I wouldn't call myself a foodie exactly but I do love lists. I also like checking things off lists. So when Caitlin linked to a post about Sydney's tastiest lamington and asked for volunteers to test the claim, I put my hand up immediately.

Sydney's best lamington is apparently at Single Origin Roasters in Surry Hills. Who decided this? David Lebovitz, an American food blogger, who calls Paris home. He taste tested a few lamingtons while visiting Sydney on holidays. So I'm not really sure just how qualified he is to make decisions on Sydney's best lamington.

Anyways, I love lamingtons and ridiculous claims and Caitlin and I were overdue a catchup so we made a date for morning tea at Single Origin Roasters. Andrew also loves lamingtons and coffee so he tagged along too.

So is it Sydney's best lamington? Well it was good but it wasn't hugely better than those I've had from bakeries, Vietnamese bread shops or even from a chain like Michel's pattisserie. I guess lamingtons aren't that hard to make. It's just sponge cake covered in chocolate and coconut after all.

While the lamington wasn't mind blowingly awesome it was lovely to catch up with Caitlin and to see how much Poppy and Edward have grown. They are almost one and heading into toddlerhood. It goes so quickly.

Caitlin also blogged her review of the lamingtons at Single Origin Roasters on her blog, Roaming Tales

More photos (slideshow) on Flickr.

Recently I've been very lucky to be the recipient of some suprise macaron gifts. I know I bang on a lot about how much I love macarons on here and Facebook. My not so subliminal messaging must be working. Awesome!

When Caitlin dropped off some clothing hand-me-downs for Evie the other day she also gifted me with two delicious macarons from Baroque (I've decided that this is my favourite macaron store in Sydney). A wonderful surprise for afternoon tea. Thanks Caitlin!

Then, the other night at trivia Bel brought along a box of Adriano Zumbo macarons (or zumbarons as he's branded them) which she had bought at his new Pyrmont store. Thanks Bel! The girls shared the box of macarons and there were mixed reactions to Zumbo's weird and wacky flavours. Bel thought that one of his flavours reminded her of thai curry. Not exactly what you want in a dessert.

After hearing Bel describe Zumbo's new store at Sydney Casino, I knew that I wanted to go and check it out. It's just down the road from Mum and Dad so when Andrew and Dad were out whale watching one day, Mum and I walked over to the recently rebranded The Star (what a wanky name) to pick up some macarons for afternoon tea.

Just like his macaron flavours, the decor of Zumbo's new store is a bit wacky. The macarons that are available on the day are displayed in boxes marked "In case of emergency break glass", and other desserts are displayed in cases which remind me of lamps. At the other end of the store is a cafe which has a sushi train style dessert train. (It wasn't open when we went but has since opened.) The store was surprisingly quiet when we visited. We didn't have to wait at all, unlike at his Rozelle and Balmain outlets where the lines are ridiculous. I'm not sure whether this is because it was a Sunday or because people haven't discovered the new store yet.

On our visit we tried Raspberry Caramel; Tonka & Passionfruit; Cola; Milk Chocolate, Chili & Cinnamon; and Coconut, Green Chilli & Lavender. The specified flavours were definitely present in each macaron. So much so that I didn't like the chilli ones because they were too spicy for my wussy palate. The ones I liked most were the raspberry caramel and the passionfruit, but I'd take a vanilla macaron over either of those any day.

So while weird and wacky is fun, I think I still need something traditional to wash it all down with. I think Zumbo needs to add a caramel or vanilla to his books permanently.

More photos (slideshow) on Flickr.

The trial of Sydney's macarons continues. Albeit at a slower pace than before.

The other weekend we combined a trip to see the World Press Photo exhibition at the State Library with afternoon tea at the Lindt Cafe. These are things that we used to do before Evie's arrival in our lives. We're still trying to do them but of course these things work differently now. The exhibition was super crowded and not exactly pram friendly so we took turns browsing the exhibit while the other looked after a sleeping Evie. Afterwards we combined Evie's awake time with a macaron taste test and a catch up with Caitlin and the Elliott twins at the Lindt Cafe. Look at us multitask!

