To be perfectly honest, I am a little tired of perfectly round almond egg-white biscuits with perfectly formed feet, coloured a myriad of colours and sandwiching a cream, jam or ganache filling. Yet, when I knew Pierre Herme was opening in IFC I knew that I at least had to try the product of possibly the main rival of the reigning Queen of Macarons. Knowing that they had been open from the end of May (soft opening), I was expecting horrific lines for at least a few weeks like what we had all witnessed from the other famous macaron brand. Surprisingly, when I made my visit a few evenings ago, there were no lines and only a couple of other people were making their purchase. Interesting.
The boutique shop is not very big at all. There is a main glass counter housing the renowned macarons and chocolates, while on the shelves they had a selection of caramels, nougats, tins of tea leaves, drinking chocolate powder, praline spread, loaf cake and of course Pierre Herme cook books.
My focus that evening was solely on macarons, and I was kindly informed by the helpful staff that they had four signature flavours rose, chocolate, salted butter caramel and chocolate passionfruit, while the rest of the flavours were seasonal. I have to say that they did look promising, quite big in size with a generous amount of creamy filling sandwiched in between. I only wanted to try a few, so three I picked. Their signature rose, Celeste and the olive oil and vanilla macaron.
Rose- coloured a dusty pink, the whiteness of the cream filling was a stark contrast. When I bit into it I was anticipating a fragrant aroma of roses to fill the senses, but all I could taste was a faint whisper, almost like an afterthought. The macaron itself was a little chewier in texture which I did not mind, but I felt the cream filling was a bit much. Actually really disappointed by this.
Celeste- a mixture of strawberry, rhubarb and passionfruit. I was already enticed by its description and the pretty iridescent colour of purple brushed onto the yellow background was alluring too. It was a little squished when the staff packed it for me, but I was not too worried as long as the taste was good. The sharp and tangy elements were there, but the flavour just missed the mark with the passionfruit overpowering the other two 😦
Olive oil and vanilla- I have always been intrigued by the use of olive oil in desserts so this particular flavour sprung my interest. I was already prepping myself for disappointment since that was the way the trend seemed to be going, but I was pleasantly surprised by the noticeable olive flavour from the creamily light filling flecked with vanilla bean seed and the piece of salty olive hidden inside was lovely with the sweetness of the macaron. I definitely recommend this flavour~
I know that Pierre Herme is world renowned with a huge following, but his macarons just did not hit the right notes with me. I am glad that I had the opportunity to try, maybe later on I will give the other flavours a chance too, but at this moment my vote still remains with the Queen.
Just Something About Me 