I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth. At a recent gathering of Marketmanila readers/friends, I boldly stated that I couldn’t understand why so many people kept trying to offer substandard macarons in Manila. It’s just one of those things that I think are best enjoyed on a sidewalk in Paris. Not sure if it’s the egg whites, the relatively low humidity, the quality of sugar, or the painstaking time they take to make them in Paris, but I am almost always disappointed when I have this confection elsewhere. Mrs. MM, the Teen and I did some serious macaron sampling a few years back, and wrote several posts on the top purveyors, see here and work your way back through the various houses that offer macarons…
So as dinner progressed, someone mentioned that Chris’ niece has just returned from France where she made macarons at one of the venerable patisseries that do them particularly well. Of course I was embarrassed and knew I should have just kept my mouth shut earlier. :) At any rate, I asked Chris to send me some macarons so I could try them and he sent a container of terrific macarons just before Christmas. I didn’t pay for them, just so we are clear on that, but I think they were quite fantastic and definitely worth writing about.
The fillings and/or ganache in these macarons were excellent, creamy and incredibly flavorful without just overwhelming on the sweet front. The shells were good, but as with all macarons in Manila, suffer a bit after several hours in high humidity. I understand these beauties are made the classic way, over a couple of days (presumably to dry out the egg whites to get that nice crust) and the effort shows. I still think the best place to have a macaron is on a sidewalk in Paris, but if you have a hankering for one in Manila, these macarons were an absolute delight.
The Tuileries Confections
Sam Bautista
0917-871-7123 or 0922-883-2908
the tuileriesconfections@gmail.com
16 Responses
I gave these out to my close friends for Christmas and they fell in love with it! :)
Classically made and fashionably presented. Watch this young lady become Manila’s star chef pâtissier.
Marketman, funny thing is when you announced over dinner that you thought too many people were making bad macarons I actually agreed with you. My sisters have for years been suggesting (rather aggressively) that I make macarons for them to give away during Christmas but I refused for the same reasons you stated in you post above. But after Sam finished with her recipe development, I thought she was doing such fine job with it that I didn’t hesitate to send you some. I am happy and quite relieved that you like them haha! Many thanks.
KAILANGANG matikman ;-)
Sorry for attempting to put your foot in your mouth the second time Marketman.
But there is another filipino Patisserie Chef who makes awesome macaroons locally for her dessert buffets. I believe she is the first filipino on record to graduate from the legendary Ecole Lenotre Patisserie France. The same school where Pierre Herme and Laduree apprenticed.
Her macaroons IMHO have the right shells, perfectly made feet, have the same texture but are more flavorful than Laduree.
Got to try this when I get to manila!
Boopsie, where does she sell her macarons? I believe several young chefs have studied now in France, it’s a question of how they translate those studies to a Philippine setting. Lenotre, on the other hand, was the only major patisserie we DID NOT try when in Paris on our macaron adventure… In general, several of the macaron purveyors I have tried in Manila have fallen far short of expectations… though I suspect there will be more and more good ones. I wish such chefs would first focus on doing say an ensaimada or pan de sal “right” and sell those to the public before say macarons or eclairs… too few top quality local delicacies remain available to the buying public. I like cupcakes too, including all the snazzy new outlets of Sonja’s Cupcakes in malls recently, but I lament the lack of great pinoy style places… :( Consumers should SEEK out places with artisan ally made local favorites, just as they might be enamored with foreign brands and goodies.
Marketman, She presently offers macarons as part of her Kitchen’s Best dessert buffet catering packages. She has 2 standalone patisserie shops in Makati and Fort but does not offer them there. Macarons are tedious to make and its hard to train staff to make them to a certain quality. Dessert buffets are the best way for her to produce them in volume and be consumed immediately while they are at its best.
As far as your pandesal and ensaimada idea is concerned. The answer would be patisserie chefs have a different skill set from the bread making artisans in boulangerie shops. New skills can be learned but the next hurdle would be limitations of the quality of the local flour, local baking equipment and the price limit they could charge for a “local” product, market preferences for soft bread vs crispy bread and production volume concerns because of the fact that the local markets carbohydrate staple is rice and not bread. Its quite a challenge to change the mindsets of the consuming public.
At this point, I probably have to also inform Marketman, I may be a bit biased since I recently married this said chef a few months ago.
Hahahah!! Boopsie!! Twice or many times-blessed!! Oh gee.. Laughter keeps one warm. Thank you! Can one order, and if affirmative, how many days advance notice?
I am reading this post as I enjoy a cup of tea and macaroons from Laduree Upper East side, particularly rose petal and blackcurrant flavors. To die for! Perfection in my mouth. A treat to beat the artic blast. I haven’t tried the latest patisserie offerings in Manila so I have no comparison. These ones MM looks so yum. Wish I can taste them.
Boopsie, nice one! Congratulations! I enjoyed reading your exchange with MM.
Thank you for making my day on this post MM. My first time to read a post while enjoying the subject item lol
Teresa, that Laduree is a few blocks from Sister’s apartment! They used to have lines halfway down the block the first few months after opening. I understand they used to fly in their macarons from France, rather than make them in NY, but I am not sure if that is the case still. Boopsie, congratulations, always a good thing to marry someone with fabulous kitchen skills… :) I haven’t had an opportunity to try a Kitchen’s Best Buffet, so haven’t had your wife’s macarons… but I can see why she prefers to offer them fresh at a buffet rather than in a store.
I appreciate pastry and breads are different specialties, but anyone with the skills to do great pastry should have the ability to bake decently as well… I simply think we have a tendency to get too enamored with foreign food trends while letting our own cuisine fall to the wayside… Notice the current rush to high end bread, the recent rush to macarons and the like, the cupcake craze… I know, Pinoys have an incredibly sweet tooth and this is probably the place for anything with lots of sugar, I just wish it wasn’t at the expense of properly made local delicacies…
Sayang!!! i never thought those lovely macaroons are a text away from me in Manila. I have been dreaming of going to UK to try Laduree.
moving to Vancouver is exciting searching for good food……one of them macaroons
Natie, I would recommend you first to try “The Tuileries Confections” macaroons as recommended by Marketman. Based on the pictures, they look well crafted. I probably would be trying them too.
My patisserie chef/wife isn’t making macarons in the next few months due to her present medical condition where she isn’t allowed to be in hot places. So only her regular desserts are in the stores and buffets. In case the situation changes I would let you know asap. My favorite macaron variant she offers has a Pistacio praline filling. Marketman would probably be interested in the Ube variant.
Not to get your hopes up with my wife’s macarons. I still think Pierre Herme macarons are the best overall. But I have price issues with them. In my last trip to HongKong 1.5weeks ago. HK Pierre Herme was selling them them for HKD 45 each with a minimum purchase of 3. ( Php 261 for 1 macaron ) Compared to Eric Kaiser at HK$18 each and Maison du Chocolat at HK$ 25 each.
Not much lines around the block anymore but the shop can be cramped :-) The staff are quick to respond though. Unfortunately for carbon footprint, these heavenly and delicate perfection in my mouth are still flown in from Paris. How they arrive still intact and perfect is beyond me.
Marketman, there is a Filipina in LA who is making waves with her ensaymadas. She makes them the old-fashioned way, as she learned from her mom. She has different varieties and she’ll ship anywhere in the US. They are so good and they remind me of the ensaymadas my mom used to make.
It so happened that we spent the holidays in Paris and I can only echo you, the best place to have a macaron is in Paris! We had a grand time taste testing macarons all over Paris and it is love! Pierre Herme’s the best so far!:-)