VanFoodies.com

To celebrate Macaron Day and to support local pastry shops’ effort to raise money for charities, I dropped by Leonidas for some macarons. On that day, macarons were at 25% off, i.e. $1.50 each instead of its regular price at $2. Too good of an offer to pass up.

Leonidas is located on the outside of the West Wing of the Vancouver Convention Centre, with a view of the water and Canada Place. I can just imagine grabbing some chocolates and a coffee and sit outside on a nice, warm summer day, while enjoying the gorgeous waterfront view.

Leonidas located right by the water

Before I start, let me just throw it out there that I’m not a macaron expert. In fact, I didn’t know much about macarons until they became the new cupcakes – thanks to the ever-changing food trend. So this is simply written based on my personal preference. Well I guess this principle applies to just any post on this site, but more so on this topic since admittedly I don’t have much experience eating macarons.

Food

When I got there, what caught my eyes was definitely the macaron showcase. Macarons are way more colourful than chocolate bonbons.

Macaron Display at Leonidas

Then, after finding out every flavour that was available, I ordered myself 6 different flavours of macarons. All nicely, carefully packed in a little plastic bag. Macarons are very delicate, so really, you have to handle them with care.

6 macarons to go

Here is what I bought, in the order of my most favourite to the least favourite:

• Blackcurrant
• Passion Chocolate Ganache
• Raspberry Chocolate Ganache
• Espresso Chocolate Ganache
• Pistachio
• Mint Chocolate Ganache

Macarons by Leonidas

Overall, I quite like the texture of Leonidas’ macarons. I understand that macarons are supposed to be a bit chewy, but sometimes I find them stick to my teeth and I don’t like that. Leonidas’ macarons, in my opinion, are not that chewy. They have the delicate, crumbly texture, but they don’t fall apart. When you take a bite, you can just feel a little bit resistance to your teeth, yet it’s not to the extent that you would call it as “chewy”. They definitely have the “cookie” feel to it.

As you can tell, what I enjoyed the most were fruity flavours. While they were filled with ganache, I think I tasted a thin layer of jam which added more fruitiness to the macarons. The cookies were also well-infused with the fruity flavours. The bright, vibrant colours also helped bring up my appetite.

On the other hand, I found the Mint Chocolate Ganache a bit too sweet for my liking. And I have concluded that the pistachio flavour is just way too subtle to be infused with anything. This is like the 4th time that I was disappointed by some pistachio-flavoured sweets.

By the way, according to the owner at Leonidas, macarons can be stored in the fridge for up to three days, or one day at room temperature. Not that it would take you this long to finish them anyway, but it’s always good to know tidbits like this.

Final Thoughts

In general, I consider macarons a luxury item since they are typically priced at around $2 a piece. However, once in awhile, I wouldn’t mind spoiling myself for some good quality sweets that might just cost me a few extra bucks. I think I’ll add Leonidas to my roster of places for treats, especially macarons.

Inside Leonidas Chocolates

Leonidas Chocolates (at Vancouver Convention Centre West)
#29-1055 Canada Place, Vancouver
604-647-7559
leonidaswaterfront.com