friend Macca did the original pie diaries on his road trip from Perth to Tasmania.  Along the way he sampled pies at various bakeries to determine the best pie in Oz.  The best pie he found was at the Denmark bakery (we will be going past there on our trip so I can verify).

With us undertaking a road trip back to Perth I thought it was fitting to bring back the pie diaries and see where the best pie in Australia is (plus a few sneaky vanilla slices on the side).  I’m also keen to find some good pies in South Australia this time as in the original diaries a good pie could not be found.  I’m sure they have lifted their game by now.

Now to have the pie diaries we obviously need rules and judging criteria on accessing the best pie.  Now I know everyone has their own idea of what makes a good pie so my judging criteria factors in key points I got from Macca (including celebrities) and some of mine own ideas of a great pie.

So firstly to make sure we are comparing like for like across bakeries I will only be having a beef pie (no fancy gourmet fillings).  I’ll score every pie out of 10 and to get a high score it will be judged on the following criteria (in no particular order):

1.     Shape – Round pies are a must.  A round pie is most efficient and every bite of pastry will have meat and gravy.  Square pies are a no-no.  The corners are wasted and there is nothing worse biting into a pie and just getting pastry.

2.     Heat – Warnie stated a good pie just needs to be hot enough to suffocate it.  Therefore pies which you bite into and burn your tongue are no good.  Temperature needs to be perfect.

3.     Filling – A delicate combination of beef and gravy needs to be achieved.  Not enough and the pie is chunky and dry.  Too much and you’ll need a spoon to eat it like soup.  Obviously getting the combination is one thing, but the beef and gravy used needs to be tasty with the beef melting in your mouth.

4.     Pastry – Flaky pastry is no good.  There’s nothing worse than finishing a pie and finding half of the pastry in a pile at your feet.  It’s needs to be light, but strong enough to hold the contents and have a light crunch when you bite into it.

5.     Tomato Sauce – A sign of a bad tasting pie is when tomato sauce needs to be added.  Now I like a bit of sauce every now and then, but this is about finding the best pie and a great pie doesn’t need sauce to cover up the taste.  As soon as I bring out the sauce, no pie can score above 5.

6.     Atmosphere – Now this is very subjective but something I believe is key to producing a great pie.  A homely country bakery producing pies on site with love and care is important to a great pie experience.  Chains or over-rated bakeries miss this and fail to deliver.  I had to introduce this rule after the Dunsborough bakery.  One of the best bakeries around alas no more as it’s focused too much on its name and has fallen down in making quality pies.

Now the criteria is established I will be tasting two Sydney bakeries before hitting the road.  They will be Bourke St Bakery, Surry Hills and Hanna Pies in Ultimo.  Stay tuned for their ratings in the next couple of weeks and at the end of November we pack up our swag and hit the road, where the pie tasting will begin in earnest.

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