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!  

Lunch, Macarons, Cupcakes, and some Very Special People

Gogi

146-148 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000

In the last exam-free week until mid-June, I accompanied some very special uni friends to Gogi to celebrate the birthdays of Bilge and myself.

Gogi is a small and serene Korean buffet located in the bustle of Chinatown. There’s a Korean BBQ option at night, but during the day, the restaurant is filled with people treating themselves to the $12 Lunch Buffet, which also comes with a free drink.

The selection of food isn’t too big; you’d be silly to expect it to be for the price. But there are silver tureens of meats and stews, and a bright salad bar full of fresh greens and all the kimchi you could possibly eat.

Plate One

 

Instinct took over as I approached the spread, forbidding me from taking more than a mouthful of each dish, so that I might try as many of them as possible. My first plate consisted of an unremarkable seaweed salad and kimchi, some sweet chicken pieces and sweeter pork strips, as well as a piece of crispy spicy chicken that is neither crispy nor spicy. The jap chae however, turned out to be surprisingly yummy. Despite being bland looking and with a noodle-to-vegetable ratio that was way off, the sweet potato noodles were satisfyingly chewy and fragrant with the generous use of sesame oil.

Plate Two

 

The second plate I carried back had a small mound of kimchi fried rice (a bit gluggy), a puddle of vegetable curry (a funny tasting cross between Japanese and Indian), two large pieces of delightfully silken tofu (fished from the tofu and seafood stew), and a couple more twists of the sweet pork whose flavour has grown on me.

Plate Three

 

Being healthy. 

I don’t think any of us expected Gogi to be absolutely amazing. But you really can’t go wrong with a decent spread of Asian dishes that invited you to eat as much as your stomach could handle for just $12. 

Rating: 11.5/20

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Moving to a cosier location out of the wind, we found ourselves in San Churro.

Macarons

And out comes some beautiful macarons from La Belle Miette, flawless and perfect, with smooth domes like painted eggshells sandwiching a wickedly creamy ganache. The shell cracks under our teeth, giving away to a center that stays sticky and elastic for a split second, before melting away in a delicious sugar rush.  

And some adorable cupcakes from Cupcake Central. These were packed with flavour, the crumb moist and tender with a large dollop of soft cream cheese icing on top.

Macaron and Custard Cupcake

The special of the day was practically made for macaron-loving Bilge, who couldn’t stop cooing over the miniature confection. And hidden under the swirl of cream cheese was a luscious and silky pocket of custard. Cupcake Central has outdone itself once again.  

Banana Split Cupcake

And a banana split flavoured cupcake for me, complete with a banana chip, sprinkles, and a cherry on top. 

And when I thought the day couldn’t get any better, I was presented with two vouchers for high tea at the Windsor. Thank you so much Sophia, Sneha, Kathy, Bilge, Sarah, Sandu, Jan, Minh-An, Nick, and Keith for making my 19^th birthday a memorable one. I’m so lucky to have you guys in my life.

La Belle Miette

30 Hardware Lane, Melbourne
Melbourne, 3000
www.labellemiette.com.au

Window Display

With a window display like this, how could I resist going in?

Macarons on Display

MACARONS! IN RAINBOW COLOURS!

Macarons ($2.5ea)

Chris and I nabbed 3 macarons to share - cherry blossom and sake, lemon, and caramel and sea salt ($2.5ea). The cherry blossom and sake unfortunately didn’t taste much of either, but the texture was perfect. The lemon macaron also had a perfect shape and texture, on top of a wonderful lemon flavour, though I would’ve preferred it to be more tart. As for the caramel and sea salt (the standard by which I judge all my macarons), it was surprisingly dense – maybe I just got a bad one? But the flavour was out of this world, and I loved how they used actual caramel in the middle.

I want more already.

Rating: 14/20 – RAINBOW COLOURS!