Adriano Zumbo Patisserie

12 -14 Claremont St 
South Yarra, VIC 3141

http://www.adrianozumbo.com/

Two Birds One Stone Indeed. After having brunch next door at the café of the same name, we couldn’t resist popping next door into Adriano Zumbo, the long-anticipated patisserie-cum-macaron-mecca hailing from Sydney. 

Adriano Zumbo was something out of a dream. As kooky as the fabled desserts themselves, the store was decked out in what seemed like shiny silver balloons stuck to the walls, and a giant neon ZUMBO casting its pink glow over everything. And possibly most noteworthy of all, the furniture made to look like giant piles of fairy-pink meringue.  

Aside from the famous macarons, aka Zumbarons ($2.5ea), there was a cabinet piled high with pastries, another lined with desserts to rival Burch and Purchese, as well as miscellaneous sweet treats. Once again, literal big kids in a candy store. 

Pandan and Sticky Rice Pudding Zumbaron/Salted Butter Caramel on Toast Zumbaron ($2.5ea)

I had bought myself two macarons, slightly apprehensive about whether or not they would live up to the hype.  One bite however, dispelled that doubt immediately. My Pandan and Sticky Rice Pudding Zumbaron was astoundingly good. The shells were a perfectly crumble-and-melt texture, infused with the essence of pandan, and the rice pudding center had actual chewy little grains of rice. In comparison, the Salted Butter Caramel on Toast Zumbaron fared less well. The macaron was of the same excellent quality, but the copious amount of sticky caramel was much too salty, verging on bitterness.

Because we are a loving pharmily, we shared around our purchases, and I got to sample a few more of the delicious Zumbarons. Especially good were the Apple Pie Zumbaron, which was complete with crunchy granules of sugar, and a Passionfruit and Basil Zumbaron that was fruity and herbal. Also great was the rich fudgy Brownie Zumbaron, and the Marshmallow Zumbaron that tasted like Neapolitan ice cream.

Dr Dot ($9.5)

Dr Dot ($9.5)

It’s a testament to how gorgeous and creative the cakes are for them to stand out even next to the famous Zumbarons, and I couldn’t resist getting one to try. After humming and hawing over the myriad of options, I ended up with the Dr Dot ($9.5), a shiny, tantalising chocolate treat. Aside from the fluffy chocolate mousse, the dark chocolate glaze hide layers of tangy raspberry vinegar jelly, crunchy pistachio nougat, subtly sweet crème brulee, and a base of dense chocolate sable. I loved how you could taste each and every component in the meticulously crafted dessert.

Zumbo lived up to the long-established hype, then some more. The macarons were really a cut above anything else you find in Melbourne, in flavour, execution, and creativity. Add that to an ever-rotating roster of flavours, and that’s how you get fanatics lining up outside on opening day at 5am.

Rating: 16/20 – zumborama!