Thursday 2 September 2010

Sweet Envy









Ate morning tea at Sweet Envy this morning......talk about Ackland Street comes to Hobart! At long last we are starting to look slightly progressive here in little old downtown North Hobart! Praise the lord for Alastair Wise and partner Tina!

Yes - the goodies on sale there are spectacular - as one would expect from a son of lovely Sally Wise, and an ex-Gordon Ramsey employee.

I think the photos speak better than I ever can.
Posted on by Rita
32 comments

32 comments:

Marian Hazel said...

ohh I have to go!

Anonymous said...

The products look stunning

Rita said...

Yes Hazel - you MUST go - SOON!

And yes, Steve - the products are indeed stunning. That's why I felt no words of mine could go anywhere near describing the product to be found there.

ut si said...

So gorgeous...all of it. Am exhausted at the thought of the work involved!

Anonymous said...

Your mate steve is in the Mercury again! This time the magazine part, does he have a publicist or something?

Lady Jayne said...

I popped in today to have a bit of a look, and there is only one word for it WOW!!

Everything looks amazing and the staff are lovely and very helpful! I ended up with the pork and fennel sausage roll which was so unbelieveably good! I got a couple of cupcakes (P B & J and Red Velvet) to share with my flatmate! And I also tried the house-made ice cream in cherry and it was tops!!

I'll definitely be going back :-)

Anonymous said...

I like the photo of the dog staring in at the cakes from the street. Did he get distracted en route to the butcher's window???

Anonymous said...

I am not sure what everyone is so excited about - perhaps you all have never been to Melb and Sydney?
I have to say I am disappointed. Went there last week, was served 2 lukewarm coffees, weak. We had the lamb and harissa sausage roll and tongue and cheek pie - all kept cold displayed under the counter? We were told that were heated out the back. 5mins later they arrived on a plated, no garnish, no side of perhaps homemade relish etc.?The sausage roll was cold, a strip of lamb down the middle surrounded by loads of pastry - ordinary. The pie was slightly warmer and a bit bland, certainly nothing to think you would ever have it again.
The shop has been decorated cheaply but nice. Displays are ordinary - marshmellow's in jars? colourful, but demonstrate little skill. The wedding cakes are simplistic and beautiful, this side of the shop is lovely and looks like that this is perhaps their market.
Cup cakes - well nothing innovating there, good techinque of piping icing - however come on -they are cup cakes?
There was nothing on this day, on display, that said wow to me - andlet my senses say "I must try that as it looks so appetising"
I for one was looking forward to a wow factor from Alistair Wise and have say I left disappointed and certainly didnt think I would be back in any hurray.

Anonymous said...

We went there yesterday and had a sticky pecan bun. Just delicious. Also a good coffee. We will definitely be back.

Anonymous said...

$3.50 for ONE cup cake? That's expensive icing..

Anonymous said...

For goodness sake, let them settle in before you start moaning

Anonomouse said...

Too bloody right!

Mr Wise is such a big asset to the taste so why not support him? He's got pedigree. And that pedigree is more than likely to take you to the next level.

Anonymous said...

Hey anonymouse you moaned about the state of food/rest/suppliers in tas yet you agree with last anon(Me) to leave them alone until they find their feet.
You are a hypocrite.
I think you have issues with tas because you never made your name here and were largely ignored-I know who you are, in fact a few of us do.

Anonymous said...

$3.50 is not expensive for a cupcake-how much you you think it costs to make you moron?
Why do you idiots always forget that they HAVE got to make money as well, they're not GIVING the stuff away.
What a tough market Hobart is, customers who begrudge someone having a go and the cheek they show to want to make a living from it.

Anonomouse said...

A hypocrite? I moaned about established places. And I also praised established places. I kept it objective by comparing to other like cities, other like "culinary competitors" and other like states - both demographically and from a culinary sense. I simply said that give Mr Wise a chance - he is an excellent chef and he deserves a chance to iron out any perceived kinks in the operation.

Who am I then? Why don't you tell me who you think I am?

Anonymous said...

Wow that anonymouse sounds rattled!

I love a blog forum where all sorts of whacko extremists can vent their lopsided points-each to their own.

I also enjoy the condecending tone of the many comments made by so called erm, industry/consumer experts. who try to impose their sense of whats good or bad-makes me giggle!

Tasmania is such a soft target in so many ways on so many levels.
Might I suggest that offering well thought-out, considered solutions unique to this state might be a vatageous point to startfrom, rather than just telling us:

A) how bad we are &
B) how good it is on the mainland & beyond.

Please dont condescend to us, many of us are widely travelled and know what is available the world over.

Many of us are also worldly enough to understand that one cant 'bolt-on' a particular culture onto ours just because of the whims of an culturally-intoxicated traveller

My suggestion for you in order to avoid your instant gartification neeeds is to move immediately to the cities/towns you use when comparing to Tasmania.

You'll be happy and so will the hospitality businesses that you frequently bag.

Anonymous said...

Hey anonymouse.

Put your money where your moth is:
Open a joint.

We can all come in & shitcan-it.

You can then moan that we dont 'get it'.

