Pastry: Tightly packed thin layers with some crispness 5.5/10
Presentation: Dubiously set, bulging filling 3/10
Value for money: $unknown - Medium portion size, day old so not fully consumed 5/10
Overall score: 4.5/10
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Filling: Rubbery yellow custard 4.5/10
Pastry: Tightly packed thin layers with some crispness 5.5/10 Presentation: Dubiously set, bulging filling 3/10 Value for money: $unknown - Medium portion size, day old so not fully consumed 5/10 Overall score: 4.5/10
Mid afternoon on the Tuesday after the long weekend, my colleague informs me of a gift that he’d forgotten to give me earlier. From the cupboard and not the fridge he pulls out a brown paper bag with vanilla slice held within. He had picked it up yesterday heading home from Mount Buller, and had brought the slice in and left it in the cupboard! As not to seem rude, but slightly concerned about a potential upset stomach from its lack of refrigeration, I delicately plunged a finger into the rubbery filling that revealed itself to be pulled apart in chunks. I also endeavoured to nibble at the edge of the slice as to sample some of the pastry with the custard. Though a day old and unrefrierated for 6 or so hours, the pastry still had some life left in it, proving to be slightly crispy and clearly unaffected by moisture due to the solidified texture of the custard filling. Though this review might not be 100% accurate due to the nature of my tasting and unknown price,, one can deduce that the pastry when fresh probably would have been pretty decent, the custard not so much.
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Filling: Smooth, fluffy, sweet vanilla custard 8/10 Pastry: Thin and crispy but could be baked darker 7.5/10 Presentation: Glossy white icing on a large rectangular slab 8/10 Value for money: $4 (estimate) - Hefty portion, freshly baked and very gratifying 9/10 Overall score: 8.1/10 I visited Tony’s Pies for one of their vanilla slices over four years ago, back in January 2015, with the original review found here:
http://byronsvanillasliceblog.weebly.com/snot-blog/tonys-pies-essendon-vic Out and about with both kids in the pram needing naps, a quick on-the-go lunch was required. Walking past Tony’s Pies, I was sold on a bakery lunch. My usual curried steak and vanilla slice combo set me back a reasonable $9.50 and I sat in the sun and devoured the goods promptly. The curried steak pie was excellent, not a salty as other bakeries and containing sultanas which gave the mixture a really nice sweetness. This time around I took out one of their white iced vanilla slice, though it should be mentioned that they still sell the mysterious brown icing slice I tasted those years ago. The slice was notably fresh, with thinly layered pastry that had excellent crunch and firmness when picked up. A little more colour on the pastry would have given it slightly more salty undertones against the rich, creamy filling. The filling was, as mentioned smooth, fluffy and very rich. A very creamy vanilla custard, better than a lot of competitors no doubt, but not eggy like traditional custard. The white icing was thinly spread and wasn’t soft, meaning I had little cleanup work to do upon finishing. On the whole, a very good slice, potentially just a little too sweet and rich, missing some savoury notes from the pastry. Well worth the revisit. Filling: Bland whipped cream 3.5/10 Pastry: Puffed but dry as a bone 4/10 Presentation: Piled high, but unrefined 5/10 Value for money: $5 - Hefty portion, hefty price, throwaway job 3/10 Overall score: 3.9/10 Stopping in Werribee town centre for a bite to eat prior to visiting the Open Range Zoo, I popped into what I thought would be a French themed Patisserie, only to discover a low key, pretty drab Aussie/Vietnamese bakery. Displayed rather appertisingly in the cake cabinet was three vanilla slice offerings, all sized large. The traditional vanilla slice had a thick layer of poor quality looking icing, the French vanilla included a layer of bright white whipped cream and this ‘custilla’ slice seemed the best of a bad bunch. It’s only when I uncovered it from its bag I saw the actual colour of the filling and the predictably dry boards of dark pastry with much of the sugar now removed. Failing to take a cross sectional bite, it opted for breaking the slice in half through the filling and eating It like an open sandwich instead. After a few bites I had already made the decision not to eat the other half, with utter disappointment that the filling was nothing more than a bland whipped cream mix that was lacking vanilla, sweetness or any notable flavour. The pastry too was abnormally thick and sucked all of the moisture out of my mouth with each bite. Following the disposal of the redundant second half I downed a pint of water to get some moisture back in my body!
Filling: Oozing, airy vanilla custard 7.5/10
Pastry: Partially firm, quite biscuity 7/10 Presentation: Nothing flash, lightly dusted 6/10 Value for money: $5.50 - Reasonably priced overall 8/10 Overall score: 7.4/10
Originally visiting Danish Nosh in December 2018, I reviewed the vanilla slice at 4.15/10, mostly due to the two features circled in the far right image (1. fatty, uncooked pastry, 2. Smooshed custard poorly presented). Management reached out and felt I return to try again, so I did.
Thankfully, this time the vanilla slice I received was much fresher and a damn sight better looking. With only two slices left by mid afternoon, they clearly sell what they bake, so chances of a stale one seem lower for Joe Average popping by on a whim. The slice now sells at $5.50 (originally $4 on my first visit), though I don’t mind paying a little more for a quality product. One would assume that the slice is the same size as before and made of the same ingredients, but it looks like quality control has improved, to coincide with the cost increase perhaps. This time round the pastry was a much darker colour and firmer texture. It’s hardness caused significant amounts of custard to erupt from the sides when chomped. The custard was still tasty, like previously, but much fresher this time. I’m pleased I returned. Hopefully the owners are satisfied that I’m not looking to tarnish people’s reputations, but merely make note of my experiences for the everyday vanilla slice consumer doing the rounds. Filling: Better than expected vanilla custard 7/10 Pastry: Probably once flaky, but somewhat soggy 5/10 Presentation: ‘Hand finished’ swirls, proportionally sound 7/10 Value for money: $4.50 for two - Not bad if there’s no other alternative 7.5/10 Overall score: 6.6/10 Suffering with my first winter illness, I wasn’t able to venture too far from home. With a planned trip to a local pharmacy for cold and flu meds, I swung by Woolworths and noticed the vanilla slices on offer at $4.50 for a box of two (normally $5). Compelled to try, I purchased and took home. Only after taking out the first slice, I read the packaging which described that the slices are frozen from fresh and later thawed. This explained by the first slice was still frozen and pretty tough to get through. Upon eating the second slice I allowed it to sit at room temperature for 30 mins, this time with much better results!
I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the ingredients and the custard was surprisingly smooth, creamy and vanilla flavoured. When frozen it was like a vanilla ice cream, but when thawed out it oozed everywhere when bitten. The ooze effect was also due to the softened pastry, having defrosted and become slightly soggy. I can imagine that these layers would have been pretty good when freshly baked; a golden brown colour, thin and flaky. The only element I didn’t really enjoy was the icing; quite soft and grainy, though the dark chocolate swirls were a rather nice touch. |
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January 2022
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