The macaron craze is back. Thanks to the much awaited Laduree which set up operations not long ago in Singapore, of course. Moreover, other than the permanent boutique fixture, there is yet another takeaway counter. To add a cherry macaron on top of the ice cream, both are conveniently located in the heart of Singapore in Takashimaya shopping centre. The former is at level 2 while the latter is at level 1. Oddly enough, the queues at both counters are of about the same length so I would definitely recommend to peek in at the classier, bigger boutique.
It starts off with a wallpapered ceiling of a picturesque sky and classic chandeliers against the backdrop. Then are the rows of shelves of boxes, tote bags, jars of soft caramel and scented candles exclusive to the boutique.
A minimum of 8 macarons are needed to get you a box to fit them all in, otherwise it’s just a scrawny paper bag. I decided to go ahead with the Singapore Limited Edition box (8 macarons) despite the $38 price tag which can make hearts skip a beat. A macaron costs $3.80 but there are only 8 of them, so essentially you’re paying about $8 for the box. That was hefty but I took it anyway.
The Strawberry Candy Marshmallow was one of my favorites. The marshmallow bit in the filling was a surprise and gave the macaron some different mouth feel compared to usual, creamy fillings.
However, the Chocolate Coconut Marshmallow did not meet my expectations – what I felt was an incompatible taste of chocolate with coconut.
I’ve had tons of really sweet pistachios which I liked a lot. The rendition of Laduree’s Pistachio was not overly sweet yet it did not fail to amaze me.
The Salted Caramel is another hot favorite. It was more substantial than those from other macaron places.
An interesting macaron would be the Marie-Antoinette Tea. It has a bubblegum feel to it which was refreshing.
The Liquorice (black) was average.
The Coffee flavor had a lingering aftertaste of – well, coffee.
As aforementioned, macarons here cost $3.8 each. Except for the 24K Gold Chocolate which costs $7.8. Basically it’s a chocolate macaron coated with “24K gold”. You can see that I actually bought it – for the pure reason of curiosity and tempt. Tastewise… yup it’s just a chocolate macaron.
The overall feeling speaks of classiness and it’s not hard to understand why: simple ganache fillings but made more than ordinary and macaron shells of the right texture (at least for me). What’s next for Laduree in Singapore? A tea salon – coming soon.
391 Orchard Road
#02-09 (boutique)
#01-24A (counter)
Takashimaya Shopping Centre
Ngee Ann City
10am – 9.30pm daily
[…] tried the macarons from Laduree earlier this year (read about it here), it was definitely a bonus to taste Pierre Herme’s ones that soon. Now, I shall proclaim […]
Those look great!