A Macaron Review :3

After trying out the macarons from Le Carpe Diem, I can say that I have fallen in love with these little tricky bites of delicious-ness. Every bite of macaron was like a little food-explosion in my mouth! I couldn't help but go back again, and again, just to buy their macarons! I think I've gone back like 3 times so far? Yes...their macarons are to-die-for! :) It also doesn't help that my chiropractor is like 15 mins walk away from this French cafe. :( So every time, after I'm done with my chiropractor, I take it upon myself to exercise and walk to that place and get my fix of macarons, as and when I need it. :P

Haha. I've even introduced my friend and housemates to the macarons and they loved it! Yay! :D Such a nice feeling when your recommendation is recognized and acknowledged! Happy. :) Anyway, while I was sharing + posting about these macarons, I heard of another macaron place in Adelaide, known as the Mac Factory (TMF). Intrigued, I searched it up online and realized that it was just <5 mins walk away from my chiropractor! What a coincidence! So being the foodie at heart, I felt compelled to check that place out and compare it against Le Carpe Diem (LCD). :) But apparently, it's even more 'popular' than LCD because it has funny working hours, and I had to make sure that they were open before I popped by. =/

Since I was going to do a comparison, it made sense to buy the same flavours as they have at LCD; salted caramel, lemon and raspberry.

Macarons from The Mac Factory

Macarons from The Mac Factory; Salted Caramel, Lemon & Raspberry

As you can see, the macarons from The Mac Factory looks just like all the ordinary macarons out there.

Macarons from Le Carpe Diem

Macarons from Le Carpe Diem; Salted Caramel, Lemon & Raspberry.

Yep. I bought the same flavours. But as you can see from the pictures, LCD macarons are smaller but the shell is higher and the filling looks to be more generous than TMF. TMF macarons are $2.50 each whereas LCD macarons are $2.80 each.

Review

Taste-wise, Le Carpe Diem macarons win hands-down. The flavours of each individual macaron was stronger than The Mac Factory and it tasted genuine. With TMF, I had this plastic after-taste in my mouth which was rather unpleasant to be honest. :( And only the salted caramel macaron was decent. There was barely any taste of lemon and only a hint of raspberry. Yes, TMF macarons are $0.30 cheaper and bigger too, but quality over quantity, LCD is the overall winner. Plus LCD macarons look so pretty, it's like a work of art! The pastry shell from LCD macarons are melt-in-your-mouth, it's truly how macarons should be! Whereas I found that the shell from TMF macarons were a bit too chewy, I can feel it sticking onto my teeth. :( Another thing that I really love about LCD macarons is the filling. Oh man! Their fillings are so delicious and it is different from TMF and the other average macarons out there. It's like a combination of ganache + buttercream. So, so, so, so good! It just makes me want to eat more of their macarons! :( 

The filling inside. (LCD macarons)

I did a time test too. In other words, I only ate the macarons (bought from both LCD and TMF) 2 days after I bought them, under the same conditions, barely a week apart. The LCD macarons tasted as good as I bought it on day 1, whereas TMF macarons tasted a little stale (probably explains the plastic after-taste that I had). =/

Summary

Le Carpe Diem 1: The Mac Fac 0

So yes, overall, I wouldn't buy TMF macarons again unless I have a really bad craving for macarons and LCD is too far for me to travel (which is not going to ever happen since LCD is just like 10-15 mins walk away from TMF). TMF's macarons are average at best, the only good thing is that they offer more variety than LCD. But quality-wise, I'm not really that taken in. 

With that said, I would really like to try out other macaron places to see if LCD's standard can actually be beaten by others. Or would the authentic French bakers win, in this case? ;) Stay tuned!