So what's the verdict on Lindt Cafe's macarons? Surprisingly good. So good in fact that I purchased a second round of macarons to take home for dessert after eating three for afternoon tea. They only have traditional flavours like vanilla, salted caramel, and strawberry on offer but I've discovered that when it comes to macarons that's what I want. I'll definitely be popping in to buy a few vanilla macarons when I next pass the Lindt Cafe. Unfortunately, it's not going to be anytime soon.

In my last few weeks of work I continued to trial Sydney's macaron offerings. I decided to promote MakMak to the top of the list after reading about them on Jenius.com.au. MakMak are a small, macaron only business who supply macarons to selected cafes around Sydney as well as delivering them to customers for only $25 per dozen. I organised a lunch date with Caitlin and Andrew, my macaron partners in crime, at City Westfield foodcourt in order to taste and review MakMak's offerings. You can buy MakMak macarons from Via Del Corso in the food court.

MakMak fit into the Adriano Zumbo school of flavours rather than the traditional Ladurée flavours. That is, they have wacky out there flavours rather than your vanillas and chocolates. On our visit we tried strawberry shortcake, pavlova, gianduja and peppermint macarons.

So, what was the verdict? The pavlova had a surprise hit of passionfruit and mango jam inside but tasted more of coconut than meringue. The gianduja is a combination of Belgian dark chocolate, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts and peanuts. In other words, it was rich and over the top. The other flavours peppermint and strawberry shortcake weren't anything special. So at $3.50 a pop the macarons from MakMak didn't really do it for me. Granted, I didn't try the salted caramel which may have been more to my tastes.

I won't give up entirely on MakMak. Their macaron menu changes with the seasons so I know I'll be tempted to give the next lot a try. And they deliver! I might not be able to resist a dozen macarons delivered for a special occassion.

Caitlin has also posted about our MakMak visit on her blog, Roaming Tales

I have Paris to blame for my current obsession with macarons. I'd never actually seen, heard of or eaten a macaron until 2007. In March of that year, Andrew and I visited Paris for our wedding anniversary. Andrew's boss at the time recommended that we visit a tea room on the Champs-Élysées called Ladurée for afternoon tea. It was there that I fell in love with the macaron. (I also had a really lovely cup of tea - the Marie Antoinette. *sigh* I wish I could go back to Ladurée.)

After that first visit I made sure to sample macarons whenever I had the opportunity. When we visited Paris I'd try to have afternoon tea at Ladurée (if it was open). There are also two Ladurée stores in London, one on Piccadilly and one in Harrods. I'd often pop in to pick up a macaron or two when I passed by the Piccadilly shop. Obsessed!

Ladurée invented the modern-day macaron (originally it was just the biscuit bit without the ganache filling) and they have set a pretty high standard. My favourite flavour from Ladurée is Vanilla. It is a perfect concoction of light, airy crunchy biscuit and pure creamy vanilla ganache. Heaven.

Now we are back in Sydney. Paris is, unfortunately, no longer just a train ride away. There is no Ladurée store in Martin Place (are you listening Ladurée? It would be the perfect location for a new store.) Since we've returned home I've been trying to find a suitable macaron substitute to satisfy my cravings.

First up, we have submission from Baroque Bistro for Jess' new favourite macaron. I was inspired to visit after reading a post on GrabYourFork. I actually read the post and immediately emailed my foodie blogger friend Caitlin and suggested we visit there for a lunch date that week. I wasn't really interested in the food though, just the macarons. In the end, we didn't eat lunch there because it was too expensive but I did buy a dozen assorted macarons (they were expensive too but it was all in the name of research).


So did they stack up to Ladurée? Well, they didn't have a vanilla flavour which is a requirement for a true comparison. However, all the other flavours we tried were really good. Caitlin really enjoyed the passionfruit, Andrew rated the chocolate and coconut and I liked the rosewater best. Baroque Bistro is good enough to go on my Ladurée Macaron Substitute list. Unfortunately, the restaurant is in the Rocks so it's not somewhere that I will often walk past. So macarons good, convenience not so good. The search continues!

Caitlin has also posted about our macaron taste test on her blog, Roaming Tales