Laduree @ Robson

An article cameo written by my friend and foodie friend, Faith.

Laduree Robson 1141 Robson Street BC V6E 1B5 Vancouver 604 336 3030 Monday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The first time I had ever tried Laduree was a good… 3 years ago? Now I didn’t actually go to the store to get some; I lived in Manila, Philippines at the time, and high-end French goods aren’t exactly a staple food there. My mom came home with a small assorted box of 6 one day; her work colleague had recently returned from Paris and brought a small gift box for my mother along the way. I don’t remember what it was I had tried at the time but little me didn’t care much for it, it was a sweet that didn’t feel sweet enough for my young doe eyed self and I bit into them and swallowed and was done with them. Overall, I had thought them as ‘meh’

Fast forward to a week ago, our little foodie blogger Aaron decided if we MUST hang out as friends, it’d be in line for the grand opening of Laduree at Robson. (Which also happened to be their first branch in Canada as a whole.) I didn’t have the best memories of Laduree, I even told Aaron that it wouldn’t be worth much to go and that they tasted like your typical macaron, but I was bored from what was about to be two weeks of spring break and thought “what the hell. I’m bored beyond belief and hey! At least being in line meant I wouldn’t be a slob laying around in bed all day”

And so we did wait! We stood in line from about 11am all the way until their opening at 12 noon. Even an hour before opening, there was quite a line up to get in and you’d think the worst of the line has passed but not even. The line to actually buy macarons inside the store are even worse. Now in line to actually buy the macarons itself, I came into the event thinking I’d buy a simple box of two pieces (seeing as how they’re 3 dollars per piece, I wanted to skimp) but at this point, I had been in line a good 2 hours and I do exactly what I always do and think: “I’ve been in this line for so long, I deserve a box of 8 ok! 24 dollars plus tax be damned!” and I actually found them really delicious! Being older meant I didn’t want crazy sweet flavors like I used to, and the sweetness of each piece was just right for more refined older palates. Taste does get better with age.

Without further ado! Here are the eight I chose and a review on each

(or at least as much of each as I can remember)

Starting from the left to right: Maple Syrup, Rose, Marie Antoinette Tea, Salted Caramel, Orange Blossom, Cedrat, Cherry Blossom, Blackcurrant Violet

1. Blackcurrant Violet – I had doubts about this one (mostly because I have no idea what Blackcurrant Violet is in the first place) but if you like the slight tartness of blackberries then you’ll like this flavor. Among the eight I tasted, this is the only one that isn’t traditionally sweet.

2. Floral flavors (Cherry Blossom, Orange Blossom and Rose) – I didn’t expect these flavors to be something I’d enjoy to be frank. I thought they’d taste overpowering in their floral tastes but they didn’t. Cherry Blossom and Orange Blossom are very similar in flavor, but if you want something with a bit more citrus with the floral, Orange Blossom is your obvious bet. Rose I found had a very creamy filling, more than any of the other eight. Which texture wise, feels really good. I would say the floral flavors are a must buy and if you’re buying Laduree without them then… what are you buying from Laduree for? Aaron's opinion: Cherry blossom (Right) had a subtle taste like watermelon, sweet & tangy but hidden in the background

3. Maple Syrup (Right)– I recommend the maple syrup for 2 reasons. 1) its seasonal which means you wont be able to get this flavor all the time and 2) you’ll be surprised at how they can make maple syrup not be overpoweringly sweet to the taste and overall enjoyable Aaron's opinion: True to flavour with the smokiness of the Maple Syrup with a flavour reminiscent of coffee.

4. Cedrat – I was personally the most disappointed with Cedrat. Not that it’s a bad flavor or anything but mostly because Cedrat was just Citron but with a fancy French title. If you’re spending 3 dollars on a macaron, I suggest you try something out of the box

5. Salted Caramel – Just like the Cedrat, if you’re spending 3 dollars, I suggest you go big or go home. Although they make a mean salted caramel at laduree, you can basically get the flavor anywhere now so its best to try other flavors

6. Marie Antoinette Tea – As a fan of tea, this was a very good macaron. It had a hint of earl grey to it and as a fan of earl grey, I definitely wanted more of this.

All in all, I encourage everyone to try and mix and match flavors to your own pallet but here’s some helpful tips:

Know what you want going into the shop, because the line up is long enough as it is and it can be really tiring for both customers and service workers if you stand there without knowing what kind of macaron you have in mind.

If in doubt, either ask the staff for recommendations (incredibly nice people) or follow my sure fire method which is to ask yourself: “Will I ever find this flavor else where? Am I feeling adventurous enough to try it?” then ignore possible negative answers and think “yknow what. C’est la vie. I’m getting it anyway”