Macaron by Ruben Jan Adriaan (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

I could still remember those dog days when I used to travel to Seoul for business and it was so hard to find decent food around the place I stayed. Only then, I wished they've sent somebody else over. But those days were over. Seoul has taken a quantum leap into a mega city filled with countless gourmet restaurants, upscale tea rooms and trendy cafes. Now, I am just begging to go back.

Even in the dessert department, they are doing a great job and Macaron (마카롱) is just one of the many quality French patisseries one could discover in the city.




Ruben Jan Adriaan, owner-chef of Macaron, first burst onto the dessert scene of Seoul as
as the head patissier of Amandier after successful stints at Pierre Hermé and at Mandarin Oriental Singapore. After departing from Amandier, he ventured out and started his own patisserie.



I decided to pay the Dutchman a visit once I got off the plane. He has this nice cake shop in the Hongdae area which also doubles as a little cafe.



Well, I picked the perfect time to visit as it's high tea time!



I was off to pick one pastry for my tea set.



The set also included one piece of macaron but they have so many exciting flavors, picking just one would be uncivilized!



Starting things off for me was Mirage, a silky smooth coffee mousse cake with vanilla cream, pecan base and caramel.



But that was overshadowed by some really impressive macarons (₩1,700 a piece). I had the chance to try their cheese cake + red berries (right) and sakura + strawberry (left) and they were ohhh so good~ they had to be ranked right up there with the ones from Pierre Hermé.
 
Out of the three, only the chocolate, caramel and rice crispy (middle) failed to impress.



If you happen to be macaron and/or cake lover, then this is definitely the place to visit in Seoul. But check your calendar before you come because they are closed on Mondays.



Food Rating: 6/10 

Price: ₩₩₩

Address: 343-2 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Hongik University
Tel: +82 2-3144-0966