Friday, September 28, 2012

Sweet treats from Luxbite.

There's only one thing tastier and sweeter than brunch and macarons from LuxBite, and that's brunch and macarons from LuxBite with a 50% discount.

Head over to Agenda City, they do give a lot of deals for restaurants around Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.

One thing about that voucher, it doesn't say that the 50% discount applies to only 16 macarons.. 

"AgendaCity Members get any two brunch dishes for $15 (valid 7-days) plus for those using the offer on a weekday you’ll get 50% off a box of 16 macarons to take away. Just present your AgendaCity voucher."

Thankfully the website did, and i read it before i bought the voucher, otherwise i would've thrown a bit of a tantrum. (Not that i don't think 50% isnt a great deal.. it's just, things like that should be in the final fine print y'know?)



I've briefly mentioned LuxBite before, but here's a recap of the basic details of the place.

LuxBite
38, Toorak Road, South Yarra VIC
03 98 675 888
http://www.luxbite.com.au/
Mon - Sun, 10.30am - 7pm
[ tram 8, stop 28 (Punt Road/Toorak Road) or train to South Yarra station]

LuxBite on Urbanspoon


Oh, another thing about Luxbite: the owners are Malaysian! REPRESENT!!!!!



Tea Forté: Orchid Vanilla, $4.80

It was a rainy morning with crazy wind.. Felt a little cold and heavy so i decided to have tea instead of the regular soy latté. And, it was too pretty to not give a try! Just look at it.. I wanted to bring it home instead of chucking it into the water and drinking it. I'm such a hoarder.

While i usually try my best to (and make Jason) not order the same thing twice, he insisted on having the pork belly sandwich again. Mumble grumble.. but it's okay, i've tasted it before and i know how crazy kickass it was the last time so i let him get away with it.. just this once. You can imagine how pleased I was when it came plated differently. :D



LuxBite Pork Roll: Roasted pork belly with kimchi, pear remoulade, lettuce and BBQ sauce, $15 (original price).



Damn, i need to learn how to work this camera properly.. Imagine if i got the focus right on that photo. Anyone out there willing to teach me? Melbourne OR KL?! I'll be back for 2 months early next year!



Caramelized eshallot tart with truffled mushroom, lotus roots and frisée salad, $15 (original price).

I've never had a proper taste of truffle before (besides a teeny bit at Jason's birthday dinner in KL), so i was pretty blown away by the amount of flavour in the salad. At first i thought it was garlic.. but the lack of annoying lingering taste made me realize that it wasn't. And being a pâtisserie, the shell of the tart tasted pretty damn good. The filling was silky and tasty, though i think the taste of the shell and the truffled mushrooms really did mask the eshallot filling. I thought it was well made, but the menu did say they only serve 6 a day.. I wonder why..



Didn't notice the taste difference between an onion and eshallots up until recently, when Jason and Michael (a friend studying culinary arts here in Melbourne) pointed it out. 

Moving on to dessert; I doubt anyone would ignore the colourful display of 16 macarons right at the counter. It's too pretty to ignore, seriously!



Oreo | Lemon, Ginger & Pineapple | Kaya Toast | Heilala Vanilla Crème Brûlée | Mandarin Jaffa | Sour Strawberry | Watermelon | Rose Lychee | Ribena Lemonade | Pandan | Green Tea Pistachio |  Kopiko | Salted Caramel | Peanut Butter & Jelly | Hazelnut | Bamboo Oolong Tea

It's a pity they didn't have Choc Banana (as advertised on their website) this time round again.. Better luck next time i suppose (cause i know i'll be going back).


I never really scrutinize what i eat, it's really easy to make and keep me happy foodwise, but maybe there are a few picky macaron lovers out there who want to know..


Green Tea Pistachio: It was a little on the chewy side, but it did have a good pistachio and green tea flavours coming out of it. Not too sweet, doesn't taste artificial at all.


Hazelnut: If you like nutella, then yes, do give this a try. It's got more filling than the ones at Cacao Green and La Belle Miette, for sure, and the crunchy hazelnut bits on the outside is a plus as well. Between La Belle Miette and LuxBite, i'm undecided on which one's better.


Salted Caramel: I had this last cause it had high expectations of it. And while it tasted great, I personally think that the salted caramel at La Belle Miette is still the best.. But this one comes pretty darn close!

Kopiko: My second favourite sweet, strongly coffee flavoured, as a child (the first will always be the White Rabbit sweet with the edible paper). It tasted like coffee.. but not much like Kopiko. More likely a café latté (the other name it the macaron is given). The filling was so light and marshmallow-ey.. mmmmm...


Rose Lychee: personally my favourite macaron, not just from LuxBite, but also the best i've tasted EVER. Maybe i'm biased cause i've been gravitating towards those flavours lately. I was lucky enough to snag freshly made (i think) ones, the shell was so soft it practically melted in my mouth. Jason loved it as well!


Watermelon: I personally think watermelon is an odd flavour as a macaron.. Even the one from Adriano Zumbo in Sydney. It kinda makes me think of the only brand of bubble gum i remember, BubbleYum. The texture of the filling was great though, light and airy eventho it was creamy.


Heilala Vanilla Crème Brûlée: It's about as awesome as it sounds. It literally made me stop at my tracks (when i had it at home) and i completely forgot what i was saying to Jason, because i was just so blown away by the taste of it. Really, along with the Rose Lychee, this is a must try.


Lemon, Ginger & Pineapple: Jason's favourite of the lot (so far). It was okay for me.. the shell was a little chewier than i would've loved, though i thought the filling was really light and.. different.



I love how colourful macarons can get. Yea sure, most of the time it's food colouring, but if you reflect on all the fried, processed, canned food you eat, food colouring isn't that massive a culprit.



Regret buying two of 8 flavours instead of a full on 16 different flavours! So annoyed with myself. Usually Jason and i would share half-and-half, so we'd get half macarons but more flavours.


This is what i had the last time i was there a few weeks ago. Because it was about 2 weeks ago, i don't think it's fair for me to say much about the macarons.. I might not remember them as well as i think i do. But looking back at the pictures, I've had Kopiko before, instead of Oreo which i asked for. Maybe the person at the counter misheard me.. no wonder it didn't taste like Oreo at all. Lol.


 Kopiko, Kaya Toast, Mandarin Jaffa, Sour Strawberry, Ribena LemonadePandan, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Bamboo Oolong Tea

All in all, if you do want the best flavours, i highly recommend the Heilala Vanilla Crème BrûléeMandarin JaffaRose LycheeRibena LemonadePeanut Butter & Jelly and Bamboo Oolong Tea. Not that the other flavours are bad or anything, not at all. Just that those would definitely be my first choice! Wish i got to meet the Malaysian owners and Eileen (Iryan's housemate)'s friend, who's the savoury chef though. Like i said.. better luck next time.

And if you're craving for mooncakes...


AAHHH.. I can't afford $50.. just for mooncake flavoured macarons.. no.. cannot.. my wallet.. cannot.

I'm not getting paid/sponsored by LuxBite, or anyone by the way. I just like to share promos etc. with people.. I like my deals, i'm sure you guys do too. :)

/ edit /

Food: 7
Coffee: 6
Ambience: 9
Value: 7
Staff: 6


TIME TO START ON MY ASSIGNMENTS ASDFGHJKL WHY I PROCRASTINATE
may.

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