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2013-05-29
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Cher Chef Hermé,I wanted to dedicate this review to your macarons, (and of course your goodself) for you have once again proven that there is no macaron producer who could possibly wow me and sweep me off my feet quite like you do - I was sooo swooned by the first one I ate from the Hong Kong store, I forgot, FORGOT! to take photos. I may or may not be a reviewer noob, but such a rookie mistake is not to be excusable. Ah well, such is the power of your macarons, je suppose!Néanmoins, imma try an
I wanted to dedicate this review to your macarons, (and of course your goodself) for you have once again proven that there is no macaron producer who could possibly wow me and sweep me off my feet quite like you do - I was sooo swooned by the first one I ate from the Hong Kong store, I forgot, FORGOT! to take photos. I may or may not be a reviewer noob, but such a rookie mistake is not to be excusable. Ah well, such is the power of your macarons, je suppose!
Néanmoins, imma try and review what I remember from the 7-piece box I ate on the day:
1. L'huile olive - I must profess I'm not the biggest fan of eating my EVOO straight up from the bottle, whether it be on poured top of cooked dishes or drizzled over salads. This one however, evoked an image of a fresh fruity field of green. It was simple, beautiful and yummy with no sense of stodginess whatsoever. If there's one thing in the world that just made me rethink my EVOO, it would be this delicate beauty.
2. Ispahan rose - oh quelle beauté! Never have I ever thought a macaron could be so beautfiully light and flavourful, without a single guilty afterthought. Imagine jumping on a light trampoline in the midst of a jammy rose pool at the Mandarin Oriental with clotted cream clouds around me to break my fall. Nope, not hallucinating, just UBER light and delicate mariage de goûts! Hats off to u Sir!
3. Strawberry, rhubarb and passionfruit - another winner of a mélanged flavours! Each element was as sharp on their own, as they were when combined to create a harmonious melody of a new flavour altogether.
4. Passionfruit and dark chocolate ganache: the tangy passionfruit cut thru the smooth, velvety ganache of chocolate to give a sharp balance to the otherwise heavy chocolate. 100% again on the flavour balance!
5. Green tea and black sesame - this was recommended by the staff on the day, as I wouldn't have chosen it otherwise, for fear of green tea giving way to an artificial flavour akin to eating a rubber eraser. (not that I ever tried to taste one, but the flavour does evoke certain connotations...!) However, I was glad to note that not only was there no eraser, the sesame did an awesomefab job cutting thru the bitterness of the tea, creating a very uniquely Asian flavour profile without losing its French roots.
6. Caramel and then some - The last piece I remember eating was the Infinément Caramel piece that was packaged into their classic 7-piece box (more on that later!). What's there to say about this one, you ask?! Surely you'd be able to guess - it was another piece of perfection from box to mouth. *yawn* predictably boring huh? ;)
7. Confession: I didn't eat the final chocolate-y piece, rather I had offered it to my friend on the day. She of course dutifully noted the explosion of rich chocolate flavours in her mouth, no with no unpleasant stodginess to speak of. She was floored, and so was I for being an awesomefab fren with gd, generous taste. ;) (in macarons at least...!)
All in all, I was a bit disappointed to find that the macarons would not be sold individually, but rather, in their pre-boxed sets on the day of their soft opening. However, this was expected to change in the coming week as the store officially opened. Brownie point for the Hermé team for being such awesomefab sales! Not only were they polite and patient, the girlie who wrapped my box was really helpful when listening and responding to my many queries and comments.
One more random note, I previously tried their chocolate bars in Paris back in the day, as I was lining up for their macarons (just coz they are that famous, even in France!) and I figured a bit of choc wouldn't be a bad bet. I was right. Fast forward approx 5 yrs, and I found myself walking out of the HK store with a tablet of dark fleur du sel chocolate! MMMMM. no words. just... creamy rich overload! CHOCOLAT, JE T'AIME.
In the meantime, imma be planning my schedule around Central, in hopes of *passing by* The store ever so casually to pick up another box (or 4). Uh oh... o.O
Gros Bisous,
Moi. xx
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