Central Baking Depot: The Humble Meat Pie.

Front to back: Beef Mince, Chicken in Red Wine & Beef Steak.
All from Central Baking Depot.

So, MEAT PIE. I absolutely love meat pies. Its one of the fabulous things that I grew up with. I would have it any time of the day or year. It brings me a sense of comfort and calmness. Even though I've already had countless meat pies, I never get sick of them. NEVER. 

What do I like in a MEAT PIE? I classify a meat pie into 3 parts. The pastry, filling, and the sauce. 

PASTRY- A nice crusty egg-washed top that's immensely brown/nearly burnt at the edges. For the bottom bit, I prefer a tad soggy pastry- NOT CRUNCHY at ALL. Don't ask me why, that's the way I like it. 

FILLING- My favorite meat pies are generally BEEF. They make the best meat because it lends itself very well when it is cooked/stewed for long. I like it minced too.

SAUCE- I've come to realize that I'm not a fan of a heavy sauce cooked with wine and such. I simply like the stock and juices that the filling was cooked in. SIMPLE. NO KETCHUP OR OTHER CONDIMENTS WHEN SERVED.

My favourite meat pie comes from Manly- that's where my family and I lived when I was a kid. The bakery that makes the meat pies is tucked away from the central walkway to the beach. It's a small humble bakery run by Vietnamese people, or so I think. What I love about it is, it just brings me so many epic childhood memories that I've had. Generally, I don't eat meat pies elsewhere unless I'm utterly desperate then I buy some from the frozen food section of the grocery(They're scrumptious too! I like Sargent's). 

For a change, I decided to go somewhere else to buy some meat pie. I went to the Central Baking Depot in the city. I could smell the bakery a block away, such a heavenly smell. I arrived around lunch time and it was fully packed! There was a short queue, but I gladly fell in line because I REALLY wanted a couple of meat pies. I brought 3 home and started critiquing. All the meat pies they had the nice crusty flaky top pastry, but the bottom wasn't all that soggy!:(

The first one a chicken one with veggies cooked in red wine. Inside, it was a bit hollow which was no good. The sauce I didn't really like because it was just over the top rich. The filing turned out a little bland when it came to the bigger pieces of chicken

Epic Steak Pie

What I liked more was the steak pie although it was a tad hollow as well. It had a well-made sauce just the way I liked it. The steak was fork tender. It was absolute bliss.

Oh, and my cousin ate the other one! She said it was good though, but then she kinda says everything is good!

Thing is, my heart will ALWAYS belong to the humble meat pie in Manly. :) I'll post those ones soon!

Central Baking Depot

37-39 Erskine St. 

Sydney