Apollo Bay Bakery - Apollo Bay

Apollo Bay Bakery
125 Great Ocean Road, Apollo Bay VIC.

Baked Good: White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookie.
Should you stay, or should you go?: Kidnap your mates, pack the car and drive.

1. Presentation - 3
2. First bite - 3
3 Texture - 2
4. Flavour - 3
5. How'd it make me feel after - 3
(1 - Not so much. 5 - This is fricking awesome)

There is something about being on holiday and eating what you want without feeling guilty. Not that that's stopped me from eating baked goods before. But being on holiday let's you over indulge on the things that make you go mmm. So when I took to the Great Ocean Road with friends to check in on Apollo Bay, not only did I eat more than I should have I also

had to try something from the local bakery.

Across the blue ocean and over the grassy park sits a bakery famous for its scallop pie, the Apollo Bay Bakery. And with a name like that, you'd be silly to go anywhere else really. It's just along the main strip as you drive through, so even if you don't end up staying in Apollo Bay, you should most definitely make a stop.

The bakery is full of just about anything you can think of: bread and rolls, cakes, cookies, tarts and eclairs, pies, sausage rolls and fresh

filled rolls. If you can't find something in there to fill you up or calm the sweetest of teeth, they've probably already sold out. It's wall to wall with all things bakery. And on those walls is green, not just any green, it's the kind of green you'd find on Kermit the Frog which helps noticing the sign easier. There's plenty of chairs inside to enjoy your goods otherwise get it in a paper bag and head over the road to the park or the beach to enjoy.

I didn't leave a crumb of the White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookie I munched on as I walked down the street playing tourist. Cookies by Design note that the cookie its self goes back to the 7th Century AD in Persia, the macadamia is rather young in comparison. Local to Australia the Macadamia has been a part of Indigenous Australians diet for centuries, but not until 1820 was it discovered by the Europeans. Skip ahead to the 1930s and it's mass produced and shipped all around the world. And here's something you probably never put any thought into. White Chocolate isn't actually chocolate as it has no coca solids in it. It was first introduced by non other than Nestle in the 1930s and by the 1960s

The Milky Bar Kid brought it into just about everyone's home.

Everyone has a preference for a cookie they like, hard and crumbly, soft and gooey or ones that melt in your mouth. This cookie was hard, but not break your tooth hard, just enough to give you a good crunch as you bit into it. There were big chunks of macadamia nuts and white chocolate so you're more than likely going to get a bit of each in your mouth at any one time. It was sweet, you could taste the sugar with every bite you could even see the granules, the white

chocolate would have been enough.

Overall the cookie was delicious and well worth a trip to Apollo Bay. The bakery was full of just about everything so you'd easily be able to get a whole lunch there while you just chill out on the beach to eat it all. But remember don't swim 20 minutes after eating. The staff were awesome, friendly and happy to help you make your mind up as there's just so much to pick from. And like I said before, even if you aren't stopping in Apollo Bay do yourself a favour and stop for a cookie on your way through, it'll be worth it.

3 out of 5.

CBD Bakery - Melbourne CBD

CBD Bakery
480 Bourke Street, Melbourne.

Baked Good: Long John
Should you stay or should you go?: Swing by if you're in the area, but don't go out of your way.

I have this memory of my Grandma coming to visit us when we lived in the country. I was doing some fundraising in the town centre and my Gran happened to walk past on the way to getting some bread from the bakery. On the way back she handed me a jam and cream doughnut. She knew it was one of my all time favourites.

CBD Bakery is conveniently just off the main drag. Perfect to sneak away from the hustle and bustle and the constant stream of tourists. But while you escape the hustle and bustle of the tourists, you gain with suits.

A little bakery with just about everything you could ever want. Glass cabinets filled with everything you can think of: pies and sausage rolls keeping warm in the pie warmer. Cakes, tarts, slices and doughnuts in all its glory, begging you to pick them. And a little section down the back where you can get a freshly baked roll and fill it with all the trimmings of your choice.

The cafe doesn't have all the bells and whistles a modern day cafe uses to entice you through their doors. White walls, standard tables and chairs and a big window to watch the world go by. But what the cafe lacks in personality it most certainly gains with a super friendly and happy team. Not to mention the pretty decent food.

I indulged in a Long John and until this very day I had called it a Jam Cream doughnut not knowing it had any other name. As it turns out not only is the Long John its more common name, traditionally it would be referred to as an eclair. However the eclair is commonly known as a chocolate covered cream filled long doughnut.

Food Time Line says the eclair in its original form dates back to the turn of the 19th Century. The French translation is "lightning", and assumed that's because of either the cream strip or the glistening of the chocolate. The more modern mention of the eclair possibly in the jam form was in 1861 in Vanity Fair. Possibly around the time when the Long John was adapted.

The Long John was delicious and so fresh. I possibly ate it a little too quick as it was super tasty. The dough was soft and fluffy. The cream was fresh and not overflowing. And the strip of jam was sweet and tasty. All together making it a perfectly sweet treat. And sweet it is, so if you aren't looking for a sugar overload, I'd suggest going for something a little more low key on the sugar front.

Overall the Long John was tasty and I'd have easily had seconds as I ate it so quickly. As for the venue, it's not the kind of cafe you would sit at and enjoy the cosiness of it as you read a book. It's one of those places you grab what you want and move on, or sit and eat it and not linger.