Manila’s Macaron Mania

I super love macarons. Filipinos often mistake macarons for macaroons.

Simply put, macarons are the French meringue-based cookie made with almond flour, egg whites, and granulated and powdered sugar, then filled with buttercream or fruit spread. This is what you often see Blair Waldorf snack on in Gossip Girl.

On the other hand, the macaroons are sweet confections made with shredded coconut instead of ground almonds and served without a filling. Sometimes it is dipped in chocolate. For a better explanation, you can check it out here.

For a while now, I’ve been around looking for the best macaron in Manila and, without further ado, here are my top faves:

Mrs. Graham’s Bakery

Topping my list would be the ones from Mrs. Graham’s Bakery. This is by far my favorite brand of macarons. I accidentally discovered this in Best Food Forward a couple of weeks back and I loved it ever since.

What I love most about Mrs. Graham’s Bakery is that the flavors are unique. The original 6 are Salted Caramel, Inside-out S’mores, Cookie Dough, Malibu Rum, Baileys, and Tequila Rose. I’m not sure if these macarons are spiked but who cares, right? Spiked or not, they’re yummy to indulge in.

Now they have new addition to the family called Breakfast Club: Pancake with Maple Buttercream, White Coffee, and Cornflakes in Milk. A box of 6 is sold at Php200.00 while a box of 12 is at Php400.00

Right now they don’t have a physical store, but you can order online through their website.

Alchemy Macarons

I first had a taste of Alchemy Macarons last December when Meryl Go, the owner of Alchemy Macarons, sponsored my Christmas raffle and personally handed me a box to taste (PS. Thanks, Meryl!).

Alchemy’s premium flavors are: Raspberry White Chocolate, Green Tea White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Ganache, Coffee Caramel Ganache, Passion Fruit Milk Chocolate and Mint Chocolate Ganache. While their regular flavors include: Chai Spice, Banana Walnut, Peanut Caramel and Salted Caramel. My personal picks would be Chai Spice, Banana Walnut, Green Tea, and Salted Caramel.

For regular flavors, a box of 6 is at Php195.00 while a box of 10 is at Php300.00, while the premium flavors would be Php225.00 for a box of 6 and Php370.00 for a box of 10.

To order, you may contact Meryl at 0917 896 3795 or call (02) 330-9229. You may also get in touch with Alchemy via Facebook or email them at alchemybakingmagic@gmail.com. Alchemy macarons are available for pick-up at 24 Lark St., Greenmeadows Subdivision, Quezon City from 9AM-8PM.

Chez Karine

I discovered Chez Karine last year for being my sponsor, too, last Christmas (PS. Thanks, Karen!). But I was only able to taste it personally two weeks ago (I don’t really frequent Serendra).

Chez Karine is owned by Chef Karen Yang who studied the craft of whipping up the perfect macaron in Paris. I guess Chez Karine is the best macarons sold in Serendra. You can choose from Dark Chocolate, Raspberry, Black Sesame, Mint Chocolate, Coffee, Strawberry, Lemon, Salted Caramel, Earl Grey, Pistachio, Maple Bacon, Matcha, Christmas Tea, and Peanut Butter. Her macarons are sold for Php50.00 a piece or Php350.00 for a box of 7.

Chez Karine is at the Ground Floor, Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig; (0917) 323-2845; 804-1889

Tous Les Jours

I think this is the cheapest among the bunch. For only Php28.00 per piece and Php140.00 for a pack of 5, you can enjoy this French pastry made available at all Tous Les Jours branches. This French-Korean bakery franchise is all around the metro. So if you are having a craving for a nice–and affordable–maracon, you know where to go. You can choose from green tea, mango, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. My favorites are green tea and strawberry.

The Cookie Jar

I first tasted these from Moonleaf Tea Shop. The Cookie Jar is the brainchild of Ms. Rae Corpuz. You can choose from the flavors Red Velvet, Pistachio, Chocolate, Nutella, Lemon, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Dulce de Leche. I like Dulce de Leche and Red Velvet. They are priced at Php30.00 each, Php225.00 for a box of 8 and Php520.00 for a box of 20.

The Cookie Jar is available at Moonleaf Branches in Maginhawa, Esguerra, Makati, Banawe, Dapitan and Sta. Rosa. You may get in touch with then through their website here, or via email thecookiejarph@yahoo.com or +632 9643947 and +63917 8301965

This sums up the macaron brands I have tried. I love checking out online brands than those available commercially. I’m still scouting for the yummiest macaron in town. If you know other niche brands that I can try, please let me know through the comment box below.

Bisous!

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