Macaroons & Laduree

I was born with a sweet tooth. And over the years my palate has reached epic proportions of flavour discernment as far as the taste of sweet is concerned. You have the delicate spun sugar flavour of macaroons, an ingenue, with lingering traces of innocence. You have the deeper more comforting taste of pecan pie, more syrupy laced with bourbon. And then you have the sweet for the grown ups, rich dark chocolate mousse tinged with chilli powder, a treat to be enjoyed in the dark. These are the tastes that I have savoured and committed to memory. But if I am honest, a tiny part of me will agree that part of enjoying a dessert is visceral. A sweet or a dessert is by nature an enticement, something illicit to be enjoyed with each bite. And in these times when eating anything with white sugar is a sin, desserts have taken on a more forbidden fruit kind of analogy. I mean just look at these macaroons, they just scream "look at me".

I couldn't resist so much of "pink", I just had to go in and taste them. And I did so twice, both times from the same brand but each experience was different. Laduree is of course the byword for macaroons, so popular that its a bit pretentious. Sells itself on its Frenchness and Sophia Copolla's Marie Antoinette certainly helped. I first went into the Harrods branch. Bad choice. The decor is very dark, not what I associate with the pastel macaroons. And all around me were rich arabic women, all burqa'd up relaxing after marathon shopping expedition at Harrods. Still the weather was cold and I was hungry so I ordered myself the afternoon tea which consist of sandwiches, macaroons and pastries. Did I enjoy it? Of course I did. I never let anything come between me and my food, not even screechy 

20 somethings wearing Isabel Marant wedge sneakers. I took the obligatory pictures, stuffed my face, paid my bill and left. The macaroons were great no doubts on that, but the whole tea drinking experience was just a bit off. I didn't have any charm. 

  

And then I visited their Covent Garden branch and i was sold. Right from the pretty menus to the seating areas, everything was perfect. I could imagine sitting here and giggling with friends, spending a first date, or just enjoying a cuppa on my own, with no books, iphone or friends for company. 

The green-blue one is actually called Marie Antoinette

You can also get champagne to go with your treats if you prefer. I stuck to good old Darjeeling. There is a very nice terrace to sit on if the weather is warm. And of course you can bring some millefeuille back home to share with your dog in your backyard.