The most talked about macarons from a French-based brand, Ladurée, has reached Sydney shores and opened on 12 September at Westfield Sydney.
Ladurée is a well-known luxury cakes and pastries brand based in Paris established in 1862. They are regarded as the inventor of macarons, a meringue-based confectionery made with egg whites, granulated sugar and almond meal filled with ganache, jam or buttercream. Their other products include cakes, chocolates, tea, books, bags, scented candles, perfume and shower products.
In the Sydney branch, only the macarons, chocolates and tea are available. The macarons are frozen and shipped from Switzerland in order to arrive in Sydney in good condition. A piece of macaron is priced at $3.20 and they come in different flavours such as Chocolate, Vanilla, Cherry Blossom, Pistachio, Strawberry Marshmallow, etc.
With time on my hands, I dropped by Ladurée on Thursday afternoon and waited on queue for 1 hour and 22 minutes (I started at 5:02pm and ended at 6:24pm). Seemed like a long wait but I didn't mind. At the back of my though, I hoped that the cost of these small macarons were worth it. I waited alone but twitter kept me company and passers-by and patrons who opted to get a table in their small cafe were a fun to watch. Thursday is late night shopping in Sydney so I wasn't surprised with the crowd.
There were four staff at the take-away counter who cheerfully accommodated every question of customers. They move efficiently quick but since people aren't familiar with some of the flavours, it took awhile to decide. It would have been better if they had a take-away system during peak hours. Maybe hand out a brochure containing Ladurée products so people can think about what to get while on queue?
Once at the counter, I ordered 12 pieces of macarons, a bar of dark chocolate and a bar of milk chocolate with almonds. Took about a minute to check-out.
The weekend that came, the Husband and I devoured the macarons and they were simply exquisite. The waiting on queue and price to pay for the macarons were all worth it. I'm a fan of Aussie-made macarons and I have to admit that Ladurée macarons are now a favourite too.
Up next, more Ladurée macaron photos and more gushing about this new macaron favourite of ours.
Ladurée
Level 3, Westfield Sydney
Corner Pitt Street and Market Street, Sydney
