Le Yummeh Bunneh

Parisian Patisserie
19 Keilor Rd,
Essendon

When I was at school, we were taught a trick to help us spell dessert. Spell it with a double 's', because you want double servings. In the case of Parisian Patisserie, dessert would be spelled desssssssssssssssssert, because you'd want that many servings of it... get it?

Step into this bustling haven, and you are enveloped by that warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven aroma. The very thought of dining here makes your ass grow a few inches. And you still can't help yourself. We dragged two other people with us on the 45min drive, just so that we could order more...

We arrived at 9:30am Staurday morning and the place was already full. The entire time we were there, constant streams of people came in for their sugar hits.

Strawberry Tart

First up was a strawberry tart. Each bite filled our mouths with fresh juicy strawberries, sweet creamy filling, and a buttery pastry. A very exciting preview of things to come.

Lemon Tart

I'm a sucker for lemon tart, and this one is up there with the best I've tried. The rich lemon filling was the perfect balance of sweet and sour, and paired with the shortbread crust - I could've scoffed the whole thing down in one go. But alas, I had to share. Shitballs.

Ham and Cheese Croissant

The patisserie is known mostly for its sweets, but its savoury pastries are also of note. Enter the best ham and cheese croissant we've ever had. Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy in the centre. Nothing like the soggy/too dry specimens I've tried elsewhere.

Escargot

Normally with escargots, I like to slowly peel apart the swirl so that I end up with one long piece of dough. But this one, with its sweet and sticky outer glaze, and plump sultanas scattered throughout didn't allow for such luxuries; I was far too impatient and couldn't eat it fast enough.

Almond Croissant

The famous almond croissant was the last to come out. The patisserie is said to sell 160 of these a day - and more often than not, sell out before midday. Despite feeling quite full, my mouth watered at the sight of this. This croissant was sinfully good. Fresh from the oven, the hot sweet crust melted away to reveal an amazing buttery interior. The crunchy flaked almonds texturally took the croissant to another level. This alone, was worth the drive.

Macarons (From top left: lemon, rasberry, hazelnut, pistachio, cassis and chocolate)

Of course we couldn't resist taking home some macarons to enjoy. These lasted about 2 hours before we devoured them. Unfortunately, these were not the best samples of macarons we've had. They lacked that satisfying crunch and crispiness of the shells, and the fillings were average.

Still, Parisian Patisserie is a shining jewel of a real French bakery. If you are watching your weight, stay away from this place with all your might. But for us, we left full, happy and with nicely elevated blood sugar levels.

A sweet start to the weekend.

A view on Vue

Café Vue
430 Little Collins St, Melbourne

For those of us who can't afford to blow a week's wage on a meal at Vue de Monde (Shannon Bennett's 3 hatted restaurant), there is Cafe Vue - the little, little sibling of the aforementioned gem of a dining experience.
Attached to the side of Vue de Monde, Cafe Vue offers quick lunch & breakfast meals, quality coffee, and a selection of desserts for the every day suits who frequent the area.

Bun and I arrived a little before noon, and as such, the kitchen was not yet serving hot lunch meals. To pass the time we ordered some macarons, and by some I mean a box... and a box comes with 6.

From top left: Orange, Pistachio, Raspberry, Passionfruit, Mocha, Vanilla

Having recently tasted what I believe to be one of the finest examples of macarons at EARL Canteen, we were excited to evaluate these ones as they were coming from a French establishment. The macarons were a little larger than one's we'd sampled elsewhere, and the consistency was varied between the different flavours, but overall, it was a dignified batch. My favourite was the Pistachio, and Bun's was the Raspberry. The best macarons from this batch had a crispy shell and a chewy/airy interior. Perfect.

For our post dessert main I got the 'Vue Burger with French Fries' and Bun had the 'Chicken & Poccini Mushroom Pie'.

Vue Burger

My burger, although I thought it initially small, turned out to be quite hearty and packed much more flavour than your eyes would have you believe. The patty was seasoned beautifully with herby & peppery elements. The other fillings (rocket, cheese, bacon, beetroot) all came together very nicely in the mouth and worked well with the aioli-ish sauce. The french fries were unfortunately nothing special, and at times a little too salty.

Chicken and Porcini Mushroom Pie

Bun thought her pie was pretty crap. Oversized chunks of chicken, minimal mushrooms, and a grainy sauce that looked like cement - not what Bun had hoped for. The pie lacked any discernible flavour, and would fail in a pie-off against her school tuckshop's famous chicken and & veg pie. (She goes to pie-offs all the time so she would know).

The menu selection is limited, but the place is definitely worth checking out. Also there are macarons, so what other reason do you need?