Macarons Galore, LuxBite

I've seen pictures of macarons from LuxBite from Facebook and I became extremely intrigued. Macarons are always pretty, there's no doubt about it but most of the time, macarons are just too sweet for me to handle. Although I'm pretty content with my quick-fix macarons sold at Victoria Market, we were in the mood for an adventure! 

It wasn't easy to figure out my way to LuxBite. Number 1: I'm an absolute CBD-girl, any place past Flinders Street Station is a challenge to me. Number 2: I'm technologically illiterate to search the MetLink website to figure out my way to Toorak. 

So, I threw down the towel and in exasperation, tweeted to Sha, Liz and PQ:

And so, imagine my surprise when I received a reply from...

LuxBite themselves! :D It turns out it was actually really easy to get to LuxBite from where I stay, so hooray!

So, on Friday, we braved the horrid rain and wind; huffing and puffing our way to Toorak Road. It was pouring when we got out of the tram at Stop 28 but we didn't let it rain on our parade. The place was almost empty when all eight of us entered (more space for us yay!) and we were greeted with the sights and smells of pretty-looking desserts!

Mi and I were relatively excited with all the different flavours of macarons that we couldn't choose! So, we decided to have the LuxBite Epic Experience which consisted of all of their sixteen macarons flavours on display. Pretty impressive for two girls, eh? ;) 

Let's look at the bright (thinner and more attractive) side, I can proudly say that I've tried every single flavor LuxBite has to offer and I can proudly report back to you! It's a tough job but someone has to do it...

• Kaya Toast: Eight out of eight of us loved this. The taste of kaya was very authentic and there was even a teeny slab of butter in the middle to complete the whole 'Kaya Toast' concept. Very yummy. Gary ordered four more Kaya Toast macarons to bring back home for breakfast! 
• Rose and Lychee: It was one of the more popular flavors in LuxBite. To be honest, it tasted more of rose then lychee. Plus, Mi ruined the macaron by proudly proclaiming how the macaron tasted like her Victoria Secret handcream. ;) 
• Salted Caramel: I'm a huge fan of any kind of salted caramel desserts and this really fulfilled my high expectations! It had the perfect balance of salt and sweetness which made me swoon. 
• Chocolate Freckles: I tasted this macaron after tasting eight other macarons on the Epic Experience menu. It was a really comforting chocolate macaron. But, I think it could do without the brightly colored freckles.

• Kaffir Lime: Before I bit into this, I was expecting a very citrus-y familiar tasting macaron. Boy, was I in for a surprise! The first bite came as a shocking surprise. It tasted like a Thai appetizer in my mouth. Little did I know that kaffir limes were the key ingredients in most Thai dishes... The flavor was very unique but I can't say that it was one of my favourites. PQ loved it and I recommend that if you're looking to taste a memorable macaron, you should try this one. 
• Passionfruit: This was way too sweet to my liking. Plus, passionfruit was never one of my favourite fruits. 
• Choc Cherry: As I shared the whole platter with Mi, our strategy was to take half of each macaron and leave the remaining half for the other. I'm sad to say that I only managed to eat the chocolate part of the macaron while Mi took the whole alcohol(vodka?)-soaked cherry. The chocolate part tasted exactly like the Chocolate Freckles so I can't give you an objective opinion. If you love something naughty with your desserts, try this one!
• Toby's Mocha: The smell of coffee was really strong. However, it was pretty ordinary.
• Heilala Vanilla Creme Brulee: Sha claimed this to be her absolute favourite. It was absolutely delicious and the sugar on the macaron shell made you feel that you were eating creme brulee! The filling was breathtakingly creamy. A must try! 
• White Peach and Jasmine: It was extremely sweet with a hint of tea. Probably the epitome of the sweetest macaron. Probably one of my least favourite.

• O-o-oreo: It was a yummy macaron on its own but unfortunately, I couldn't taste the distinctive Oreo cookie flavor. This would be a macaron that Oreo-purist would scoff at so be warned! 
• Strawberry Cream: Again, it was just a sweet macaron. Perhaps at this point, I had tasted almost all of the macaron flavors and the flavor of strawberry was lost amidst the sweetness... I wouldn't try this again. 
• Sicilian Pistachio: I was wary when I was tasting this because I was afraid of a potentially horrid pistachio-ice-cream-flavour dessert but I was wrong! This was probably my second favourite! It was so chewy and the taste of pistachio was very distinctive. 
• Peanut Butter and Jelly: What's not to like? Yummy peanut butter filling with tiny chunks of peanuts inside. I urge you to try this. Ryan loved it but Liz said that the filling could have been more special: it tasted more like a spread of Kraft's peanut butter. Being a huge fan of peanut butter, I'm not complaining!

• Raspberry & White Chocolate: Although this macaron was probably one of the more sweeter ones, it had a very raspberry flavour to it and it didn't feel like I was eating a mouthful of sugar. The taste of white chocolate was barely there but amongst all the fruit-flavored macarons that LuxBite had to offer, this was my favourite. :) 
• Watermelon Yoghurt: The shop assistant said that this was his favourite. Unfortunately, this was not mine. :( It tasted more like a candy then a macaron with its extreme sweetness. It was hard to distinguish the taste of yoghurt from the overpowering watermelon flavor. Maybe it's just an Asian thing....

Overall, all the macarons had a consistent chewy (and more importantly, not crumbly!) texture which I adored. The macarons I had from the city (VicMart, The Cupcake Family) disintegrated easily and it was such a pity since macarons are so pretty. It was probably one of the better macarons in Melbourne but I've yet to explore more macaron specialty shops! 

The service was good and friendly. A shop assistant said "Wow.." when she found out that Mi and I polished off the Epic Experience platter. *blush* We're not gluttons, I promise you!   

I can't wait to return to LuxBite. It seems that they have seasonal desserts which are a hit with everybody! Round two anyone? 

I ordered four macarons to take home; Peanut Butter and Jelly, Kaya Toast, Sicilian Pistachio and Salted Caramel. They could be kept up to three days in the fridge but make sure you don't have any strong smelling food in it (such as garlic and onions) because macarons absorb moisture easily and it could ruin your macarons.