Sweets for the Sweet

Is there such a thing as too much of a good thing, especially when it comes to desserts? As someone who prefers savoury food myself, I would have said "yes" straightaway, but, to be fair, I decided to defer to those with a sweeter tooth. The experiment was a visit to Macaron, the dessert restaurant, for "hi-tea" (such an travesty of spelling *shudder*).

High tea is served from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. For $28.00+++ or about $33 nett, one gets to choose a total of 13 bite-sized items from four mini-menus ("3 items from Savouries A, 2 items from Savouries B..."). HM and I decided to split the menu evenly between the two of us, so that we could sample everything. There were a couple of items such as the almond scones with smoked chicken ham and canele which were not available. This did not bother us too much; it just meant we could squeeze in more rose macarons, hehe. Other than the few exceptions, we had it all covered.

clockwise, from top left corner: brioche burger with roasted chicken and fig compote; smoked salmon profiterole with dill cream cheese; tomato and mushroom tartlet; filo cup with crab salad; rare roasted beef with horseradish dressing on "levain" toast

clockwise, from top left corner: toasted brioche with foie gras terrine; brioche burger with roasted chicken and fig compote; club honey baked ham; herb focaccia with tomato mozarella; croque madame

clockwise, from top left corner: rose macaron; chocolate macaron; pear danish; l'amour ice cream (rose flavoured); salty caramel macaron; banana passionfruit sorbet; chocolate ice cream; another rose macaron

clockwise, from top left corner: le royale; eclair feullitine; citrus madeleine; praline profiterole; rose macaron, lemon meringue tart; gateaux chocholat; in the centre, earl grey creme brulee

What we really liked:

• the brioche burger with roasted chicken and fig compote - HM has an inordinate liking for them figs... but it was scrumptious indeed
• the croque madame - hey hey atas junk food
• the toasted brioche with foie gras pate - the pate was infused with some liquer and was very light
• the l'amour ice cream
• the banana passionfruit sorbet - a surprisingly successful combination of flavours
• the salty caramel macaron - reminiscent of taffy (incidentally, we had great sea salt and caramel ice cream at Azabu Hokkaido ice cream, but I digress...)
• rose macaron, rose macaron, rose macaron - we love these, but MM found the rose flavour rather strong
• the filo cup with crab salad - ok, I'm the lone voice on this; HM and MM both pooh-poohed this.)

What didn't work for us:

• the earl grey creme brulee - this version was way better than Brown Sugar's, and yet we had our doubts. It tasted quite like teh tarik, a flavour we do like. So why was it so impossible to finish a saucer-ful?
• le royale and gateuax chocolat - too chocolate-y, would you believe it? And that was the opinion of the sweet lovers, gasp...

To conclude, Macaron is definitely for the sweet of tooth. I hear the dinner menu is just as sweet; all the dishes have a dessert element. According to ES, the one time she had dinner there with friends, they ended up hankering for prata. My sentiments exactly. Still, for those who enjoy hip minimalist decor and pretty plates, it's worth a visit, if only for the novelty. Oh, and the rose macarons...

P.S. MM, look here for photos of your food. A little underlit, I'm afraid.