No Macaron Left Behind: 47-54

No Macaron Left Behind: 47-54

Written by Heather

Topics: Eats & Sweets

This is the 4th post in the No Macaron Left Behind challenge series and 5th in the “my waist line is expanding while my bank account is decreasing” series.

Quitting my job at the end of December was one of the best, albeit slightly unexpected, decisions I have made since arriving on Australian soil. I took full advantage of the complete freedom of time, exploring new suburbs and meeting friends for brunch, lunch, and dinner dates. This of course included two more visits to Adriano Zumbo.

Adriano Zumbo Terry St location

First, Simon and I visited the Rozelle store following lunch at a cafe just around the corner.

Adriano Zumbo macarons

Adriano Zumbo macarons

47) Carrot cake (the orange one)

I was most looking forward to this flavor but sadly it didn’t deliver like the others. It was sweet and had a “warmness” to it (Simon said “brown sugar-like”), but there was no clear “THIS is carrot cake” moment. *tear*

48) Toasted marshmallow

The filling was different than any I have had to date — very fluffy! In fact, the macaron tasted just like marshmallow fluff from the jar.

49) Anunziata chocolate

I loved the crunchy bits on top — it was a nice thought to jazz up the consistency for a straight-forward flavor. It seemed to be a darker chocolate than the other chocolate-based flavors I have had so far; while I prefer dark chocolate, I favored the regular Chocolate and the Milo flavors I’ve had in the past.

50) Ginger

I assumed this would be my least favorite flavor of the visit but it turned out to be the best without question — very fitting for it to be the 50th flavor I have sampled!! It would have been nice for Zumbo to pop out from the kitchen with balloons in hand and confetti falling from the ceiling to mark my “achievement”. Instead, I enjoyed the clean, straight forward ginger flavor while watching Zumbo & company create more macaron magic through the windows that separate the kitchen from the rest of the store.

It may take the staff a while to deliver a coffee since they’re focused on the macarons and cakes, but I had a nice piccolo latte too.
Adriano Zumbo piccolo latte

On my second visit, Adam and I popped by the Balmain location on my way out of town. After five months in the Inner West, there was no better way to say goodbye from a foodie perspective than to have a few final macarons — at least until I return for one last hurrah in April.

Adriano Zumbo macarons

Of the 10-12 flavors available, I’d tasted all but four. And of course these four had to be savory, quirky flavors.

51) Bacon and egg (far right)

Thinking that the flavors in the other three may be too strong, I started with this one. In typical Zumbo fashion, there were “goodies” in the middle — tiny pieces of bacon. One miniscule piece released a mega bacon flavor. Yum. On a sad note, neither of us noticed any egg flavor.

52) Roasted garlic (far left)

I thought this could be another disaster like the first bite of the Bloody Mary macaron. The smell was really lovely though, reminding me of the “Everything” bagels at Bodo’s back home (the ones with heaps of seeds and spices on top). It just took one bite and I was sold. An unmistakable garlic flavor without being offensive — it ended up being my favorite of the four!

53) Wasabi and pickled ginger

My eyes grew big with the first bite and I think I let out an audible “whoa!” The flavors were SPOT ON (Adam said “authentic”) but without the *kick* from the wasabi we both expected.

54) Korean chili

There was certainly a spice and warmth to this one! I even felt it in my throat. My least fave of the bunch.

Something about macarons 51-54 was a bit of a let down. The shells weren’t up to their usual magical standard. They weren’t horrible but they weren’t great. Thankfully I have one more visit in April to erase the memory of less-than-perfect macarons.

If you read the post about Macaron Day, you may remember that I was interviewed for an SBS documentary on Adriano. I’m not sure if I made the final edit, but I can’t wait to watch the documentary and find out! Learn more about the man behind the macaron & potentially catch me making an idiot of myself as the series Zumbo begins February 10th at 7:30pm on SBS.

