Emperor's Garden Cakes & Bakery — Restaurant in Sydney

This used to be a good place around 5 years ago (and earlier).

I find that they are ripping customers off now. Firstly everything they make is stingy on meat and anything that costs more than flour. Their buns for example - I bought a chicken and mushroom bun the other week and it is deceivingly large. I go home and bite into it and all I ate was bread until I got right into the centre. What I found there was the thinnest, and rather flavourless spread of chicken and hardly any mushroom. 95% of the bun was made of flour and that was it. Chicken was hardly there and I could not taste any mushroom. Charging someone $5.60 for a lump of flour is highway robbery. I will add that there was an expensive credit card surcharge of about 30 to 40 cents from memory.

I also bought a Fried Sesame Ball with Black Sesame inside. Same problem. 90% of the ball was made of glutinous flour and there was barely any black sesame inside.

What a rort. I have tried other buns there as well and they just rip customers off. Load the bun with plenty of bread flour and make it look large but inside there is no filling. They charge too much. I can get a burger from McDonald's or Hungry Jacks and KFC for just another dollar or two more which has 80% more filling.

Charging people so much for using a credit card is a sin in 2025. No thanks and...

📍 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗣𝘂𝗳𝗳 ⭑.ᐟ

❤︎ 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗱-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱: Curious, craving something warm on a rainy stroll ❤︎ 𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵: Hot, fluffy cream puff (only option) ❤︎ 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿: Cream puff lovers, sweet snackers, first-timers in Chinatown ❤︎ 𝗩𝗶𝗯𝗲: Classic Chinatown street stall with long lines and simple takeaway setup

ꫂ ၴႅၴ

You know the rule—if there’s a long line, it’s either really good or people are just curious. For Emperor’s Puff, I’d say it’s a bit of both. I’ve passed by this little stall so many times, always seeing people queue up. This time, it was a calm Friday afternoon and the line wasn’t too crazy, so I finally gave in.

The puffs are served hot and fresh, straight from the mold to your paper bag. They’re soft on the outside with warm custard filling inside—simple, sweet, and comforting especially if it’s chilly or rainy. For me, it is not bad at all, but also not something I’d go out of my way for again. Well, it was fun to try once, but not something I’d crave.

ꫂ ၴႅၴ

ⴵ 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲: Around 5 mins 𐀪 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹: Moderate (Friday afternoon) 𐂐 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻: Weekend (Friday) ‎𐂐 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘂 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱: ✦ 7 pieces of Emperor’s Puff —...

Emperor’s Garden Cakes & Bakery is one of those places you walk past so many times and never really notice — until one day you try it and wonder what took you so long. That’s exactly what happened to us. We found this place right before our flight to the Sunshine Coast, grabbed a few things to take on the plane, and instantly regretted not buying more.

The chicken bun was my favourite — soft, fluffy, and packed with flavour. So simple, but done so well. You just don’t find that kind of old-school bakery quality everywhere anymore. Everything looked fresh and handmade, and there’s a nostalgic vibe to the shop that gives it real charm.

It’s small, always a bit busy, but worth the wait. The custard puffs seemed super popular too — there was a line just for them. We didn’t try those this time, but it’s at the top of my list for next visit.

If you’re in Chinatown and craving something fresh, comforting, and classic, this place is a must. No fuss, just really...