But we'll all feel better that you are are an out of touch wanker that has done your dough in a place tnat 'We dont get'

Anonymous said...

"Who am I then? Why don't you tell me who you think I am?"

I think you are a wanker.

Anonymous said...

"$3.50 is too expensive for a cupcake"

With an attitude like that, no wonder so many cafes are going bankrupt...

Lucy said...

$3.50 for a cupcake is NOT expensive. If you buy quality ingredients and add into it labour costs and shop overheads, it's actually very reasonable.

Tassiegal said...

$3.50 is comparable to the mainland or even that cupcake place in the mall. Will agree with the anon who said the coffee wasnt that good. My Hot Chocolate the other way was ok, but not very chocolaty or hot. My friends coffee was apparently a bit foamy. I am however putting that down to teething problems. To me the best value is definately the marshmallow bags - $4 for six and they are gorgeous. I like how it feels, though must admit I suspect it would fit better in Sandy bay than North Hobart!
Will I stop going to other places? No, because Sweet Envy offers a different type of experience to somewhere like Pigeon Hole or Villeno. But its really nice to have choices - quality choices.

Anonymous said...

I'm a whacko-extremist? And a wanker? You had all that time to come up with something and that was it? Well holy shit...

I've tried offering solutions in other posts. But it made me realise it's a no win situation. Either you can't take to heart what I (or anyone else for that matter) say in regards to the quality or you can't take to heart what I say in regards to solutions.

Why would I open a place in Tasmania where I can't get decent quality fruit and vegetables, the suppliers don't turn up till the afternoon and almost all the quality staff go to the mainland?

Who says I am bolting on? You have your own identity don't you? Or are you trying to be someone else? I'm comparing to other places. I compared places on a scaled, equal standing and then gave them a ranking. Tasmania was much lower than I expected. I know it can do better.

Instant gratification? I stated Tasmania had potential and it was a shame it wasn't reaching that. I've stated the same thing in the past. And I've given short, medium and long-term solutions. Then got criticised. Do you want to reach your potential or not? Why not listen to other people apart from the locals? I don't care if it isn't me. Why do you think people from the mainland or overseas come, work for a while, then quickly leave?

Anonymous said...

Last anon sounds REALLY rattled.
Have a Bex and a lie down and jerk yourself off over the Gourmet travller good food guide

bri said...

I think the shop and the products look absolutely gorgeous and am really happy to have it open in North Hobart. It's obvious that a lot of love has gone into creating the place.
I can't wait to try more of their products.

Marian Hazel said...

we fought over the sticky pecan bun we picked up on Saturday - it was seriously good, sticky, sweet, crunchy, excellent. Will be back to try other treats soon- particuarly the ice-cream. It is a shame they don't have more room for tables but that bun would've tasted pretty damn good anywhere!

Susannah said...

Well, this certainly provoked some heated responses!!

I'm not however dissuaded from visiting when next passing through N Hobart.

Thanks for the pictures, Rita. It all looks rather delicious!

Susannah said...

And both more accessible, and affordable, for Hobart residents, than the subject of your previous post!

sir grumpy said...

This is unfair Rita. This place should not be allowed.
Some people have conspired.
They know my weaknesses. I shall have to wear blinkers when I walk or drive past.
Just looking at the display will put another kilo on me and I really can't let that happen.
On second thoughts, I might just have one or two things and give up up the cheesecake from the german baker in Sandy Bay.
Or maybe be really good and support BOTH of them. Yes, I'll be really, really good.

Anonomouse said...

Rattled? No. Bemused? Absolutely...

Anonymous said...

Teething problems i can understand. But someone with such a pedigree should have learnt from their mistakes long ago. Most expensive coffee in North Hobart at $4. Cupcakes look great but were dry. How can he let that happen? Eat one and see.
Maccaroons are all $2 but all different sizes. Why? Plain and simple to see when they’re being filled in the kitchen! I’ll take all the big ones thanks.$7 for a bag of honeycomb that was burnt and tasted of citric acid.
All i can say is with all the hype; Ramsay’s protégé, Gourmet Traveller, Sunday radio, Delicious mag, the bar was as high as they made it. It should have blown us all away, but in the end it’s a nice little cake shop in North Hobart.

Tassiegal said...

Last Anon - I am willing to give them a month or so to iron out the problems. Even though they have long and impressive pedigrees, a new kitchen always takes awhile to work out, even if its one put together with your specs. I still reckon the marshmallows are the most consistent. Have yet to try the honeycomb and the nutter butter cookie I had was interesting....but not I want another one morish.

Christina said...

I called in last Thursday and had a good look around. It all certainly looks impressive. It's a gorgeous little place.
I bought home a raspberry filled, sherbet coated doughnut for Phil.
He didn't quite know how to describe it, but he did love it. Not your average doughnut though.
I also purchased a small tub of salted caramel sauce which we are yet to try but will have with some really good vanilla icecream.
Two very friendly young ladies were only too happy to answer my questions and I also got a taste of the homemade caramalised banana icecream. The icecream range looked great and am looking forward to returning and having a go at the caramel popcorn one.
Just standing outside and listening to the oohs and ahhs of the passers by was encouraging.
I wish them all the best