La Renaissance – The Rocks, Sydney

Tuesday, 24 Feb 09

After lunching at Nazimi, Ms. Jen and I went off on our traditional quest for dessert. The goal was La Renaissance, a tiny French patisserie which had been recommended to us by a waitress at Miso, who claimed that the best macarons in Sydney could be found there. The journey (any NSW student who has recently experienced the HSC will shudder at this word) was long and arduous, aided only briefly by the free bus ride for the last hundred metres.

Located in the heart of the Rocks what first caught our attention was the lack of queue in the Guylian cafe next door…compared to the bustling crowd in La Renaissance. A courtyard cafe is a hidden treasure attached to the store-front, the displays of which are filled with eye-catching cakes, tarts, macarons and pastries. Sandwiches also seem to be popular, but sold out after lunch, to the dismay of the many patrons who inquired.

Ms. Jen had the strikingly coloured Larme de Gaugin, revelling in the fact that many of the cakes were named after artists. A crimson teardrop of vibrant berry mousse, encased in patterned joconde and topped with a scattering of mixed berries, this was a delight to look at and taste. My mouthful caught hints of raspberry jam, somewhat reminiscent of boysenberry icecream, while Ms. Jen found raspberries and coconut.

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My piece of edible art was named after the founder of La Renaissance, Pierre Charkos. The Passion de Pierre was a cloud of creamy passionfruit mousse, the tart acidity of the fruit spiked with the sweetness of raspberry jam and encased in polka-dotted jaconde. A few beads of chocolate covered crisps stood out strikingly against the jelly-like surface.

Of course, for a devout worshipper of Adriano Zumbo, the claim that this patisserie made the best macarons in Sydney, we had to try some. I was intending on trying each of the 6 flavours available, but the lady must have misheard me, and gave me two fleur de sel caramel macarons instead of a dark chocolate, much to my happiness and Tim’s disappointment. Fleur de Sel Caramel, Rose Buttercream, Passionfruit and Milk Chocolate Ganache, Blackcurrant Buttercream, and Jasmine and White Chocolate Ganache. The fillings were all very creamy and smooth, the buttercreams and caramel almost melting at room temperature, which made photo-taking slightly more precarious. My favourite flavour would have to be the caramel – while I’m usually a huge fan of passionfruit, I do prefer them without so heavy a chocolate companion. The jasmine and white chocolate was also deliciously heady with floral scents.

I also bought an Opera cake for Tim, which he did enjoy (though he prefers the Lindt version, for its size), but didn’t get a photo. Oh well, means we’ll just have to go back to visit!

PS: Bonus points go to anyone who recognises the sheet music I shot on!

6 Comments

1. I really like the cakes there and the courtyard is really nice for a respite from the craziness of shopping. How would you rate the macarons compared to Zumbos? And good idea putting them in an acetate box! Everyone should do that so they aren’t crushed :)

   Comment by Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella — February 24, 2009 @ 10:49 am

2. Heehee to ‘the journey’. When I did it we had ‘change’ as our theme. There was a poem in the booklet about undies hanging on the line like flags, an arty image. I think I prefer my art edible though. These cakes look so pretty! Sounds like they’re tasty too.

   Comment by Arwen from Hoglet K — February 24, 2009 @ 12:11 pm

3. Oohh La Renaissance makes really really nice cakes mmm ^^! LOL at journey haha ahhh such a long time ago… I feel old now haha

   Comment by FFichiban — February 24, 2009 @ 4:40 pm

4. That’s Vienna Teng, Gravity :P
   I want pretty cakes ^_^

   Comment by Norman — February 24, 2009 @ 6:05 pm

5. Lorraine: I’m not sure how I’d rate them. I’ve found the Zumbo macarons to be a little more variable, occasionally dry and hollow, but the filling tends to be a bit sturdier, i think, and I definitely loved the pure passionfruit one a season or two ago (I miss it ><). These ones were softer and generally more delicate, which is probably why they needed the box. It's definitely useful in transporting them though. FFichiban: You can't be that old if you did journeys =P Arwen: Interesting imagery! I so rarely had poetry in an english exam - my most vivid memory of any was in year 6, something about a tree sticking out of concrete, which in my fluster, I completely mind-blanked on! They were very tasty, but almost too pretty to eat! Norman: *dingdingding* You are right! But then, it does take the fun out of it if you know me in real life =P Let's chocolate cafe soon, now that you've finished your 'journey' ;)

   Comment by chris — February 24, 2009 @ 11:19 pm

6. Is it really just me?!? I did not have a good experience there last week at all when I had to wait 10 minutes to be served at the counter. And the lady was so rude! Then my cheese croissant was so hot that I burnt my tounge – i think it’s because it was very greasy. Well…. maybe they had a bad day, or maybe it was just me…. ;/ but I dont think I will go back

   Author’s Note: I’m sorry to hear that Aggie. I did notice a queue, but we were happy to wait for them to disperse so we could have the glory of the counter to ourselves. Maybe they just had an off day or something…

   Comment by Aggie — April 7, 2009 @ 1:27 pm

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