Gastronomical ramblings

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.” Very wise words I think. I was only recently reminded of this quote again when we saw it smack bang on the window of LuxBite. A very fitting place to display this quote.

There was no time to waste and we (J.ma and myself) made a beeline for the dessert. Just as soon as we managed to get ourselves a table. With LuxBite being renown for its macarons among other tasty morsels and combined with the fact that the venue isn’t that big, queues for a table are a norm here…

Look up! Overhead skylights and a large window at the shopfront ensures plenty of natural lighting streams through to the seating area. Just as long as it’s not gloomy and rainy outside. 

Very cute interior. The natural lighting really bought out the contrasts between the whites and the blacks. The use of funky low hanging light bulbs and girly decorations helped to turn classic black+white into chic and cutesy. 

Salivating yet? Make sure it doesn’t dribble all over your keyboard :)

If you weren’t salivating before, you might be now… 

One to try next time… 

The macarons. 

Organic Jasmine Green Tea.

Hands down the most adorable-looking tea bag I have seen to date. I spent a good five minutes fawning over the tea bag. And probably another five taking photos. 

The tea flavour was quite light and tasted more Jasmine than Green. Jasmine tea with the barest hint of savory Green. I also have a slight suspicion that the subtlety was only picked up because I was looking out for it. Still, I quite liked it. 

The rest of our afternoon tea.

It took a lot of consulting (with one another as well as with the shop assistants who happily and helpfully offered recaps on their experiences with each of the desserts) but we finally decided to try two of the macaron cake options. Originally we had decided to share a cake and some macarons but the macaron cake selections meant the best of both worlds without having to order both.

Endless love - lychee ganache, rose cream, lychee, fresh raspberry (inspired by Pierre Herme’s Ispahan)

Their description succinctly sums up the dessert in one sentence. My version is a little more rambly but here goes… It’s usually the ganache element of a macaron that’s the sweetest component but that’s not the case here. It gets no sweeter than the macaron shell. When it comes down to it, the Endless love tastes less sweet (with a tolerable level of sweetness) than how it actually comes across. I normally can’t handle too much sweet in one sitting but I’m pretty sure I could have easily polished it off. The lychee and rose flavour suited one another perfectly. To such an extent that any future lychee eating may have to be accompanied with a side of rose petals… No? The rose flavour was very distinct and the texture of the cream reminded me of a cold and frothy version of marshmallow. The raspberries were very fresh and the gentle sugar coating helped to cut the sourness. At the centre was a lychee. The fusion of “fresh” ingredients with their ganache/cream counterparts provided much texture and varying extents of each flavour for the palate to explore.

I enjoyed it so much that I took my time to finish my half of the dessert and really savoured each bite. When it was all gone, I was left with a worrying thought: that the chocolate one would pale in comparison.

Supersized love - [LuxBite’s] version of Ferrero Rocher. Housemade Nutella, praline cream, Piedmontese hazelnut. 

My worries were unfounded because this was equally as sensational as the previous dessert. And again, not too sweet! The outer chocolate layer was very thick and smooth. Rich milk chocolate. The praline cream centre was a stark but complimentary contrast to the chocolate in regards to both flavour and texture. It was very light and airy. And tasted just like the centre of a Kinder Bueno chocolate bar. While the list of ingredients resembled elements of a Ferrero Rocher chocolate, the dessert itself didn’t. Perhaps it was just because I had difficulties getting all elements in one bite. No biggie though. Still scrump-dili-umptuous! 

Prior to eating, we struggled to pick the best-looking (and hopefully best-tasting) dessert and after the desserts were long consumed, we struggled to decide which of our two selections tasted better. My reaction with both could have probably passed for a television commercial: eyes shut and one long mmmmmmmmmm sound. It makes me wonder how the other options compare. With a somewhat small selection (compared to say, Brunetti), trying all the options is a possible feat. Not to mention tempting. Interesting… 

LuxBite

38 Toorak Rd,

South Yarra, Victoria, 3141.

(03) 9867 5888

http://www.luxbite.com.au/