Ladurée Paris in Dubai : Double-Deck Macaron

people, laduree is highly overrated!

yes, i’m talking about THE laduree cafe originated from paris, said to have the best macarons in the world, the creator of the double-decker macaron, that people patiently go in long lines for – yes, THAT laduree!

one bite, and i was like – so?

 

 

this is for those biskut kati-fan like me might not know ‘laduree’ and it’s very famous macaroons ye. hihi. i myself JUST found out about this craze over these cute colorful macaroons.

what’s all the fuss about?

1. first, is it macaRON, or macaROON? well, macaron is french, and macaroon is english. thank you. ok. you may proceed. hihi
2. secondly, what’s LADUREE?

 

ladurée is a luxury cake and pastries brand based in paris, france. it is known as the inventor of the double-decker macaron, fifteen thousand of which are sold every day. they are considered the best macaron shop in the world.

in 1862, this french dude created this bakery. it’s a tea salon, pastry shop, restaurant, chocolate shop and an ice cream parlor – all rolled in one.

ladurée's rise to fame came in 1930 when they had the original idea of the double-decker, sticking two macaron shells together with a creamy ganache (it’s a glaze, icing or filling for pastries made from chocolate and cream) as filling.

 

~ wikipedia

 

however in 1993 the holder group took over. the holder family also owns the PAUL bakery chain in france. a friend mentioned that paul cafe sells cheaper macaroons. check it out! there’s one branch right here in dubai marina. click here for my review.

the original, and certainly most famous laduree is in paris, on the champs-elysées, a prestigious spot, one of the famous streets in the world.

 

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we went to the one and only laduree branch in uae; in dubai mall.

the pastel green exterior is unmistakably laduree. the chairs and tables exudes a certain class. and yes – very french indeed, with the beautiful upholstery.

the inside of the cafe is even more breathtaking – not so much for the interior but more so because of the colorful macaroons in lines at the counter. there’s only ONE picture here (one that i sempat amik!), because taking photographs inside the shop was NOT ALLOWED! ceh.

but i did see this secluded section inside the cafe which looked so elegant, like it’s taken straight from a french royalty’s sitting room. purple walls, plush sofa, fancy lamps on the wall – it’s so beautiful!

 

 

even from outside looking in, i was like a little girl yang teringin nak makan kek comel sedap but could not afford! hihi.

* a note of thanks to mr. khairul because he can afford to layan his wife’s whims and fancies!

but seriously, speaking of ‘not being able to afford’ – let me just plainly say that laduree’s macaroons are VERY expensive! i was semi-stunned (semi je because trying to look like dah biase tengok biskut mahal hahaha) when i looked at the price tag on the fancy boxes.

yes, there were these really beautiful fancy boxes lined up against the display glass – maybe gift boxes to put the macaroons. and the price?

i first saw a gorgeous box tagged 235dhs. then 380dhs! ulp. biskut apa harga sampai 380dhs! i couldn’t believe my eyes. i quickly scanned the line for the cheapest quote, and i found a tiny box to fit only 4 macaroons. the price? a whopping 74dhs. that’s about RM65 a box. with only 4 freaking macaroons!

then i saw a display card on the counter-top – actually it’s 11dhs for one macaroon. yang mahal tu sebab we pay for the fancy box la tu. since i really, really, really want to try a macaroon from this uber-famous boutique patisserie laduree from paris (sila baca dengan nada orang french bercakap hihi) so we went ahead and bought 4 macaroons.

 

 

 

tada!

this is our humble plate of macaroons! we took chocolate, pistachio, vanilla and caramel. as always, khaleef wanted strawberry, but since it’s our first time, we decided to stick to the boring, normal, popular choices (according to the laduree staff).

(click here for more macaron flavors!)

kelakar je tengok biskut kecik 11dhs sebijik ni.

by the way, it’s not like us to just splurge on unnecessarily expensive food or stuff okay. don’t think that we’re reckless with money and willing to spend 44dhs just for 4 little biscuits! this is definitely a one-time only; something crazy that i wanted to do since i’ve heard so much about the macaroons from laduree paris.

 

 

well, at least now i know that it’s JUST A BIG HOOPLA! to me, at least.

it’s SO expensive, but it tastes SO normal. bukan tak sedap, tapi sedap dia tu biase je. (mesti peminat-peminat laduree will brand me so uncultured! haha) let’s face it. it’s just biscuits stuck together with a gell-like cream in the middle!

well, sure the macaron cookies kinda melts in your mouth, light and airy – but still the cream can be too sweet even – for me, the cream overwhelms the taste of the macaroons, that it disrupts my whole laduree macaroon experience!

i guess it’s just like someone who really wants to buy an LV bag, when even a less expensive coach will do. or go to fatburger for their very expensive cheeseburger, when you can get a cheaper, but equally delicious cheeseburger at burger king.

it’s all in the brand, established since 1862!

(and maybe it’s just SO classy and posh to say that you love to eat macaroons at laduree! kalau kata suka macaroons from bluebell bakery or kedai kek seri cempaka ke macam tak kelas la kan. hihi.)

 

 

 

khaleef, my sweet-tooth cookie monster was of course visibly excited seeing the little macaroons. but i’m sure he was confused as to why mak only give him one pinch of the cookie at a time! hihi.

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oh, for those who were just like me before – amende macaroon ni – macaroons are essentially cookies. biscuits. english (or it american) macaroons has coconuts (i would LOVE to try the one dipped in chocolate). macaron, on the other hand is french and now mostly consists of two macaroon cookies glued together by a cream filling in the middle.

so the thing that made laduree so famous was they’re the one who invented the double-decker macaroons.

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for drinks, i ordered hot chocolate.

now, when you hear ‘hot chocolate’, what do you imagine? well, a tall glass (or in starbucks, a mug) of hot chocolate, foamy on top and sometimes they decorate by drawing nice patterns on the foam with chocolate syrup, i think.

but what did i get from laduree?

 

 

 

my hot chocolate in laduree turned out to be LITERALLY melted chocolate in a cup. i mean like, really pure, thick, bittersweet melted chocolate. it’s like, you take a big bar of choc cadbury or van houten, melt it in a pot, and then drink it. i felt like sipping a drink from the movie ‘chocolat’!

one sip and it totally filled your throat with this congealed bittersweet feel!

my question is – what REALLY is ‘hot chocolate’? isn’t it a hot drink made by putting chocolate powder in hot water? so what’s with the melted chocolate? it’s supposed to be called ‘drinking chocolate’ instead – a drink made with ‘melted chocolate shavings’!

i totally could not finish it. khaleef pun tak suka. so pekat, and so pahit. so mr. khairul emptied the cup, my knight in shining armour to the rescue. hihi. and this, is after he finishes a whole cup of cappuccino!

 

 

 

overrated or not – i would like to thank mr. khairul for this laduree experience! once is enough to taste this sweet little delights from paris. and now i know. let’s just say that macaroon or macaron will no soon be in my list of favorite biscuit, or favorite dessert!

i don’t think we’ll be coming again anytime soon, but for the rest of you – give it a try. hey, those tiny macaroons didn’t last THIS long for nothing you know!