sweet review: macaron + chocolate

Having accumulated a copious amount of food photos on her computer, kwana decides to complete a first proper review on 1.) Macarons from Le Renaissance Patisserie in the Rocks precinct and 2.) Jeff de Bruges chocolate from King St .

Both were bought after kwana's final exam (possibly LAST EXAM EVER!)

The end of each particular story shall be sweet (and indulgent).

1.) Macarons from Le Renaissance Patisserie Francaise.

Kwana decided on the morning after she bought the macarons to take very delish pics with her dad's new SLR!

IMGP0261

IMGP0259

The 6 selections that kwana bought were:

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Vanilla bean with white chocolate ganache (green)

- Salted Caramel - Fleur de Sel de Guerande - (caramel)

- Rose water with lychee scented buttercream (pink)

- Dark chocolate with dark chocolate - Valrhona Guanaja 70% - ganache (light brown)

- Passionfruit with dark chocolate ganache (not pictured as A ate it - but was pale orange macaron shell)

- Jasmine Green Tea with white chocolate ganache (white)

Overall, the shells were delicate, light and slightly crunchy and most importantly not hollow. They melt in your mouth, the creamy and smooth texture of the filling completing the full circle of sensations that comes with eating a macaron.

kwana's top favourite(s) so far (sampled all but the EV olive oil one) is the Jasmine tea and the rose water macaron. Both have a strong flavour yet delicate aroma (isn't that opposing??) that fills the palate - melds perfectly with the creamy texture of the filling. The aroma travels up the adjacent nasal passages and your sense of smell is given some fun in eating a macaron!

At first, kwana forgot what sort of filling was used for the rosewater macaron (in fact, the website does not specifically list the flavour of buttercream). But it was unmistakable – at least to kwana’s senses that lychee syrup was added to achieve the amazing fragrance in the buttercream.

The addition of salt in sweet things is a sort of on trend technique being used to bring out the fullness of the caramelised sweet creaminess in caramel.

Le Renaissance macarons are far more fresh than the macarons kwana is usually tempted to purchase at the Lindt chocolate cafe... it could be the fact that the macarons are not made in Sydney but are made in the kitchens back in Switzerland and then carefully packed and shipped halfway across the world to be displayed in the Sydney Lindt concept stores? kwana continues to ponder! 

The final verdict is that Le Renaissance macarons win hands down! (even though kwana still loves the 70% excellence macaron at Lindt.)

Update: Have just gobbled up the last macaron - the texture is nice despite it being bought some 3-4 days ago. kwana savours the vanilla bean ganache. Hints of olive oil round up the rear and complete the finish as the macaron is completely devoured! yums! I rank it 3rd...after the dark chocolate and caramel one come 2nd!

2.) kwana hasn't had a chance to try all the chocs that were bought from Jeff de Bruges yet (been filling up other junk food) - so feels guilty about how much calories she has saved up in her Abdominal Subcutaneous Fat Bank. If only kwana had the exact same zeal towards saving up money in the non-food world.

IMGP0464

Clockwise starting with the owl: Hibou Noir,  Euro Noir, Canard Noir (?? the website does not have the name! so kwana just Babelfish-ed it), Trefle and Colimacon.

2 chocs are missing from the pic above (Vanillon and Derby).

The Derby choc - which is a dark chocolate filled with dark ganache shaped into a head figure of a horse with an upside down horseshoe in the background (kwana believes that some sort of liquor was also added - as she could feel the warmth of liquor filling the mouth) and the only non-dark chocolate choice (a white chocolate with vanilla filling and sliver of walnut - which kwana shared with A).

kwana does not like the combination of liquor with chocolate, but found Derby to be intense in flavour and rich in cocoa. Very high concentration of cocoa mass! yums!

Vanillon: white chocolate was characteristically (overly) sweet. The vanilla scent of the filling was not as noticable but the addition of walnut helps balance out the sweetness of the white chocolate outer shell and filling.

Update: Canard Noir - a lower concentration of cocoa (?50%) with praline and amaretti filling. Delightfully light and crunchy! Not too intense + dark, so good for those who aren't fond of high conc. cocao!

Next on the menu will be poached pears in red wine and cinnamon syrup (kwana hope its keeps well, since she had kept some of the leftover syrup from her brother's party!)

Enjoy pics!

bloggin off - kwana