This is a super delayed post from last year September, but thought I'd put it up and share my Laduree experience with everyone. The announcement last year of opening of the infamous French macaron giant created enormous buzz in the foodie world. This hype turned to a bit of tension when opening was delayed for nearly 2 months, but eventually the French landed in Australian soils.
Having been to Paris previously I understood the hype of Laduree however missed the opportunity to sample the goodies. The line was impossibly long to which I spent my time shopping at Printemps instead (Chanel, come at me :D). The Sydney store looked like a replica of the Paris one, clear displays, green packaging, soft pinks and muted greens. All tres chic. Besides the seemingly abundance of macarons, the store also sold candles, perfumes, and teas of sorts.
The Sydney line was no walk in the park either, luckily I had time to kill after work and before dinner and drinks. A 30 min wait while browsing all forms of social media helped this time pass much quicker. I haven't been the store since, but I'm sure hype has died down. There's also a small cafe to the back of the store allowing diners to sip on their tea while enjoying the scenery that is Westfields Sydney.
The macarons are quite pricey considering size wise etc at $3.20 a pop take away and $4 dine in. I've never really understood the intense differences between eat in and take away prices. Of course, the more you buy the cheaper it is. From memory I purchased 12 for either $36 or $38? Whoa, almost $40 regardless on these delicate biscuits! I got every flavour that was available, with some sold out and some not arriving in store yet having been shipped over from Switzerland. Not too sure how I feel about macarons getting more travel points than me, hmm -1 on carbon footprint.
[Top to Bottom, L to R]; Blackcurrant Violet, Salted Caramel, Pistacchio, Chocolate, Lemon Lime Marshmallow, Strawberry Poppy, Vanilla, Liquorice, Almond Marshmallow, Coffee, Violet Marshmallow, Vanilla
My first thought was "holy cow, these are crumbly." At a slight touch the shells would crack for a lot of the flavours. The texture was as I imagined though, soft airy and chewy with the perfect ratio of filling to biscuit. The flavours aren't as intense as Zumborons, very subtle and delicate (just like the French, I suppose). I do prefer Baroque macarons more though in terms of flavour, size and price. Plus it's easier to get to and there's delicious cakes on offer as well.
My fav was the salted caramel (however, I love anything salted caramel so pretty bias). The marshmallow ones were created as part of the 150 years anniversary and had a lovely gooey centre. Vanilla, strawberry and pistacchio was also a group favourite. P.S liquorice even in form of a macaron still taste horrible to me.
Laduree macarons have perhaps been too hyped up by the blog/Twitter-sphere and left my expectations a bit too high. The macarons are great, but are quite pricey and I would much rather something that has been locally produced rather than frozen goods that have travelled for nearly 48 hours by plane.
Labels: food