On a given day, Yello will have 15 to 20 pastries on display in its sunny Clarence Street bakery. There are plenty of recognisable sweets: flaky, golden croissants; almond-stuffed versions; and pains au chocolat – but it’s the matcha-dusted confections and black crescents that draw in curious passers-by.

“When we started, it felt like Asian fusion pastries were missing from the CBD,” Yello’s marketing manager Lia (who asked us not to disclose her surname) tells Broadsheet. “Those desserts aren’t like having a full-on sugar blast. We’re focusing on a balance of savoury and sweet, something that’s not so common.”

Croissants are a fertile ground for experimentation. Yello’s golden crescent is a good example. The pastry dough is mixed with charcoal-hued black sesame powder then shaped into a crescent. There’s gooey salted-egg-yolk cream in the centre. Pastry chef Linda (who asked us not to disclose her surname) has also made matcha, pistachio, black sesame and tiramisu crescents. For Halloween, a dark pumpkin-spice-latte croissant joined the line-up too.

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Every item in the shop is made by hand by Linda and her team. She has worked in some of Sydney’s best bakeries, most recently at Brickfields in Chippendale. “Laminated dough is an art. What you see is an accumulation of experience learned in different kitchens, and from her formal training,” Lia says.

Linda’s expertise is in Western staples – caramelised, chewy, custard-filled canelés and triple chocolate chip cookies are her specialities – while her baking colleague Alun (who asked us not to disclose his surname), who is from Hong Kong, is focused on adding a raft of Asian flavours to the offering.

Since Yello is in the CBD, there’s also a menu to serve the lunchtime crowd. There are pies and sandwiches, plus chewy sourdough pizzas. There are conventional flavours like pepperoni and margherita, but like the pastries, some bring a cross-continental twist. (Think kimchi being on regular pizza-topping rotation.)

Eventually the Yello team is planning to take advantage of the venue’s liquor licence and open as a bar in the evenings, but for now they’re focusing on delighting customers with new, unexpected sweets.

“We change every day on purpose,” says Lia. “We want people to think of Yello and be curious what we might have on that day.”

Yello Bakery
115 Clarence Street, Sydney
0497 941 150

Hours”
Mon to Fri 8am–3pm

yellobakery.com.au
@yello.bakery