22 Comments Comments For This Post I'd Love to Hear Yours!

  1. Katherina says:

    Is the ginger macaron the one that looks so creamy inside? I feel hungry now… good job for reaching the 50 (+) !!!

    • Heather says:

      That’s the one!! It was tasty! Itching to go back and see if they have new flavors this weekend…(the campervan broke down so we’re not taking off for a few more days).

  2. Dina says:

    If you just tell me the roasted garlic, I would think that’s got to be the most horrible idea for a macaron (oh, where’s my sweet macaron!)
    But you beat it with wasabi and pickled ginger!! eekkhh….
    Just in case you want to suprise me with a box of macaron, choose the marshmallow please 🙂 🙂

    • Heather says:

      I guess if I’m on a mission I have to try just about any flavor O:-) I definitely wasn’t too keen to try these but they were a surprise!

  3. Jaime says:

    I know you have written about these thing quite a bit but for some reason I still have no clue what they are. I do have to say though they look really freaking good though. I wanna try some of them. I guess i’ll have to wait till I make it to Oz one day.

    • Heather says:

      Jaime — I had never encountered one until September! The inside filling is a cream or ganache — butter, sugar, cream, other goodies depending on the type of filling. The shells are egg whites, almond meal, and sugar. The outer-most layer of the shells have a thin layer of crispness and the rest of the shell is a melt-in-your-mouth smooth bit of joy. Overall the entire treat is smooth in texture as the “crisp” outer shell is very thin. Maybe there’s a patisserie in Houston? What about this — http://maisonburdisso.com/

  4. Amy says:

    I hope you realize that after reading all of these Macaron posts, I will have to check these beauties out in December. I can’t wait to try them (but I won’t be trying all of them like you). 🙂 Will have to read all of your posts and narrow them down!

  5. Summer says:

    Every time you post about these things, I want to try them. The ginger one sounds lovely, and I’m sad the Carrot Cake didn’t turn out.

    • Heather says:

      I’m going to be on a mission when I get home to find patisseries back home! Are there any near you? The french macaron is taking off in a few big cities in the US it seems.

  6. Mom says:

    I’m saying this in Katie’s voice….I’M SO JEALOUS!!!

  7. I’m with Jamie… but they look sooo amazing I have no qualms trying every single one of them out, except maybe the wasabi and pickled ginger one. Eeeww…

    • Heather says:

      It was actually fairly decent! Just praying there are some new sweet ones for me to try next time I go *crosses fingers*

  8. The last for are classic AZ style way left of centre. Would have been interested in all those flavours.

    Wonder if any of these will appear during the next Macaron Day?

    Will be keeping an eye out for you during the AZ doco. Good luck with making the final edit 🙂

    • Heather says:

      Even if I don’t make the first episode, I suppose there are one or two more episodes in the series 🙂 I’m almost afraid to watch 😉

      I’ve seen the wasabi one a couple of times — you should go soon while they’re still on the rotation!!

  9. Sally says:

    Very proud of you! That chocolate one looks super good… not so sure about the savory ones. I kind of like to keep my sweet & savory seperate…. unless we’re talking chocolate-covered pretzels.

  10. Nicole says:

    I’m with most of your readers on the wasabi & pickled ginger macaron – eeewwwww! 😉 We’ll have to learn how to make these things so we can open up our own bakery/cafe back in the States (but no wasabi & pickled ginger flavor, please!) 🙂

  11. Erica says:

    I think I would also have looked forward to the carrot cake one. What a shame.

    Other than that the marshmallow one is up my alley and I’m curious about the bacon.. but I bet quite a few people would be.

  12. Megan says:

    Oh, they all look super delicious…you’re brave for trying the savory ones!

  13. Zablon says:

    all this looks photos are making me very hungry

  14. Kyle says:

    All those flavors sound so interesting. Especially bacon and egg. Who would’ve thought to put that combo in a macaroon?!

    Also, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but your foodie pictures are spectacular! I really love the colors.

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