A new Génie in town

I don't know why, but it ain't easy to find a good éclair in this town.  We've got ourselves a couple of famous chocolatier imports, and everyone and their dog seems to be selling macarons in every Pantone color.  But I'd be hard pressed to name three places where I can find a good version of the classic cream-filled pastry.

Suddenly, though, éclairs have become the latest trend fad in town.  We now have our first Parisian import, and a long-time expat chef has also started churning them out.

I had read about Christophe Adam opening up L'éclair de Génie in town, although I hadn't gone out of my way to get some.  As I was strolling through Pacific Place, though, I unexpectedly came across a pop-up store... so I figured I'd get a few to try.

I figured since I was gonna eat 'em by myself, I probably can't do more than 4 of them.

Citron yuzu

This was very good.  There was plenty of citrus fragrance from the yuzu, and a good balance between sweetness and acidity in the cream.

Thé matcha bambou

This was nothing to write home about.  This may work in Paris, but out here in Asia - where we are so used to desserts made with all types of Japanese tea - this was just underwhelming... especially when the tea flavors weren't intense enough.

Caramel beurre salé

I love things made with salted butter caramel... or anything caramel, and this was very, very good.  But it was also the only one out of the four that had air pockets inside, so I didn't get as much cream as I could have.  Why, oh why, did it have to be this one?!

Marron

If you like chestnut desserts - like I do - you'd love this.  The rich chestnut cream was very satisfying, and then you get the chunks of candied chestnuts on top.  Yum!

I was a pretty happy camper... and I think I'll get myself some more of these and try out the other flavors.