Ladurée Manila!

Yes, for real. Last week, Ladurée opened at 8 Rockwell, that new building between One Rockwell and the Ateneo Law School.

I went with my friends Kath, Maymay and Didi right after the Maarte Fair. (Special thanks to Kath and Tito Jappy, Kath's uncle, who allowed us to join in on the fun during Friends and Family day. Heehee.) It was perfect timing too, because Berry brought home a merit award from school, and I managed to reward her with a box of her favorite macarons. Yay!

Whenever we travel, Donya Beriray makes it a point to pick up a box of French macarons, so it really is the sort of treat she only gets to enjoy rarely. Lagot ako when she finds out that Ladurée is finally here. She'd want me to take her to the store.

It's so pretty. So much bigger than Ladurée in Singapore and Hong Kong. Filled with everything one would expect at Ladurée.

There are the macaron towers which you may pre-order as well as other sweet treats and teas:

macarons, sweets and teas

Teas or thé are sold individually

or as an assortment of three

Gift items:

a pop-up book

key chains

shopping totes (these retail for about Php1700 for the large one, less for the smaller one)

more totes and candles as well as room scents

Plus a whole host of other items like jellies, jams and caramel spreads, as well as chocolates and all sorts of no-fail hostess gifts.

All my friends have been asking me what price points are like, so here goes:

A macaron retails for Php150 a piece. If you order it in a soft box, then it comes out to Php150 a piece. So, a box of 12 is Php1,800.

It comes out more expensive when you order it with a gift box, but it gets cheaper as you order more. I bought a box of 6 for Berry and I paid Php1,200 (Php200/pc) for it. A box of 18 is Php2,860 (about Php159/pc). A box of 24 is Php3,790 (about Php158/pc).

Price wise, pricing isn't too far off from HK and SG. I can't remember how much it is exactly, but if my memory serves me well, it's about SGD4 (Php132) a piece in Singapore and HKD26 (Php158) in Hong Kong. 

Yes, it's mahal. But at least we don't have to travel or rely on pasalubong, or the kindness of family and friends to pick up a box of Ladurée macarons for us when they travel back home!

About Ladurée:

It all began in 1862, when Louis Ernest Ladurée, a miller from the southwest of France, founded a bakery in Paris at 16 rue Royale. In 1871, a fire in the bakery opened the opportunity to transform it into a pastry shop. The decoration of the pastry shop was entrusted to Jules Cheret, a famous turn-of-the-century painter and poster artist. 

The Ladurée macaron was introduced middle of the 20th century with Pierre Desfontaines, who first thought of taking two macaron shells and joining them with a delicious ganache filling. The recipe has not changed since, and it is said that 15,000 of these macarons are sold everyday.

Today, Ladurée has gone beyond its signature macarons to offer chocolates, teas, gift items, and a beauty line as well.