From raspberry to rose, coffee to caramel, lemon to liquorice with cherry blossom and strawberry poppy in between, Ladurée offers every conceivable flavour in crispy, crumbly, meringuey macaron form. These small pieces of macaron perfection are a bit of a 3BM weakness... no trip to Paris is complete without a trip to Ladurée Royale the cosy little salon de thé on Rue Royale which dates back to 1862. After a hard afternoon's shopping, nothing beats a couple of macarons and a cup of Ladurée hot chocolate (thick, velvety and rich - decadence in a cup...). And even after all that sugar we never leave without being laden down with at least five pale pistachio green, beribboned boxes... A girl should always be prepared for a macaron emergency!
So when I was invited to the Hong Kong leg of Ladurée's 150th Birthday celebrations and the launch of the brand new Ladurée pop-up store in Lane Crawford, I couldn't RSVP quickly enough...
I headed across to the Canton Road Lane Crawford yesterday evening, ran the perilous gauntlet of the sprawling shoe department (I can happily confirm there were no shoe acquiring accidents but not without the exercise of extreme willpower...) and arrived at the Blitz Cafe craving raspberry macarons. I was immediately handed a mimosa and pointed in the direction of table packed with beautifully wrapped boxes and scented candles under glass domes. All very lovely but there was one glaring omission. Where on earth were the macarons? There were a couple of display towers of the pastel-hued discs, but where were the trays heaving with sugary goodness?? Nowhere, that is where.
Despite the distinct lack of macarons, there was a wealth of Ladurée products on offer from scented candles to room sprays and body cream to macaron print umbrellas. Each smells delicious (although a couple are a bit too sickly for me) and is beautifully packaged - these are the candles and bath products that would adorn the home of this season's Louis Vuitton girl. Still no macarons though...
A couple of mimosas and a lot of browsing later I jumped back on the Star Ferry and headed back to the island. Which turned out to be a mistake of Pretty Woman shopgirl proportions - BIG, HUGE. I have it on good authority that moments after I left the macarons were wheeled out. Typical!
Ladurée home products are available at the Canton Road and IFC Lane Crawfords for a limited period - get them before they're gone, just don't expect any macarons...
