Comments on: Sydney's macarons, Adriano Zumbo, and a few other eating observations

By: Nadia

Nadia — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 02:09:41 +0000

You are right about Zumbo's macarons….but I still love them Sometimes they are exactly like the Ladurée macarons, sometimes they are not. I have encountered a hollow shell but it's a rare occurrence.
Either way, I'm still addicted. I'm pretty sure there's crack in all his pastries and chocolate. I wonder if he requires a personal slave…..

By: pea and pear

pea and pear — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:04:58 +0000

thanks duncan, although now me thinks you hit zumbos on a bad day, as I have never had a crunchy, hard filling macaron there. Still I better go to Paris just to be sure

By: Duncan

Duncan — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:27:57 +0000

Hi pea and pear. There's nothing controversial in loving them! My beef is with professionals who produce/sell something which they want to claim is the genuine article. An imperfect macaron can still be a thing of beauty or deliciousness. But a professional should do better than that. I enjoyed the weird ugly mammoth thing they sold at Vue de Monde, but as a macaron it was an abomination. Zumba's macarons were interesting and enjoyable if consumed without reference to a benchmark. It is *possible* that you would be disappointed by what Ladurée or Hermé produce after having become used to the crunchy, hard-filling things that Zumba appears to produce. That notwithstanding, keep angling for the trip to Paris;)

By: pea and pear

pea and pear — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:34:32 +0000

Hi Duncan, I am going to say something a little controversial here so don't hate me. You seem hands down to be the unofficial 'master' of macarons. And I absolutely love love love your tutorials (and blog) … they have guided me to some macaron successes (which I fear now were infact failures)
…ahem… I love Zumbos macarons

Having never tasted an authentic parisian macaron I fear now that I have no actual idea what they should taste like….

Have I unwittingly fallen haplessly inlove with an imposter pretending to be a parisian macaron??

Ali
perhaps I can claim a trip to Paris on tax to find out for myself! (or you could send me a sample )

By: elra

elra — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:15:27 +0000

I guess Australian sea gulls are pretty sophisticated eater!
Never really tasted the PH Macarons, so for now, I am satisfied enough with Thomas Keller's Macarons from his Bouchon Cafe in Yountville, CA.

By: Fi

Fi — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:53:27 +0000

You're so right about the Thai food - that is something I miss from there. Spice I Am, Wentworth St, Sydney CBD…astounding.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:26:57 +0000

Hey Fi. I hope your response won't be frustration! Sydney's food scene is certainly interesting (coming from Melbourne) with many pleasant surprises beyond the big names. And for some reason they have waaaay more good Thai food than Melbourne does. Even the disappointment (for me) of my Zumbo samples shouldn't shade the fact that Melbourne isn't seeing much effort on the patisserie front. Lots for you to enjoy!

By: Fi

Fi — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:10:10 +0000

I'm heading Sydneyward shortly - the town in which I spent the first three years of this century - and I'm curious indeed as to how I'll find it, particularly the culinary scene. With acknowledged prejudice and my re-assigned loyalty (to Melbourne) I already presume that my response will be measured in degrees of frustration rather than pleasant surprise.

By: belle

belle — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:25:44 +0000

Duncan, I've learnt heaps from you on macarons (shouldn't be crunchy. Got it). And I view the cakes at Zumbo as being experimental - some work and some don't, but it's the taste discoveries that keep you going back.

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:26:51 +0000

Thahn, like I said the NGV on St Kilda Rd Ray Capaldi has some decent ones being made. Try it and see.

i also laughed about the seagull. Once I had one steal food from my plate while I was reviewing a restaurant.