Last week I raved about the hills – Blackwood and Eden Hills specifically – which hold a special and close place to my heart. This week takes us once more up into the hills – this time to Belair. Coming up from town, along the narrow corridor of Unley Road, you dodge around parked cars and lycra-clad cyclists; driving past retail, coffee shops and aging homes. Unley morphs into Belair Road, which begins to make a hazardous climb through gumtree-lined hillsides and steep drop-offs. The view provided of the city below is stunning (dare you look) and with every sharp corner the road takes you closer to Belair.
Not a fan of heights, or steep drop-offs, I braved the climb up Belair Road with the promise of a bakery with the interesting name “Banana Boogie”. Along the Main Road in Belair the bakery sits in a small outpouching of shops. The shops are quaint, and if you ignored the large pylons behind them, quite pretty too. If architectural aesthetics aren’t your thing then fear not, another five minutes down the road and you will find yourself within the beautiful, peaceful and calm acres of Belair National Park. With kilometres of mountain bike trails, meandering hikes, an adventure playground and more ovals and tennis courts than are necessary – this park is one to please couples, families and large groups of people. Just careful of the drop bears.
Main Road, BelairView on Map
Back to the bakery. Inside the bakery was pleasing to behold, at least to this novice designer. Banana Boogie Bakery is by far one of the better-designed bakeries going. With a consistent theme of black and yellow throughout, even on a winter’s day, you feel sunny and warm. The tiling against one wall is beautifully done and grabs the eye as you walk in. As you wait in the lengthy queue to get your goods you have time to decipher the black chalkboard menu or stare longingly at the wide and beautiful selection of cakes and donuts they have on offer. I didn’t take much note of the savoury items or cakes, but zoomed in on the donuts: salted caramel or cookies and cream filled berliners, alongside circle donuts with a range of toppings – they offered something from the cautious to more adventurous donut fan.
All the servers working when I went were female, and keeping in theme had yellow bandanas tied into their hair. A nice extra touch, although it begged the question: what do the male servers wear? Despite the modern appearance of the bakery, the visiting crowd were a range of ages from young to old. Always a sign of a good bakery is when you overhear a customer asking for “the usual”. If it’s good enough to return to regularly, then no doubt it’ll be good enough for me. The cheerful lady serving assured me the donuts were made in store. Paying the very reasonable price of $3.20 for the donut I wandered off into the bush to find a peaceful spot to enjoy my fried goodie.
