Adriano Zumbo - Macaron Day

Macaron! Macaron! Macaron!

It was macaron mania last Friday, a one-off day of nothing but crazy macaron flavours in-store at Adriano Zumbo, Balmain, to celebrate Adriano Zumbo's birthday.

Up to sixty flavours had been promised, a bewildering array of creations, ranging from Vegemite sourdough to cheeseburger to avocado and Golden Gaytime.

I arrived early on Friday morning with fellow macaron fans to find a window display decked out with a rainbow of macaron shells...


Macaron window display

and a paint palette set with macaron "paints".



Perhaps it was a little overboard to get there at 7.30am. Other fans started to arrive at about 7.45am and by 8.00am, the queue was already snaking its way across two shopfronts. The sight of so many people prompted several locals to stop and enquire why we were queuing.


The queue at 8.00am


Charles starts unpacking the macaron boxes at 8.10am

Although slated to open at 8.00am, the van with the first delivery of macarons didn't arrive until 8.05am. Adriano arrives shortly afterwards.


Adriano Zumbo


Adriano Zumbo helps with the macaron set-up

Zumbo fans are keen but also patient. The doors finally open at 8.30am and when we enter, it's quite a sight to see the entire counter covered with a deluge of multi-coloured macarons.



Controlled chaos. There's no central list in-store so customers are rattling off flavour requests from print-outs (I spot a few printed from Grab Your Fork!), or browsing straight from their iPhone. An army of staff, meanwhile, squeeze around each other from one end of the counter to the other, packing precious cargo into cellophane bags or Zumbo's signature black and pink cardboard boxes.



Macaron mania? Bring it on...




Iced Vovo macarons


Liquorice macarons












Strawberries and cream macarons


Goats cheese and blueberry macarons


Chupa Chup macarons on a stick

All those macarons can make you feel a little delirious. Half our flavours had not yet arrived by the time we ordered, so we found ourselves clutching our purchases and then joining the queue a second time (the cheeseburger macaron had to be ours!). Yes, we're a bit mad in the head.

The final result? I came away with 19 macarons, splurging $46 in the process. Each macaron was $2 except this one, the $10 black truffle macaron with real black truffle.


Black truffle macaron $10

The black truffle macaron was amazing. The flecks of truffle were sparse but when you found them, the earthy mushroom flavour resonated across the palate.


Lamington macaron

I also loved the lamington macaron, the shells a little softer in a way that replicated the texture of a chocolate-dipped sponge cake. A sprinkling of toasted coconut provided the perfect finish.


Dougnut macaron and burnt toast and butter macaron

Other highlights: the cheeseburger macaron was hilarious. Bright red and sprinkled with sesame seeds, it was sandwiched with tomato and pickle sauce and a real slice of cheese.

I also loved the Vegemite sourdough macaron which was salty and sweet. It's awakened a new craving, and had me eating Vegemite on toast all weekend.

The burnt toast and butter macaron makes you gasp in the same way that the popcorn macaron does. It tastes exactly like the description: crumbs of burnt toast slathered with butter that reminds you of slap-dash breakfasts on the way to school.


Avocado macaron and popcorn macaron

The avocado macaron reminded me of an avocado shake, the flavour the avocado tempered by the sweetness of sugar. Golden Gaytime was a cute idea idea but I found myself craving chunkier biscuits crumbs, just like the ice cream original.


Bacon, maple syrup and pancake macaron

Bacon, maple syrup and pancake macaron has a strong maple flavour but the fine bacon bits in the ganache are hard to discern flavour-wise. French toast has crunchy bits in it that reminds us more of rice pudding, and whilst Chupa Chup isn't striking in flavour, it's a cute concept to have a macaron on a stick.

Toasted marshmallow has a sticky creme filling; chocolate and salted caramel is sandwiched together with a thick splodge of sticky caramel.


Chocolate and salted caramel macaron


Toated marshmallow macaron and Golden Gaytime macaron


Adriano Zumbo

Check out the full list of macaron flavours that were sold on the day here.

Macaron Day was held on Friday November 6, 2009 to celebrate Adriano Zumbo's Birthday.

Happy Birthday Adriano!



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Adriano Zumbo Patisserie
296 Darling Street, Balmain, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9810 7318

Monday to Saturday 8am-6pm
Sunday 8am-4pm

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Adrian Zumbo Macaron Day flavour list (Oct09)
Adriano Zumbo Patissier, Balmain ( May09) , (Jan09) and (Nov08)
Adriano Zumbo Cafe Chocolat, Balmain (Nov08)