Vegan treats at Miss Sina in Marrickville

Vegan cafe-bakery Miss Sina, which opened in the first week of September with customers queueing down the street, has a swift menu-changing policy. 

Do not hum and haw over the crisply caramelised custard kouign-amanns, or the tangily cherry studded New York cheesecake for, in a few days, they will be replaced by gooey chocolate brownies slathered with caramel-ribboned vegan cream and fresh strawberries.

That marshmallow-wedged S'mores cookie you inhaled last week may lose its spot to slices of Donauwelle, a classic German cherry and chocolate-layered cake, also known as Snow White cake or waves of the Danube. 

Modus operandi here: eat it when you see it.

Sina Klug, who owns and runs the red tile-fronted shop on the corner of Illawarra and Sydenham roads with partner Jacques Dumont, says the speedy menu swaps stem from a no-waste ethic and a rotating trial of new recipes, many from the staff. 

"Every hour we keep baking and things are coming out and things sell out," she says. "People keep asking, 'Show me your menu. What's your menu?' We'd rather have it came out warm and it keeps changing because it does sell out."

Two rooms out back, buzzing with bakers and cooks, are filled with people encouraged by Klug to suggest and experiment with different cakey concoctions.

"We are so proud of what we do here," Klug says. "We have pastry chefs who stand there every morning and just look at their croissants, just stand in front of the oven and admire each beautiful creation. We are constantly creating and nothing goes to waste. For example, if we have a few croissants left, the next day we make bread and butter puddings."

Klug, who, with Dumont, is also behind gluten-free bakery Nutie Donuts in Surry Hills, emanates a vivid love for baked goods and the spree of daily customers.

Many come early in pyjamas or bathrobes.

"I love it," she says. "We want to create a space where everyone can feel they can do that."

A breakfast highlight is the bacon and egg roll, made with a vegan milk bun, scrambled tofu, greens and vegan bacon. Chewy, fresh and pillowy soft, it's a remarkable mouthful of herby, rich, goodness. 

Equally heart-swelling is the perfectly flaky pain au chocolat, the franzbrotchen, a sweet cinnamon-sugar German scroll, and the bounty doughnut, the latter a pungent beauty layered with yoghurt icing, coconut flakes and a tiny purple flower. 

Coffee is from Adore Roasters in Silverwater and, as Miss Sina is vegan, so are the milk choices.

Klug, who learnt to bake from family when growing up in Germany, is keen to extend community connections. There are plans for pumpkin carving and painting classes and the cafe's wall stencils are by local artists. All dogs are welcome and a bookcase offers vegan cookbooks to borrow and a "mug library" to reduce single-use packaging. 

The cafe's interior, a sunlit mix of tiling, plywood and mismatched furniture, much of it re-used, was built by Klug and Dumont during a year-long process beset by lockdowns and local floods.

She is also adamant staff be treated with respect and care, particularly after hearing various tales of mistreatment at other hospitality businesses. Their loyalty to Klug is obvious. 

"I have people here who are scared to speak because of the past," she says. "I think you should treat them like family. On our first day they stayed for 15 hours because the queue was so long all day. I was like, 'Guys, you know, you can go home.' And they said, 'No, we're not gonna disappoint anyone'. It's just lovely."

So, do try the vegie and tofu baklava, or the Mediterranean bacon and cream cheese quiche, or golden triangular wedges of pecan pie topped with whipped vegan cream. Because, lickety-split, some other gob-smacking savoury pie or Herculean baked torte will have stolen the limelight by morning.

"Baked goods make us feel homely," Klug says. "Nothing speaks from the heart like cakes or pastries or pies. A lot of people don't have the skill at home, or they don't have their mums or grandmas to bake them something.

"There's a reason we make a pie or biscuits when someone close passes away. It's showing we care for each other.

The low-down

Vibe Bustling vegan corner bakery with fresh, swiftly changing daily specials

Go-to dish Franzbrotchen, sweet cinnamon-sugar German scroll