La Renaissance Patisserie Francaise, Sydney

To celebrate the release of MARIE ANTOINETTE on DVD, I thought I might get a little bit decadent with today's post.

Yes, yes, I have just bought Sofia Coppola's MARIE ANTOINETTE on DVD yesterday. I love the look of the film - all those pastel colors on those stunning costumes reminds me of sherberts and macaroons. I love the director, love Kirsten Dunst, LOVE the music (actually, this movie is the reason of why I listen to so much 80s post-punk revival bands lately!!!), LOVE Marie Antoinette. I have read several books about her, and I have known about her since I was just a kid - reading Ryoko Ikeda's manga ROSE of VERSAILLES (Berusaiyu no bara)...followed by the anime of the same title. I felt like I know Marie Antoinette like the back of my hand.

HOWEVER...half the reason why I am so damn eager to get the DVD is because of, well, in this movie, FOOD is a major theme and we can see lots and lots of pretty, elaborate, jaw-dropping, mouth-watering over-the-top FOOD fit for, well, a queen.

When I watched this film on the cinema, I could barely catch a glimpse of these gorgeous foods, and now, thanks to the DVD, I can pause and DROOL every time I come across some food!
So, inspired by the decadence of the food in the court of Versailles, I can't help but went to the most expensive, luxurious, and goregeous French Patisserie in Sydney. I am somewhat of a pastry freak, and growing up in Jakarta, supplies of luxurious french pastries is always, always at my disposal. There are lots of goregeous patisseries in Jakarta and I am always one of their best patrons!

However, in Sydney, unfortunately, we're not blessed with abundance of French patisserie selections. Seriously, Sydney is just...SAD when it comes to fancy pastries. Even Ritz-Carlton don't serve half as beautiful pastries as Jakarta's middle-class Harvest Patisserie. Wait 'till they see the patisserie at the 6-star Dharmawangsa in Jakarta...it's absolutely breathtaking.

So, I had to be satisfied with Sydney's La Rennaissance Patisserie at The Rocks, which as far as I know, is as luxurious as it gets when it comes take-away patisserie in central Sydney. Another good, expensive option would be the Croquembouche patisserie, but it's just too far from where I live (afraid the cakes might melt on the way home). Anyway, bon apetit, enjoy the cakes, enjoy the NAMES (anything in French sounds DELICIOUS), but don't forget, these cakes are MINE MINE MINE and MINE alone!! (well, 4 of them are mine, and the other 2 is my friend's...)

NB: I include the prices just to illustrate how ridiculously expensive these cakes are



Ganache de chocolat avec la pistache et les baies sauvages
(Chocolate ganache with pistachio and wild berries)
$15

Note: this is probably the BEST chocolate cake I've had in ages. It's on par with the famous chocolate cake with wild berries in Borobudur Hotel Jakarta



Gâteau d'opéra avec de la crème praline de noisette Belge
(Opera cake with belgian hazelnut praline cream)
$12

Note: Eating this is like eating a BIG chunk of Godiva.



Torte avex fruits d'été "Verano"
("Verano" tartlet with summer fruits)
$15

Note: a fresh, fruity cake that is NOT boring. Usually, fruit cakes are light and consists of mainly sponge cake beneath the icing, but this one...is PURE indulgence...heavy, heavy creams galore.



Torte "Picasso" avec beurre d'grand marnier
("Picasso" tartlet with grand marnier butter icing)
$12

Note: Not a big fan of dark chocolate, but this one is just divine. I'm curious about how do they make the grand marnier retains its alcoholic aroma instead of just evaporating off. I mean, I can understand if the alcohol is contained in fruits e.g. cherries and still smells like alcohol, but the icing on this one actually smells of fresh grand marnier. DIVINE.



Millefeuille d'été avec la purée de framboise et le chocolat suisse pur
(Summer thousand-layers tartlet with raspberry puree and pure Swiss chocolate)
$15

Note: Millefeuille is my second favorite type of french pastry after the Cafe Ganache. This Patisserie is famous for its millefeuille (meaning, thousand-leaves because it has so many flaky layers). I cannot describe how GOOD is this cake. I felt like I was in Paris after sinking my teeth on one of these.



Baba au rhum emballé avec la mousse et la crème de gianduja "Esterhazy"
("Esterhazy" Rum-soaked sponge cake encased with gianduja cream mousse)
$15

Note: This cake is like a cross between French and Italian cake. Instead of using french ladyfinger biscuits, I think they use Italian Savoiradi like the ones in Tiramisu. Actually, this whole cake kind of has a tiramisu feeling to it, because the center of this cake is rum-soaked savoiradi biscuits. And to top it all, it is called the "Esterhazy" cake. To those familiar with classical music, you should know that "Esterhazy" comes from Caroline Esterhazy, who is Franz Schubert's lover. She's German. In fact, the Piece "For Esterhazy" is one of the first piano pieces I learned as a kid.
So this is like a tri-countries cake: France, Italy, and Germany. GENIUS!