Level 3, Westfield, 100 Market St, Sydney
Despite how long it's been going on for, macaron fever is nowhere close to fading. Keeping the hype up is relative newcomer to Australia, Parisian brand Laduree. It recently opened a store in Westfield Sydney CBD and has since experienced a continuous supply of dessert-lovers and foodies alike.
I'm not cuckoo crazy about macarons but I do enjoy them and I also have the annoying quality of liking to check things out. I didn't really know much about Laduree but lots of people were raving about their macarons so I thought I might as well stop by while I was in Sydney.
Kat and I had an active morning clothes shopping our way through the many levels at Westfield. We needed a bit of energy to keep us going and Laduree provided the perfect pitstop.
There are two sides to the stall. At one end, you can queue up to purchase macarons for takeaway and gifting purposes. On the other side, there is a little sit-down cafe where you can enjoy a pot of tea or coffee with a macaron (or two or many). The furnishings are sophisticated with lots of pastel. It's definitely pleasing to the eye.
The price for a takeaway macaron is less than that of a sit-in macaron so the waiters are a bit sharky about whether you're sneaking takeaway macarons into their cafe area to eat. I had lined up to buy 3 macarons to take back to Brisbane and the guy must have noticed the takeaway paper bag poking out of my handbag because he made a special point of telling me that takeaway macarons weren't allowed to be eaten in that section. Come on, I am not that desperate to save 50 cents.
Pistachio and cherry blossom macarons
Kat and I sat down for a macaron each. I went for pistachio and she chose cherry blosson. Kat really enjoyed her macaron. In fact, when she bit into it, she exclaimed "Holy crap! It tastes like happiness and sunshine".
Bite shot of macaron
I thought mine was good in texture. It had a light, crisp shell and chewy, almondy inside. However, the pistachio flavor wasn't strong and tasted slightly artificial. Having said that, I am just being extra critical because they're supposed to be top of the range macarons. I thought they were really good but no better than some other, less famous ones I've had in the past.
To wash my sugar treat down, I had a pot of lemon and ginger tea. The tea was really lovely and refreshing. Contrary to my expections, Laduree had a fairly impressive selection of teas so perhaps they're trying to come across as a tea house too. Maybe the combination of macarons and tea just works, in a high tea-esque way?
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