During our chat with chef Josh from Cafe Ish the day before, he happened to mention a little cafe on Alberta Street which sells fantastic macarons. It’s tucked away right between office buildings, he said. You should check it out.

We were walking back to our hotel, following our very successful breakfast outing to Bourke Street Bakery, when we realised a minor deviation past Alberta Street was entirely possible.

The menu at Cre Asion changes regularly, and the boxed options provide macaron fans with the option of trying them all!

Macarons $2.70 each, top to bottom, left to right:
Raspberry Lychee, Dear Chris, Caramel, Yuzu

At this point I hear you asking – what flavour is ‘Dear Chris’ supposed to be? The chef behind Cafe Cre Asion, Yu Sasaki, worked with Christine Manfield of Universal in Darlinghurst. Dear Chris is a hazelnut macaron with a chocolate ganache, dedicated to Christine! 

One of the well known desserts on her menu is based around the Golden Gaytime, which the Dear Chris draws inspiration from - the deliciously retro, chocolate nut Streets ice cream, which also happens to be my all time favourite deli ice cream.

The gold leaf flecked Yuzu was my favourite of the bunch, and I thought the macaron shells were executed perfectly, with a light slightly crisp finish.

In my opinion, the best macarons are also a little chewy on the inside, with a slightly moist texture that comes from the fine almond meal used in the tant pour tant (macaron shell batter).

Cre Asion’s macarons featured well flavoured fillings, beautifully fragrant and piped generously between two sets of prettily ruffled ‘feet’. 

The Yuzu filling here was curd-like in texture, inspiring me to think outside the square the next time I get a lemon/passionfruit/citrus curd craving!

TFP decided to pick another macaron – this one was blood orange flavoured. I loved the orange gel gummi-centre, a great contrasting texture to the creamy and smooth flavoured curd which held everything together.

The macarons we tried were fantastic – I loved the unusual flavours, and thought the Asian spin which chef Yu Sasaki brings to the (macaron) party. I just wished we had time to try them all…